On the road again... time to get everything ready!

I can hardly believe how quickly time has been flying by since we have returned home from our big adventure.  Two years ago we were kicking around the Red Centre, marvelling at Uluru in all its glory.  Life has moved on, the kids continue to grow like weeds, and things have settled back down to a new normal.

Or have they...

Over the past few months I have been finding myself increasingly torn between hitting the road again, or staying put.  Even devoting energies into a new blog (https://rockfarming.com/) hasn't been enough to convince me that home is where it will be at for ever.  Indeed the feet are growing itchy again.  Just as well that a new adventure is on the horizon.

The  Simpson Desert

It is an iconic trip that isn't to be taken lightly.  When I think back to our first foray into 4WD touring, it seemed a remote, distant possibility.  Now with a little bit of experience under our belts, we  think we are ready to give it a go.

This will also be our first extended trip without our trusty Aussie Swag camper trailer (Matilda).  Whilst camper trailers are not banned in the Simpson Desert (yet), all my research suggests they are a silly idea.  We decided that towing through the desert will entail too greater risk of stretching our chassis, or worst still, friendships. 

The site supervisor tests the extra height 

Whilst our camping configuration will be very different, there are no real changes for Rocky other than a 60 litre water tank installed under the tray. This took a friend and I the best part of a short school day to get fitted.  I opted for a simple caravan tank and standard fittings, with a gravity feed on the tap.  It works a treat!

Water tank in... just the fittings to go

I have convinced the family that in the absence of Matilda, we will be far more comfortable in swags for this journey.  This also serves the hidden agenda of taking up a huge part of our cavernous storage canopy without too much weight.  Like Parkinson's law (any task will expand to utlise the resources available) I have found that any spare space is soon taken up with unnecessary items.  This  trip will be an exercise in minimalist five star glamping.

Test run of the new swags

In the mean time, it is maintenance time for Rocky...  With 120 000km on the clock we have a few runs on the board.  We also have a new starting battery, EGR valve and cooler.  Here is hoping our next 10 000km pass without anything major failing. 

A final check at the mechanics and we are good to go!

The count down is on... and I cannot wait.  If you don't hear from us for a while, don't be alarmed.  We may have decided to follow our bonnet to new adventures!