COMMER VAN OZ TOUR : July 2013

Touring Australia in a 1970 Commer Van.
July update.

Distance since leaving home 13100 Miles

Amanda's first wildlife shots for the month,
Tasmanian Devils

The big Tassie Devil
at Mole Creek

Tasmania is incredible, arguably the most scenic of the Australian states. Much of the west of the island is only accessible on foot or by helicopter. Mountainous ranges and preserved ancient forests add to the islands mysterious beauty. Many parts are World Heritage areas and in early July we visited one of these spectacular national treasures. Cradle Mountain and Lake Sinclair National Park. Here at an elevation of 3540+ft we had our first introduction to heavy snow fall during the trip so far. It was the first time Amelia has seen snow and a lot of fun was had with snow ball fights and snowman building, a great experience that i am sure she wont ever forget.

Awoke to first snow fall near Mt Rowland

Down to 10mph on the steepest parts, Commer working hard to pull the trailer up the Mountain in the heavy snow fall.

Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain

Commer Vs black ice and loosing.
Time to use the chains.

Snowy, slippery mountain roads.

The crew enjoying the winter wonderland.

After two nights camping at -5c we retreated to the comfort of a cabin to thaw out.

Amelia doing some de-icing

Commer moving around freely now with the snow chains fitted.

An Introduction to snow fun.

Devil in the snow.

A very cold Commer.

Snow ball wars, what fun!

Leaving the snowy mountains behind we headed back to the east coast for some warmer weather and to explore Maria Island. The island was originally a convict settlement and penal colony and later during the industrial age was a major producer of cement, silk and other resources. Now a scenic national park, the remains of the islands dark past are still visible on the picturesque landscape.

Exterminate! Exterminate.
Dalek, near Cradle Valley.

Another ferry trip.

Picturesque Maria Island.

Industrial ruins,
That were fun to explore.

Island inhabitants, friendly Wombats.

The Cape Barren Goose.

Click here for the Commers current location.

DSLH=13100Miles

Check out, The Commer Depo

Six months into our tour of Australia in a classic Commer Van
June update
Tasmania

DSLH 12300 Miles

The 12 hour ferry trip from the mainland was rougher than we expected with 6-7 meter swells making it amusing to walk around the ship. There were plenty of green faces including Amanda's. Amelia thought it was like a wobbly roller coaster and exhausted from the day she and I slept for the most of the trip.

Upon arrival in Devonport I opened the trailer doors for quarantine/border inspection to discover the contents of the trailer looked as though it had been turned upside down and shaken. Although both the trailer and Commer had been chained to the deck, they had still received quite a rough ride.

The Commers badly worn tyres would be of little use in the ice and snow of the Tasmanian highlands. So new tyres were sought while we were in Devonport. It has been getting harder to acquire the original bias ply 700x15 10 ply's but to our surprise a local tyre fitter still had a set in stock.
Fitted with new tyres and armed with snow chains and cosy electric heating powered from our generator, we are now ready for a camping tour of Tasmania in winter.
We headed off, making our way along the north coast and then down the east coast to Swansea camping in some beautiful places along the way. The peak holiday season now over, Tasmania is settling down for the winter and we find ourselves alone at most of the camp sites and attractions.

The roads are also quieter which is great for the Commer to chug along at her own pace "slow" without being a hindrance to many modern motorists. Tas is a mountainous state and i am a little anxious about the Commers ability to pull our heavy trailer on the steep hills.

Tasmania is home to dense sub tropical rain forests.

Blue Lake north eastern Tas.

Breathtaking scenery

Sunrise in Swansea.

Huge tree ferns, ancient forests and pure water.
Truly a place that time has forgot,

A very rickety bridge that groaned a little as we drove across but still has a few years left in it yet.

Forest falls.

In mid June I wanted to carry out some more much needed maintenance and repairs to better prepare the Commer for the upcoming cold weather and steep hills.
We have been having problems with the timing frequently requiring adjustment, partly due to modern low octane fuels causing pinging which was made worse by the hills and higher octane fuels not being as readily available in rural areas of Tasmania and also the distributor is very worn. We still have the snake skin problem with the fuel tank which we have been managing with regular filter changes.
I am also slightly embarrassed by my reversing the trailer into a large tree and damaging the tow hitch mountings.

Repairing damaged tow hitch
and cleaning out fuel tank

So although it was time to stop for a maintenance day or two i am still very pleased with the Commers performance. We meet and chat with many other travelers and laugh at the astonishment on peoples faces when they hear how far we have come in the old Commer, many have never even heard of a Commer and almost all have new/modern vehicles.

Running smoothly again with all roadside repairs completed, next stop was beautiful Bruny Island just of the coast of Hobart.

We spent four days touring and camping this 100klm long island. On one cold evening we went looking for Penguins that inhabit the island and just as we were about to retreat to our camp site our patience was rewarded and our on board photographer added some more great wildlife shots to the album.