It’s April 2014 we’ve traded the Ford Territory and this is the first big trip in the Jeep Commander and she’s a little slower on takeoff but tows beautifully when cruising. The most obvious difference is in the comfort of the ride. The Ford Territory with its strut problem used to bump and bang noisily. Now it feels like we’re riding on feather pillows. It’s also nice to have full instrumentation once more so we now know the outside temperature, welcome to the twenty first century! Not to mention the heavenly heated seats.

Just beyond Newcastle We pull into the little hamlet of Karuah, NSW for fuel. Woody decides to wash the windscreen and hasn’t considered the Jeep’s rain sensing wipers. It makes for great entertainment on my behalf.