Max and Liz take a break in the NT
Heat-seeking Tasmanians Max & Liz (mid 60s) head north for winter n their 21’ JB Scorpion Off Road
What do you travel in? Our 21’ JB Scorpion Off Road is a good size for most situations and has a lot of creature comforts, but we are thinking of upgrading to a van similar in size with more solar (3 x 140W), lithium batteries, a slightly different layout inside, and a bit more payload.
So, you like to go bush? We can currently run for about a week without power, the water normally lasts about this long as well. We have 3 x 90 litre tanks, one of them is a dedicated fresh water tank. We normally go away for six months and miss the winter in Tassie, and we enjoy national parks near, or on, the sea.
Likes of the lifestyle? We enjoy meeting other grey nomads and making new friends, the freedom to go to out-of-the-way places, we both enjoy fishing, and carry a small tinny on top of the LandCruiser.
Any on the-road hobbies? I enjoy fiddling with the communication on the van. We have a tall mast that I rig up to get phone and internet, we also have satellite TV. We don’t keep a journal as such but we do a track on Hemma. My wife Liz enjoys reading on her iPad, she downloads her books from Amazon.
You wouldn’t be without? I have a moderate sized S/S fire pit and a rotisserie. I really enjoy cooking with it, and our favourite on-the-road meal is roast leg of lamb.
Favourite place to camp? We love the Kimberley and, last year, went up to McGowans Island 40km north of Kalumburu. It was a magic place but needs a good off road rig to get there. There are lots of great places on the west coast like Cape Range NP and inland the little known Zebra Mine at the northern end of Lake Argyle.
Advice to nomads? Lock up when you go away from the van, and don’t stay in a free camp if there are no other travellers.
… and to wannabe nomads? Go for it … it is a great life! Have a good idea of the type of travelling you want to do, off road, dirt road, sealed road, this will determine the type of van you will need. Then, do a lot of research on your rig, go to caravan/camping shows, get advice from other grey nomads. As you get a bit more experience, you become more confident with your equipment. Our first trip was four weeks (a shakedown cruise). We picked up the van and headed off to Phillip Island, Lakes Entrance, Mallacoota and Eden. It was a lovely trip but we quickly found that we needed to get quite a bit of gear.
