News

Our beloved OKA has found a new owner.
We wish them many happy days with OKANT01.

We know that whatever vehicle comes after the OKA will never have the same space / cargo loading capacity and will never be as comfortable as our OKA was.
We better get used to camping … glamping is history …
We will miss our faithful companion.

This also means, that this web page will stay as it is .... in memory of our much loved true companion.

To understand our sadness have a look at it a bit closer:

Click here to check out the camper section.

If you want to experience the same lifestyle we had, fell free to call
Dean from OKA on +61 (418) 943 230
for price and technical details.

June - July
2021

We manage to reach Perth before the lockdowns kick in.
The OKA gets a good work-over.
We manage to get back to QLD and decide not to leave QLD again as long as COVID is such an unpredictable thing.

January - June
2021

Our long-time visitors René and Marianna arrive from Switzerland.
During the renovation of their house they house-sit our house so we can go travelling.

July - December
2020

We have the house renovated.
Luckily, we are not affected by any lockdowns.

January - June
2020

We just manage to drive to pick up our extra gear in Carnarvon (WA) and drive it back to Maleny before the Corona Virus hits Australia.
Thanks to our garden that needs a lot of TLC we don't get bored at all during lockdown.

October - December
2019

While on the Gold Coast we shop around for land.
As we find it too difficult to find something that matches our ideas and budget, we buy an established home in Maleny on the Sunshine Coast.

September 2019

We drive to the Gold Coast to visit Susi's brother and the visiting relatives.

August 2019

We return to Australia and the OKA gets some attention.
It makes Ruedi's life so much easier to have OKA's support again.

June 2019

Our VW-MAN has found a new owner at the 4x4 in Bad Kissingen.

November 2018 -
June 2019

While in Switzerland Susi can work on her new hobby:
using her photos to create a collection at Redbubble.

Click here for her collection

October 2018

We are in Perth and prepare the OKA for "hibernation".
It will have to wait here for us until August 2019.

September 2018

After the Pannawonica Rodeo we travel via Millstream-Chichester NP, Skull Springs Road and Carawine Gorge to the Telfer Mine Road and into the Rudall River NP. The OKA has to work hard with the wash-outs and dry creek beds.

On the Talawanna Track we travel to Newman and via Collier Range NP, Mt. Augustus (Burringurrah) NP to the Kennedy Range NP. The Sandiman Track is very rough and the OKA has to work hard.

After a short Visit to Carnarvon we return to Perth and finish the travel-season with the OKA for this year.

August 2018

We travel to Coober Pedy and take the Anne Beadell Highway west.
The track on South Australian side is at time very badly corrugated; the Western Australian side is more or less fine.
But we still enjoy the track very much .... especially the WA side where the spring flowers start appearing.

From Leonora we head into the wildflowers north-west to Cue, then south to Yalgoo, west to Pindar and then north to the Gascoyne Junction.
They wildflowers are stunning this year.

We also visit the Junction Races and then head to Carnarvon.

July 2018

We head to Alice Springs to stock up and then take the Old Andado Road (today: Bins Track) back to Dalhousie Springs .... for another break .....

June 2018

We head north again and visit the Finke Desert Race.
Then we meet with OKA freinds at the Lambert Center
(the geographical centre of the Australian mainland).

Then it is time for a long break at Dalhousie Springs ....

May 2018

Highlights

We cross the Simpson Desert from west to east:
Purni Bore - French Line - Colson Track - WAA - Knolls Track - Poeppel Corner - QAA - Birdsville.
Our OKA makes it up the Big red in the first go (OKA196 says that it was very easy this year .....).

Click here to read the journal.

We head south on the Birdsville Track - Walkers Crossing Track - Strzelecki Track.
Then we spend a few days off-roading in the Gammon Ranges .... the best off-roading we have ever done.

We head west to Ceduna and drive the Googs Track.
The track deserves the name "little Simpson Desert" .... especially the last few dunes after Mt. Finke!

Through the Gawler Ranges we head south and sink the OKA beautifully in the Lake Newland Conservation Park.
It takes us 3 hours of building a track with the sand-boards to get it out if its misery!

April 2018

Highlights

The OKA is ready and we drive to Adelaide (2700 km ......).

After some mayor shopping we are ready to hit the Oodnadatta Track and then the Simpson Desert.

December 2017 - March 2018

We return to Perth, Australia.
The OKA needs a bit of attention.

In March we have an OKA get-together and manage to get 22 OKAs together in Western Australia.

(Yes, one is missing ... had already left ....)

October 2017

We fly to Australia for the wedding of Susi's niece.

End of October OKANT01 arrives in Fremantle.
All goes well with AQIS and we return to Switzerland.

August 2017

After more than 2 months of cleaning we deliver the OKA to the harbour of Antwerp for its 37-day return voyage to Australia.

March 2017

Trip to Europe on the Grimaldi ferry Grande San Paolo.

February 2017

Highlights

We visit the east coast of Uruguay.
On the way west to Tacuarembo one of the rear axle shafts gives up and leaves us with only front wheel drive.
Safely we return to the Paraiso Suizo and change the return trip to Europe to an earlier Grimaldi ferry, the Grande San Paolo.

January 2017

Highlights

We visit the Dakar and have a great time.
After visiting the Foz do Iguazu (Brazilian side) one more time we travel through the southern part of Paraguay to Santiago, where we visit the Fiesta De La Tradición Misionera, the largest Gaucho festival of Paraguay.

We head south into Argentina and experience the Carneval in Gualeguaychu once more.

Next we visit the Paraiso Suizo near Montevideo, Uruguay, and have a great time with our fellow Overlanders.

December 2016

Highlights

We finish our time in Peru by visiting Huaraz.
Then we head south to Chile.
After Christmas we continue on to Argentina, then Paraguay and the Hasta la Pasta Camp near Asuncion to meet with our friends for the Dakar Rally.

Click here to read our annual report.

November 2016

Highlights

In Lima we meet Susi's brothers and enjoy 3 weeks together.

October 2016

Highlights

Back in Cuzco we visit the surrounding ruins.
We also visit Susi's friend from school in Valle Sagrado and have a great time.

On narrow roads we cross the mountains and head north.
It can happen, that a bridge is missing and we have to drive through the river.
On top before we can reach the road again on the other side the ramp has to be fixed first!

September 2016

From Cuzco via Abancay and the Cotahuasi Canyon we travel to the Colca Canyon.
It is very high (between 4700 and 5100 m altitude) and there are many pretty volcanos.
The Condors in the Colca Canyon are very active and we enjoy them for two days.

Then we proceed to Arequipa.
Here Ruedi makes the 200 000 km service on the OKA.
This gives Susi some time to upload something to the web.

As our air filter has arrived in La Paz we drive to Bolivia via the Titicaca Lake.
At the Hotel Oberland we meet travelling companions from Salta, Uruguay and the Grimaldi .... the world is small .....

Towards the end of September we return to Peru and visit Machu Picchu.
The ruins are quite impressive .... but very crowded!

August 2016

In Porto Jofre we search the illusive Jaguar .... we see two of them, half a head each .....
We head north on the Transpantaneira and via Caceres into Bolivia.

On the way to Trinidad we visit some of the nicely restored Jesuit villages.
Then the rain catches up with us.
The road from Trinidad to San Ignacio de Moxos is under construction and the rain turns some sections into a mud bath.
We continue on to Rurrenabaque, then head north to Cobija, cross over into Brazil for some 100 km and then into Peru.
The road to Puerto Maldonado is sealed and a real pleasure to drive after the bumpy roads in Bolivia.

In Puerto Maldonado we visit a parrot clay lick ... very impressive ....
Then we had into the mountains and reach Cuzco.

July 2016

Via the ruins of the Jesuit villages of Santa Ana and San Ignazio Mini we reach the Iguazu falls.
The Argentinian side is just stunning!
The Brazilian side has some nice panoramas to offer.

Next stop is Bonito to drift-snorkel in absolutely clear water.
Susi strikes it lucky and sees an Anaconda that is eating a Caiman.

Our visit to the Pantanal is perfect.
The Estrada Parque Pantanal, a dirt road with many wooden bridges, is dry but there are still many animals to be seen.

From Corumba we take a balsa to Porto Jofre ... quite an adventure .... especially the embarkation / desembarkation over narrow wooden planks!!!!

June 2016

On the way to Iquique we visit our much loved Salar de Surire and its hot springs.

After a few weeks in Iquique we travel to Argentina and visit Purmamarca and Salta.

May 2016

From Mendoza we head north and enjoy the colourful mountains around Cachi, Salta to San Antonio de los Cobres (Tren de las nubes) and the old Ruta 40.

Over the pretty Paso Sico we return to Chile for a short while.
We visit Paso Socompa on the Chilean side.
Eventhough the trains running again between Chile and Argentina use the Paso Sico it is still not open for cars.
We visit Calama and the Chuquicamata mine and then return to the Andes.

We enter Bolivia at the southern Pass of Hito Cajones and travel all the way north through the Salar the Uyuni to the border crossing Tambo Quemado to enter Chile again.

April 2016

The Paso Tromen or Mamul Mala takes us into Argentina again, where we head north via Junin de los Andes, along the pretty area of Alumine and the P.N. Lanin.

The Paso Icalma takes us back to Chile where we visit the area around Lonquimay.
So far it is the most impressive area around a volcano we have seen.

Crossing back into Argentina on the Paso Pino Hachado takes us north past the Rio Agrio and its orange rocks and we reach the Volcano Domuyo.
The route around the volcano is by far the most interesting route we have driven in South America.
It offers stunning scenery, a quite high and unexpected pass with 2800 m above sea level and some interesting tracks.
We are lucky and get out of the area just before the rains and snow set.
We head north on the Ruta 40 that shows signs of flooding around Zampal but safely make it to Mendoza where we make well deserved break and enjoy civilization and Internet.

March 2016

After visiting the island Chiloe and its many churches we cross back into Argentina on the Paso Cardenal Samoré and visit Bariloche and the P.N. Nahuel Huapi.

We return to Chile on the same Paso and head west to Valdivia to visit our OKA-friends Francisco, Roasamaria and family.
From there Susi flies to Australia for a short while as a surprise to her brother Bruno's 60. birthday.
Ruedi stays in Valdivia and has a good time too.

Then it is time to head north again.
After visiting Pucon with the smoking Volcano Villarica we meet up once again with Francisco and his OKA to visit his favourite Parque Nacional: P.N. Conguillio.
What a great park!

Then it is time to say goodbye and start "hopping" north along the Andes between Chile and Argentina.

February 2016

We travel to Argentina. Gualeguaychu and its Carnaval are famous .... we love it too.
We continue south. Near the Peninsula Valdes we experience adult Orcas training their young ones in "steeling sea lions from the beach".

Argentina changes its forex rules. Due to this is it close to impossible to draw cash from ATMs.
Broke we "flee" to Chile in Futaleufú and visit Chaitén and the P.N. Pumalin.

December 2015 - January 2016

After 38 days on the ship (10 more than usual) we arrive in Montevideo and set up the camper.

Click here to read the hournal.

April - December
2015

At AluStar work is proceeding. End of October our new home is finished and we can "shift house".
The first teething problem appear ..... but with a lot of humour and patience all is fixed.

On December 5 we leave AluStar and head north to Hamburg.
On Monday 7th we embark on the Grimaldi Grande Nigeria to sail to Montevideo, Uruguay.

January - March
2015

In January we fly to Singapore.
From there together with Susi's brothers and cousins we go to a 14-day cruise around Asia.
Then we travel to Australia and return to Germany mid of March.

September - December 2014

The work at the new cabin has started. The body will be made form alu-honeycomb-material and further insulated. Ruedi calculates that with this way of building / new technology and a bit of "slimming" the OKA the weight could drop almost 1 tone ...... goal reached!

The OKA is renovated. The MAN also needs a bit of TLC (tender loving care ....)

August 2014

We decide to remove the back-section from the OKA and rebuild it .... but much lighter!

At the Voodoo Africa-get-together we see a 4x4 MAN/VW truck ..... and buy his "brother" .... as new "wheels" for the old back-section.
As the MAN cabin is only 2.10 m wide the also 2.10 m wide back-section will fit on it perfectly.
But until the MAN with its new / old cabin can be sold a lot of work will have to be done .....

The removal of the old back-section starts ..... cables have to be drawn back, sized screws loosened, etc. etc. ....
Then the crane comes and takes off the cabin.
Now the renovation of the OKA starts ..... a lot of work!

Susi travels to Australia as surprise for her brother for his 60. birthday.

July 2014

On July 30 we reach Antwerp and travel to Switzerland. We just manage to be there for the Swiss national day on August 1st.

Here you can read the journal

June 2014

We decide to return to Europa and put the OKA through a weight-reducing-program. We book a spot on the Grimaldi ferry "Grande Amburgo" leaving Montevideo at the beginning of July.

On the way to Montevideo we want to visit the Iguazu waterfalls but the record rainfalls in Brazil and floodings make us decide to go to Uruguay directly. As we start driving off the property of our friends there is a loud bang .... the next axle shaft has died ....... luckily we are already on the way to Europe .....

May 2014

The winter rains drive us north ......
Luckily there are always a few hours of good weather in between the rain allowing visits to the national parks.

We reach Valdivia and enjoy another great time with the OKA owners.

Even though we head over to Argentina the bad weather seems to follow us. Luckily we can escape before the snow comes and reach safely reach Atos Pampa near Villa General Belgrano and our friends.

April 2014

After crossing the border into Chile again we visit the Reserva Nacional Lago Jeinemeni then head south on the Carretera Austral until Villa O'Higgins.
Again we are extremely lucky and have 5 days of cloudless blue sky and no wind.

We just make it north and back onto bitumen before the rain sets in. We sit it out in Puerto Aysen and publish the trip on the Navimag from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales.

We also manage to finally finish a "historical" webpage: Carnarvon ..... or .... how to get a house! .... with pictures of our house and many flowers ......

March 2014

Rain sets in and we sit it out in El Calafate.
This gives us time to finish the South-Perú-journal.

We are now adding the driven tracks as downloads in GPX- and KML-format to the journeys.

But we manage to see the Perito Moreno Glacier in sunshine!
In El Chaltén we have a few days of bad weather again, even some snow in the morning.
Fleeing from the bad weather we travel to the Parque Nacional Perito Moreno and then drive past Lago Posadas and Puente Roballos to Los Antiguos.

February 2014

Three weeks later the shaft is replaced and we are on the way south again.

We take the Navimag ferry from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales and are very lucky with the weather. The fjords and snow-capped mountains mirror in the water ...... stunning!
The weather stays good and we enjoy a few days in the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.

Then we change over to Argentina and visit the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. The Perito Moreno glacier with its huge chunks of ice that fall into the water is as spectacle not to be missed.

January 2014

Along the coast we travel to La Serena. From there we visit the Paso Agua Negra, the prettiest pass we have seen in South America so far.

We stop in Peña Blanca to see the Dakar race and follow their tracks a bit.

Valparaiso is another nice stop to see the colourful decorations on the houses ..... and the Dakar vehicles in the harbour ....

Further south shortly after Chanco we hear a loud bang ...... the end of the back traction .....
As we cannot tell exactly what is wrong this time we decide to change the OKA to front-wheel drive only and drive to Valdivia and the save-heaven of OKA-owner Francisco to have a closer look at the damage.

December 2013

Beginning of December we travel to Iquique and settle down for a few weeks to work on the web page and to enjoy the summer.

The journal of the trip in the Chilean Altiplano is ready.
Click here to view it.

On December 25 we start in southerly direction .... where ever possible along the coast .....

October - November 2013

We leave the OKA in Lima and travel to Switzerland to be with the family.
Then we return to Lima and get ready to head south.

September 2013

Finally, the postal strike is over. We get our parts and have the OKA fixed. 

We head to Peru. Hardly in Peru in Tacna the cab of OKA is broken open and partially cleaned out. Much to Susi’s distress the thieves also take the camera ...  

On the way to Lima we make a small detour to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon.
Click here to read the South-Perú-journal.

August 2013

Beginning of August we reach Iquique again and bring the OKA to Cummins to find the cause of the oil leak. They suspect the seal at the engine. The engine is fine but the worn pilot bearing has damaged a seal and a bearing in the gearbox. After replacing only the pilot bearing we head back to the camp and put the OKA out of service.

It is difficult to get the spares as they are only sold in the USA and they don't send parts out of the country. Thanks to a friend in San Francisco the parts arrive by currier in just over a week.
The transfer case arrives from South Africa .... but other spares are still stuck in an ongoing postal strike .....

July 2013

In La Paz we have the some repairs done.
As in Bolivia we cannot get all the parts we require we are forced to travel to Iquique in Chile to get them.

Click here for the journal from Uyuni (Bolivia) to Putre (Chile).

As we have time until all parts are in Iquique we travel over the Chilean altiplano. Middle of July we are in Iquique and organise all. Then we head back to the altiplano and continue south until San Pedro de Atacama. In San Pedro the OKA starts leaking oil at the clutch between the motor and the gearbox .....
On the way back to Iquique we visit the salpeter mine ghost towns
Click here for the journal of the Chilean altiplano.

June 2013

We limp into Uyuni and take the box down ..... this time on our own! We don't find any major problems with the box and after some minor repair it works again so we continue on travelling.

Escaping the cold we travel south to the Hacienda El Cafetal in Buena Vista, close to the large city of Santa Cruz, and stay for a while.

Via Torotoro (close to Cochabamba) we travel to La Paz.

May 2013

Past the National Parks El Rey and Calilegua, Jujuy and Purmamarca we travel to the Bolivian border. The crossing into Bolivia goes well but in Villazon we find a road-blockade by the employees of the government that are on strike. So during the night we "flee" to Tupiza.
Here we have our transfer case fixed so the 4WD lows work again.

From Tupiza we cross the many passes in the Andes to reach the lagoons. It is very pretty but very cold too, especially as our heater only works up to 3 000 m above sea level ......

We reach 5 000 m above sea level with the OKA without a problem.

Shortly before reaching Uyuni we encounter problems with the 4WD lows again.

Click here for the journal from Tucumán (Argentina) to Uyuni (Bolivia).

April 2013

After visiting the P. N. Talampaya and making an impressive trip into the Andes (up to 4'900 m above sea level) we reach San Miguel de Tucumán. Click here for the journal from Mendoza to Tucumán.

March 2013

We travel from Montevideo (Uruguay) to Mendoza (Argentina) via the P. N. de la Quebrada del Condorcito and the P. N. Sierra de las Quijadas.

After a side trip to the Aconcagua we continue on to the Parque Provincial Ischigualasto visiting the P. N. El Leoncito and the Cerro Alcatraz on the way.

January - February 2013

On the Grimaldi RoCo ferry "Grande Costa d'Avorio" we sail from Hamburg, via Antwerp, Le Havre, Dakar, Santos and Zárate to Montevideo, where we disembark.

November - December 2012

Ruedi cuts the tendon of his left thumb and has to wear plaster until Christmas. This makes finishing the OKA a small problem but our friends at AluStar make it all happen.

Beginning of December we are informed that the ferry we are booked on will turn around in Brazil and that we have been rescheduled onto the next ferry, leaving Hamburg towards the end of January 2013.

July - October 2012

Susi's brother recovers and we travel to Canada with him to celebrate it. Then it is time to return back to Switzerland.

End of October we receive the confirmation that our trip to South America with the Grimaldi ferry will actually happen ..... but we will be travelling to Montevideo and not Buenos Aires. But we don't care. The main thing is that we and the OKA can get to South America!

May - June 2012

The 4x4 exposition in Bad Kissingen was a big success.
Our OKA turns out to be a "women's-vehicle" ...... not as large as a truck and everything in it a woman needs to feel at home!

Mid June Susi's brother gets very ill and she travels to Australia to help.
In the meantime Ruedi helps out at AluStar.

March - April 2012

We travel to the Tessin (the Italian part of Switzerland) where the OKA is inspected.
The intention was to stay there 2 - 3 weeks to check the differentials ..... it turned out to be 7 weeks ...... and we haven't finished yet ......

December 2011 - February 2012

After the festive season and a very cold winter towards the end of February we can start repairing the OKA. Our rolling home now has a working heating again, the inverter has been fixed and installed again, the flyscreens are new, the seats have new covers .... things are moving!

28. November 2011

Thanks to a tip from the Grimaldi agent in Ashdod and a few emails to our agent in Germany we manage to get on another Grimaldi ferry that only takes 6 days to Italy.
On November 22 early in the morning we leave Ashdod on board of the Grimaldi "Grande Mediterraneo" and travel via Alexandria and Salerno to Savona where we arrive on November 27.
Thanks to this we manage to reach Switzerland in time for Ruedi's mum's birthday on the 28.

What a joy!

November 2011

Beginning of November we take the ferry from Suakin (Sudan) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). There we are informed that we will not be able to drive around with the OKA as it is right-hand driven. So the OKA is loaded onto a truck and driven through Saudi Arabia to the Jordan border over the end of Hajj and the Eid al-Adha holiday.

In Jordan we receive the bad news that our Grimaldi-ferry from Ashdod (Israel) to Monfalcone (Italy) due to leave on November 14 will only leave on the 20th .... which means that we would be too late to reach Switzerland in time to be there for the 88th birthday of Ruedi's mother.
We rush to Ashdod and try to catch the ferry that leaves before but without success.

October 2011

On the last day of our trip with Simon we have trouble with one back wheel ... we just make it to Nairobi. A part in the hub is broken and the whole hub must be exchanged. Luckily BAE in Johannesburg reacts really quickly with sending the spares and only one week later we are ready to leave Nairobi and head north.

On the Marsabit - Moyale "road" we get caught by rain. With a lot of luck and thanks to our snow chains we make it to Moyale and Ethiopia.

In Addis Ababa Ruedi has to repair part of the hub again. Luckily he has the required parts in his spares ....

We cross Ethiopia. The country is one of the prettiest ones we have seen in Africa, but the people (especially the children and some young adults) are a pain ..... thanks to the aid organisations all they know is to scream "you you you ... give give give .... my money". What a shame!

We reach Sudan and enjoy the very friendly Sudanese people. What a contrast to Ethiopia!
In Khartoum we manage to get the visa for Saudi Arabia.

September 2011

On Monday, September 5, we leave Johannesburg again and drive north through Zimbabwe and Zambia.
On Saturday morning some 250 km north of Lusaka Ruedi changes the oil in the rear differential and finds a piece of safety wire .... we have no other choice than to return to Lusaka!
Over the weekend the diff is inspected and repaired and on Monday morning we are mobile again.

We cross Zambia and most of Tanzania and arrive in Moshi on September 16.
Driving approx. 4 500 km in 11 days and that on some pretty bad roads with large potholes and kamikaze drivers in buses and trucks is not really a pleasure but we make it in time to welcome Simon when he descends from Mount Kilimanjaro on Sunday ... and that is the main thing!

After picking up Simon we enjoy a great time in the Massai Mara and some parts of Kenya.

August 2011

From Windhoek we travel via the Etosha National Park and the Caprivi Strip to Zambia.

In Zambia we visit the Victoria Falls. Then we travel to Lake Kariba and the Leopard Hill Road down the escarpment to the Lower Zambezi. They must be some of the worst tracks we have driven!
The animals found at the Lower Zambezi are great .... hundreds of hippos and elephants.
All this can be read in our Zambia and the Lower Zambezi River journal.

July 2011

We travel to Swakopmund, then via Cape Cross and Messum Crater to the Brandberg, then across the mountains to Windhoek to pick up some spares.

June 2011

We travel through the south of Namibia and enjoy the Fish River Canyon and Sossus Vlei.
Then we head across the mountains to Windhoek to get some repairs done.

May 2011

We travel from Addo Elephant NP via Baviaanskloof, Swartberg Pass and Karoo NP to the Namaqua 4x4 Track.
At the end of the track we have trouble with the back axle again and limp back to Johannesburg to BAE, the manufacturer of the axles.
The axles are replaced and we test them with a trip to Lesotho.

April 2011

We travel from the Blyde River Canyon via the Drakensberge to Mountain Zebra National Park.

March 2011

Beginning of March we head north from Durban to the Kruger National Park for our 14-day EcoQuest Training Course in the Karongwe Camp in the Hoedspruit Area.
We loved it!
In the 2 weeks we see far more animals than we ever hoped to see. Read the journal for some details.

February 2011

After an 11-day trip on the container vessel "Buxmelody" we are now in Durban, South Africa.
You can read up on the "Buxmelody " and there is a journal of the trip.

On February 27 the "Morning Courier" with the OKA on board arrives. It takes 3 days to get it through immigration and customs .....

December 2010 - January 2011

After a stay in Switzerland for Christmas we return to Perth to get the OKA ready for its travel to South Africa.
On January 25 we drop the OKA at Fremantle port and head over to Queensland to visit Susi's brothers.

October -
November 2010

Back in Perth the OKA is made ready for its trip around the world and sits on stands in the factory .... which makes us "home-less".
But we don't really have time to relax and take it easy!
There is a lot to be done from carnet de passage to international driver's license to all the vaccinations etc. etc. etc. .... but we are getting there!

August -
September 2010

We head up to Carnarvon and enjoy our own home (the OKA fits perfectly in the driveway ...) while a tenant is being found for it.
Susi gets busy in her garden and Ruedi has many small jobs to do like e.g. fixing the small windmill in front of the house ....

July 2010

For a month Susi travels to Switzerland with her brother while Ruedi stays in Perth and is busy getting the OKA ready for our planned world trip.

May - June 2010

We drive to Exmouth (about 1'100 km north of Perth) to meet some friends. Then we head back to Carnarvon (about 800 km north of Perth) where we buy a small house . It will be our save heaven after returning from our planned trips to the African and American continents.
Until then the house will be rented out - will say: there is for the time being no such thing as "visiting Schoenslebens in Carnarvon".
Sorry guys!

April 2010

For Ruedi's 60th birthday an OKA-Rally is organised at Glen Mervyn Dam in Western Australia.
Click here for a short report and some pictures.

March 2010

We are fixing, renovating and cleaning the OKA.
After 4 years of travelling it needs a bit of attention.

We are also planning our trip around the world.
Looks like we will start it in Southern Africa .....

February 2010

No travelling with the OKA as Susi flies to QLD to visit her brothers and Ruedi spends his time composing songs .... for the next movie ...?
We will see .....

December 2009 - January 2010

Christmas break in Switzerland with looooooots of snow!

October 2009

Heidi and Peter leave us in Darwin. They are now travelling back to Perth where they will ship their Toyota back to Europe and return to Switzerland.

We travel through Kakadu National Park and then in direction of Alice Springs together with our honeymooners Petr and Reni.

September 2009

Together with Heidi's son Simon we travel through the Gregory National Park, Nitmiluk National Park and the Kakadu National Park.
Originally the Litchfield National Park was planned next but the OKA's back diff decided to give up on us ..... 5 weeks too early, it was due for replacement in Perth in November!
Sometimes we wish Murphy wasn't soooooooo active on our trips!!!!!

You can find the journal Kununurra - Darwin here.

August 2009

After stops in Karratha, Port Hedland and Broome we travel through the Kimberleys visiting all the beautiful gorges. A challenging detour brings us to the Walcott Inlet where we can see big tides and lots of large salties. By the end of August we reach Kununurra.

July 2009

On the way to Yulara Ruedi discovers broken leaf springs in the back which forces us to deviate to Alice Spring to have it fixed.

Then we go bush again.
We follow Len Beadell's markers from Yulara north on the Sandy Blight Junction Road to Kintore, then west on the Gary Junction Road to Kunawarritji, then south on the Canning Stock Route from well 31 to well 23 and west to Newman on the Talawana Track.

Next we visit some parts of the Karijini and the Millstream - Chichester National Park and have a bit of a break at the beach at Hearsons Cove (Burrup Peninsula near Dampier).

June 2009

Heidi and Peter are back from Switzerland.
We travel through the Flinders and Gammon Ranges to Innamincka on the Strzelecki Track and visit the Coongie Lakes.
Then we cross over to the Birdsville Track on the Walkers Crossing Track hoping to see the birds at Goyder Lagoon.
But the birds are gone further north as the waters are already drying up fast.
So we travel south to Marree on the Birdsville Track then north on the Oodnadatta Track and have a short rest at Dalhousie Springs.

May 2009

After finding a leaking front diff in the Flinders Ranges we head down to Adelaide and repair the seal.
Then we head north to Port Augusta where we wait for the return of Heidi and Peter from Switzerland.

April 2009

At the beginning of April Simon as well as Heidi and Peter return to Switzerland and we head north.

Together with Peter and Margaret from OKA 196 we head out to Lake Eyre see if there is any water.
Over Easter we meet up with David and Genine in OKA 131 and visit the Flinders Ranges.
Have a look in the journal to see if we found water in Lake Eyre ....

March 2009

Together with Simon, Heidi's son, we visit the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians, the Wyperfeld, Murray Sunset and Mungo National Park.

February 2009

We visit the west of Tasmania with the very pretty forests, mountains and lakes. .
While travelling through the eastern part of Tasmania sadly our differential finally gives up its life and we have to return to Melbourne a week earlier than planned to have it repaired.

Tasmania is one of the parts of Australia that from what we have seen up to now like the most.

January 2009

We are back in Australia.
The weather in Melbourne is less than impressive, it is actually miserable cold and this in the middle of summer!!!

After finishing the repairs we flee the cold and head north to Mt. Buller to test the OKA.
North of the Great Dividing Range the weather is much better, it feels like summer!
Have a look at the pretty Victorian Alps, the many flowers and clear rivers.

On January 25 we catch the ferry to Tasmania.

December 2008

We enjoy Switzerland, snow and white Christmas.
(Christmas just has to happen in winter. We just cannot get used to having a BBQ as Christmas dinner ....)

November 2008

The OKA needs some work to be ready for the mountains in Tasmania.
It takes a bit longer than expected to get all organised and fixed.
So there is no time left for any additional trips before we head to Switzerland for the Christmas visit.

September - October 2008

We head up to Cape York and have some great adventures.

As the journal is not finished yet here some movies to wake your appetite:

- Palm Creek

- Cannibal Creek

- Gun Shot

- Pascoe River

August - September 2008

We tackle the long drive over to Queensland.
It leads us to Cairns on the Savannah Way.

August 2008

On the 5th of August Ruedi is sworn in as an Australian citizen of Cockburn in Western Australia.
Thanks Australia!
Details can be found at the end of the Finke River National Park journal.

Middle of August Heidi & Peter return from their stay in Switzerland.

July 2008

We spend July as volunteers at Palm Valley (Finke River National Park) and take some off the load of the rangers as cleaning crew.
As "Thanks" we can go along to areas of the park that usually are off-limits for tourists.
We can also participate on some Spinifex burning.
Follow this link to the journal of it.

June 2008

Heidi and Peter fly to Switzerland to visit the parents.
This gives us a bit of time for some volunteer work: collecting rubbish at the Finke Desert Race.
Have a look at the Finke Desert Race journal, it contains many movies ....

April - May 2008

We travel via the Connie Sue Highway and the abandoned section of the Gunbarrel Highways to Alice Springs .... 800 km through rocks and desert, no refuelling possibilities, no water .....
We also travel through the Western and Eastern MacDonnell Ranges and find the Cattlewater Pass and Ruby Gap to offer some pretty hairy tracks to drive.

March 2008

The south of Western Australia with its pretty beaches and the large forests is much to our liking.
We also unintentionally test how much we can tilt the OKA ... have a look at the journal .

January - February 2008

Together with Heidi and Peter we travel north into the soft sand.
Yes, we have to use the shovels.
The journal to Steep Point has some nice footage of it ....

December 2007

Our second Christmas-visit to Switzerland is pretty exhausting.
So many of our friends want to see us and have a look at the movies of our adventures in Australia during 2007.
Well, Australia still is the flavour of the month for many Swiss ... no surprise to us.

October 2007

To escape the Perth winter-rain we travel to Kalgoorlie on the Holland Track.
On the way back to Perth we drive on some abandoned tracks and have a bit of fun on the Woodland Tracks.

September 2007

Towards the end of September our "partners in crime" arrive ... Ruedi's sister Heidi and her husband Peter come to Australia and bring their Swiss vehicle along.
They will stay here for the next 2.5 years and travel mostly with us.

August 2007

Roger (who travelled on the "CMA CGM Matisse" through the Panama Channel with us in 2005 ) and Katarina come for a visit.
We travel to the Goldfields, where we visit the large mines.
On the way back we concentrate on nature, visit a few National Parks, Monkey Mia and its Dolphins and drive through flowers, flowers, flowers ....

June and July 2007

We leave Alice Springs and travel to Coober Pedy via the Old Andado Road and Dalhousie Springs.
On our trip back to Perth we choose to travel on parts of the Oodnadatta Track.

May 2007

We are busy in Alice Springs, three new diaries are ready for you to read.

Read of a visit to Darr River Downs Station, a large cattle station in Outback Queensland .
Do you know what a "Picnic Race" is?
Or have you heard of the dinosaur stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park ?

April 2007

In Mornington (Melbourne) a large OKA-Rally is held.
Of course we have to go there!
Details of it and also the diary of our trip to the Gold Coast via Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney can be found in the journal.

March 2007

The OKA-NT 1 story is printed in the March edition of the Overlander 4WD magazine ( www.overlander.com.au ).
We are so excited!

Click on the PDF-symbol to download the PDF-version of it. (size: 10'220 KB)

For questions regarding our OKA truck or the back-section which are not already on our web-site please feel free to contact us.
Our email address can be found in the "About us" section.
Thanks.

For enquiries regarding the OKA truck please contact as follows:

December 2006 -
February 2007

Over Christmas we travel to Switzerland and for the first time see Switzerland with the eyes of a tourist.
And we fully agree with the tourists, Switzerland is very beautiful.
But if one is used to the Australian Outback Switzerland is very small and crowded.

November 2006

Back in Perth we work with Ian Glover from the Overlander Magazine, the largest 4WD magazine in Australia, on the story of our OKA-NT 1.

October 2006

We travel on the Great Central Road to Kalgoorlie where we team up with OKA 196 to explore the Holland Track.
Spring has arrived in Western Australia and the flowers are just incredible.
The Holland Track journal is a MUST for flower lovers!

September 2006

We travel on the Savannah Way to Alice Springs for the OKA's first service.

August 2006

Finally the plates arrive.
We drive from Alice Springs to Perth (2951 km) in 3 days to pick up our baby.
The welcoming-party and baptism is held at the Windjana Gorge in the Kimberleys.

June - July 2006

We are still waiting for Canberra and the plate ......
Due to the delay we take off on our planned trip to Alice Springs in a rented Bushcamper and explore the area around Alice Springs in it.

May 2006

The OKA is tested in Kalbarri , all works fine.
Now we only have to wait for the compliance plate from Canberra.

January - April 2006

The Alu-Star-team arrives in Perth to finish the assembly of the cabin on the OKA.

December 2006

Due to delays in the production of the OKA the plans have to be changed.
Instead of shipping the OKA to Germany and have the camper finished there, the cabin is shipped to Australia.
The Alu-Star crew will fly to Australia in January to assemble the camper on OKA's premises in Perth.

September - November 2005

On September 17th we embark on a trip halfway around the world.
Our ship the "CMA CGM Matisse" leaves Hamburg in direction of New York .
After visiting Norfolk and Savannah on October 7th we cruise the Panama Channel .
From there we continue on to New Zealand via Tahiti.
The last part of our trip takes us to French Caledonia and then via Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide to Perth.

May 2005

The cabin is shown at the Abenteuer-Allrad in Bad Kissingen .

July 2004 -
August 2005

The back-section of the OKA is being built.
The work in progress can be followed in the diaries.

January 2004

The decision has been taken:
We will leave Europe by ship in direction of Australia on 17.9.2005.
We have booked a passage on the CMA CGM Matisse, a 195 m long container ship.

December 2003

We travel to Australia and buy "our" OKA.
We measure out the whole truck at OKA in Perth and Ruedi designs the camper .

June 2003

Greece is calling again ....

January 2003

We change our plans and go back to the original design: an OKA

April 2002

Our first trip in to the desert takes us to Tunisia .

2001

Our LandRover Defender 130 " The Millimeter " is built.
We travel to Greece (sorry, not translated to English yet) to test it.

2000

We work out some general specifications of a camper and different models.

1999

We commence the realization of Stage 3 by buying the hiking- and trekking equipment.

1998

We find Bushtracker , an off-road caravan builder, and design "our" caravan.

1997

We begin working on a plan , the 3 "comfort stages" model is born.

1996

Again in Australia we start dreaming up our first plans of a camper.

1995

On our first trip to Outback Australia (sorry, not translated to English yet) we find the thought of owning a camper and travel the world with it quite intriguing.
We start fantasizing ....