Miles, Marina, Roadee and ‘The Long Drive’
What are we doing:
The age old idea of heading off towards the setting sun to see what
exists on the other side of the hill is something that has driven man for
millennia – I guess that it’s also in my genes and has been filling my bucket
of things to do for a long time…… perhaps for over thirty years. One of many
early dreams was to buy a late model Land Cruiser from Japan; one that had been
forced off the road by the ever increasing road taxes imposed by the Government
to maintain a young national vehicle fleet then from Vladivostok, head
west. Work, marriage and family meant that realism
had to prevail, resulting in some wonderful years raising a family however now
in my latter years, the dream is happening. In 2013 we are literally about to drive
off towards the setting sun.
How are we doing it:
Instead of a second hand Land Cruiser we are now driving a beautiful
rugged 4WD motor home truck…. well, that’s how I see it. On the other hand
Marina when she first saw the design thought it looked like a KGB prison truck!
Sometimes the fairer sex just don’t appreciate rugged beauty. Now it has become
almost a part of the family and has been named by Marina and Kazim as,
‘Roadee’. Ordered in 2010 with delivery in 2011, Roadee, an Isuzu NPS300 4WD
truck motor home now has 25,000klm on the clock from numerous short forays into
the surrounding hills of SE Queensland and nearby NSW along with a 2011 Central
Australia trip and more recently up to the Gulf, the Kimberley and Simpson
Desert. Each time has brought some modification and fine tuning but basically
the concept of Roadee is proving a success. Weighing in with a GVM of 6 tonne
and with the original Super Single Toyo tires and nineteen and a half inch rims
replaced by Hankook 37-12.5 R17 balloon tires now gives a vastly improved ride.
Equipped with three 125 watt solar panels, 450amph house batteries, 240v
invertor, 125 litres of fresh water, gas barbie and cooker, diesel cook top and
water heater, along with shower toilet and numerous other must have
conveniences all means that it helps to ease Marina from a non-camping back
ground into a modern day nomad.
Where are we doing it:
Its open ended, let’s see how we go on the first stage of, “The Long
Drive”. The aim after shipping Roadee to Singapore where she will arrive on the
6th March 2013 is to clear customs and Singapore itself. Given that
the Traffic Authority have banned all motor homes from being driven on the
island state, that will be the first challenge with a possible 25 klm tow to
the border looming. Then head north through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,
China, Mongolia, Siberia and west through Russia to….. somewhere in Western
Europe to store Roadee for the northern winter until returning in the summer
around April of 2014 to continue on traveling.
The challenges:
Yes there will be challenges and not only those
that face the remote area long distance traveler such as logistics, navigation,
negotiating the myriad of administrative hurdles to mention just a few but also
the matter of………. how are we going to handle a change of life style for
prolonged periods, sitting in a cab and
driving for hours, weeks, months? Of course there will be the continual
stimulation of travel, as Willie Nelson said, “goin places I’ve never been. Seein things that I may never see again”
but it will be a challenge for two new travelers..
