Friends with Blogs: Blondie & Lisa

Blondie & Lisa

We met Lisa and her kombi, Blondie, in March when we were in Port Douglas. They have been travelling since July '06 and have had a few of their own mechanical adventures.

Blondie is credited as Henry's first (and last) holiday romance... I can hear Henry saying those immortal lines "Nobody puts Blondie in a corner!"

Say hi to our new Prado! (OJG)

Well we have done it, we have bought our new vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser Prado TX Diesel.

So how did we come to this little gem, well I'll go through it really quickly!

First off, Toyota Landcruisers are the 4x4 of choice in Australia. Well it's brother the Toyota Hi-Lux is famous around the world for being nearly indestructible. The Landcruiser isn't far off that title, but with a lot more comfort. It also wins just about all the 4x4 awards. Repeatedly.

Additionally, it is also the vehicle of choice for the various government agencies, and also their vehicle of choice in terms of "subsidised transport" (more on that another time).

As such, out of every 10 4wd cars, at least 7 are Landcruisers. To say they are popular really doesn't do the phenomenon justice. This in turn means that even in the middle of the outback, you are likely to find Landcruiser mechanics, some will even carry a few spares.

The Prado is a Landcruiser sub-species if you like, that has been shortened just a tad and given a slightly smaller engine. As such it is a bit more manageable. and a lot more fuel efficient. A bit more tourer than off-roader. That is not to say that it cannot handle itself off-road, far from it. It still comes 2nd or 3rd in most of the off-road awards.

So that is how we narrowed the choice down to a specific model. Next the model specifics.

Prados come in 4 standard version. In Effect: Value; Standard; Standard Plus; Deluxe. I had read of various problems with the value model, and in any case wanted some of the extras in the next package such as AirCon, ABS, Cruise Control, Remote Locking, and so on. The Deluxe was something I actually didn't want! Apart from the leather seats which I thought was giving the wrong signal when we go to certain places, it also has a lot of electronic driver aids and air suspension, both of which are a lot more prone to reliability problems. So either of the middle two would have been fine.

Petrol or Diesel. This debate will go on forever! The cost difference at new is about $1000 (£400). The cost difference on a 2nd hand vehicle is between $6000 and $8000. Additionally, even with that kind of price difference (the petrol ones are the cheaper for those that did not know), for every diesel Prado trying to be sold, there are at least 10 petrol Prados. So the technical differences? The petrol has a lot more grunt, no doubt about it. It also only needs a service every 10k as opposed to every 5k for the Diesel. The Diesel on the other hand has about 30% better fuel economy, is a lot more reliable, and has a 2-3 times longer life expectancy.

Minor Details: We wanted it to have done less than 150,000 kms. We were ok with any colour as long as it wasn't gold (we saw several gold Prados that the dealers simply could not get rid of!). We ideally wanted Automatic. This is no sports car, and realistically it will spend 90% of its time on the motorway.

Finally, price and year. Prados were introduced in 1996 (technically known as the Landcruiser Series 90 or Series 95), and since then have had one major change in 2002 (series 120). A new Series 120 with the above requirements costs about $56K. A 2nd hand Series 120 costs between $39k and $48K depending upon extras and mileage (and colour!). A 2nd hand Series 95 costs between $28k and $33k. Prados are available for less, but not with Diesel or with less than 200k on the clock.

So, we opted for the Series 95 (which should hold all of it's value if we decide to sell it again after our trip), and after a lot of research we found a real "bee-yute"! It was everything we were looking for, and although the price was a bit on the high side, we went for it. So far we are very happy!

Although we are not certain if it will get a name, we welcome any suggestions that you might have!

Day 86: Brisbane

Oly has done lots of research on Landcruiser Prados and has called up dealers and private sellers for viewings which we have been doing over the last couple of days.

We have finally settled on a 2002 Prado TX all the way up in Cabulcha and have put a deposit down.

Now all we have to do is get the RACQ to check it over.

Simple as that...

Emelie

Day 85: Brisbane

Henry had to wait at Custom Offroad for 5 hours until his engine cooled down so Peter could adjust the tappets.

We made ourselves busy by going to view lots of Landcruisers, we have decided a Prado is the way to go. It is sad to think we wont be doing this adventure with Henry and we are battling with our conscience, but he leaves us and our bank balance very little choice. I must admit I am secretly excited about being able to go more than 80kmh along the highways, not to mention comfortable seats and aircon (even tho we say we wont use it), offroading is just a bonus.

So here we are, Henry is tweaked and we are working out our strategy.

We have much to do.

Emelie

Day 84: Brisbane

We explored Brisbane city centre a bit today, it is pretty small but nice. Everything is very clean and there is an interesting mix of old and new architecture.

We are back at Warrawee for the night and have had a lovely dinner with Danny's mum and dad. We really like what we have seen so far in Redcliffe and will have to come back and explore a bit more on our bikes.

Tomorrow we are up early again to take Henry to Custom Offroad for tweaking. We knew that having a VW kombi would involve being at the mechanics more than your average vehicle... but this is crazy.

Em

Day 83: Brisbane

After a wonderful nights sleep at Warrawee we decide to try another caravan park after the last one was so bad.

We ended up in Newmarket Gardens Caravan Park and it wasn't much better than the last. The tiny pitches are all on top of each other and we are bumper to bumper with the row behind as well.

Our instructions are to nurse Henry until we get him fixed on Monday so we are taking it easy with him. We wouldn't want him to feel left out!

Emelie

Day 82: Brisbane

We have spent the morning at Custom Offroad in Stafford.

Henry went in with an oil leak and Peter kindly fitted him in between working on an iguana beach buggy.

So what was wrong?

The seal on the oil filter was damaged and Henry was not performing very well. So after lots of testing we found out that number 4 cylinder was giving no power at all. So we had only been running on 3 cylinders, who knows for how long?

At first Peter thought this would be a big job, but then he checked the tappets and found they were out of alignment. We booked Henry in for Monday as they had to be fixed when Henry's engine was cold. Oly asked if this would give back the full power of the cylinder and Peter was doubtful.

We went the the shopping centre for a coffee (artistic licence as Oly doesn't drink coffee, I am just setting the scene) and after much deliberation we decided to go and see what was out there in the form of 4WDs, namely Landcruisers.

When we got to the car sale forecourts on Gympie Road, Henry decided to dump a puddle of oil which was quickly followed by a billow of smoke. We limped back to Peter and he fixed the gasket seal which wasn't tight enough and off we went again.

We have had a look at a few vehicle and have decided a Landcruiser Prado would be a good choice if we were to retire Henry.

I think we are going to sleep on it, luckily for us we are staying at Danny's parents B&B, Warrawee, in Scarborough. I think we will sleep very well...

Emelie

Day 81: Bundaberg - Brisbane

Here we are, at the end of our Rockie to Bundie to Brissie dash via the biggest pineapple we have ever seen!

We arrived in Brisbane late afternoon and only had time to find a caravan site before it got dark.

Trusting the Big 4 brochure we booked in to their 4 1/2 star Gateway Village Caravan Park. It was really disappointing, there was a strange atmosphere, the sites were tiny and the neighbours near and far were very noisy... I don't know where Big 4 get their star ratings from as they are not consistent.

Did we mention Henry has an oil leak, Oly noticed it in Bundaberg and it seems to be getting worse. Early night for us, we need to find yet another mechanic...

Emelie

Day 80: Rockhampton - Bundaberg

From Rockie to Bundie along the Capricorn Coast.

We couldn't stay in Bundaberg without visiting the Bundaberg Rum distillery. As soon as we arrived we parked up Henry and cycled over for the 3PM tour.

The guides took us through the necessary "How the rum is made" tour, finally leading us to the "How the stuff is drunk" finale. This we enjoyed very much. We started off with a Pink Polar Bear (rum liquor, cream, lemonade and grenadine, quickly followed by a rum liquor with cream, by the time we finished that one we had forgotten what it was called.

Only then did I agree (actually I suggested) to have my picture taken with an animal. No cute, cuddly koala bears for me... polar bears all the way.

The story goes, the bundie rum folks were looking for a new mascot for the brand and wanted an animal that lived in a cold environment to imply that the drink would ward off even the coldest chill. Unfortunately the Australian "Fairy Penguin" did not give off the right image so they settled on a big brave polar bear.

Emelie

Movie: Rockhampton - Bundaberg

Big: Crab - Miriam Vale, QLD

Henry was feeling extremely crabby today.

Day 79: Rockhampton

Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia as well as being smack bang in the middle of the Tropic of Capricorn.

With over 3 million cattle in the region, you would think you would be able to get a decent steak at 4PM in the afternoon, especially as bulls are everywhere you look, welcoming you into the town, offering valu-bull re-moo-ver-bulls and unbelieva-bull deals on your exporta-bulls. As it was, only one restaurant was open and a fillet mignon was not on the menu. We opted for the enchiladas, they were rather tasty.

We have done a fair bit of cycling today and the caravan park we are in is very nice which makes all the difference to our stay.

The sun is shining and all is well...

Emelie

Day 78: Mackay - Rockhampton

We got out of the awful camp site alive and had a really boring drive down to Rockie (as it's known to the locals).

Half way down, during a quick cup of coffee and toilet break we decided to try making a movie of the drive. (I have asked Oly to go into more detail in a separate post) We think it worked rather well and have great "plans" for future ones.

We picked up our Black Wolf Turbo Lite tent from BCF in Rockhampton and "oh my god" it is the best tent ever... it takes SECONDS to put up... SECONDS! It is all attached as one piece. You lock the four steel struts on the sides, then go inside the tent and push up the roof, it locks into place, and that is it. You can put on the outside cover with the awning, which we did, and that only takes seconds as well. This is tent is amazing.

Emelie

Movie: Mackay - Rockhampton

Day 77: Townsville - Mackay

We set off early this morning on our jaunt down to Brisbane. We have decided to dash down there and then come back up visiting all the things we have missed on our way to Darwin.

When we were hunting for the Big Mango we stumbled across the idyllic beaches of Bowen. As well as being the mural capital of Australia, the town is to be portraying Darwin in the 1930's in the new Baz Luhrman epic, Australia.

There was a lot of building work going on. Several large apartment blocks were being built right on the seafront, prices starting at $605,000! Bit out of our price range for a holiday home.

Our caravan park in Mackay is not quite as good as the one in Cairns. After driving past the nice cabins at the entrance the rest of the grounds appear to be full of permanent residents in their caravans with ute's and huge awnings.

Everyone stopped and looked as us as we parked Henry in the empty camper van area. The camp kitchen and the ablutions are dire. We can't wait to get out of here in the morning.

Em

Distance: 400km
Time: 6 hours

Big: Mango - Bowen, QLD

Henry knew when he had been mangoed!

Day 76: Townsville - Thuringowa

There is a rodeo in town!

Well there's a rodeo in Thuringowa which is around 30km from Townsville.

We had to go, it was going to be fun getting down and dirty with the locals.

For those that the closest you have got to a rodeo was Brokeback Mountain, well it reminded us of the crowd and atmosphere of banger racing that you get in the UK.

So we settled down as the entertainment began. Out came the bucking horses. Then the bucking bulls. There seemed to be alot of angry livestock in the ring...

Oly asked me how they make the animals buck all the time and my highly experienced rodeo going self answered, "Oh, they use horses that aren't used to having riders on their back, like wild ones, and of course the bulls don't like riders". I don't think I have been to a rodeo before, I do tend to have a pretty bad memory, however I have seen most of Brokeback Mountain (it was on the airplane and we landed before I got to the end) and the Horse Whisperer, so that makes me an expert.

"So how come as soon as they loosen that strap the animal is fine and not bucking?"

"They have a strap?"

I looked closer and saw that the bull had a strap around its flank. After the bull had thrown its rider it did not stop bucking until the strap was loosened. We carried on watching and it dawned on us that the strap was not a good thing.

It was nice to go to a local event with cowboys and cowgirls. The horse agility racing was great, as was the "pumping" country music.

We do, however, have mixed emotions about the bucking horses and bulls. We do not like cruelty to animals, even cane toads. As we don't really know what goes on behind the scenes at these events and I would like to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Emelie

Day 75: Townsville - Magnetic Island

We jumped on the ferry to Magnetic Island which took all of 18 minutes.

As we were getting off, a five year old boy whined to his mother "I don't want to walk" to which she replied "I know, I'll just pull a car out of my arse, mate". This has become our favourite retort to each other now, its amazing what we have managed to pull out of our...

As far as the islands we have been on go, Magnetic Island is pretty big. We hoped to cycle but it was far too hilly. Even the bus we caught really struggled.

Today, Friday the 13th, is the Full Moon Party and the island was heaving with teenagers and young backpackers. With that in mind we set off for the Koala Sanctuary in Bungalow Bay. You get to hold a salty (salt water crocodile), koala (for a small fee), python and at the end we fed the parakeets.

We didn't get to see that much of the island, by the time we got there it was around 1PM and we jumped on the 6PM ferry home. If we went again we would hire a mini moke to do a bit of exploring and probably stay over night.

Emelie

Day 74: Townsville

Tonight we had a delicious Chinese at Benny's Hot Wok Cafe and Bar in South Townsville before heading off to the cinema (first time for us in Australia) to see 300.

What an incredible movie, stunning, absolutely amazing. I was overwhelmed. Oly has written a review, I would do it but I too far behind with the blog!

We thoroughly recommend 300. It made up for the lack of sweet popcorn, they only have salted popcorn in Australia. The guy serving us said "you wouldn't believe how many times I get asked for sweet popcorn". If you get asked that many times surely it means there is a market for it!

Em

Day 73: Townsville

Picked up our new tent today, not that we need it with such glorious weather.

Unfortunately they gave us the wrong tent. The tent we walked away with was a $900 Black Wolf Turbo Lite RV250 and we had ordered a $600 Black Wolf turbo Lite FS250.

You would think we had ourselves a bargain. The RV tent is huge and twice as heavy compared to the FS one so we are taking it back tomorrow. There is no way we could erect a tent that size on some of the pitches we get here in Australia with the kombi.

We could always ditch Henry and get ourselves a RV 4WD. Only kidding Henry!

Em