Sydney to Gippsland via the Snowys

Have you ever wondered what it is like to travel over the Great Snowy mountain region towing a caravan measuring 27'10" from tip to tip? Well I did and for good reason, this is where we are going to take our Geist owners in December and this was the best opportunity to test the Geist, just to make sure it could do the job. Of course I shouldn't have worried as it lapped it up and we had a ball coming through some of the most picturesque country in all of Australia. It never ceases to amaze me how different the country can look from corner to corner, mountain to hill, and escarpment to plateaus. We saw a changing weather pattern and the mix of man made and nature intertwined to create a near perfect picture of years of toiling, success and failure.
This pocket of Australia is one that hides its failures and projects its beauty, it is one place I will always feel a part of and share with family and friends.

So it is that we ventured through this place of balance with sense of belonging and a yearn to conquer, we did this with our Geist and our Touareg blending into the environment like peas in a pod. Of course the German bred team is made for these conditions, it thrives on the cool air, winding turns and steep ascents. Our course started really in Canberra after we took the Hinkleys for a tow test, we could have gone the straight direction down through Cooma and over to Cann river into Orbost then Bairnsdale in about 5 hours, but then we did need to test the track for the rally later in the year so we took the 2 day route and turned right at Cooma and then onto Jindabyne. It was from here we headed up to Thredbo and then down into Corryong and more precisely Toowong (remember two wongs don't make a wight) where we camped on the edge of the Murray river, right up near the top of the feeder creeks. This was spectacular camping near the running water that was crystal clear overnight, we could have stayed a lot longer. We also stopped at a place called Dead Horse Gap up on Thredbo, I'll be putting a video up on this spot in the near future.

The next day we took our time expecting to see lots of the beautiful country layed out in front of us as we travelled the Kiewa Valley, Mt Beauty, Bright and Harrietville but was disappointed by the fact that burning off was in progress and the whole area was blanketed by a solid smoke haze which kept visability down to a minimum. Despite this we were able to get into Bright for a snack at the Bright Bakery owned by my cousin Melissa and Dale. A quick catch up and we headed up to Hotham where the mountains turned on the changes again by smothering us in the most dense fog that we were literally crawling across the top at 30kms and hour. With the safety poles and yellow lines in place we remained safe and of course the German team of car and van kept us trusty safe and toasty warm with the Touareg seat heaters turned up to 4 and 5 (top setting) whilst traversing the summit of Hotham at just 7 degrees at midday.

Quickly as we were in the fog but we were out of it too and headed down past Cobungra station, Omeo , Swifts Creek and into Bairnsdale where we went on to set up at my parents place for a little while to get ready for the East Gippsland Field days. I'll continue that story later.

Where can you take your Geist?

Here is a video I produced today but was shot over Easter. We had lots of people around waiting for us to fail, you be the judge. Video by Rachel in a frantic attempt to keep up.

Photos from Sydney

Trevor from Geist Caravans and Motorhomes in Gosford is caught attending the toilet in one of the AK595's at the Sydney Show.
The new release Mypod was on show at the Sydney show, it created great interest, 10'6" which is either single bed or queen.

We WON!! for the Best Caravan Display at the show.

Thank you Sydney

Its nice to say thank you and as we have just one more day here I would like to say thank you to all our new Geist owners from the Sydney area out there. With sales reaching well over double figures this year it is definitely a city that is embracing the change in caravaning in Australia. Much of last week was discussing with management future plans as well as talking to thousands of people at the show on just how they can get into a Geist. The Volkswagen Touareg was a huge success with many existing and new owners making themselves known to me. Talking to Volkswagen this week has them very happy with the current sales of Touareg and we hope we have contributed to the products advancement because I really do believe the Touareg is one of the best 4wds I have ever driven (and I have driven a few). We have had a great response on the Geist Owners Club, if you wish to put in your expression of interest then please download the PDF document at the Geistdirect website. I am still loading content into the website and we still need people to talk on the forum (I can't write all the topics). Merchandise is next on the agenda and expect to see exclusive Geist items pop up for sale on the website over the coming months. The pack up for Sydney went very well with all vans back home in bed at Gosford by Monday morning. It was a late night Sunday though but with everyones help it proceeded without incident. Another couple I would like to congratulate on their purchase is Graham and Roslyn who made the decision on an AK 595 on the final bell to make a great saving on their van. Talking of new vans I believe John and Suzanne from Townsville have their new XK630 now and I hope they are very happy with it, John and Suzanne upgraded from their older XK630 to a new one. By the way John and Suzanne, your old one sold again Monday, just goes to show how little time a second hand Geist caravan stays in the yard. It has hardly stopped raining since Sunday in Sydney but we hope it will ease a little tomorrow when we head south. Yesterday though we borrowed the keys to a another new Touareg from Volkswagen and handed back our other vehicle which had done nearly 16,000kms in just over 2 months. It performed fantastically and I would imagine this new one with just 64kms on the clock will do the same. Thanks to Nadine for doing a fantastic job in sourcing one for us as the one ordered with ride height suspension had not arrived as yet.
Today we are getting Rhino at Rydlemere to fit a boat loader to overcome some issues in getting the Viking Kayak on and off the vehicle. Basically we also need a more secure platform for securing the kayak when traveling too, so why not get the experts to fit it at Rhino whilst in Sydney. Tomorrow we are getting rearvision cameras fitted to the van and Touareg in Gosford by Precision Vision, one of new sponsors before heading off south to Canberra. We are giving Frank and Monica a tow test on Friday morning, just so they can feel the ease of towing a Geist caravan. If you are serious about a Geist caravan but would like a tow test whilst we are in your area then email me on sales@geistdirect.com.au or call me on 0427 878 645.
Also a big thankyou to Gill Schott from Caravan and Motorhome magazine for getting us out of a jam with photos for another advertisement. Gill is always happy to help us out so please support him and his team by subscribing to Caravan and Motorhome magazine, the best and most widely read mag for caravaning on the market.