With being on holidays I expected to stack on a bit of weight. A few extra drinks, lots of goodies and some lavish evening meals. I tend to indulge a little when away…

But the cook has been serving up a fair few vego meals and we have been eating much less meat – cause it would be cheaper just to buy a cow and strap it to the roof rack.

We also haven’t been eating much at all between meals and going to bed at 9.00 means not a lot of evening snacking. So I haven’t gained much at all. Not quite slim Jim, but neither am I lining up for Biggest Loser.

I’m a bit concerned about the long term impacts of a diet deficient of large amounts of red meat though…

We will need to fix that one…

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On the way from Karratha to Port Hedland Big Red’s air con stopped working. I was ready to kill someone…

It happened as we were leaving Karratha so we quickly ducked around to the auto elec and asked him what we should do. He talked about different head pressures in the NW rather than the city and said he could degas and regas… We switched it back on while there and it came back.

I wasn’t up for spending $270.00 for something I wasn’t convinced needed doing so I said we’d shoot off and take a chance on it. It was about 36 degrees and we were headed for Port Hedland.

I prayed.

A lot of use that was…

The air con dropped out every two minutes or so for the next hour. I got a stress headache from being so angry.

After an hour it came good and we drove into Hedland slightly less annoyed. The next day was a Saturday so we didn’t bother trying to book it in to get looked at (thankfully).

We drove to Barn Hill, with no problems until we got to the final 5kms of the trip and it spat it again. Hmmm… This is not looking good….

Fortunately we didn’t feel it too bad on that occasion.

I called the air con expert who fixed it previously who spoke of dodgy wiring connections etc etc… I wasn’t convinced.

So today, working off a bit of a hunch, I got online and did some research as to whether engine temperature can affect air con performance and guess what?…

It turns out the GQ Nissan Patrol has a cut-out switch at the base of the radiator that comes into play if the engine temperature gets too hot. I read thru several forums where guys have driven themselves insane trying to sort this stuff out, only to discover this switch…

It seems the combination of a fully loaded car, a very hot day, a camper trailer and driving at 100km/hr tipped this baby over the edge.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!!!!

What’s the deal with Nissan designing a 4WD with an air con that works unless things get too hot?!

I trawled thru the forums and read of people trying to resolve this problem with mammoth radiators and new fans and all sorts of gizmos, but usually without success. I also read of blokes with other Patrols who never encountered the problem.

However the general consenus was that extreme weather conditions, heavy loads and fast driving can combine to cause the problem we are experiencing. So on the one hand I am relieved to have solved the issue, but on the other I am still livid at the fact that no one knew this in the first place.

It seems it is not worth disconnecting the switch as it will inevitably lead to a fried motor – although one forum writer took that action and suffered no consequences at all.

The original reason I dropped the car in was because on several very hot days the air con cut out… That was it… There was nothing else wrong with it…All the other nonsense has come subsequently.

So it seems that we have a car with mind of its own when it comes to air con. If it gets a bit hot then it will switch itself off. Apparently Nissan do not see this as a design flaw…

What the?…

To be fair the air con has done very well on this trip with the exceptions of those extreme days, but I wonder what it would mean if you lived in the NW permanently?

I think the solution may be simple.

Back to Landcruisers…

So we will see how we go for the rest of the trip, but given we are in the hottest part of the world, with heavy loads and doing high speeds there could be moments when we offer a few well chosen expletives into the bush.

I realize some of you don’t give a toss about my car issues, but I write this because some other poor bloke will one day do a search for ‘does GQ Patrol air con cut out when hot?” and they may just save themselves a truckload of pain and $$ in the process.

More info or or

Surely a lay-person shouldn’t be expected to know this?…/

Located 130km south of Broome right on the coast, we had heard this place was pretty nice and allocated 5 days of our trip to staying here.

We weren’t sure quite what to expect, but it has certainly been a winner. The campsite is located 10km down a dirt track and is easily accessible by 2WD. The powered sites are situated among big shady trees and the unpowered are on the other side along the ‘cliff’ edge. For a family of 4 it costs us $38.00/night, but it is $24.00/ night for a couple.

You get power, water and a heap of space to spread out in. The beach is just a 200m walk and it is sensational. It is white sand over red rock and because of the wave action the beach is littered with quite beautiful rocks and shells. The water is warm and we have been really enjoying our time here.

There were a couple of other families here during our stay as well as the first wave of ‘grey nomads’ (an Aussie term for the retirees who make the annual sojourn north during the winter months). I was a tad worried that 5 days in the same spot with nothing to do or see might drive me crazy, but the time has flown and we have loved it here.

It seems the day starts off quite cool as there is a nice breeze during the night (I slept with the doona over me) then it warms up rapidly and the wind has been blowing strong the last few days thru to lunchtime. As I sit here and write this (Thursday) it is blowing at maybe 25knts and making it pretty unpleasant, but most days have been better than this. It does get very hot through the day until about 4pm when the shade increases and the sun loses some of its intensity. The evenings are beautiful and the mossies are minimal.

It seems there is a regular crew who come here for a few months at a time and a little community has formed among them. If you are a retiree and looking for a different experience of community then this could be a great adventure. Bring your dinghy and some fishing nouse and you’d be set. It’s a dog friendly place so you can even bring your mutt if you are so inclined.

We did consider coming back here for another week after going to Broome as we are about to enter crocodile country and swimming venues might be a little more restricted, but knowing there is still plenty to see we thought we would just press on.

• Fuel oxytrol

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adventures of don juan dvd – The decision to travel predominantly on LPG hasn’t been as good as I had hoped. It seems that up here the cost of LPG proportionate to petrol is much higher than in Perth. For example in Perth LPG is 55c/l and petrol is $1.13 (ie 48% of the cost) but up here LPG is around 95c/l and petrol is $1.35 (ie 70%). It is also less available and if we were a dedicated gas car we would have been stuck several times by now. I know this area can be traveled purely on gas, but when your fuel economy is 4km/l or 400km to a tank then it makes it trickier. We have a fuel range of around 650km on both tanks which is enough to cover most spans, but I am wondering if diesel might have been a better way to go… I am guessing the extra cost for LPG is in the transportation, but given probably 70% of our trip will be across remote areas we may pay more than we thought. I am glad I budgeted at 90c/l because so far we have averaged 90.5c/l.

• 12V Fridges avapro private parts movie – We had our car wired with an Andersen plug to power the fridge on 12v while driving but you might as well have stuck an ice block in it as the effect is about the same. We have had days when it seems the fridge has not worked and other days when it seems to have kept stuff from getting warm, but it is clear that fridges do not work at all well on 12v power. I have done a fair bit of online reading and talking with other campers about this issue and no one is raving about their fridge’s 12v performance. Be aware…

• Family – Camping with family means you spend 24 hrs of each day with one another. ‘Duh’ you might say, but it is one of the implications I hadn’t really considered. It means we have kids constantly with us, asking for food, wanting something to do and generally just being children. I guess I wasn’t as prepared for the constant contact and I have had to adjust. We all get on pretty well however Ellie is going thru quite a sultry stage and has been interesting at times…

• Home schooling – Home schooling isn’t real hard, but getting motivated to do it is…As much as the kids learn plenty by just being on the road it is still importance to do some basic numeracy and literacy stuff. In the heat of the day (9-3) it is hard for all us to be bothered with anything that requires serious effort.

• People – We have met some interesting people along the way. One of the grey nomads next to us at present is the ‘chilli lady’ and has some sensational chilli recipes which we have been able to try. As a chilli lover that has been a winner. One of the families we met here in Barn Hill are from Melbourne – Greg & Danielle & kids. Our kids have hit it off with theirs and no doubt we will bump into one another along the way again – good people!

• Writing

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– I have started writing a novel, one that has been percolating for a while, but it is much harder than I had thought. I think part of the issue is that I don’t have a clear way of approaching the task. I made a plan / outline of what I hope to write and I know my basic theme and plotline quite well, but I find just sitting and letting it flow is actually more effective. I am a little overwhelmed by the immensity of the task and thinking it might take several years rather than several months.

• Tyres – I learnt something about tyres. The tyres on the patrol were around 10 years old but because it had only done low kms they still had a bit of tread left on them. I took them to the local Tyrepower guy and asked his opinion – always tricky when someone has a vested interest – but he showed me how the steel belt was starting to separate from the tyre and explained that despite the remaining tread on the tyre they were not good for any long distance traveling as they would separate easily. It seems tyres have a 6-7 year life whether you use them up or not. They would have been ok around the city, but not for long distance heavy duty driving. If I’d tought about it I would have changed the camper tyres at the same time. They had hardly been worn at all, but as the camper is a 2001 model they were not as healthy as they looked. Five km out of Geraldton the steel belt came off one and we limped in on the tube. From there we replaced both camper tyres as chances were the other would have spat the dummy halfway down the road also. So – old tyres – even with heaps of tread – can be very dodgy.

We left Exmouth today after nearly 10 days there. It was enjoyable but a bit too long. The surf disappeared on day 3 and apart from some very cool snorkeling and nice gorges there wasn’t a heap to do… unless you consider $380.00/person to see a whale shark a good deal…

The mornings and late afternoons were great but from 10-4 it was hot – stinky hot. And when all you have is a camper there aren’t many places to hide from the sheer heat. I know it gets much worse, but that was enough for me. When stuck at camp I spent the middle of the day reading by the pool. Oddly the pool is icy cold and is the one place where you can go for respite. I fell asleep in my chair on several occasions.

We have now started school with the kids – an hour a day of learning basic literacy and numeracy stuff. It is simple but the heat meant none of us were very motivated on the first few days

If you’re headed to Exmouth I would not overly recommend the Lighthouse Caravan park. The facilities are adequate but very basic by comparison with the other places up that way and the place is a dustbowl and unattractive. I imagine if you are fishing it is a good compromise if you wish to launch from Tantabiddi Jetty, otherwise I would stay in town.

It took us two hours to pack up today going at a steady pace. Its not something you’d want to do too often, but we know the drill reasonably well now so we aren’t overly stressed by it and I imagine if we went hard we’d be done in just over an hour. I reckon its one of the great tests of a marriage … how well you can set up and pack up when camping… At times the stress has shown… but we don’t need counselling… yet…

We camped last night at Robe River about 2 hours north of Karratha and it was sensational by comparison. We rolled in around 4pm after about 3 hours of driving and saw a beautiful river, a vacant spot right by a tall shady tree and we were sold. The fact that it is free is just a bonus. We swam in the river for an hour and then got out and went fishing. We got a bunch of little bait fish and thought we might catch something bigger, but time ran out and we had to head back for a feed.

It was a beautiful place and aside from the odd truck horn (and some clowns who packed up their camper at 3am) it was peaceful and quiet. Sam woke at 5.30am… and by 6.15 both kids were swimming in the river. The earthmoving equipment kicked off at 6.20 right behind us and we decided it was time to get up…

Aside from the construction work it was great and well worth a stop for any future campers!

Along the way, before Robe River, we pulled in at the infamous Nanutarra Roadhouse for a ‘wee stop’ and Sam, Ellie and I finished up going for a swim in the Ashburton River. On the way out we checked the LPG prices and it was $1.28 /litre. This place has a reputation for being a rip off but that’s just plain silly!

For Danelle who is a ‘north westy’ she is as close to heaven as she can be.

Gotta thank somebody for all of this don’t you?

Tonight we are in Port Hedland and staying thru to Monday with an Indian family who lived in Butler for a while and who Danelle got to know quite well. Marleenie makes a sensational curry so I reckon I’ll be a happy camper for the next few nights…download invisible circus the dvdrip linewatch divx online

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If you’ve done any driving in the more remote areas of Oz then you’d know that as you pass a car coming from the other direction it is regular practice to wave, raise a hand or in some way offer a ‘g’day’.

However I have been getting in trouble lately from my lovely wife for failing to wave sufficiently often and appearing rude or uncaring (possibly because I am). Its quite ironic because a) we have no idea who we are waving to b) given we are travelling in opposite directions we will be unlikely to ever cross paths again…

But apparently you still need to wave…

So I have been experimenting with a variety of wave techniques, from the single raised finger (no not that one), to the army salute to the full blown ‘across the crowd – best friend I haven’t seen since high school’ wave. This one has caused a little embarrassment to Mrs Co-pilot who would prefer I wave in a more regular manner.

So I am wondering… am I the only reluctant waver out there, or are there others?…

Is it rude not to wave?…

Does anybody really care?…

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