Finally, I'm in Tasmania! The first night I decided to stay in Devonport at the caravan park as we didn't arrive til 7.30 pm and the thought of driving round looking for a free camp was not that tempting.
A lot of people don't realise how long the ferry trip to Tasmania is - it takes a whole day across the Bass Strait. It's kinda nice to spend the day doing nothing but reading and sleeping, but there's also things that I don't like about it, like all the rules over the PA, especially about masks. I had a run in within the first fifteen minutes when I got a coffee as someone asked me to wear a mask. I explained I was exempt and she said I had to go and get a green bracelet by showing my medical exemption from the doctors. I've never had one as last time I asked for one the doctor said they don't give them out and last time I heard it wasn't a legal requirement. Anyway, I asked her for a mask, and put it around my chin and ordered coffee. I heard her muttering to her friend about anti maskers, which pissed me off no end. You'd think at this stage there would be a bit more understanding about why some people don't wear masks.
Anyway, I thought I'd show you a few groovy things with my van that we did in the last week. It's so comfortable in here and warm too (it's insulated) and I'm in a quiet spot. If you are ever in Devonport it's a really nice caravan park with sea views. I had a cool and windy walk along the beach to shake off the rattling of the ferry and lying around all day.
First of all, you wouldn't believe it but the night before I left the passenger door opened. Big deal, you say. Except this had been shut for a year and we couldn't open it, such is the brilliance of VW security! The only solution was to rip off the door and get another one from the wreckers. I was resigned to getting in and out the driver's side or the rear door, which is a pain, but what were we to do? Anyway, Jamie went out to the van and I heard him shout - it had magically unlocked! So there was the last minute grease monkey hour and a half long scramble to fix the lock. Jamie had bought a Chinese one about a year ago as they were a quarter of the price. Bloody tricky to instal but he did it. What a whizz that man is!
The other groovy thing was what we did with the headlining. It's a 2006 T5 and the headlining was sagging everywhere which is not fun at all. We ripped it off and were going to glue more on but it's SO hard to do without big ripples in the fabric. So we decided we'd just paint it with housepaint! It suits well. The only issue was a bit in the middle that was torn from pulling the headlining off, so we put on some of the carpet lining we had left over and I ironed a patch on it - what do you think?
The other thing I totally love is this rather unassuming basket! The bench was a perfect place to build a shelf for more storage but we didn't have time. I then thought of buying a wooden crate. Then I realised I could use this square basket I had inside and make a ply top for it (there's two batons of wood that stops it sliding off and makes it fit snug) which doubles as a small table. It fits all of Jamie's tshirts, underwear and a couple of jumpers AND two pairs of jeans! Nice and neat, huh? Everything in it's place.
The other funny thing that happened was that I'd spend two weeks putting things in their place and was 100 percent packed - then saw some mouse poo! Bloody hell. Everything came out, was wiped down and we had to set traps to catch them, which we did. I hate killing mice but you seriously can't have them running around the walls of your van eating the wires or pooing in your food! That meant I had to go around making sure my nuts and muesli were all well sealed in containers and in a tub with a lid.
Oh, and Jamie also connected a fixed solar panel to the roof - 170AMPH and we installed a lithium battery system. That means I can run the fridge with no trouble and charge my laptop too if I need to.
After all the preparing and building, I'm so glad I'm finally here, snuggled in my van, ready to enjoy a month in Tassie.
Update: 5 am coffee - I had to laugh the Landrover mug was packed. To make coffee and tea inside I found a tray that sits on top of fridge which makes it safe and out of the way for hot water and tea making!!
I'm off to west coast now and I don't know whether the reception will be brilliant. I put some food posts on schedule as I'm trying to make a record 365 days on HIVE - Am I crazy?? I could do with a few days offline anyway but I'll get all your comments when I can. Much love!!
With Love,Are you on HIVE yet? Earn for writing! Referral link for FREE account here