Bus re-engineered to drive as a Car!

Big news! We finally got the bus re-engineered as a van and with the GVM reduced to under 4500 kilos, it means that I can drive it! Me! Wait…. Maria???

Apparently so….

Whilst in Sydney finalising the floor at the beachside apartment we camped by the beach near our street during the day - mainly because the temperature was sweltering and being by the beach was so much cooler. 

One day when we pulled up by the beach there was another coaster parked there. Within minutes the couple from the coaster struck up a conversation with Don. They too were escaping the heat as they lived out west in Bankstown.

They both wanted a squiz at Zingara and after a tour, they were pretty impressed with Zingara - it wouldn’t be hard because there was very little in their bus, but they took a lot of our ideas with them!

The guy told Don that he had managed to get his coaster re-engineered to drive on a car licence. We by this stage had tried two engineers who both made it seem complex if not impossible. They had little experience with bus to motorhome conversion so were reluctant to process the paperwork. The couple gave us the name of an engineer in Canberra who had re-engineered their bus as a van.

Off to Canberra

Don contacted the engineer, made a time, and so after our lovely stay at Dalmeny we headed across to Canberra. We camped out the front of my son’s place where we emptied the bus before going to get it re-weighed and over to get the paperwork signed off.

Once we had the paperwork from the engineer we were able to get a pink slip (as opposed to a blue slip) and the registration process becomes cheaper. We only just made it as the rego was up on 23 March.

With everything out of the bus I thought it a great opportunity to give it a good clean – after 3 months on the road it really needed it. Although it may be a five-star bus it is essentially a road vehicle and dust does get in.

Whilst in Canberra we were finally able to add the signage Zingara to the bus. 

Name is finally on he bus!

We had ordered the name before we left Sydney (the first time) but never got around to putting it on the bus.

Dancing!

One of the highlights of being in Canberra was being able to do some dancing with our friends Freya and Allan from CMJ Canberra. 

With Freya and Allan from CMJ Canberra

The floor at the senior citizens club was awesome to dance on! We love supporting our Canberra friends when we are in town.

We also managed to get to a West Coast Swing session as well and thoroughly enjoyed that too!

Another highlight was spending more time with my lovely granddaughter Ella.

We also did some shopping for a few bits and pieces to add to the bus. First purchase was a CB radio - apparently essential for the outback after talking to our new friends in Dalmeny.

Next was a new TV to use as a second screen. To be honest there wasn’t much wrong with the other one, just that we ended up with some money from the insurance company in the form of a voucher, so I now have a bigger screen to work off. Must admit the colour is improved especially when we stream Dancing with the Stars.

Braidwood and a great find – the Bakery

DoJo Bakery

With the bus re-engineered, we bid farewell to Canberra and headed to Braidwood (an hour out of Canberra).

Braidwood was just a small town in rural NSW with not much going on until we spotted . . . The Bakery. Well we had passed three in the main street, but they were all same same (and no different). Until that is we saw a sign with DoJo Bakery and an arrow to go around the back. So, we did. It was only 2 pm and it was closed. Bummer! The building looked like it was built in the 1800’s and the front door was just tall enough for Don to get under.

That night we camped at the showground. Many small towns now open showgrounds for campers and it is quite inexpensive, but it really did lack atmosphere. The only highlight was when I got Don to hop on his electric fatbike in the morning and head in to town to DoJo Bakery. We twigged it would be a good bakery as they closed so early. And we were rewarded we the best tasting sourdough bread!

best bread

We enjoyed it so much we went there for breakfast the next day. The lovely  young lady from behind the counter helped us make our purchase.

Mmm, said I, I think I will have the chilli lemon chicken pie.

My favourite, she said

Surveying the cakes, I said, And I think I will have the Sicilian Almond Cake

My favourite, she said again

Don ordered a sausage roll and something smothered in cream. Then we choose some more bread. I decided on a heavy seeded loaf.

My favourite, she said.

I was starting to think it was a ploy, nevertheless we sat outside and ate our goodies.

Biting into that chicken pie was a taste sensation, a bit of food porn really. No puff pastry so no flaky bits of pastry everywhere.

The young lady popped out of the shop to stack an order and I asked her about the pastry. Well she said it’s made with all real things like lard but more importantly it is made with luvvvv.

How do you argue with that? So we finished our pies made with luvvv and saved the cakes for later.

That afternoon we found another site a little up the road which was stunning and best of all it was free. It only had bush toilets, but luckily, we have everything in the bus. It was lovely and quiet. As much as I love a busy life and a city life, there is something magical about the Aussie bush.

The portable pit fire

Whilst in Canberra we looked around for a portable fire pit. We were in a camping store looking at a cast iron one. I pulled it out as I wanted to see how it went together. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t assembled properly and promtly fell apart with a loud clatter. That sent the assistant scurrying along. Not a problem I say to the assistant I want to see how easy it is to put together.

An hour later and it collapsed twice, we kinda just pushed it back. Don and I had a bit of a conversation wondering what to do when Don wandered another one he had spotted earlier.

At first glance it looked quite flimsy, made from aluminium and folding into a neat carry bag. Upon closer inspection by Don it was recommended by camping groups and turns out aluminium is light (we knew that one), cools quicker – handy for us when we want to pack it away, and being so light we can move it around even with a fire in it!

So once safely ensconced in our camping spot we needed to find timber to get this fire going. As this camping spot is popular any timber close to the site was long gone, so we decided to take a walk down to the river and scout around.  We headed down a steep hill covered in rocks and both remarked how we would have to drag what we found up the hill.

Part way down I spot a dead tree. I said to Don throw some rope over it and pull on it. It should snap. Don threw the rope over a branch and tugged and tugged, but the tree was not dead enough and so we moved on.

As we get closer to the river Don finds a couple of small pieces which he hands to me. We walk along a bit and nothing, so Don goes for a swim.

I continue along and climb through the bush and find more dead trees. I pull on some of the branches and they come away. I manage to break down two large branches and drag them back to Don. Along the way I find a few more. By this time, I had more than enough to drag back up the hill which I proceed to do. Don was still swimming.

I get back to our camp site and drop off the timber and walk to the other side of the bus, down a small incline. I find a few small branches and throw them up to the top. Then I find a huge limb which was about three times my height. I haul that up the hill. As I do so, Don appears.  Look he says I found some branches. Yep the ones I had thrown up. He picks them up and takes them to the campsite. I’m still dragging this huge limb up the hill.

campfire

Don did take out his circular saw and chopped up the bits into manageable sizes. We lit the fire and.. well … again nothing more magically than an open fire – quite hypnotic

There were some comments about it being a raging inferno, but that was because Don had put some leaves on the fire at the point of me taking the pic.

Killer mosquitoes

I don’t know what it is about the country, but the mossies are huge. There have been several nights where I have been repeatedly bitten. One time they weren’t content to bite my arms and legs, no, they attacked my face! And the sound they make – whether it is the quietness of the country, I don’t know but they are so loud whilst they are buzzing around my head that it sounds like a helicopter!

Nothing worse than just dropping off to sleep than the sound of one of those supersonic mossies buzzing around your head.

What’s worse is Don and I scrambling for the electric tennis racquet to swotting back and forth in the air for the elusive mozzies. We are getting killer back hands, front hands and some horizontal lines.

Killer Drone

As I had an issue with mozzies, Don had an issue with the drone. Apparently, he has worked out how to train the drone to follow him, expect the drone has taken lesson from magpies. Watch the video to explain. 

3^rd Edition

Our journey continues and is still being followed by That’s Life Mega Monthly! This has a shortened version of our blog.

out next print appearance