For the last few days we have been very focused on getting our recently acquired 2005 Land Cruiser and Cub Camper Supamatic registered, souped up, insured and prepared for action in the Australian outback.  This is the culmination of weeks of preparation by Miranda, time and advice from our extremely generous outback guru Vic Widman, and of course the skills and the mechanical know how of Eddy at Artarmon Automotive.   Me, I contributed a hipster beard and occasional witty banter…

Contemplating why white license plates cost twice as much as yellow license plates in NSW

OK, just the basic logistics of getting the car are almost unbelievable to me, despite my having driven it *home*…. 

First, we were incredibly fortunate to have befriended Vic, owner of Great Divide Tours, who was extremely giving with his time and insight.  Vic is a prominent 4WD expert and tour operator in Australia who not only helped us identify the car we needed for our adventure while we were still in the US, but also actually flew to Adelaide to purchase it, made sure the paperwork went through, and then drove it back to his favorite mechanic in NSW (Eddy), with a list of modifications required to keep a family of New York city slickers miles away from Brooklyn safe in the Outback.   

Then, the day after we arrived in Oz, Vic drove to our hotel to pick us up and took us to the RTA, the Australian equivalent of the DMV, where he walked me through all the nuances of Australian auto registration, multiple insurance options, and finally getting Australian driver’s licenses.  Yes, we now have sweet NSW driver’s licenses….Thank you again Vic, for all of your help!!!

Outback Vic from Great Divide Tours

Today, papers, green slips, and plates in hand, we picked up our Cruiser from Eddy at Artarmon Automotive.  Eddy outfitted the cruiser – dubbed “Cave Lion” by our son Lake — with an incredible array of features agreed upon by Vic, Miranda and him.  The features range from a CB radio to talk to road train drivers, an emergency recovery kit to get us out of sticky situations, and enhancements to our battery system for long-term camping.  I would list these features in full but I think Miranda has plans to do so in detail after we pick up our camper trailer from Cub Camper later this week.   Eddy was very patient with us, answering our questions until late in the afternoon – thanks Eddy!

Whatever you do – don’t throw this switch!!!!