so the tittle says it all
im 18, 19 in oct. i decided i wanted to do something that would take me completely out of my comfort zone. so i decided im going to buy a kombi van after i finish the course i have been studying this year and travel from N.S.W all the way up to the Gold Coast and live in it. Kitesurfing is going to be the main focus of it =D. ill have all my gear in my van and a bed aswell.
i normally kitesurf at Long-reef, and i have spoken to and seen a few guys from Germany and other oversea's places do this. i thought it would be soooo much fun.
im really keen on doing this, and would love your feedback. any great spots i should go, any advice u got for me, ect. ect.
Its something that everyone should do !
As soon as you are able.
Stop in at Newcastle,Port Maquarie,Coffs,Lennox Head,Byron Bay.
im doing the same almost finished building a hiace commuter with all mod cons..
Already spent two weeks in it from noosa to port macquaire .Loved it doing it again for a month over summer.Lets hope wind is better this time...
where do u normally park the van at to go sleep? on the beach car park? just curious cause i need to tell my parents its safe haha
Why stop at the Goldie, Sunshine Coast is way better 
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It's all good except for the kombi part...... too many people i know have spent too many thousands of dollars repairing their kombi before they even got as far as newcastle.
mike
I did this with some mates in South Africa about 12 years ago on a surf trip over a month in a ute. We just slept in car parks on the ground and the odd garden of empty holiday homes. The best surf trip of my life - we got J-bay uncrowded and 6ft. I also did it for 3 months in a van around Europe about 8 years ago. On both trips money was very limited so free camping was on the agenda.
Here are my tips:
1. Vehicle reliability and lock up ability is number 1. A broken down or broken into vehicle will ruin your trip. Get some basic mechanical knowledge before leaving.
2. The number one tip for free camping is scope out where you want to camp during the day. Go off surfing or kiting during the day and just hang in the car park or local picinic area. Go to the free camping area at about 8pm and try to leave as early as possible - this will also ensure a dawn surf session.
3. Buy as much food from markets as possible.
4. PM me when you get to the Sunshine Coast - maybe we can hook up for a kite.
dam i want to do this some day when i quit my job
i hate responsibilties
i want something like this room at the bottem for kite gear room on the top for bed
What makes a van is the amount of stickers youve got on it You gotta ensure you have your country flag some where.
This will ensure you will find similar people to talk to at the beach.
Da locals will get to know you real quickly...........and probibly set REX on to you to investigate.
Rex well like you or hate you instantly ............this is the difference between life and death ............... and will cause you to **** your pants and wish you were in a volvo at the hotel.
Either way your going to be paying a price, smashed off your face to a point were you may as well be dead ,or you ll be getting the **** kicked out of you.
On a positive note .....stickers can help identify koooooooooks and warn you of future dangers before entering da water
Either way a van with stickes causes problems.
Then you got crew looken for TRENDY CLOTHES........ LIKE BOARD SHORTS OVER THE WET SUITS and wetsuits over the board shorts,long pants over the wet suit (you got the picture)..........
ANYWAY ITS........Like hitting a jack pot when da young criminal trendies see a van with stickers i am a kiter on it.
Consider a custom paint job way cooler.
i hate responsibilties
man I just woke everyone in the office up by spraying my coffey over the keyboard laughing at that.
man I just woke everyone in the office up by spraying my coffey over the keyboard laughing at that.
what ever you do.....dont buy a kombi for your trip....they are heaps of sh1t mechanically....unreliable and expensive to fix...ive had 2 and had heaps of trouble...then got a nissan urvan and then a toyota hiace and never had any trouble
I agree, get something other than a Kombi. I have a VW 1982 T25 campervan and while mine has been reliable for me, it was expensive to fix when my Ex's parents borrowed it and put diesel in it by mistake. New engine = £2000 plus all the grief of getting it right afterwards. (Probably another £1000) That said, I didn't pay for those repairs, and I find it very reliable, though thirsty on fuel. A young bloke like yourself should go for a Toyota or something along those lines. Even a good sized station wagon with a roof rack might be an alternative, or a small panel van. Given Australia's climate, I would look to insulate it to try and keep it cool, (Maybe foil backed bubble wrap - foil to the outside! pretty cheap from Bunnings) and put an elevating roof vent in it. You can get them from camping supply shops. (Fiamma is a brand to start with)
Heading off on a mission myself next month:
Leave London, down the west coast of France, Northern Spain, then across to Barcelona --> ferry to Livorno or Genoa in Italy, over to East coast Italy, then ferry to Greece. Oh yes.
hey mate im thinking of doing the same thing later this year but here in WA
still tossing wether to go for a mitsubishi express or a toyota hiace
anyone got some experience with the two. eg. reliability, fuel eco, space in back etc.
cheers for any help
ROMPER ROOM STICKER STAMPER
You are the KITING VAN STICKER MAN ...with Board shorts to go.
Sounds Epic mate. By the time you leave id be expecting petrol in the $2 mark so save up some extra pennies.
Definately get the most reliable transport you can afford mate. A broken down car will ruin the whole trip.
If you stop by byron bay i recomend a place called Cheaky Monkeys,,, many good nights had at that place. Get alot of gorgious backpackers there too, met many gorgious girls ther.
Good luck to ya mate, sounds like a great idea.
Hey Undagekiter,
We did trip around Australia from Cooktown clockwise to Geraldton. Took us the best part of a year. Pretty fun. We did, saw and experienced just about everything including blown tyres, cooked engine, worn out clutch, electrical problems etc etc. We also had a very memorable trip and met heaps of cool people and shared some awesome experiences. We covered more than 35,000km. I'm sure there are still a few people out there that remember when we breezed through their town. And thanks much to the people who put us up and allowed us to camp on their driveways etc.
Here is the bus we did it in =>
Here's a few ideas that have sprung to mind and may help you out.
My advice is to budget for $25 per night for accomodation and about the same for food per day, then add fuel. This should be enough to get you along on a minimal budget and still have a dollar or two left over if you are frugal. Sometimes you'll camp for free and this will become beer money. Expect the unexpected and have back up money. You wont feel too independent and grown up if you have to ring your folks and ask them to send money to help you out of the sh1t. The way to grow up and find yourself is to handle the hard times yourself.
The rangers are pretty serious when waking you up at 5am in the morning and yes they WILL find you, no matter how far off the beaten track you go. They usually found us 
. There is a rule that you can only camp on the side of the road where you are more than 25 kilometres from a Caravan Park, otherwise you are expected to stay in the Carapark. The fees for a basic unpowered site these days are around $18-$22 per night, $25-$30 for a powered site depending upon the park and where it is.
Most Caravan parks will allow you to have a shower and use their ammenities for $3-$4 which is nice if you've been stinky for a couple of days. If you fein forgetting your key or password at the ammenities block, sometimes someone else will let you in. You are best in a big park as they can't remember all of their campers like in the smaller parks. Hot showers are gold!
I'd look at a Mitsubishi express, they run on the smell of an oily rag and are very reliable, (you just can't kill them) and are heaps cheaper to repair than a Toyota. If you service the van before you leave, you wont need to service it again until long after you get home. Take with you a tow cable, jumper leads and a 10 litre fuel jerry just for emergencies, make sure your spare tyre is good to go and has tread. I would also strongly recommend buying an electronic laptop safe to bolt to the floor of your van so you can put your valuables in it when you go kiting. They are about $129 from Bunnings. You can keep your wallet, keys, sunnies, Ipod, mobile and laptop safe and sound. Put a spare key in a magnetic case up underneath the van (well hidden) and keep one on a string around your neck when kiting. All other keys in the safe.
If you can afford it, grab a little Evakool ice chest type cooler or one of those small Waeco fridge coolers, they keep ice for 5 days. Nothing will beat a cold beer after a big days kiting and you can keep your milk and some fruit cool and fresh. Grab a cheap 2 burner stove and a gas bottle, one saucepan, maybe a billy for coffee or tea and a fry pan and you're good to go. Have a look in the Trading Post or Quokka in WA.
You should also make yourself a grill/cage piece that you can wind up into the window frames of the front doors to lock them in place. Sleeping in a van in summer gets damn hot and you'll need airflow. Make sure it has insect screens too otherwise that one mozzie will drive you mad in your van when trying to get to sleep. You could also put some Spinning air ventilators in the roof to help extract CO2 whilst you sleep, it will allow some of the heat out too, especially if you have company (if you know what I mean) .
I could write a book on what to do and not to do, but I won't bore you, so last piece of advice. Things will probably go smoothly for you, However if you encounter some challenges, no matter how bad things may get, keep in mind the most memorable parts of your journey when it's all over will be where you overcame adversity, in what you thought was the moment you were going to pack it all in. Good times remain in memory too, but not as specific memories, usually just the sense of freedom and wellbeing.
Good luck on your travels and have fun.
Good winds,
yep, i'd second that. i had an 84 long wheel base hiace that i was able to fit an XR400 into and still have room for a double mattress and all the rest of my crap. it got me up and down the east coast many times without a hitch.
getting to the engine to do anything is difficult, but you get that with any van i s'pose.
2 mates of mine have had mitsabitchy vans and both had problems with overheating and excessive oil use
1ST 2ND AND 3RD THAT AND CARNT WAIT TO SEE YOU 2.........
WHAT EVER CAR OUR IN .....CHEEK THE OIL ,CHEEK THE TYRES, AND THE REAR MIRRORSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
thanks for all the feedback guys.. my internet has been dead for past 2 days so havent had a chance to look
so from the feedback im probably looking at getting a Mitsubishi express, they seem to be what im after/ i also can only drive an automatic. what price range could i pick one up at? i was hopeing as low as possible, but still have a reliable van...is 3-4 grand unrealistic?
alot of you guys are saying the rangers are pritty anal 
and will wake u up at 5 am... im not to bothered being woken up at 5 am if i dont have to pay haha. do u get fined if they do find u?
kitehard u mentioned this
"You should also make yourself a grill/cage piece that you can wind up into the window frames of the front doors to lock them in place. Sleeping in a van in summer gets damn hot and you'll need airflow. Make sure it has insect screens too otherwise that one mozzie will drive you mad in your van when trying to get to sleep. You could also put some Spinning air ventilators in the roof to help extract CO2 whilst you sleep, it will allow some of the heat out too, especially if you have company (if you know what I mean) ."
wat do u mean a grill/cage i can wind into the window frames? and where do u put the insect screens in the van? do you sleep with it open or something?
and thanks for your feedback everyone it has helped me alot, alot of the information you are giving me i never thought of or had no idea about
the more i think about this trip and save money for it, the more i want to do it haha
god i cant wait
hope its a nice, hot, windy summer
ps. those CO2 ventilators are a brilliant idea, ill be sure to get some of them
