It's time to return
Finally, the boarder into Aussie is open. I have bought my ticket.
My precious Landy has spent the past 8 months in an airport carparking yard and I am sure she is missing me... I am certainly looking forward to seeing her again, and to not having to pay monthly airport car parking fees!
Mind you, I have appreciated that the Cark parking business did not close down & kick Lulu out on the streets. Their customer service has been amazing... I recommend using Ezyparking if you are flying into/out of the Gold Coast.
Do I really own a Landy, in Aussie?
Over the past few months I have had to look at photos of her to remind myself that it is real, yes I do own a wonderful 4wdr-escape-to-anywhere-vehicle and yes she is waiting for me to return to her.
Income & savings
I've appreciated having income during this weird period in our lives, and I have done my best to save as much as I can for my return to my explorations. Aside from buying a new mountain-bike and computer that is!
I do love the team I work with, but I am more than ready to be out exploring and not sitting 9 hours a day in front of a computer in an office in a city.
Wilderness, here I come.
My current contract ends 30 Oct... which means that at the time of writing I have only 11 more days in an office, in a govt department, in Wellington NZ.
Yes, the countdown has begun.
I expect to be flying back into to Aussie in late November, I hope the boarder stays open till then!
Research
In preparation, I have begun to research the numerous national parks of New South Wales - there are so many!!
Did you know that the state of NSW is approximately 3 times the size of NZ! NZ 268,021 km² New South Wales 801,150 km²
So much to explore, very exiting.
Preparations:
I will buy a NSW parks vehicle pass, a full year/all parks pass at $190 AUD
I have subscribed to the Parks email/newsletter
I have also subscribed to the NSW Parks youtube page, they have some very enticing video clips... including this one for the Warrumbungle National Park (click on the link to view).
I welcome any suggestions, any of your favourite parks or places that you think I should go to.
Roof top conversion - yes or no?
Oh, and the other think I am weighing up is whether or not to invest in a roof-top-conversion for Lulu the Landy.
This is an image from the internet that shows the type of conversion I have been considering.
There appear to be two firms offering versions of this:
Icarus by Alu-cab
Mulgo installed by the Expedition Centre
Both businesses are in Sydney, so that is quite convenient as that is in the state with the boarder open to NZ.
Both are slightly different, with different pros & cons (in my opinion) and slightly different price tag - neither is cheap. It will be a significant investment, actually more than I actually paid for the Landy in the 1st place.
If I invest in a roof-top-conversion it will change the way I use the interior of the vehicle and will allow me to modify the current design.
Even if I don't invest in a roof conversion, I already have plans to rebuild the interior in a way that reduces the weight of the cabinetry.
I can easily spend hours day dreaming of ways to improve the design/layout of the interior.
Oh, and I sold my motorhome 2 days ago. It is weird, not having her around... but I can now totally focus on preparing for a return to my exploration of Aussie.
This is what she looked like for the sale pics.
Funny enough the new owners are going to rip out the interior cabinetry entirely.
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