We bought a 1986 Corromal Supalite 18 footer in a very tidy condition very well appointed.
I will have it at home next weekend
The last 2 weeks were very busy, I sold the 1993 campervan and with that money, I got a very tidy one owner Land Rover Discovery 1 Tdi300 plus this caravan.
The first job in the van will be new tyres and inspect the bearings.
After using the campervan for nearly two years, we were considering selling the Commuter in which we camping and touring with Eva our Golden Retriever. Because of her size, selling our van and purchasing an LWB Ducato or Transit to have more floor space was an option. After analyzing the positive and negative points we have come with the solution to modifying the front cabinet to allow Eva access to the front where she can sleep during the night allowing more floor space for the living area. We have not lost much storage capacity and only 60 cm of bench area but we have 3 m left to work on it. The mod cost us nothing and if works will be much cheaper than changing the van.
Highway A3 from St Helens then road C428 from Pyengana. 30 minutes drive from St Helens.
Beautiful walking track through cool and shady rainforest with excellent photography opportunities. It will take well over 30 minutes for that are kin in photography.
CLICK ON THE SMALL IMAGES TO ENLARGE
Lake Pedder is in the south-west of Tasmania, a beautiful wilderness place and in the World Heritage protected areas in the world. Together with Lake Gordon that it is next to it they covering more than 500 square kilometers and holding more than 37 times the volume of water than Sydney Harbour. Lake Pedder covers an area of approximately 242 square kilometers. This is paradise for exploring the lake on a canoe or kayak.
The flora is absolutely unique and beautiful and a trained eye for photography will find lots of opportunities for any type of photography regardless of the weather conditions.
Another thing that attracted our attention was the color palette and texture of the rocks.
There are many camping sites and walking tracks to explore. We set camp in Teds Beach where are toilets, undercover BBQ, and power points to set a campers kitchen is all weather.
Camping it is free.
Views from the Lake Pedder lookout
On the way to the camping area and the beginning of the lake.
Not a bad views from our camping site.
Perhaps we can describe Orford ( 73 kilometers north-east of Hobart)as the “Gate” to the east coast of Tasmania.
Many visitors coming from Hobart or from the north just stop in Orford at the shops or the local waterfronts and then cross the bridge without exploring the area.
Directly in line with the bridge is Rheban Rd also known as the C320 road. This road will take you to Spring beach, only 4 km from the bridge. Spring beach has undercover picknick tables, electric BBQ, and clean toilets. There are no camping sites there but a discrete visitor in a van would not have any difficulty in stopping overnight in the large car park.
Here are some photos of Spring Beach
From Spring Beach the road continues to Rheban Beach. The distance is just over 7 km of gravel corrugated road surface. Even if the distance it is short, the views are magnificent and the photos opportunities are not to be missed.
There are excellent views of Mary Island all along the shore.
Continuing from that road it will take you to Marion bay and beyond but will leave for another opportunity.
Here are some photos from the road to Rheban Beach
Thank you for viewing, your comments are appreciated.
PS: Ignore the time, we stopped several times and time it is not our worry. We covered 780 km return including explorations.
Swimcart Beach on the Bay of Fires, east coast of Tasmania is one of our favorite spots.
Camping on the edge of the sand dunes right on the beach with unlimited views, great fauna and superb beach all for free it is a privilege that cannot be taken for granted.
Our first stop was at Orford waterfront looking at Mary Island.
From there we drove to Swansea, a very nice town on the shores of Coles Bay. The views from the are magnificent and parking at the Esplanade allowed us to walk Eva, our Golden Retriever and take few shots.
We left Swansea towards St Helens the last town before the Bay of Fires to get some provisions and then we continued to Swimcart Beach setting camp on a beautiful site.
Here are some images from our site.
Images of the beach:
On the south end of the beach and on the other side of the rocks is Jeanneret Beach which offers another beautiful camping spots and views towards Binalong Bay but dogs are not allowed and fines of $300 are enforced.
On the north end, again on the other side of the rocks and the Swimcart lagoon are Cosy Corner South and Cosy Corner North, which also have access to the beach and are free.
We enjoyed very much the company of the beautiful Tasmanian Green Rosellas. The one with yellow on the head is a juvenile.
The weather forecast for Friday afternoon and Saturday was not very good so we shifted camp on Friday morning towards the south with no plans at all.
We stopped at Shelly Point at Beaumaris, just north of Scamander to take few shots of the beach. The weather was not ideal but we have something to remember.
The bottom image it is towards south and Scamander.
Our next stop was going to be any outlook that we can take few shots, Swansea again for lunch and then who knows……..
Just north of Swansea is a turn to Dolphin Sands, a place that we have never had the chance to visit before and perhaps will offer some good camping facilities.
How wrong we were, there is only 2 public access to the 9 miles beach and at the far end dogs are not welcome, camping not allowed and not toilets or picknick facilities. We voted it as the most unwelcome place in Tasmania.
The image is from the 9 miles beach.
A quick stop in Swansea and then looking for camping spots on the shores of the bay.
Many times before we passed the Mayfield Conservation reserve towing the caravan and always looked full or in many cases hard to get in.
This time with the van was easy and there were plenty sites available.
The camping grounds have clean toilets but no water or any other facilities. Is free but donations are more than welcome.
Here are some images.
After one night at Mayfield Conservation Area camping grounds and knowing that the weather will turn bad we headed south towards our next “refilling” spot Triabunna and then Orford
Many travelers visit Orford and the local waterfront but never venture to take Rheban Rd and explore the Spring beach and surrounds.
That will come next.
Thank you for viewing, your comments are appreciated.
Our first trip with the Toyota Commuter conversion to a campervan.
We selected one of our favorite trips with awesome views along the Huon River and the Channel.
The first stop was at Huonville to get some provisions and from there to Franklin where we used to camp with our old Mazda T3500 bus converted to a motorhome.
Franklin is located on the shores of the Huon River and has excellent camping facilities at an affordable cost ($10 per night or $30 per 4 nights). There are excellent restaurants just around the corner from the camping site, Aqua Grill is one of them.
From Franklin, we drive on the A6 to our stop overnight destination, Dover on the shores of Port Esperance which is on the Channel.
The weather was magnificent and a hot 30c so Eva, our Golden Retriever wasted no time in go to the beach and have a nice bath.
Dover apart from offering all the needs for a comfortable stay also is a good base for exploring all the attractions nearby including National Parks, the Hasting Caves, Thermal Springs and Southport among other attractions.
Next morning we went to explore the other side of the Huon River crossing the bridge before Huonville CBD and heading to Cygnet as our first stop. From there our first stop was Randalls Bay and then Eggs & Bacon Bay.
The views on the turn of the main road to Randalls Bay are magnificent.
Randalls Bay is a quiet and small location with a nice beach which offers nice fishing spots and snorkeling opportunities.
Eggs and Bacon Bay
Another nice beach and spot for a picnic with beautiful views.
From Randalls Bay, we continued along the coast to Verona Sands. The views from there to the Huon Island and the Channel making this spot a must.
From there we continued the road to Gordon which also offers a good camping and affordable spot with water and toilet facilities all next to the water for $5 a night!
Woodbridge and was our last stop and from there home.The views in this road are among the best in Australia and highly recommend a trip to do.
Here are some more images from the trip.
The three above images are from Big Roaring Beach, Surveyors Bay
View from Esperance Coast Road, Dover
Dover, view from the fishing boat’s wharf
Randalls Bay Road
We have done more plumbing work. All the pipes now are connected to the tank and the mixer and only need the water pump to finishing the job. We used a domestic mixer that has 2 ports, one for cold water and the other for hot. We fitted a valve at the end of each pipe so we can use the cold water pipe for the water supplied by the pump and the hot water pipe we can use for the main water supply. The only that we have to do is close the added valve on the port that it is not in use. Follow the build in Instagram https://www.instagram.com/freetasman/
We installed the SS sink with a mixer that has a one-meter extension hose which will allow us to also do the washing outside (including the dog)
The mixer it is connected to an internal 54 lts water tank which will give us enough washing water for 3 or 4 days. We store the drinking filtered water in a different container.
Freetasman 