I had to return Dee a couple of days ago and it was a little sad to let her go. We’d spent the last month travelling Queensland together and had a good thing going. I checked her oil and water tank every time we stopped for fuel (which was pretty much every day), and she only had one minor hiccup during the entire trip.
Tag Archives: Wicked Campers
A Wicked Day with Sam
On the night before the Wicked Campers — Townsville Enterprise Launch, I stuck my head out of the side of the van to watch the stars. You can see so many more when you stay at a caravan park off the highway because there are hardly any lights around. To get to and from the camp kitchen and washroom I would have to bring my little hand-crank light with me to see where I was going. I thought about spending the night with the van door open so I could fall asleep under the stars, but I’m glad I didn’t because it was the first night on this road trip where it rained!
One Lucky Duck
It was my first time snorkelling and I really wish I had an underwater camera with me because I got to swim with a green turtle that was about a foot and a half long!! That was definitely the highlight of the day for me! I had been snorkelling for about an hour trying to find a turtle, and although I saw a ton of really cool fish and weird coral reef formations, it just didn’t compare to actually being right beside a turtle in the water. Our co-pilot for the day, Shane, knew that it would make my day if I got to swim with one so when he found one, he came over to tell me and I made an b-line straight for it. So cool!
Stop at Gin Gin for Pie and Fuel (in that order)
I made myself a lovely breakfast of instant coffee and advocado on toast (you would’ve been proud of me boiling the water over a gas camping stove — I’ve never used one before).
Now I’m in Gin Gin, a little town that won an award in 2003 for being the friendliest town in Queensland. For such a friendly town, you’d think they’d put soap in their public washrooms. 
The little sink at the back of my Wicked Camper has come in handy several times already!
My First Night in a Wicked Camper
Oh man, you should’ve heard me cursing during the first hour because I kept turning on the windshield wipers instead of the signals (EVERYTHING is backwards in Australia). I got the hang of it by the time I hit the highway though and once I did…
Leaving on a Wicked Road Trip
Wicked Campers is sponsoring my month-long trip around Queensland (many Thanks!) by loaning me this decked-out 4WD van. Cool eh?
Manual vs. Automatic
I had thought that most car rental companies rent automatic-drive vehicles, but I was very much mistaken. Some campervan rental companies (ex. Hippie) only rent manual-drive vehicles. Other campervan rental companies (ex. Wicked Campers) have both, but the majority of their vehicles are manual-drive. You can request an automative-drive vehicle, but they might not have enough to go around so give them lots of notice if you require automatic-drive.