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The Build Live: Coming soon!

We are starting our new touring patrol build live on stream starting Sunday the 17th of July 2022.

You will be able to catch the show on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.

If you’re able to join us, come say hi!

Build details(subject to change)
  • Nissan GU Patrol
  • Cummins 6.7L
  • 4L80E Automatic gearbox
  • Dual Cab Chop
  • Chassis upgrades
  • GVM Upgrade
  • Canopy
  • Boatloader
  • Airbags
  • Custom barwork
  • Interior upgrades
  • Sound deadening
  • and much more…..

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Wet Weather Camping

With a wet long weekend looming over Brisbane I thought I would do a post about wet weather camping. We all have that horror story of a time that you went camping and it was washed out due to a storm or heavy rain. These are the stories that come out when chatting to fellow campers after the sky has turned black and the first drop falls from the sky.

Brendon and I have definitely had our fair share, but as the rain falls this weekend I recount our most recent experience. Firstly, I would like to explain that currently our set up is basic, nothing fancy, just a swag, an awning, couple of chairs, a roll up table and kitchen in the back of the truck.

Last Christmas we packed up and headed to Fraser Island our favourite spot in the world, we knew the weather was not going to be average for the first few days but then clearing as the crowds were returning to work. In the interest in trying something new we set up camp at Coolooli Creek camp ground as the sun set. We drove up and embankment and proceeded to get everything set up, the wind picked up there was a mad rush of fellow campers tying things down and extra guy ropes being smashed into place.

As the rain and wind worsened one by one campers nearby began to retreat to the safety of their beds.

We could see the nearest neighbors a couple and their friend who had a rooftop tent already setup trying to setup a smaller tent for the 3rd person, they struggled to get it up which was a commendable feat. The wind however blew it flat. They would push it back into shape for 15 minutes or so before rolling it into a ball and jamming it in the ute canopy. The third wheel slept on the back seat of their dual cab that night.

As the weathered worsened further the wind whipped at the vehicle awning furiously and it no longer offered protection to our camp chairs from the sideways rain. So, we decided to pack up the chairs and awning and to retreat to the warm and dry safety of the swag. We watched the wild lightening through one of the ends of the swag for hours eventually passing out and did not wake till after 10am. When we got out too survey the damage to my surprise and to this day I don’t know how our pop up ensuite tent was still standing there, proudly surviving the wild storm.

Then we looked along the beach to see it was then we saw the tide was that high that it had been under the swag and nearly to the creek behind us. I’m now not sure if it was exhaustion or gentle rocking of the swag floating that accounted for the big sleep-in.

It had been a king tide overnight, not being our normal campsite and setting up in the evening light we didn’t realise exactly how high the water had been. Or was going to be.

Nearly all of our neighbouring campers in the morning were packing up to beat the tide before the track was cut off at the next creek. It was apparent that most of them had encounter some sort of damage to their property and it was sad to see so many people heading off. We were fortunate that nothing of ours was broken in the storm except the mattress on the swag was a little water logged. We decided with the height of the tide and the weather predictions we would head back over to the eastern beach for a couple of days.

As we drove along the eastern beach we saw the aftermath of the storm with broken gazebos, tents and other gear being dropped off at the rubbish disposal points. It was sad to see that so much damage had been done to people staying all over the island but hopefully it didn’t ruin their experience too much and they still enjoyed their time on the island.

We all know tips about wet weather camping here are two of mine for when you are caught in the middle of a storm or are expecting one.

If it’s not essential pack it up and store it away. The less stuff set up the less there is to be damaged.

Secondly and everyone says this, when you get home or the suns back out, dry all your gear out and then repack it. If you have been near salt hose it off if you can and do this to everything that is suitable as it stops rusting, mould and general wear and tear on your items.

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Australia Day 2018 – The Aftermath

The aftermath of the cull….

To be honest I have been downsizing for some time now, getting rid of all the ‘stuff’ that no longer has a need and has taken on the role of space thief and dust curator at the same time. Australia Day long weekend was ‘The Big Cull’ but it didn’t go exactly to plan…

On the Thursday before the long weekend my body decided that it would have a crack at vertigo (I have never had it before) and whilst I am totally for trying new things I can now say without a doubt that vertigo is not my kind of thing. Between the sleepiness, dizziness, nausea and the medication I was not myself and couldn’t do anything.

As for B he went in for a ‘routine’ filling on Thursday night that ended up being anything but routine with the tooth requiring extraction afterwards they sent him on his merry way with strong pain meds. Even in my own vertigo induced hazy state, the pain he was in was very evident. There was apparently also ‘complications’ with the extraction which meant some of his jaw bone also had come out as they prised the roots free. Surely that was the end of the rough run, but no this ‘poor me’ post must continue, one of B’s stitches came out that very night.

As a result, B spent Australia day sleepy and I, fighting vertigo, so we were, let’s just say as far from productive as you can get. Looking back, we both spent Australia day in a somewhat semi-conscious state, like most Aussies.

We did actually get something done and as we jumped in and started to clean up we both quickly realised that everything there had been kept for one of two reasons: The ‘just in case’ I need it or the memory attached to the item. The attachment to items intrigued me as we weren’t really holding onto the item we were holding onto the memories attached to the item. Well that was the case for me and my roller derby gear, so many things happened whilst I was skating and they were a symbol of that. Once I got over this attachment I was happy to pass them onto someone else that would get as much enjoyment as I did from them. But the emotional attachment B had for a box of cords I don’t fully understand, must be a male thing.

So, for the ‘long’ weekends (standard with Australia Day written off) progress we got most of the single car garage cleaned out just a few little bits and pieces still to go. It ended up being a bigger job than we thought and the shed is very daunting, I had the fear that the motivation of the cull would subside and it would not get done (my fear has come true). The weekend ended with full bins and piles of sorted ‘Stuff’ standing tall as monuments of our success, it is time to take the next steps jamming full the bins each week until it is all gone, going to the second-hand clothes market, listing items for sale and palming off other ‘stuff’ to people we know… the saga continues.

A tip to those in the process of doing or planning a cull, the items that have memories attached ask yourself, How often do I actually use them? How often do I pull them out and look at them? Why not take a photo of it/them to preserve the memories and pass it on (give or sell) to someone else that will be able to have the same enjoyment that the item once gave to you..

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Australia Day 2018 – Clean up

It’s the day before Australia day 2018, with tomorrow Friday making it a long weekend we would normally go away camping, usually to Fraser Island. Whenever we go camping I am like a kid at Christmas. There is no chance I am going to get much sleep the night before, just a hyperactive child ready to explode. But it’s not going to be the same this week.
No packing up the truck, no shifting into low range, no rolling out the swag, and no flying the flag at our campsite proudly. This year, we will be spending Australia day at home sorting out the house, garage and shed. Sadly it’s all quite un-Australian.
Our home has become a haven for ‘stuff’, hoarding cadets maybe, we like a lot of people we have acquired a lot of ‘stuff’, most of it having been held onto just in case one day we may need it. Stuff just takes up time and energy, even when it is just sitting there awaiting it’s yet to be discovered purpose. Stuff continues to grow and the job of sorting it out becomes more daunting. We have just in case ‘stuff’ in our spare rooms, in the shed and in the garage. The plan for our Australia day long weekend is to cleanse, to get back to the simple life and only have the essentials, what we really need in the now, not what we may need for some indeterminate reason. The end game for this is the less stuff we have, the less we have to look after, clean and sort, so more time doing things we enjoy doing like fishing, camping and hitting the track.
Even with our plans of cleaning and sorting this weekend, there is a small level of excitement, sounds crazy I know, but there is a secondary reason to the tidying rather than camping decision (aka. madness). We will have a new camper soon, ‘Track and Tide HQ’, is on it’s way and we need somewhere that we can put it away safe. We are not 100% sure when it will be ready, but have been promised it will be in the next couple of months. The long weekend spent tidying with a beer in hand and I’m confident on Monday there will be a camper shaped spot in our shed just waiting to be filled and an organised house.