For those of you that have been following a long, we have been travelling in a Defender 130 with a difference - it has a custom tub that makes it a two door panelvan, a and we build a pop top on it, making it the ultimate 4x4 camper for us. Land Rover didn't make them that way, so it's pretty unique. We have been loving touring Tasmania in it.
On this day, we were driving to meet someone we met via Instagram. Say what you like about social media, but it can be a pretty cool place to meet folks, especially if they have the same interests as you. Pieter and Mariol, a Dutch couple living around the north west of Tasmania, had invited us to come say hello.
The drive to their camp was lovely, with a mountain range to our left and farming land and bush all around. It would be a fantastic place to live and have a small farm. I was seeing most of it out the side window as my hip has been so sore that I had to lay down in the back.
The couple were living at their brother's place and Pieter had been doing building jobs across the state. They lived in a huge Volvo truck which was their home on wheels. Sadly I didn't take photos of the inside but it was very nice inside, just like a house. They also had a small caravan for guests. Porters obviously a project man - he has all these great ideas and spends a lot of time building them. His workshop trailer was incredible, having all the equipment he needs to work remotely anywhere. We totally understand this way of life as we have lived it before, in buses and trucks, so we immediately related. Both didn't plan on building a house or buying one - why, when they could live comfortably like this for little expense?
What we had come to see though was his 139 Defender which he had also custom built. He had put a tub and a hardtop on the back too, replacing the usual ute back or tray back like we had. His was a bit different though as he made it into a four door and put a smaller tub on the back, extending the chassis a little.It was an incredible build.
There were, of course, many differences apart from the similar idea both men had had to transform a Defender into a great camper.
His had an Isuzu engine, commonly used in the army Perentie, whilst ours was a TD5... Both great engines. Whereas ours has a Pop top, his had a roof top tent. He was still yet to kit out the back and once he saw our slide out drawer I think he felt tempted to do the same.
I love Land Rover people - they often are quirky project people, don't mind an adventure, and are interesting to talk to. We stayed for a few hours and promised to meet up again on the mainland. Mariol and I agreed that the building cars needed to stop and the adventures needed to start. Hopefully we will meet them on the road again.
With Love,
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