Playing around with a new design and this is what I’ve come up with so far.

Been a busy week but I had time today to download a trial version of Photoshop and try to tidy up the aerial photo I took last week. After watching a few YouTube videos and how-to instructions I managed to crop, align and touch up the pic a little. I actually took out one truck, a car, various horse feed buckets, rubbish bins and assorted bits cluttering up the original photo.
There is an imperfection in the black border in the top right corner which has been taken out in the high-res version of this picture.
Here’s another couple of photos I took this week with the DJI P4.
Donkeys near Nifty
Windmill near Mt Magnet
Today I got the Load Plus half leaf added to my rear spring packs in an attempt to jack up the rear of the Hilux, which was straining under the load I plan to carry. I’m pretty sure it levelled out the vehicle a bit and I won’t really know how much it will improve cornering until I leave tomorrow. But it is a quick cheap option that may not stack up against a full suspension upgrade but is intended to solve a problem simply. Frankly, I didn’t have time to do anything more complicated than this in the short time I have left before departure and at $125 from the local Ironman 4WD store I can’t really complain.
All that remains now is to pack clothing, food and cooking equipment and personal items like laptops, iPads, iPhones and assorted charging cables. I’m thinking I’ll go and buy the food this evening and pack everything else tomorrow morning – the fridge can run overnight in the Hilux. I know I’m going to forget something. Lets hope it’s just a minor item and not something important like my wallet or passport!
Well it’s been a long long long time since I updated this blog so at the start of my 2015 holidays (my first in 3 or so years) I decided to pull my finger out.
I’m going to drive from Perth to Melbourne, get on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry and get myself down to Ross in Tasmania to visit dear old Mum and Dad and then catch a plane back to Melbourne then to Wellington, New Zealand, and hop on an even smaller plane for the last leg to Westport. In Westport I’ll probably drink too much but that’s OK because it’ll be at a wedding and that’s kind of expected.
From the wedding I’ll retrace my steps (sort of, via Auckland this time) back to Tasmania for a few more days and then load up the trusty Hilux for the 3000km+ drive back to Perth in the west. This whole adventure is supposed to take 21 days….mmm maybe.
It will be the longest holiday I can remember taking for, well, I can’t remember one this long! I’ve always just sort of kept on working – even taken my holidays and spent the whole time working for someone else. Yeah, possibly very stupid but I’m just used to working.
My plan this was to get out of the state for a bit so I could ignore any phone calls pleading for me to come back to work. To do that I used the excuse that I needed to visit my parent (who retired to Tasmania) and go to a wedding in New Zealand. All perfectly plausible.
I could have flown all the way both ways but the reason I bought a four wheel drive was so I could go and see the place. I have driven across the country many times in a truck but always with a deadline to meet and no time to stop and really enjoy the trip – this time would be different!
So I bought a roof top tent. I was going to use my swag all the way across but I’m getting older and a bit softer and the tent looks bloody cool! I look down on people in swags now, literally. The frame supporting the tent is something my brother and I designed and put together in an afternoon – total materials cost was around $100 .I haven’t had time to fit a long range fuel tank so I’m doing it the old way – got a 44gal drum and filled it with diesel and a hand pump. Should see me most of the way there. I have to ditch the drum before I get on the ferry because they frown on that sort of shit but I’ve organised with someone near Melbourne through a 4WD forum website to look after my drum until I get back. Networking!
I would have liked to have the roo bar fitted too but that will have to wait until I get back. I did manage to get the dual battery system installed so I can run my fridge 24/7 without worrying about the vehicle not starting in the morning. Also a few other little extras where chucked in like a valuables lock box that can be secured to the vehicle – it won’t stop a determined thief but it definitely will stop an opportunist.
Tomorrow (the day before I leave) I’m going to see about installing a “helper” spring leaf to my rear spring packs – the standard Hilux springs are feeling the pressure a bit with all the fuel, water and equipment on board and I need something to level the vehicle out or face realigning the headlights and driving nose up all the way across.
I also expect my fuel consumption to be higher with the tent sticking up into the wind and the extra weight. This will be the first real test of the Hilux even though I bought it new over two years ago. Prosser Toyota in Gosnells took care of the service several days ago and I’ve got my hands on a modest selection of spare parts such as filters, hoses, fan belt and my usual collection of assorted nuts/bolts/cable ties/electrical joiners/fuses/brake fluid/etc. When I tried buying the hoses and fan belt (non genuine) three stores I asked did not have them in stock so I can only imagine what sort of downtime I would have in the middle of bum-fuck waiting for such a simple part.
Tomorrow I hope to have everything organised and mostly packed onto the vehicle and the day after I will buy my perishable food supplies and head off at midday on my first leg of the trip, Perth to Hyden, where I will stay overnight with friends before travelling on the gravel road to Norseman.
Last week I managed to get a weekend off in Perth instead of heading out to the Great Sandy Desert to Telfer and Nifty mine sites on another run. It was supposed to be a dual purpose weekend – take delivery of the new truck and attend Supanova with my daughter and her boyfriend. I felt a bit guilty about turning down the Telfer/Nifty run but figured that because I haven’t had a holiday since mid 2011 (and that I would be working on the new truck anyway) I was entitled to take at least a couple of days off to do something I have always missed out on in previous years.
Ok, that’s the plan and true to form – nothing went as planned. I went to Supanova at the Claremont Show Grounds on the Saturday and had a great time, bought a House Stark keyring for the new truck (which has “Iron Throne” written across the bug deflector) but we didn’t take delivery of the truck that Friday as we had expected. Yes, the brand new Western Star prime mover we had ordered over seven months ago wasn’t ready. In fact, it took another week so I had to put all my gear back into “Yippy Ki Yay” and go back out on the road for another twelve day stint. “A little bit disappointed” doesn’t quite sum it up.
But the unexpected free time gave me a chance to switch on the PS3 (do the updates) and download a game called Defiance which had caught my interest. The (M)assively (M)ultiplayer (O)nline game is available for the PS3, Xbox and PC and has been released in conjunction with a TV series of the same name. Events that occur in the game are supposed to influence the script of the TV series.
Now, I’m not a huge gamer and I’m not sure if its because I don’t have the luxury of the free time required to become good at it or if I’m simply no good at it. But I have enjoyed watching the TV episodes as they become available and playing the game (after the initial weekend I have only managed about 2hrs gameplay broken up into 30min each – sucks being a long distance truck driver). I actually find myself wanting more time at home so I can indulge myself, you know, like a normal person.
A quick search on the net shows plenty of results for Defiance including forums for the game and the show, numerous podcasts and plenty of videos on YouTube. If you have a Kindle or the Kindle software on your computer or mobile device you can download and read “Defiance:The Essential Guide” put out by SyFy and Trion and it’s free. The ebook does a pretty good job of introducing the game and the show and has lots of pretty pictures too.
I’m not going to try and review the game because plenty of people have already done that and I’d suck at it anyway but I will say have a look, you might find you like it. As for the TV series, well I’m always drawn to a good sci-fi show and, unlike “Firefly” (all-time favourite show) Defiance has been confirmed for a second season. In fact, it is quite likely Defiance will attain a cult following similar to Firefly and I reckon we’ll see Nolan, Datak, Irisa and Kenya cosplay at next years Supanova. Just not sure what the fans will call themselves instead of Browncoats.
One last note – most Australian and New Zealand TV viewers will recognise the actor playing Joshua Nolan, the lawmaker. He is New Zealand born, Australian raised Grant Bowler and his likeness is also used in the game along with the Irisa character.
Cheers, Mike.