Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Turning the page.

From the sublime to the ridiculous as the saying goes.

Had occasion to go camping in my dingy, my Suzuki. Fitting in all the bits required to sleep, cook and clean up was OK but both at once, no way. To sleep in the back and roll out a mattress and associated bedding required the removal of everything else. Then an extension to the cargo space needed to be concocted to get the flat length required. With the back door open, and a makeshift frame for a wet weather tarp in case of rain or dew. Lots of time required to set up and no security during the night for me or my belongings, not ideal. But it was a shake-down trip to see how/if it worked.

The plan: to drive from Cotton Tree in Qld to Tumut in the Snowy Mountains of NSW and then back again accommodating myself in the Suzuki whilst on the road.

Simple but effective if the weather permits.

Complete with bug net and surprisingly comfortable, for sleeping anyway.

It's mid-December and I headed off not totally happy but committed to the venture. Three nights on the road on the way down and one night on the way back and I'm over it big time. Mind you, I was dry every night even though it rained heavily on two of the nights. The Suzuki scooted along and was easy to drive but cruise control would have been nice, no scratch that, mandatory.

So now back in Qld and I'm considering it might be time to make some changes. Open a new chapter in my life, turn the page. Commuting up and down the east coast between Maroochydore and Tumut looks to be what I will mostly be doing for the foreseeable future. Not living on the road as before, but doing a couple of nights on the road type trips, every now and then.

Love that car but hey it's just not made for the job.