Commer Van Oz Tour's October Update

October Update.

DSLH=18700miles

Melbourne was its usual busy place and the roads out of the city were heavily packed with traffic.  Unlike in Tasmania the lumbering old Commer received little tolerance or patience from the city dwelling motorists and after a couple of hours it was great to be back on country roads again.

Gumsan

First stop over on the mainland was Ararat 150klm north west of Melbourne.  Here we visited Gum San the Chinese Heritage Center and learned about how the Chinese had first discovered gold on the site that is now Ararat and of the hardships they experienced during the gold rush.

Confucius

Confucius say,

He who drive old Commer across 

Australia "is looney tunes!"

The sign read "Bus Parking only"
We are a bus really,  honest!

Big Koala between Ararat and Horsham.

We arrived in Horsham in time to relax and enjoy the towns annual agricultural show.
Great fun was had by the crew, especially Amelia. 

Check out that fairy floss WOW! and the sugar high smile. 

Pony mad.

Yeah! Show Bags!  more toys for the Commer to haul.

White Kangaroo at Renmark

Camp site on the Murray River near Renmark

Paddle Steamer 'Industry' at Renmark.

During our stay on the Murray River we boarded the Paddle Steamer 'Industry' for a lunchtime cruise and it was great to see this grand old ship still in operation for tourists to enjoy.
Built in 1911 this ship still uses its original steam engines and still gets along at a surprisingly fast pace.

From Renmark we moved on to Crystal Brook and then Port Augusta.  We stayed in Pt Augusta for 5 days so that we could take the Pichi Richi Steam Railway tour of the Flinders Ranges.
We had also originally planned to head north from here but the hot season had started early and day time temps north of Pt Augusta were already hitting the 40'C+ mark.  So after Pt Augusta we decided to explore the Eyre Peninsular and find some cooler weather.

The Pichi Richi Railway is the oldest surviving section of the original Ghan Railway that connects Adelaide with Darwin.
The train takes tourists on a trip From Pt Augusta to Quorn approx 50 klm away and after a two hour stop over returns to Pt Augusta.  The trip takes approx 5 hours.

Under steam

Enjoying the view

Next we headed around the Eyre Peninsular and visited a few towns on route.

First we spent a night camped near the lighthouse at Port Lowley then another night at Port Gibbon and Lipson Cove.  The scenery on the peninsular is spectacular and there are many great free camping spots.  Unfortunately the insects were at their worst this time of year and swarms of flies and biting insects kept us moving on the following days.

Camp, Pt Lowly

Camp, Lipson Cove

Dolphins playing meters from our camp Lipson Cove.



Another night was spent at Pt Lincoln and Coffin Bay before making our way to Ceduna in preparation to cross the Nullarbor Plain for the second time this year.

We are a little nervous about chancing the Nullarbor in our old Commer for a second time as she is now a lot heavier with all the extra bits we have collected during the trip.  We also need to load her up with extra water and fuel.  So the 43 year old little 1.7L motor is working very hard.

Fingers crossed we will make it back to WA OK.

Click here to see the Commers current location.

On Commer's

Did you know?

Commer designed and built its own diesel engine for their commercial vehicles.

The engine was a two stroke diesel 3 cylinder engine with six pistons horizontally opposed.

This engine had a unique knocking sound which gave it the nick name "Commer Knocker".

Click below to listen to a Commer TS3 "knocker" Diesel engine.

Commer Van Oz Tour August Update.

 Commer Van Oz Tour Aug, update!

Touring Australia in a Classic Commer Van.  

Distance since leaving home 13940 Miles

With the end of August upon us, our tour of Tasmania continues.  This month some of the places we visited included, the Lost Waterfalls near Swansea on the East Coast,  the Freycinet National Park, the worlds second largest Cadbury Chocolate Factory and the spectacular western frontier at Strathgordon. 

The Lost Falls

The Swan River at Swansea, in our
little boat.

Honeymoon Bay, Freycinet National Park.

Sea Shells on the Sea Shore

Happy snap at Freycinet.

Cadbury Factory, Hobart

mmmmm Yummy.

Factory produces 80million Freddos/Caramello's a year.

After the visit to the Chocolate Factory, a weekend was spent in Hobart, Tasmania's Capital city.

 Double Decker Tour Hobart,

I was really looking forward to the Double Decker Bus tour in Hobart as the brochure boasted their fleet of 1960's Leyland Atlantian's but to my disappointment the ageing Leylands had been replaced with brand new Chinese Ankai buses only one week earlier.

Although still great fun, just wasn't the same without all the rattling and smoke of an Atlantian.

A great way to take in the sights of beautiful Hobart, but at 8'C upstairs was not a very popular option.

Cascade Brewery.

Outdoor Ice Rink, Hobart

Town Hall, many beautiful and some of the oldest buildings in Australia are to be found in Hobart.

Hobart street scene.


Another famous place visited while in Hobart was MONA, the Museum of old and new art.
We decided some of the exhibits were not suitable for young kids so Millie and I explored outside while Amanda entered "another world".

Some of the exhibits at Mona.

Next it was of to Strathgordon, only 100klm from Hobart. Strathgordon is on the only road into Tasmania's remote south west.  This 100klm long road took the old Commer 3hrs to complete as the road winds and bends up and down one mountain after another with average altitudes of 650meters.  It was a real workout for our loaded old Commer, but she behaved well and we arrived safely to one of the most breathtakingly spectacular places we have ever seen.

We camped one night at this old hikers hut deep in the western forests.

Fuel, Fuel and more Fuel, Millie holding the funnel for me as we fill her up, no stations out here.  The Commer has consumed thousands of liters on this trip so far.  

Lake Pedder, near Strathgordon.

Pedder basin, Gordon Dam, Tallest concrete Dam in Australia. Used for Hydro-electric power station near Strathgordon.

Our Campsite, no one around but us.

A Jewel moment, spectacular.

How the Commer makes it up these mountains, amazes me.

At the end of August we visited the Highland Lakes in central Tas.

Lake Arthur, Central Highlands Alt 850M

Camp site, Lake Arthur.

Generator running all night to keep the Commer warm, more snow.

 Back down off the mountains we stopped at the historic towns of Ross and Oatlands.

Oatlands flour Wind Mill circa 1836

Historic Ross Bridge, constructed by convicts circa1830

Church, Ross. 1870

Hmm, I need my boots fixed. Wonder if this place can help?

Who's a pretty boy then?


Next month sadly, its time to board the ship and leave Tasmania behind us as we head back to the mainland and make our way west 1200miles and then north into the Northern Territory and Australia's red center. 

On Double Decker Buses.

Did you Know?

The very first motorised enclosed Double Deck buses in the UK were delivered to Widnes in 1909.

They were this fleet of four photographed during delivery and YES! they were COMMER'S.




DSLH=13940Miles

Click here to view the Commer's current location.