THE BIG DASH: Onwards and upwards

Flatter ground has agreed more with the Tasman this week, as we set off from Adelaide for the Barossa Valley and then head on to the wonderful Flinders Ranges.

Sure, as we climbed our way northward toward the Flinders out of the Barossa there were times when it laboured, but for the most part it coped pretty darn well.

Crosswinds are still a challenge, but nowhere near that first drive back from Paynesville. Maybe the addition of the canopy means there’s more area for the wind to catch. It’s a price I’ll pay for the added security and space it brings.

Also, adding the leaf spring and getting the weight balanced has really helped with a comfortable, if not always speedy, progress.

Some sightseeing on dirt roads and tracks in the Flinders with the 'van safely stored back at Rawnsley Park station caravan park, literally felt like the X-Pro had been unshackled.

Without too much payload onboard and with plenty of ground clearance it comfortably negotiated sinuous, rocky tracks in the national park.

It didn’t feel under-suspended or underpowered. Light loads make it feel nimble and cohesive.

And, of course, we had to head up on to the Razor Back during our tour, one of the most famous views in the Flinders.

The X-Pro defaults to four-wheel drive auto, which means there was never any two-wheel drive slipping and sliding on the loose stuff. But the roads never offered anything serious to lock diffs or engage low range.

Just one obvious issue in this time really popped up… literally. On corrugated roads the driver’s side window in the canopy insisted on opening up and sticking out like a MotoGP bike winglet.

These canopy windows require a firm push on each lower corner to close properly before locking. First time, I thought it was me. But the side window just kept opening and it was always on a rutted bumps on dirt roads.

The Tasman is getting serviced in Darwin in May, so I’ll get them to look at it then.

And now to the crunch fuel numbers… This entry covers refuels on April 9, twice on April 10 and April 14. It includes some solo running in Adelaide, the Barossa and around the Flinders, but plenty of towing as well.

Litres consumed: 187
Kms travelled: 1224km
Consumption average: 15.278L/100km*
$ paid: $604.78
Kms per $: 2.02km* (down from 2.2km per litre last week)

*My Dad informs me the last time he and Mum 'vanned through South Australia they averaged $26 per 100km in the might Ford Territory I6! By my poor maths we’re running at just under $50 per 100km.

Barossa Valley: Col Sheppard is one of those blokes who is so good at everything he does it’s bloody annoying for us mere mortals.

A builder, a vigneron, a chef, a very fast rider when we first met in the 1980s, road-racing motorcycles as members of the Sandringham club.

Col was building houses in Melbourne back then, but more than 20 years ago he and wife Fiona made the fundamental life-changing decision to move to the Barossa Valley and start Flaxman Wines (actually in the Eden Valley right next to the Barossa).

Through their talent and hard work it has become a multiple award winner and a success. It was great to drop into Flaxman on a cold and rainy day to warm up with a tasting and a catch-up with Col.

The wine flowed and so did the memories. By the way, if you’re a reality TV fan and Col looks vaguely familiar it’s because he was on Masterchef about 10 years back.

Flinders Ranges: I first took Jane to the Flinders Ranges back in pre-COVID days, maybe 2019, and her initial scepticism about the desert (“there’s nothing there”) gave way to a real love for this amazing place, with its startling peaks, florid colours and incredible sunsets.

A favourite for us is Hucks lookout, which offers a beautiful view back over Wilpena Pound, distinctive Rawnsley Bluff and the Elder Range. They become darkened outlines as the sun drops lower and eventually disappears, lighting the sky with an orange farewell.

Toasted with a (very weak) gin and tonic, it’s a great way to finish the day.

The other really good place to visit to start or finish the day is Stokes lookout, a little further north on the Flinders Ranges Way.

I’ve previously talked about the forward planning you have to do when towing a 'van. A new wrinkle popped up this week – navigation.

In the smartphone age it’s normal just to enter the destination and off you go. But Apple Maps insisted on taking us to dirt roads as we headed north from the Barossa to the Flinders.

Twice we had to turn around and head back, which was frustrating. I’m not worried about towing on good quality dirt, but it was the fear of the unknown of what lay ahead of us that prompted these 180s.

Jane hauled out the road atlas and we went back to hard copy navigating. No more problems. We made it safe and sound on bitumen.

So, the moral of the story? Do some research and don’t just blindly rely on technology.

I am a clumsy person. I walk into things, fall over things, and I’m in constant need of band-aids as I tear up one extremity or another.

So you can imagine how I go in the tight confines of a caravan!

The big issue has proved to be a cupboard edge above the door, which I’ve managed to ram my head into about four times.

Jane’s solution is a ‘Scrub Daddy’ dish scourer hanging on a length of cloth duct-taped into the cupboard. So far I’ve managed to avoid further bouts of concussion, so it seems to be working.

But making the transition from our two storey family home to the feet-squared confines of a 'van does need some adjustment.

The trip from one end to the other requires some planning and co-ordination between us.

Essentially, the way it’s worked out, the interior of the 'van is Jane’s domain and the exterior is mine. I do the setting up and packing down, she’s in charge of supplies, the catering and the cleanliness inside.

If that sounds like a very traditional partition of roles, it’s just the reality of how things have worked out. It makes sense to do it this way.

Maybe we should try a job swap!

Of course, we’ve also brought too much stuff with us. Warm clothes and various other bits and bobs are going in boxes and being stored away in the back of the ute or under the bed in the 'van. We're also debating whether to send stuff home.

Other 'vanners assure they’ve all done exactly the same thing. I’m living in t-shirts and shorts (no surprise to people who know me). I’ve wore long pants once to go out to dinner and a collared shirt twice.

At the Big 4 caravan park in Nurioopta (Barossa) we were blessed with a huge, grassed site that I could drive straight onto without having to reverse – YES!

After the dirt of Halls Gap and the rock-hard gravel of Adelaide, it was a joy to have nature’s carpet underfoot.

Over the next day or two the sites around us filled up as Aussie Rules footy fans arrived for Gather Round. It really emphasised to me just how much impact this oil price spike is going to potentially have on the local car, caravan and tourism industries.

All around us were diesel utes and SUVs – Rangers and Everests, HiLuxes and Prados, D-Maxes and MU-Xs, even a couple of SsangYong Rextons.

They were towing a wide range of 'vans, some of which I’d never heard of, but many of them obviously high-end. Our $60,000 MDC would have been very much at the affordable end of what was parked there.

In our small corner of this massive caravan park sat millions of dollars of investment.

And they’d paid $3-plus per litre to get here. What happens if the old world order never returns? This can’t be sustainable.

If some car company or other can figure out how to make an EV that tows 3000kg, or some 'van company comes up with a viable braked regeneration system or even an affordable way to make a 20ft luxury 'van weigh under two tonnes unloaded, then surely they’ll be on a winner in Australia.

Next stop: Darwin.

We’re planning our first go at free camping (no shore power or water) this week, so that’s gonna be interesting. Will the coffee machine still work?!

Also read:

THE BIG DASH: Now or never

THE BIG DASH: Why we went Chinese

THE BIG DASH: Buying all the bits

THE BIG DASH: Sorting the tow tug

THE BIG DASH: Hitting the scales

THE BIG DASH: On the road, finally!