Touring Australia in a Converted Bedford Bus

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Touring Australia in a Converted Bedford Bus

This is one of those "magnetic" sites that you find yourself going back to almost daily to find out what is happening as it is updated "on the road" when travelling. Marc and Bella Glasby set out to live on the road for three years using an old converted 1962 Bedford bus. They had limited funds, weren't retired and therefore had to find work along the way. This site gives it to you warts and all, and doesn't dwell just on the really good bits. It covers the stress you face when your vehicle breaks down miles from anywhere and you are faced with horrendous towing bills. There is a lot of Murphy's Law in the stories and just about everything that could broke along the way and usually when funds were at their lowest! Yes, Marc and Bella almost ran out of money a couple of times and it shows you how they coped with this. Marc has thoughtfully provided lots of budgetary information worked right down to the cost per day level - great for those planning a similar jaunt on a tight budget. Serious medical problems such as hernias were dealt with - a real eye opener for romantic dreamers particularly in the stress area. They were almost sued at one point around Oz over some employment problems. It also gives a good idea on places not to visit and details the below standard caravan parks. Bella has a very nice cooking section. There are lots of photos from all over Australia in the Gallery Section - a great spot for our overseas friends to get a good overview of what Australia really is like. Have a peek in the Guest Book as it is quite interesting as Marc answers some of the queries raised and interestingly it draws a heck of a lot of visitors from overseas. So it doesn't matter which type of RV you have, Marc and Bella's ideas and thoughts apply almost equally to all. A great site with an absolute wealth of information. The following is a short extract on the first trip.

Time rolled on and soon our thoughts turned to Exmouth once more and memories of our first big trip away came flooding back. It was time to start planning the next trip north.

This time we had purchased a 1962 Bedford bus which has been converted into a motorhome. The plan was to tow our boat behind the bus and enjoy a few weeks fishing in the Exmouth area which would also serve as a shake-down cruise for the bus.

Our long term goal is to live in the bus and work our way around Australia over a number of years. This would be our last official holiday before taking off into the great unknown.

Planning began in May 1997 when we acquired the bus. Although on this trip our 4 wheel drive was to stay at home, the bus would eventually be used to tow a car trailer and a small 4x4.

It took all of the 3 months available to get the bus ready for travel, but come August 8 ^th we were back on the road to Exmouth. Our past trips to the north west have always been a dash to get there and start enjoying ourselves, but the bus, which travels at a top speed of 80 kph, forced us to look for camp sites on the way up, which we normally pass by.

You can find more info on their aptly named Outback Bound site at www.obb.freeservers.com/. If you opt for the "non frames" option you will find all the daily journal entries in the Diary section. It is best to download various sections of the journey and save them to the desktop for viewing off line. There are hours of reading here folks!