Hi all,
I have been lurking on these forums for the last few months and thought it was time to introduce ourselves. My name is Russell, partner Tammy and 1 childerbeast left at home. We have been in Carnarvon for the last 12 years and have fallen in love with the place. We initially came up here on a govt term of 3 years but threw the job in to stay.
Not long after moving here we bought a 2nd hand Wandering Star soft floor camper, to move away from the trusty tent, and have raised our 3 children in it around the Gascoyne / Mid West Coast.
After our 2 eldest moving out and coming home and moving out again we have both decided we wanted to have the 3 remaining off the ground. My initial thoughts were a Goldstream off road, similar to a Jayco, but was told in no uncertain terms that we are not cooking/living inside so our options then became limited.
Approximately 8 years ago Tammy came home all excited and told me about these amazing campers she saw parked up at IGA. They were Camprite Campers and it was most likely Reg and Matt as the tow cars had Camprite number plates. We did the google thing and also did the Ooooohhh Aghhhhh thing as we both drooled over the website.
Fast forward a few years from there and a 2011 up specked Camprite came on the market and we both looked at each other and said it's time and have ended up with an incredible Camper that we are both in awe of.
Due to the distances involved we basically bought it unseen, I had the outlaws in Perth look over it for me who found nothing wrong, and then had the anxious wait of trying to line up rosters with enough time to drive the 1000km to go and pick it up as I had just taken a month off and was not able to use rec leave due to roster restrictions. After, what seemed like weeks, a couple of days I got a break in the shipping and I was off like a shot. Not an uneventful trip down as I stayed with some friends in Walkaway who had organised a masquerade ball that night so I had the trip to Perth from walkaway, the next day, with a shocking hangover.
The camper finally was in sight and not the mirage it was starting to feel like.
A quick trip to Camprite in Wangarra and Matt sorted me a quick annexe, kitchen cover and organised a nose cone bag. Great service and was a nice bloke to boot.
Fast forward to a week later and we managed a quick shakedown trip to the blowholes with offspring number 3 and a couple of fur babies.
Tammy and I were blown away with the quality and comfort that this campers offers. The ease of setup and the quality workmanship that has gone into the whole process is amazing and easily justifies the expenditure for us.
We are off on Thursday to the Kennedy Ranges and Mount Augustus for 7 nights with one night night at the new Gascoyne Junction Hotel caravan park before being truly off the grid.
I am amazed at the wealth of information and knowledge on this site and have enjoyed reading everyone else's journey so far and will try to keep in touch, with at least a few trip reports and photos, as I know how much I have enjoyed other peoples from this site.
For those wanting to know it is a 2011 Camprite with the upgraded kitchen (3 burner and sink), 60l Engel on the most amazing slide system, and full electrics with a 120w solar panel. I look forward to getting to know some fellow swaggers.
Regards,
Russell