The Brexit Grand Tour in an Ariel Nomad
Discussion
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We pretty much never book anything more than few hours in advance since we never know how long it will take us to get to places as in where we'll be in the evening. Also we normally book one night at a time and then extend if we feel like staying somwhere for longer. Many times we discovered that the wifi didn't work, room was noisy, ac too loud or too weak etc. It's easier if you have the freedom to move, even within the same location. I always book everything on booking.com
Over 200 bookings over last two years and not a single hickup so I'm pretty happy. Their "genius" status also helps with cost.
As for cost : for me £60 per night is just right for the double room with breakfast, for 60-100 I will expect a very nice breakfast etc, everything nice below £50 is a nice find a great bonus.
I very rarely spend more than £100 per night. In our opinion it's just not worth it. We don't spend too much time in the hotel anyway. Cleaniness, good wifi and decent breakfast is all we really care about. Plus we genuinely much prefer small b&b's to fancy hotels as an experience which really helps with cost.
But of course with our travels, campervan will very quickly pay for itself!!!
On the phone hence no photos, I'll try to add some later.
I walked around Sofia when Ruta was recovering, have been to Bulgaria before but not there. It's ok as a weekend destination I guess but apart from nice pedestrian/restaurant street and few churches and mosques not much to see IMO. Good food!
From Sofia we went to Bansko, it's in the mountains, my friends went there this winter skiing so we wanted to check it out. It's a nice, quiet skiing town. Pretty cool area around it for offroad, we found a stream for my first Nomad water crossing. It was fun and so pleasant on a hot day.
From Bansko we drove to Greece. It was exciting, knowing that this is the furthest from home we'll be. Very few cars from the UK visible. Border control guy pointed at my head when we were getting into Greece, I thought he asks me to remove my baseball cap but he said I'm crazy getting here in this car. That was the best compliment we've heard all trip.
We stayed the night in Thessaloniki. I'm sorry Greece but I think it's a horrible place. So chaotic and dirty. Streets are truly disgusting, it rained overnight when we were there and driving in the morning was the worst Nomad experience so far. We got sprayed many times on with the black, dirty, full of crap goo from the multiple potholes in the roads of Thessaloniki. We couldn't run away from it soon enough. The plan was to get to Corfu and take a ferry from there to Italy.
What a contrast the countryside of Greece was to the morning experience! Pindus National Park with its mountain ranges can rival the best ones I've seen around the world! We didn't have too much time, did a bit of offroading there but we cannot wait to go back for longer!
Catching a ferry to Corfu was pretty easy, they run regularly, are quite cheap and it only takes about an hour. Corfu was very pretty, a bit too hot for our liking but the beaches are spectacular. Also it was very easy to escape the touristy spots. The island has some beautiful spots and beaches with crystal clear water.
Funny thing is, this was the first time Nomad didn't look so ridiculously out of place like it does everywhere else. amongst many quadbikes, buggies, minimokes etc it kind of belonged there. But it still attracted a lot of attention.
We stayed in a b&b on the top of the mountain, it was so great to be able to èscape the crowds as we moved higher and higher. There was a sad story there - the owner who cooked for us and hosted us in the evening had some sort of heart attack overnight and had to be transported to Athens to save him. He was so perfectly fine in the evening.
Things like that always show me that the way we live our lives, like every day is the last, is the way to go... you never know when it's your time!
Roads in Corfu are nice but there's no visibility, overtaking opportunities and the corners are way to close to each other for the roads to be great for driving. It was fun regardless and we even found some little offroading routes.
Next - ferry to Italy
I walked around Sofia when Ruta was recovering, have been to Bulgaria before but not there. It's ok as a weekend destination I guess but apart from nice pedestrian/restaurant street and few churches and mosques not much to see IMO. Good food!
From Sofia we went to Bansko, it's in the mountains, my friends went there this winter skiing so we wanted to check it out. It's a nice, quiet skiing town. Pretty cool area around it for offroad, we found a stream for my first Nomad water crossing. It was fun and so pleasant on a hot day.
From Bansko we drove to Greece. It was exciting, knowing that this is the furthest from home we'll be. Very few cars from the UK visible. Border control guy pointed at my head when we were getting into Greece, I thought he asks me to remove my baseball cap but he said I'm crazy getting here in this car. That was the best compliment we've heard all trip.
We stayed the night in Thessaloniki. I'm sorry Greece but I think it's a horrible place. So chaotic and dirty. Streets are truly disgusting, it rained overnight when we were there and driving in the morning was the worst Nomad experience so far. We got sprayed many times on with the black, dirty, full of crap goo from the multiple potholes in the roads of Thessaloniki. We couldn't run away from it soon enough. The plan was to get to Corfu and take a ferry from there to Italy.
What a contrast the countryside of Greece was to the morning experience! Pindus National Park with its mountain ranges can rival the best ones I've seen around the world! We didn't have too much time, did a bit of offroading there but we cannot wait to go back for longer!
Catching a ferry to Corfu was pretty easy, they run regularly, are quite cheap and it only takes about an hour. Corfu was very pretty, a bit too hot for our liking but the beaches are spectacular. Also it was very easy to escape the touristy spots. The island has some beautiful spots and beaches with crystal clear water.
Funny thing is, this was the first time Nomad didn't look so ridiculously out of place like it does everywhere else. amongst many quadbikes, buggies, minimokes etc it kind of belonged there. But it still attracted a lot of attention.
We stayed in a b&b on the top of the mountain, it was so great to be able to èscape the crowds as we moved higher and higher. There was a sad story there - the owner who cooked for us and hosted us in the evening had some sort of heart attack overnight and had to be transported to Athens to save him. He was so perfectly fine in the evening.
Things like that always show me that the way we live our lives, like every day is the last, is the way to go... you never know when it's your time!
Roads in Corfu are nice but there's no visibility, overtaking opportunities and the corners are way to close to each other for the roads to be great for driving. It was fun regardless and we even found some little offroading routes.
Next - ferry to Italy
ash73 said:
Just watched the latest two episodes and really enjoyed them, great filming as usual. The contrast in Ruta's mood when she was feeling ill waiting for the ferry and then pure bliss at the hotel with the nice food the next day was nice to see.
I think the van idea is great, it would be much better to travel long distances in comfort (with air con!) and still have the car for some fun.
Absolutely! But the main thing is it will allow us to stay in the wilderness, this is the bit that frustrates us now where we see these amazing locations that we want to sleep in but we can'tI think the van idea is great, it would be much better to travel long distances in comfort (with air con!) and still have the car for some fun.
Zadkiel said:
So I am thinking I should ask you directly, if you didn't do what you do with the vehicle (ie this lovely rode trip etc) would you still enjoy ownership? Do you think you could have fun with it every weekend and live with it's downsides without visiting exotic locations?
The way you wish to use it, you wouldn't probably even notice the downsides. Lack of luggage space, lack of security, heat etc are only becoming a big issue when spending a lot of time in it. I see that you're from New Zealand, I think that's a great place for the Nomad from what I've seen when travelling through it. Much better than the UK in terms of "where to use it".IMO the key to Nomad enjoyment is to not to be too precious about it. If you're worried about getting it dirty, getting too close to bushes because you might scratch it, not taking this road because it looks too rough - you're missing the point of the Nomad and removing 75% of fun from the experience. This thing just laughs at obstacles and rough terrain and the biggest fun is always when exploring the unknown.
Have you watched my video about the specs? Do you know what would you want on yours?
Next part:
In order to get to Italy from Corfu we had to take the ferry. This was our second lesson about ferries in the Mediterranean - there is never any information where the ferry departs from, where to get the tickets etc. Confusion and stress while trying to cross a body of water were going to be the main theme
After queueing for a long time we've been told that although we have email confirmation we need to collect the tickets from a ticket office which is not in the port area, need to drive out, find it, get the tickets printed and come back. We've been told that while the ferry was already boarding. So as usual: crazy driving in an unfamiliar city, lots of unnecessary stress etc...
The ferry was a strange setup, 99% of people were young italians coming back from a quick trip to Corfu, tired, hangovered, some still drunk But everyone was ready for an overnight travel, with inflatable beds and similar devices. Watch the video to see what I tried to come up with to make the journey more comfortable
We wanted to reach Sicily the same day, which meant staying on motorways and pretty boring drive from Brindisi. This part of Italy isn't too spectacular so it wasn't too painful to just rack up the miles. We got lucky and got as a last car on the ferry to Sicily, we would have had to wait for an hour if we missed it.
The thing is, normally it's not that bad but in the Nomad, waiting in queues sucks. You can't just unfold your seat flat, relax, listen to the radio etc. You're sitting there in heat, surrounded by cars and lorries running their engines and pumping fumes into your lungs. Everyone is staring at you, you can't leave the car without taking everything with you and so on and so on. No, queueing in Nomad is no fun.
Ferry ride to Sicily is short and after 30min or so we reached the island. It was my first time there so I didn't know what to expect, we both really liked it! It's not too busy, the roads are nice. Views are spectacular, food is great and people are friendly. It was extremely hot, B&B owner told us that it hasn't rained in 4.5months! There have been many forest fires shortly before we got there, we've driven through pretty depressing sights.
We stayed near Montalbano which is an old village/small town in the mountains. Luckily for us it was the time of celebration there so it was really crowded, but the way we like it - with only locals, very genuine. I definitely recommend Montalbano if you're in the area, great little spot.
It was time to book the crossing to Malta, we wanted to go to Malta asap, then come back to Sicily and see more of it on the way back.
Crossings to Malta are very expensive. You have two options : 2h catamaran from the bottom of Sicily for £500 return or a 9h ferry from Catania for £380 return. Since the timing of the catamaran was also not the best and we were still in the north we decided to go with the long boat.
It was so much fun! Ruta didn't enjoy it too much being cold but I loved it - people just stay out on the deck the whole night, everyone sleeps on sun loungers. I hanged the hammock and slept in the hammock under the stars. Great experience!
Next - Malta
In order to get to Italy from Corfu we had to take the ferry. This was our second lesson about ferries in the Mediterranean - there is never any information where the ferry departs from, where to get the tickets etc. Confusion and stress while trying to cross a body of water were going to be the main theme
After queueing for a long time we've been told that although we have email confirmation we need to collect the tickets from a ticket office which is not in the port area, need to drive out, find it, get the tickets printed and come back. We've been told that while the ferry was already boarding. So as usual: crazy driving in an unfamiliar city, lots of unnecessary stress etc...
The ferry was a strange setup, 99% of people were young italians coming back from a quick trip to Corfu, tired, hangovered, some still drunk
But everyone was ready for an overnight travel, with inflatable beds and similar devices. Watch the video to see what I tried to come up with to make the journey more comfortable We wanted to reach Sicily the same day, which meant staying on motorways and pretty boring drive from Brindisi. This part of Italy isn't too spectacular so it wasn't too painful to just rack up the miles. We got lucky and got as a last car on the ferry to Sicily, we would have had to wait for an hour if we missed it.
The thing is, normally it's not that bad but in the Nomad, waiting in queues sucks. You can't just unfold your seat flat, relax, listen to the radio etc. You're sitting there in heat, surrounded by cars and lorries running their engines and pumping fumes into your lungs. Everyone is staring at you, you can't leave the car without taking everything with you and so on and so on. No, queueing in Nomad is no fun.
Ferry ride to Sicily is short and after 30min or so we reached the island. It was my first time there so I didn't know what to expect, we both really liked it! It's not too busy, the roads are nice. Views are spectacular, food is great and people are friendly. It was extremely hot, B&B owner told us that it hasn't rained in 4.5months! There have been many forest fires shortly before we got there, we've driven through pretty depressing sights.
We stayed near Montalbano which is an old village/small town in the mountains. Luckily for us it was the time of celebration there so it was really crowded, but the way we like it - with only locals, very genuine. I definitely recommend Montalbano if you're in the area, great little spot.
It was time to book the crossing to Malta, we wanted to go to Malta asap, then come back to Sicily and see more of it on the way back.
Crossings to Malta are very expensive. You have two options : 2h catamaran from the bottom of Sicily for £500 return or a 9h ferry from Catania for £380 return. Since the timing of the catamaran was also not the best and we were still in the north we decided to go with the long boat.
It was so much fun! Ruta didn't enjoy it too much being cold but I loved it - people just stay out on the deck the whole night, everyone sleeps on sun loungers. I hanged the hammock and slept in the hammock under the stars. Great experience!
Next - Malta
hot66 said:
don't post much on here these days , just thought I'd say I'm loving this thread & your youtube vids
I love a good euro roadtrip .. and yours just makes me want to jump in the car and blat out into europe again .
One of my favorite sayings: what better time than NOW? I love a good euro roadtrip .. and yours just makes me want to jump in the car and blat out into europe again .
DO IT!
mikeiow said:
Looking forward to Malta - we are heading there for a family wedding in October (but with elderly relatives, think I'll be sporting some hideous 7-seater for the week!) - so watching out for any hints & tips you find.
Go diving, go to Gozo for a day and if you like seafood, eat at Adelina Restaurante just outside of Rabat's old city. outnumbered said:
I've been enjoying the videos, they are very nicely done. You both seem to be having a great time (except maybe in parts of Greece!), which makes for fun viewing,
I loved the Romanian bloke and his non-health-and-safety welding technique, and all for 2 quid!
Thank you! And he was a legend! I have to say, I was a tiny bit sceptical when I saw the setup I loved the Romanian bloke and his non-health-and-safety welding technique, and all for 2 quid!
So.....
We arrived to Malta very early in the morning, about 5.30am. Everything was shut but we really like exploring cities we visit before everything opens, before the tourists decent. Have coffee and breakfast with the locals, in some small joint. Have you ever done it? Our recent favourite was exploring chicago at 7am (bacon doughnuts for b/fast etc )
After finding coffee we've sent the message to the owner of the B&B we were meant to stay in, he replied straight away so I thought I'll call him and check whether we can check in at 7am He said YES so we drove straight there with massive smiles on our faces in anticipation of the bed. We were knackered after the whole day of driving before and a night on the deck.
We've slept till midday and then stayed in the room till the afternoon, Ruta edited videos and I was again on a van hunt.
As you know by now, we were meant to see my old Corvette and its new Maltese owners. They were going to the Mustang car meet up in the evening and invited us over. It was good to see all the "prancing horses", however both Ruta and I get bored pretty quickly at these kind of events - we much prefer driving cars to standing around them TBH.
Following day was spent on exploring the islands, both Malta and Gozo in company of our hosts. Both islands are very pretty but we could never live there - It's too crowded, there's no rest from civilisation anywhere. You leave one town and another one starts, there are virtually no lakes, forests etc, things that we love and need for sanity. Plus it was hooooooot. Ruta got lucky and swapped seats for the day with Gilbert - Corvette's new owner. She stayed in AC and had all day of girl chat with Sussane, Gilbert's wife.
We tried to go a bit off road but it was so rough that I gave up, it was literally like going down the stairs. Very irregular and broken stairs. Not worth it.
This is Sunday. We wanted to leave Malta on Monday evening on the same ferry that we came in on. Now, since we talked about how we book our travels. I only booked the ferry one way and I did it two days earlier. I didn't know how long will we want to stay on the island and wanted the freedom. Now, it doesn't always work out, just like this time because there were no tickets for Monday anymore. Next one was Wed PM and we didn't want to wait this long.
Luckily Sussanne works in shipping and she knew people and routes so she told us on Monday morning that there's a cargo ship leaving Malta for Salerno at noon. Expensive at £500 but it saves us the hassle of driving through Sicily, another ferry, then driving all day minimum through southern Italy to reach Amalfi coast. So far Malta was the most expensive destination to get to on our trip but it had to be done
We decided to go for it, called the people at the booking office and found out that they don't accept card payments so we had to pop in to the office before boarding the ship. We are in a different city, haven't even packed yet and the ship leaves in 2h.
I think it's best if you watch the video from Malta, it's difficult to describe how stressful driving around Malta was where there are no cash machines anywhere on our way, the clock is ticking, then there are three different ports with nobody knowing where the ship actually departs from, all in heat and monday morning rush hour traffic. When you know that your ship is leaving in 15min and you are miles away, because you JUST CAME FROM WHERE THEY ARE TELLING YOU TO GO!!! Watch the video...
We made it in the end and the journey was a very surreal experience. It was a full on cargo ship, transporting lorry trailers from Malta to Italy. Ruta and I were "drivers of the car" and that's why we were allowed on board, normally no passengers. There were only two other drivers on board, Nomad had the whole floor to itself! We had a cabin with bathroom, not too clean and hot as hell but hey - it's all an adventure. Ruta enjoyed being the only female on board.
The journey was supposed to be 21h but it ended up being closer to 26. We had almost no cash so we thought we're doomed in terms of food but what a surprise it was! Three meals per day were included and the ship had a great chef!!! The portions were HUGE, we pretty much ate 30% max of each meal, but it was sooo good. Proper italian food with fresh bread and lots of delicious fruit for dessert. Good stuff!
Next : Amalfi Coast
We arrived to Malta very early in the morning, about 5.30am. Everything was shut but we really like exploring cities we visit before everything opens, before the tourists decent. Have coffee and breakfast with the locals, in some small joint. Have you ever done it? Our recent favourite was exploring chicago at 7am (bacon doughnuts for b/fast etc
)After finding coffee we've sent the message to the owner of the B&B we were meant to stay in, he replied straight away so I thought I'll call him and check whether we can check in at 7am
He said YES so we drove straight there with massive smiles on our faces in anticipation of the bed. We were knackered after the whole day of driving before and a night on the deck. We've slept till midday and then stayed in the room till the afternoon, Ruta edited videos and I was again on a van hunt.
As you know by now, we were meant to see my old Corvette and its new Maltese owners. They were going to the Mustang car meet up in the evening and invited us over. It was good to see all the "prancing horses", however both Ruta and I get bored pretty quickly at these kind of events - we much prefer driving cars to standing around them TBH.
Following day was spent on exploring the islands, both Malta and Gozo in company of our hosts. Both islands are very pretty but we could never live there - It's too crowded, there's no rest from civilisation anywhere. You leave one town and another one starts, there are virtually no lakes, forests etc, things that we love and need for sanity. Plus it was hooooooot. Ruta got lucky and swapped seats for the day with Gilbert - Corvette's new owner. She stayed in AC and had all day of girl chat with Sussane, Gilbert's wife.
We tried to go a bit off road but it was so rough that I gave up, it was literally like going down the stairs. Very irregular and broken stairs. Not worth it.
This is Sunday. We wanted to leave Malta on Monday evening on the same ferry that we came in on. Now, since we talked about how we book our travels. I only booked the ferry one way and I did it two days earlier. I didn't know how long will we want to stay on the island and wanted the freedom. Now, it doesn't always work out, just like this time because there were no tickets for Monday anymore. Next one was Wed PM and we didn't want to wait this long.
Luckily Sussanne works in shipping and she knew people and routes so she told us on Monday morning that there's a cargo ship leaving Malta for Salerno at noon. Expensive at £500 but it saves us the hassle of driving through Sicily, another ferry, then driving all day minimum through southern Italy to reach Amalfi coast. So far Malta was the most expensive destination to get to on our trip but it had to be done
We decided to go for it, called the people at the booking office and found out that they don't accept card payments so we had to pop in to the office before boarding the ship. We are in a different city, haven't even packed yet and the ship leaves in 2h.
I think it's best if you watch the video from Malta, it's difficult to describe how stressful driving around Malta was where there are no cash machines anywhere on our way, the clock is ticking, then there are three different ports with nobody knowing where the ship actually departs from, all in heat and monday morning rush hour traffic. When you know that your ship is leaving in 15min and you are miles away, because you JUST CAME FROM WHERE THEY ARE TELLING YOU TO GO!!! Watch the video...
We made it in the end and the journey was a very surreal experience. It was a full on cargo ship, transporting lorry trailers from Malta to Italy. Ruta and I were "drivers of the car" and that's why we were allowed on board, normally no passengers. There were only two other drivers on board, Nomad had the whole floor to itself! We had a cabin with bathroom, not too clean and hot as hell but hey - it's all an adventure. Ruta enjoyed being the only female on board.
The journey was supposed to be 21h but it ended up being closer to 26. We had almost no cash so we thought we're doomed in terms of food but what a surprise it was! Three meals per day were included and the ship had a great chef!!! The portions were HUGE, we pretty much ate 30% max of each meal, but it was sooo good. Proper italian food with fresh bread and lots of delicious fruit for dessert. Good stuff!
Next : Amalfi Coast
Apologies guys, unfortunately last two months were full of travelling back and forth between Poland and UK trying to finish the conversion of the LT. We had to head back to the UK at the end of October and left the van behind. Full of frustration with garages, parts suppliers etc. The usual.
Since I have been travelling by myself and Ruta being the video person stayed in the UK, there isn't a lot of video material. I have to say, I find it very difficult to film something that isn't fun or exciting. And very little of last two months was.
As always there's been a little change of plans I bought ANOTHER 4x4 camper. This time it's a Toyota Hiace. I got very frustrated with the LT and slow progress and happened to find this one.
But let's go back, one by one:
1) Nomad is back in the UK. My friend brought it over on a transporter. It was really too cold to drive it for 2200miles+ and it would be just a boring, miserable motorway trip. I haven't used it since, weather really wasn't too inviting. I was hoping to get it out in recent snow but of course there's was none of it in London so need to wait for the next time.
Just before it left for the UK I managed to get it absolutely caked in mud, but we had so much fun on that day!
It took two people at the car detailing place a day and a half to get it to a presentable condition
2) The VW - we still need to finish the conversion inside, floor and few other bits and bobs. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to do it outdoors in Poland due to weather and also I knew the van needs to come to the UK for my mechanic here to finish the maintenance. It just never works out when you leave the car in the garage and leave the country...
I got a lot done already, suspension, rear diff, bearings, all fluids, turbo etc etc. but there are still few things that I trust my mechanic with.
The bike mount is ready, works like a charm, it's been tested offroading and I'm very pleased with it.
I got the bumpers and cage powder coated black and I think it looks much much better now.
What's gonna happen to it? I don't know yet, most likely it will be for sale. It just became too expensive for what I wanted it for: travelling to remote locations, not worrying too much about damaging it. I can't get a fully comp insurance for a vehicle of this age when it's registered in Poland. Even if I register it in the UK, insurance will only be valid within the EU but I'm planning to take it much further.
Also, during last month of parts searching I've discovered that it nowhere near as easy as I thought to get any specific parts for such a rare vehicle and that's in Poland, where everyone fixes old cars.
We're planning to drive all the way to Australia and New Zealand, through and to places full of Japanese vans hence...
3) The Hiace
Smaller, less powerful, one year older BUT due to that faster, nimbler, more economical and actually surprisingly fun to drive! The whole 90hp of it
It's a manual, 2.8 NA diesel so very little to go wrong. Drivetrain from old Hilux so again - doesn't get any tougher.
I took it to Salisbury Plain already (of course had to test it) and it proved to be VERY capable little thing
Unfortunately I need to spend a lot of unnecessary time removing all the bodged work done by a previous owner who claims to be "Hiace specialist" yet he specialises in attaching various crap to cars with duct tape and blue tack... But mechanically it's sound, it has Aircon FRONT AND REAR! which is awesome and I can't wait to finish it.
That's pretty much it, the videos will be back as soon as we're on the road again. Hopefully very soon. We just don't believe in creating them for the sake of "content" and unfortunately we were both very busy recently. If you fancy more regular updates make sure to follow us on Instagram, it's much easier and quicker to post stuff there so I do it much more regularly.
Since I have been travelling by myself and Ruta being the video person stayed in the UK, there isn't a lot of video material. I have to say, I find it very difficult to film something that isn't fun or exciting. And very little of last two months was.
As always there's been a little change of plans
I bought ANOTHER 4x4 camper. This time it's a Toyota Hiace. I got very frustrated with the LT and slow progress and happened to find this one.But let's go back, one by one:
1) Nomad is back in the UK. My friend brought it over on a transporter. It was really too cold to drive it for 2200miles+ and it would be just a boring, miserable motorway trip. I haven't used it since, weather really wasn't too inviting. I was hoping to get it out in recent snow but of course there's was none of it in London so need to wait for the next time.
Just before it left for the UK I managed to get it absolutely caked in mud, but we had so much fun on that day!
It took two people at the car detailing place a day and a half to get it to a presentable condition
2) The VW - we still need to finish the conversion inside, floor and few other bits and bobs. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to do it outdoors in Poland due to weather and also I knew the van needs to come to the UK for my mechanic here to finish the maintenance. It just never works out when you leave the car in the garage and leave the country...
I got a lot done already, suspension, rear diff, bearings, all fluids, turbo etc etc. but there are still few things that I trust my mechanic with.
The bike mount is ready, works like a charm, it's been tested offroading and I'm very pleased with it.
I got the bumpers and cage powder coated black and I think it looks much much better now.
What's gonna happen to it? I don't know yet, most likely it will be for sale. It just became too expensive for what I wanted it for: travelling to remote locations, not worrying too much about damaging it. I can't get a fully comp insurance for a vehicle of this age when it's registered in Poland. Even if I register it in the UK, insurance will only be valid within the EU but I'm planning to take it much further.
Also, during last month of parts searching I've discovered that it nowhere near as easy as I thought to get any specific parts for such a rare vehicle and that's in Poland, where everyone fixes old cars.
We're planning to drive all the way to Australia and New Zealand, through and to places full of Japanese vans hence...
3) The Hiace
Smaller, less powerful, one year older BUT due to that faster, nimbler, more economical and actually surprisingly fun to drive! The whole 90hp of it
It's a manual, 2.8 NA diesel so very little to go wrong. Drivetrain from old Hilux so again - doesn't get any tougher.
I took it to Salisbury Plain already (of course had to test it) and it proved to be VERY capable little thing
Unfortunately I need to spend a lot of unnecessary time removing all the bodged work done by a previous owner who claims to be "Hiace specialist" yet he specialises in attaching various crap to cars with duct tape and blue tack... But mechanically it's sound, it has Aircon FRONT AND REAR! which is awesome and I can't wait to finish it.
That's pretty much it, the videos will be back as soon as we're on the road again. Hopefully very soon. We just don't believe in creating them for the sake of "content" and unfortunately we were both very busy recently. If you fancy more regular updates make sure to follow us on Instagram, it's much easier and quicker to post stuff there so I do it much more regularly.
Edited by mudnomad on Sunday 17th December 15:33
We're back on the road!
With the Nomad - on the New Year's Day I've met up with a videomaker Charlie from Sixbe and another Nomad owner, for a very early morning drive in Surrey.
You can watch the video HERE
We had such a great time! It's all about the timing, even roads around London can be massively fun to drive on.
Without the Nomad - we went on a roadtrip to our favorite place in the world, Scottish Highlands.
We wanted to test the Hiace out and see how doable is it to spend long periods of time in it, especially during winter. It passed beautifully!
The video is live on YT
We have some cool plans for the Nomad for this weekend! Hopefully the weather stays ok.
With the Nomad - on the New Year's Day I've met up with a videomaker Charlie from Sixbe and another Nomad owner, for a very early morning drive in Surrey.
You can watch the video HERE
We had such a great time! It's all about the timing, even roads around London can be massively fun to drive on.
Without the Nomad - we went on a roadtrip to our favorite place in the world, Scottish Highlands.
We wanted to test the Hiace out and see how doable is it to spend long periods of time in it, especially during winter. It passed beautifully!
The video is live on YT
We have some cool plans for the Nomad for this weekend! Hopefully the weather stays ok.
TheAlastair34 said:
Love the thread, thanks for posting!
Just followed your instagram will check out the youtube vids too when i get chance.
Your Scottish trip did you wild camp everywhere? and any details on where you went im looking to do similar in our camper in afew months
Thank you!Just followed your instagram will check out the youtube vids too when i get chance.
Your Scottish trip did you wild camp everywhere? and any details on where you went im looking to do similar in our camper in afew months
As for camping - wild every night. We don't really see the appeal in organised campsites. We don't leave any mess, are quiet, arrive late and leave early etc so we are happy to risk it even if the overnight parking/camping is not necessarily allowed
The worst that can happen is we'll be told to move on. And it's very unlikely if we're in the middle of nowhere in Scotland in January. I'm sure it will be a different story in peak season in touristy places, but that's why we wanted the van to be offroad capable.DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.
It's still all to be decided, we went through all the possibilities while preparing for the mongol Rally, Iran is difficult (we travel to the US often and wouldn't want to have issues in the future, god knows what the orange one will come up with in the future). We would love to go all the way to Indonesia but China is very difficult/expensive to get through in your own car so the very likely route is to Vladivostock and then shipping the car from there, either to Japan and then Australia or straight to Australia. A Hermit said:
My Nomad has just arrived in New Zealand after direct shipping from Ariel, and has been delivered to Scott at Fraser Cars in Auckland to get it certified. The car will live in Queenstown in the long run. If you ever get to NZ please do let me know, it would be great to see a fellow Nomad over there (I'm UK based for now, but have a place in QT). The number of gravel and dirt roads around NZ makes it a Nomad paradise. Couple of photos of my Nomad attached, as it has a different roof-rack solution to yours. I like your design, but wanted more space and flexibility to carry stuff. The rack was designed and made by Ariel for me and is removable, but the spot lights are integrated into it so they would also be removed as well (a plug for removal is included in the design). My Nomad order was placed before you started posting, but I just want to thank you guys for giving me my Nomad fixes while I have been waiting for it. I arrive in NZ for a couple of months in early Feb and while my media efforts will inevitably fall short of yours, I'll post a few clips of NZ driving to try to temp you to come over !!
Thanks again for the videos ...
Brilliant stuff! We're always very happy to hear about new Nomad owners! You will LOVE IT Thanks again for the videos ...
We are coming to New Zealand, don't know when yet but that's what we bought the Hiace for. I've travelled around it in the past and I agree - Nomad is made for it!!!
We needed a channel trailer for Youtube and Ruta created this little gem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmWI4NN1OzI
Check it out! We hope you'll like it.
We are travelling extensively over next two months, sadly without Nomad but we might make few videos out of it too. Watch this space.
Next bigger Nomad trip will be to Orkneys and Shetlands, with both - Nomad and Hiace. I CANNOT wait!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmWI4NN1OzI
Check it out! We hope you'll like it.
We are travelling extensively over next two months, sadly without Nomad but we might make few videos out of it too. Watch this space.
Next bigger Nomad trip will be to Orkneys and Shetlands, with both - Nomad and Hiace. I CANNOT wait!
A Hermit said:
Engine/transmission servicing can be done at any Honda dealer. Other servicing I'll get done by Scott.
It's a slow old process and not exactly cheap, but it is do-able.
I second that. I wouldn't worry about servicing at all. Ariel will ship Nomad specific parts anywhere in the world, any decent mechanic will be able fix most things on it and for all engine/ecu related matters Honda dealerships will help.It's a slow old process and not exactly cheap, but it is do-able.
A little update just to show that the recent weather doesn't mean Nomad stays tucked in
It's so much fun in the snow! Ruta went skiing last night!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SL_-FU2smY&
It's so much fun in the snow! Ruta went skiing last night!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SL_-FU2smY&
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