does not get better than this

We had just pulled out from Virtue Farm on route to Iron Ridge Park. All was going well. I looked in the rear vision mirror but couldn’t see the caravan behind us!!! Panic! Had the caravan come adrift? Fortunately not. I had, for a couple of uncomfortable moments forgotten that we now have a camera on the rear of the caravan with a monitor attached to the rear vision mirror which in effect simulates a rear vision mirror view. Phew! 😂😂😂

Jennifer discovered the magic of Mary Poppins at the birthplace of her author, PL Travers while I visited Bunnings & Aldi 😆.

Urangan Pier, approx. 900 in length, is a former deep-water, cargo-handling facility originally built to facilitate the export of sugar, timber and coal.

The pier walk was followed by lunch which would not normally warrant a mention but the salad was one of the best!

A small organic farm which also offers accommodation for self contained caravans… which means water, power, onboard toilet and retention of all greywater. Our view in the distance was the west side of Fraser Island. We ordered a home made soup plus freshly baked bread on arrival and on day 2 bought other organic produce including a pumpkin, oranges, chutney and a jam. Yum!

With a sloping site as above, the common practice is to use ramps to level the van. Unlike caravan parks generally, off grid sites rarely have level ground. As our van has air suspension we are able to adjust left and right van side heights to compensate for the slope. So together with the front electrically operated hitch jack, it is a really easy way to level the van.

It was not unusual to see more than a dozen kangaroos around the camping area…

A variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables for purchase. We bought oranges, pumpkin, green tomato chutney and orange and ginger marmalade jam.

Lots of “firsts” with a new van. Having left Hangar O with minimal water and as our next off grid site didn’t supply water we needed to refill the tanks on route. We put into use a home built water manifold, the idea for which came from another Zone RV caravan owner. Theoretically, filling the 3 water tanks simultaneously speeds up and simplifies the process… so long as the water pressure is good (which it wasn’t 😆). High pressure filling can damage a tank’s integrity so by sharing the pressure over 3 tanks this potential issue is avoided.

An excellent Zone RV initiative. Even for customers who have had one or more caravans before, Zone provided a 2 day off grid site stay where on arrival you were given instructions on how to operate all options & functions. If you had any questions or issues, they could be followed up during the stay.

We loved the freedom offered here… peaceful, very few other campers, cafe coffee in the morning and a drink in the evening.

Off ground fire pits were allowed and timber supplied. We did have a few small issues which were resolved and quite a few questions! All good after our extended 4 day stay.

We love our new van!!

We pick up our new off grid van from Zone’s Coolum Beach factory. Starting with a specification/options check, we move to complete documentation including registration, final payment, hitch up and a “brake test”.

After waiting 9 months we are about to take delivery of our new van. While our 1st van was comfortable and had much to offer, it did limit our off grid aspirations. The Zone Peregrine is designed for off grid, dirt road and more rugged adventures. It features hot dipped galvanised chassis; composite body; air suspension and disk brakes; large lithium battery bank, inverter and max. solar panels; more water capacity; compost toilet and much more. Importantly, even with all the increased functionality, it is a similar weight to the previous van.

Tomorrow we depart to take delivery from the Coolum Beach factory next Friday. We intend to stay in and around central Queensland for a month or two so had to pack all travel equipment, clothing, kitchen utensils etc in the car!