Bus Living / Bus Loving...

We are all truly loving this new lifestyle. Angus snuck into our bed for a cuddle the other morning and we were all lazing about together. I asked him what the best bit about our new life was. “Its got wheels on it!” he said. Made my heart melt!

Spending the time in Longford enabled us to properly unpack and settle in. We are still very much learning how Bertha works, just as one needs to get to know any new house. All those people who looked at the stuff we were taking on Bertha and said it wouldn’t fit were very much mistaken. I have empty cupboards all over the bus! Everything has its place and I am slowly training the family to put things away where they belong as soon as they are finished with stuff - some family members are easier to train than others…

I’m writing this as we drive from Kelso to Black River, our destination for tonight. This is my view right now:

Dunc is loving doing 'that wave' to all the truckies and bus drivers we see. Those in motorhomes don't seem to realise we are one of them until its too late for them to wave. LOL

Tough life, isn’t it??

We have had a few teething problems and technical hitches. All of which, in the grand scheme of things, are very minor and comfort-based. Bertha drives beautifully and she doesn’t leak when it rains and the beds are very comfortable. We had issues with the 12vt converter, which meant the leveling system didn’t work. We just make damn sure we are on ground as level as possible and there is no problem there. We also took a day or two to figure out which parts of the bus system were also using the same power source, and now we know. Dunc’s friend Roo repaired the converter so our new knowledge is somewhat redundant. I have no doubt it will come in handy in future though! We still have an issue with one of our leveling rams, but Dunc intends to find the wiring issue this afternoon. The other 3 work perfectly… what a shame we need all 4 to use it!

We have had no end of trouble with the grey water tank. It is continually blocking up and not draining which is resulting in the most disgusting smell. Worse even than the toilet! The water that eventually comes out is black and completely disgusting, especially considering it follows the removal of a truly awful hairball. Dunc got a brilliant flexible pipe cleaner thingy which works a treat. We also bought some draino (though the environmental version) which is assisting with the smell. We have just emptied the tank again, and think that the blockages are all cleared now. The previous owner had 4 daughters and it seems they all had long hair. Neither Lexie nor I have been game to attempt to wash our hair on board yet, so we are sure its not our hair! In Dunc's words "Bertha has hairballs". I say "we" have cleared the blockages, but of course I mean "Dunc has cleaned the blockages and I passed him the rag to wash up with afterwards".

Our hot water system is driving us insane. We used the showers and camp kitchen at Longford as they were basically right outside our doors. The showers were 20c for 5 mins, so it would probably have cost us more in gas to shower on Bertha! On our shakedown trip I was concerned that the temperature of the water would scald the children. In Longford, we couldn’t get it above lukewarm! We have fixed it by plugging the water directly into the intake, rather than using the tank. This isn’t going to work this evening when we are free camping though. We are constantly referring to the manuals, but struggling with the poor English and instructions.

I gave all the neighbours in Longford a good laugh when they saw me trying to work out how to use the washing machine/dryer. “Shove the clothes in and turn it on!” an older man told me. “It’s the turning on bit I’m having trouble with – it’s a font loader!” I replied. He ‘kindly’ sent his wife over to show me how its done and I was most relieved when she couldn’t figure it out either! I made the mistake of loading clothes in the first wash, so they came out stinky and filthy after the machine sat in storage for 2 years. We’ve done a hot vinegar wash now and through trial and error worked out that the 60degree colours load seems the best option. Sadly that takes 2 hours to wash - give me my 20 minute Fisher and Paykel any day!! I stupidly tried to dry some washing in it after hanging on the line all day. It was a little damp in the waistbands and I just wanted to fluff if up a bit. Machine said “No!” and 2 HOURS later we were allowed to open the door. Mind you, I am VERY happy to have the machine, as slow as it is. At $4 per load at every caravan park, keeping our clothes clean would cost us a fortune!

One major annoyance for Duncan and I was our clothing. Our cupboards were hanging space – perfect for dresses and nice shirts and suits. Hmmm… we didn’t really pack any of them! Our t-shirts and shorts were in some hanging storage from Ikea, but the ties broke on the Spirit of Tasmania. They just weren’t designed to hold a year’s worth of clothing, obviously. Upon the realization that the children had far better storage than we did, Dunc decided some renovations were in order. So he was off to Bunnings (“They have them here!”) and while Angus and I wandered the Zoo, Dunc worked his magic and installed shelves without screwing into either side. Just think for a minute how tricky that was. One side of our cupboards had the windows and one side a gorgeous spray painted finish, which is effectively part of the headboard for our bed. The back of the cupboard is also kind of curved as it goes around the engine, so it was a logistic nightmare with each shelf its own individual dimensions. He did it though. Anyone interested in construction/engineering should definitely peer into our wardrobes if you see us!

Before

During (innovative use of Haviana…)

After

We haven’t’ really used our annex yet. We rolled it out a couple of times, but the wind was classified a gale at the time and after the first few flaps we quickly packed it up again. There are some anti-flap thingies, but with such a large living space on board, we haven’t really HAD to set it up as yet.

We are currently ‘free camping’ on the North Coast at a campsite called Black River. Its so lovely and shaded that we didn’t feel the need to set the annex up at all and so we are yet to work that one out. We will one day.

At the moment, my only issue is that Dunc and I can’t find our bike helmets. I know they are definitely on the bus because I can see them in the photo of all the stuff to be loaded on the blog. They are not ‘upstairs’ which is my domain, so they must be ‘downstairs’ in one of the luggage bays or in the trailer. I thought they were hanging from the bikes, but they have obviously been stored safely ‘elsewhere’. Dad or Roo would you have any suggestions where we should look???