Tribute to Jimmy

On the 11th of October 2012 it finally happened: My campervan has found new owners in the shape a lovely couple from Scotland.
I guess it’s like a lot of good things, my time in Australia sadly did have to come to an end. A country that has sort of become a home for me and touring in my little camper was a secret dream that had become true. Revisiting spots that I already had come across over a year earlier added to the melancholy. Our final trip ended in Brisbane where Laura and I got the Jimmy back to his former glory.


To many it will probably sound strange how you can get this emotionally attached to what is basically nothing but a machine. However this was so much more. It was my gateway to freedom, my home, a lifestyle and a dream come true. Furthermore this van had something that I respect in a vehicle, it had very strong character.




It felt warm and welcoming just to be inside, when lying in bed it didn’t feel like a metal tin box. On a personal note I think, a lot is down to the time I spent with and in this car and a lot of time brings with it memories and experience. It’s this experience that united me with Jimmy. After so much use and abuse it needed to be looked after and by servicing, repairing and upgrading him myself I learned to know every corner and cranny, every squeak and rattle. What I will probably remember the most will be my position behind the steering wheel.


It certainly wasn’t the easiest car to drive: If the lack of modern driving aids such as ABS, ESP or even Power Steering wasn’t enough, a height of 2.4m meant it was quite top heavy, susceptible to cross winds and while to short wheelbase made it agile, in combination with rear wheel drive it was also quite tail-happy. Furthermore the aerodynamic properties of a brick wall and a lack of sound proofing meant that driving any faster than 90km/h was only possible with a good set of speakers and exceeding 130km/h was only possible on a step downhill run.


This lack of luxuries did have a couple of upshots. It made the whole car very light, simple and in turn gave it a very mechanical and pure driving feel. With little between you and the ground you could feel the slightest of changes in the roads through the steering wheel. This came in quite handy on my favourite surface, loose gravel. With its extraordinary high ground clearance, rear wheel drive and the ruggedness of a cockroach it was a very capable car indeed. So in 2 ½ years we encountered every road surface imaginable: Tarmac, snow, ice, gravel, dirt, you name it. In total we covered over 6000km of partially rough, corrugated roads and crossed countless creeks – some of which were more than 60cm deep and even defeating some purpose built 4x4s.


I would be lying if I would say that nothing ever broke. It was nonetheless an aged car and traveling these huge distances through difficult terrain simply asks for things to go wrong. So, of course I did have to do few repairs. But, this is what made me love this van so much and defined a lot of its characteristics. Not once has it been unable to continue under its own power. I had sheared through washers that support the shock absorbers, had a stuck throttle, a rattling brake, worn wheel-bearings, flat tires and a few more little calamities, all of which I either managed to mend by the side of the road or continue until I found a place to fix the issue properly. It gave you the impression that it wanted to keep moving. I could adapt something that Richard Hammond once said: “There might be a more comfortable car to get you there, but a Toyota will always get you home”.


Maybe I should have given it a different name? In fact I have had a number of names for this amazing van: “Jimmy”, “donkey”, “mountain goat”, “the old war horse”, "the Trance Van", someone once suggested “Mary Poppins Handbag” (because of all the things that were inside). If only I knew what I would be up to with this van when I initially bought it in Melbourne, especially after all the worries and problems I had in the early beginnings. What it would look like inside and out towards the end, what kind of adventures we would encounter, where we would be and what sort of people we would meet. You have been a car, tour bus, delivery truck, people carrier, recovery vehicle (I did tow a couple of others), offroad machine, electricity supply (I had a 600W power inverter + battery on board), workshop, shelter, home, office, kitchen, viewing plattform, dj-set, rave truck, cinema, but most importantly a reliable companion.

Back in Time - The last few weeks in Oz

In my last proper article I had stopped just about one year ago when Laura and I finished our trip up to Cape York. I guess it’s fair enough if I continue where I stopped last.

An emotional Ending

This marked the end of our hardcore offroad trips. Back into civilization, where amenities are plentiful, things are clean and people everywhere you look. It was a very strange realization and a feeling that I struggle to describe as it involved a lot of different emotions.

I later watched Charley Boorma’s and Ewan Mc Gregor’s “Long Way Round” (great documentary by the way) and got reminded of it when I saw their arrival in Magadan.

On one side we were quite relieved that the worries would be over and could relax for a little bit: No more worries about breaking down, sophisticated showers absence of the ever-present dirt and dust. However arriving in the urban environment of Cairns felt quite odd indeed. The sheer volume of people and the way of life that we consider as normal suddenly felt a bit alien and makes one question the priorities we have in our life. All seemed so fast paced, unnaturally pristine and artificial.
Ewan McGregor has made a similar comment when he was in the road of bones in Siberia. There is something very pure about traveling with very little indulgences through these tough and remote places. You forget about most of everyday-life’s worries like, appearance, bills, work or money. Your sole focus is purely set the continuation of the journey and the current moment.

• If something breaks: How do I fix it?
• If there’s an obstacle: How do I get round it?
• If hungry: What should I cook?
• If there’s a chance to get supplies: Should I get some? (For Petrol, usually the answer is yes)
• If there’s a nice spot: Should I visit it? (usually yes as well )
• If the day is ending: Where should I sleep?

With no-more tough offroad sections left, I realized how much I enjoyed this lifestyle and how much I will miss it.

The last few weeks

However it wasn’t all entirely over yet as we still had a few weeks before our planned departure and a good distance to cover till Brisbane. Our route went along many areas I had visited in 2010 in the campervan convoy with Jan and Ash. And being toughened campervan veterans we made the best of it by concentrating on the highlights and some more alternatives places to visit.
The route took us along the Top of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, an area that posed of a huge diversity in landscapes: Ranging from beautiful coastline, into tropical rainforests and through the mountains into the start of Australia’s outback. I will particularly never forget the scenic national parks at the Border of New South Wales.

Long time no see.

First of all I really have to apologize for the unbearably long absence of new entries. So far this year has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. A lot has happened and life hasn’t always been easy. Consequentially my motivation to keep blogging had stagnated. However, this blog has also served me as a personal diary where I reflect on events, experiences and thoughts. For this reason and because this has been running for such a long time I thought it would be sad to just abandon it. So I have decided to catch up on previous events and restart writing.

What happened so far?

Long story short: a lot. After my arrival in Germany I’ve spent some time with my family and moved on to stay at Laura’s home near Malaga in the south of Spain, where I met her lovely and most welcoming parent.

Staying here for a while was a bit of a breaking point, to some degree literally as Laura and I now go our separate ways. However, a lot of good things have happened. Our original plan was to go to Canada, but after Visa application delays and change in priorities it somehow fell through. With no dedicated target I had plenty of time on my hands. Consequentially new ideas came up and I began my re-entry into programming and started my first large project with Laura’s dad. A project that enforced an idea Ashley suggested to me a while ago, which was to open a business.

Future plans

I’m currently in Devon in the south of England where Ash and I are in the final steps of registering our company. The idea is that we both look out for projects whereby my focus will be set on software and web related work. This allows me to work independent of my physical location, which goes hand in hand with my sense of adventure and preference for warmer climates.

After all my travels, I had plenty of places to think of and thought what better spot would there be than Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand?
It’s one of those parts of the world I just fell in love with and where everything seems right and achievable: Starting from the Visa situation, moving on to things to do while living there, the welcoming attitude of the locals and the warm and friendly weather. Furthermore Thailand’s low living expenses will allow me to tinker away on my ideas until I find some that will provide me with a profitable income. All in all it sounds rather good and I’m looking forward to my arrival in beginning of December. Until then there are still things to do back here in Europe. Amongst which is a one month visit in Germany, where I want to spend some time with my family and catch up with friends.

Back in Time – Blog Entries

Way to much has been going on to write it all down in this one post. So coming up in the following weeks will be a few posts where I will go back in time and continue my story where I last left it