Report 12 April
By Trudy

For the workshop of Mitch we slept under the awning in the roof tent. Luxury camping spot and this morning Dirk could easily tinker there.

work in the morning

We say goodbye to Mitch and go on our way.

saying goodbye

First back to Gloucester, do some shopping and then take the road to Sydney.

road work

The country we drive through is beautiful again. I’ve written that before, but we drive a lot of miles in a day and we see so much. It is enjoyment in this great Australia.

landscape 1

landscape 2

The weather is still beautiful, but in the Model T it is very hot. A cool drink refreshes the driver.

hot day

We hurried up and the LandRover follows bravely.

Landrover

About half the distance to Sydney (in Singleton) we stop at a Caravan Park where they also rent cabins. Coby and Sjaak take a cabin and we go into the roof tent.

Coby’s cabin

Report 11 April
By Dirk

Today we are on our way to Taree where we were invited by our Model T friend Mitch Tailor.
On the way we make delicious hot dogs according to the recipe we learned from Ralf Challenger yesterday.

hotdog 1

ohotdog 2

hotdog 4

hotdog 5

openingsfoto

hotdog 7

They taste delicious.
After a beautiful ride of more than 280 km. we arrive at the fuell station where we have a meeting with Mitch.

Mitch 1

Mitch 2

When we arrived at Mitch house, the television crew was ready for an interview.

interview

In the evening we are invited to the Taree Historic Motor Club.
Dirk gives a presentation of our travel adventures there.

presentation 1

presentation 2

After this successful evening, the Model T will be admired in the evening light.

after the presentation

Again a beautiful day on our tour in Australia.

Mitch made a video of our visit at Taree.

Report 10 April
By Dirk

This morning early again because we have a nice trip for more than 300 kilometers to Armidale.
Before we leave Dirk thinks that the right front tire is pretty worn, so he assembles a new one.

new front tire

Ralf is also up early because he has to go back to Brisbane.
But before we say goodbye to Ralf, he teaches us how to make a hot dog in an empty milk carton.

hot dog

Then we say goodbye to Ralf and leave.

say goodbye to Ralf

After an hour’s drive we arrive in the town of Stanthorpe where we are met by Ian Smith in his Model T coupé.

Ian and Trudy

He invites us for a cup of coffee at the local café.
On the wall are all names of visitors and Dirk puts our names there.

drawing 1

drawing 2

On the road it is not busy but there are occasionally very large trucks.

big trucks 1

big trucks 2

The road is sometimes pretty steep and we have to cross a very special mountain: the Bolivia hill. And we know that the mountains in Bolivia can be quite steep.

Bolivia hill

During a coffee break Dirk wants to check the oil of the gearbox.

oil check

Around four o’clock and well before it gets dark, we arrive at our motel in Armidale.

Motel Armidale

The second travel day in Australia has also gone smoothly.

Keep it like that!!

Report 9 April
By Dirk

Today is the big day for us that we start the journey through Australia.
We leave early to the Pelican Park in Redcliffe, where our friends are already waiting with their old timers.
We say goodbye to Merv and Margareth Kroll who helped us in the last two weeks in Brisbane with the preparations for our trip.

saying goodbye Merv and Margareth

At exactly 9 o’clock we are flagged up by the Dutch Honorary Consul in Brisbane:
Rear-Admiral Dr Karel de Laat.

flagg off

Then we leave under the escort of a number of old timers to The Centanary Lakes in Caboolture for a quick “rittle to the tin”.
From here we start for our long journey of 250 km. to Warwick.
On the way in the town of Gatton, we are treated to a delicious lunch.

lunch at Gatton

We are escorted to Warwick by Tony Howard in his T-Ford touring and Ralf Challenger in his T-Ford Pick up.

Tony Howard

Ralf’s Pick up

It’s a beautiful tour and sometimes very hilly.

up hill

Before dark, we arrive at our motel in Warwick.
Tony goes to sleep with his brother and Ralf stays with us in the motel.
We have a nice dinner together and look back on a successful first day of our Australia adventure.

diner in Warwick

Report 8 April
By Dirk

 Got up early this morning to pick up our new follow-up team, Sjaak and Coby, from the Brisbane airport.

arrival Sjaak & Coby

They are our tracking team for the first part of our Australia adventure from Brisbane to Perth.
The rest of the day we use to prepare the cars for the departure of tomorrow morning.

prepairing cars

In the afternoon Merv and Margareth Kroll will have a coffee to discuss the last details of our departure tomorrow.

Merv & Margareth drinking tea

Then comes the important moment of the key transfer and their names stick on the bumper of the Landrover.

getting the keys

two brothers

We are ready to start our Australia adventure tomorrow.
We are look forwards for our tour.

Report April 6
By Dirk

This morning we got a message that the cars have been released by customs and that we can pick them up in the port of Brisbane. It was just as exciting with all those strict control requirements here, but we succeeded.
We went to the harbor with George Schönauer and Mervin Kroll. George drives the Land Rover back from the harbor to our holiday address because Trudy prefers not to drive in that busy traffic. She is lucky with that.
At the customs depot everything is running smoothly. Some paperwork and safety jackets and we can go to the cars.
First we arrive at the Landrover, but it will not start. Some diesel in the tank, a serious look under the bonnet and it starts.

shall it starts

Then to the Model T, which was inside the depot.
It looked amazingly clean; that’s what those customs people have arranged nicely.
The Model T started immediately and Dirk drove it outside.

just released

You could wait, but immediately there were two men under the Model T. Why do men always crawl right under that car?

down under 1

down under 2

down under 3

Then we went into the busy evening peak of Brisbane and over the Highway to Redcliffe, our holiday destination.

George in the Landrover

the first miles 1

On his way Dirk got a huge downpour on his head.

the first miles 2

Wet but very satisfied we arrived at our holiday address in Redcliffe.

back in Redcliffe

Our support team will meet next Sunday: Sjaak, the brother of Dirk and his wife Coby.

On Monday our Australia adventure can really start!!!

Report 5 April
By Dirk

We are told that here in Australia it is a common way to raise money for a good cause by going around with a collection box.
They call it: Rattle the tin.
So we bought some typical Australian collection boxes and stuck our sticker on it.
We are curious what that will deliver.

rattle the tin

Today we have a party because our grandson Floris is 5 years old.
We have already taken coffee and cake when Floris was still sleeping.
This is due to the 9 hour time difference with the Netherlands.

coffee and cake

This morning we gave an interview with the Moreton Media Group, the local radio station here.

interview

We are waiting for the cars. The container has arrived in the port of Brisbane. From our vacation spot on the Moroton Bay we can see the illuminated harbor in the evening.

port of Brisbane by night

one of those

Our cars must be in one of these containers.
They still have to be inspected by Customs before they are released and Customs in Australia is very strict. So that is just as exciting.

 In the meantime, Dirk and Mervin Kroll, our personal travel advisor for Australia, discuss our travel plans for the upcoming period.

Mervin and Dirk

Report 20 March
By Trudy

Our last night in New Zealand was in a beautiful hotel (with bath) but very short. Awake at half past four, the shuttle bus took us to the airport and we went through customs. Everthing allright. This flight was short and beautiful. We left with rain but above the clouds the sun shines.

in the air

The previous days we had cleaned the cars for the transportation and our suitcases had been brushed out. We even waxed our shoe soles with soap. It was worth the effort. We went through customs in Australia very quickly.

arrived

Merv and Margaret Kroll welcomed us in Brisbane.

Merv, Margaret Kroll and Dirk

They took us to the cottage that they had discussed for us. Across the Highway 1 and along the ocean (South Pacific Ocean) and a beautiful Bay. Where do we end up?
At a campsite with a cafe / restaurant on the corner. There is a terrace with shade from large trees and a breeze blowing from the Bay. That is nice because it is very hot here in Australia.

terrace at the corner

Merv and Margaret go home but leave a car for us. We can use it until our cars are here. We drink a cup of coffee and wait for the key of our house.

holidayhouse

In the afternoon Merv returns with the travel program he has made for the coming weeks to discuss this with us.

travel program

Later he shows us the way to a shopping center, where we can buy everything we need for the stay in our house.
I am happy with the house, it is fully equipped.

kitchen