Testing The LC 300 In Extreme Tropical Heat + The Rainforest Camp Where Cassowaries Roam Free

Cassowaries stole the cheese and the show, but the real suspense came from a 37-degree towing day that finally put our LandCruiser 300 to the test. We headed to a tiny tropical gem—Ettie Bay—where rainforest brushes the sand, nippers train under the red and yellow, and a modest fish and chip shop serves Spanish mackerel good enough to plan lunch around. It’s the kind of place that feels untouched: tight beachfront sites, a fenced playground in view of your awning, and day visitors swinging in hammocks between the palms. It’s also the kind of place that demands respect—stinger nets, seasonal jellyfish, croc sightings, and cassowaries that will happily admire their reflection in your shiny 4WD.

Between swims and sunset patrols, we built our favourite warm-weather ritual: Facos. Think soft tortillas, crisp salsa, pickled heat, and a burst of local mango folded around fresh crumbed Spanish Mackerel. Stocking up at a roadside stall outside Innisfail turned lunch into a celebration of pineapple-sweet air and sticky mango fingers. It’s fast, fresh, kid-friendly, and exactly what beach camping calls for after a morning of sand and salt.

Then we turned to the data everyone keeps asking for. After six months and nearly 20,000 kilometres towing a 3.6-tonne family bunk van, we share temps, gearing, and upgrades that matter. With Just Autos tuning onboard, a ScanGauge watching coolant and transmission temps (and a plan to add EGT), we saw 85–87°C on regular days, 92–94°C in the heat, and 102°C on steep climbs in a lower gear—no alarms, no fade, no drama. Seventh gear for a 1:1 ratio keeps the transmission happy; dropping gears on hills manages load and heat. We also cover weight balance, stability, and the importance of booking services ahead with trusted partners like Cutler Diesel Performance in Townsville.

All of this ties back to a simple truth: choose curiosity over comfort. Wild places reward the prepared traveller, good food elevates simple nights, and real-world data beats internet hot takes every time. If you’re weighing up the Geelong Caravan and Adventure Leisure Fest, we explain why a $15 ticket can be the most efficient way to compare rigs, tech, and trends in one hit.

Love the show? Follow, share with a mate planning their lap, and leave a review with your best beach meal tip or towing question—we’ll feature our favourites next week.

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Transcript

Welcome And Episode Roadmap

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome to the Travel Australia Podcast. We have Paul Katie and Jasper from the Feel Good family. Join us as we explore this great country of Australia, its people, places, and cultures.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Yes, it's the original Travel Australia Podcast where we share the latest in RV industry news, road trip, travel, caravan and camping, product reviews, guest interviews, and so much more. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

This week we put the 300 to the test, coming in 37 degree temp days. After six months touring in this combination, we share our Land Cruiser 300 review. Plus, beach camping in the tropics doesn't get any better than this. Plus, Katie shares the best go-to summer meal. Delicious.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Yummy. Another jam-packed episode this week, Paulie.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Yeah, we've got a jam-packed day, actually. We do. There is stuff everywhere in our van. Luckily, we don't have the cameras rolling.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Oh, look, I I think too, it always feels so much more compounded when you do live in such a small space. And as it is, you know, our life, our daily life consists of basically moving things around so that we can access different parts of the caravan. Uh so when we're packing to go away somewhere, like we currently are, then it's even more stuff everywhere kind of vibe, because there literally is stuff everywhere and there's only so many surfaces to put things.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

I know, that's so true. I guess that's the good thing. We always talk about, you know, it's a a good environment to have an argument because you've only got one door to slam.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Well, there's uh only so much, you know, surface space that you can actually put things on.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Yes, which I mean obviously is great because it makes you uh very aware of the things that you have in your environment and what's necessary and what's not. But it can make days like today, and we are packing, we should say, where are we going, Paul? What are we doing?

Packing Chaos And Small-Space Living

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Right oh, we are going to the Geelong Caravan and Adventure Leisure Fest. It's the first time a show of this size has been held in Victoria in Geelong. And remarkably, Geelong has, I think, if not the highest, one of the highest RV registration postcodes in Australia. Well, certainly in Victoria.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

And so for them to put on this show, it's an end-of-year show. There'll be specials, galore, all of the experts there. I can't remember, I think there's over 170 exhibitors, but literally millions, hundreds of millions of dollars of product, you know, uh everything

Geelong Caravan Show Preview

SPEAKER_01 2:55

from swags to full-blown bus rigs, you know. It's going to be quite an event and we will be speaking there daily, and we'd love to see you if you're in the locale or within a couple of hours drive radius. Come and say hi.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Yeah, absolutely. We're super excited to get to Geelong. We've never spent any time down there. What um what are you called if you're from Geelong? Are you a Geelongian or or do you have a like you're a Melbourne? What are you if you're from Geelong?

SPEAKER_01 3:26

A Bollardian. Don't they have the famous Bollards there?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

I have no idea. I've never spent any time in Geelong, but look, we're excited to come down and be Geelongians for the weekend and uh to be presenting again at the show. It's always great for us to get to these major events around the country and have the opportunity to to meet all of you who are out there supporting us week on, week off, listening to the podcast, watching our YouTube channel, you know, following along with the adventures. It's such an awesome give back for us to be able to have some time to meet you and have a yarn and learn about your adventures and and answer all the questions and you know, really just love that vibe. It's such a great vibe, the caravan shows to get around and see all of the new products and the innovations and you know, the current trends that are coming up for 2026. I'm super excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Yeah, me too. I love all the innovation. I love just having a sticky beak, to be honest, and and checking out what's current and what's coming. Uh, interestingly, there is, I guess, two ways of looking at it. Uh there's people who complain about paying to come to a a show, which, you know, in effect is a marketplace. Yes. Uh where on the other side, we 100% think it is the best money you will ever spend because everyone is in the one place. You don't have to go up and down the motorway seeing all the different suppliers and you know, spending all the money on fuel and all of your time getting to and from all of, you know, the the different variety of uh products and services that you might want to look at. You can literally come to one place. Now I think it's like fifteen dollars.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

It is fifteen dollars this show.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

It is the most inexpensive, should I use the word cheapest? Uh uh I don't want to use that word, but inexpensive show ticket that we've ever seen.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Yeah, and kids under 15 are free too, which it just makes it so affordable for families.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

All the experts, all the education sessions uh included. Uh it's a no-brainer to us. So if you're in the area, do come and say hi.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Down at Geelong Race Course. We're looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

We don't have some freebies to give away.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Uh we do. We do. We have some double passes to give away. So if you are keen and you are listening from anywhere in that Melbourne Geelong, Geelongian area, keep an eye on our socials. We do have some double passes to the show this weekend to give away. Love it.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Righto,

Why Shows Are Worth The Ticket

SPEAKER_01 6:00

let's get into it. Our feel good find of the week is very unique. It is called Ettie Bay. It is best known for where the Casswari roam free. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Oh, look, I have to say, this one was tipped off to us by a Cannes local who we actually met when we were staying at another of our absolute favourite campgrounds, which is Creek's Edge, just up there near Mossman on the Dane Tree rainforest. And we got talking to this lady. Uh Jasper was in the creek playing, and her children were in the creek playing. And we just, you know, as you do, you get friendly with your camp neighbour and had a bit of a yarn. And she said to us, Have you guys ever been to Ettie Bay? And we said, We've never even heard of Eddie Bay. She said, I've been going there with my family every year since I was a young kid, and it is absolutely awesome. Put it on your list.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Yeah, I think it was their family Christmas tradition. So they're booked into the only caravan or camping location located on the beach at Eddie Beach or Eddie Bay uh every year. What a great tradition to have as a family, and now for her to be sharing it with her kids. And no doubt her kids will continue on as long as they can.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Oh, absolutely. And what I think makes that even more special is when you do get to Eddie Bay, it's this tiny little beachfront caravan park that's nestled between the sand and the rainforest, and there's not much else there, so it feels super old school. You know, it feels like the good old days, doesn't it, Paul? Just even rolling in. It's got that vibe to it. Yeah, it really does.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

And it it is a little tight. That's probably one of the things in comments that you'll see as feedback. But we actually didn't even notice that, you know, particularly if you're on the front six sites, which is the hot tip. Our site was number three.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

We felt that was probably the best site.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Yeah, look, those six beachfront, you know, I'm doing the inverted commas or the rabbits as Jasper calls them with my fingers, but those six beachfront sites are really great for the longer van. So if you're a family van, you're a little bit longer,

Feel Good Find: Ettie Bay

SPEAKER_00 8:20

uh, then one of those sites is great for you. Yes, it is a little bit tight, but when you look at the aerial shots that Paulie got with the drone, there's not much space there. So I think what they've done with the caravan park to get as many sites as they have in there. There's a little section out the back that has more powered sites, and I think there might be like two or three unpowered sites that are probably more suitable for like rooftop tents, that kind of setup. It's quite remarkable how they've managed to even get a caravan park in this space because there is not a lot of room. You basically have to come in over, you know, a little bit of a range and down onto the beachfront. So you've got this mountain behind you, which is lush rainforest. I mean, what they've done with the space is remarkable.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Now, it was only $59 for two adults and Jasperini.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

We honestly think the again, location, location, location bargain.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Absolutely. Now, again, that's for full power and water hookup site. Those sites at the, I guess at the front section, the beach front section of the caravan park also have the grey water connection. So that's what we had on our site. The sites at the the back side of the park, just sort of tucked around the corner a little bit, um, I believe don't have grey water connection available there. And that is part of your stay. You do have to catch your grey. So just be mindful of that when you are booking.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

I would say Could you though then pull around and dump it into the grey collection points?

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Oh, potentially if there was nobody on the site.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

You would, or you'd ask.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

That's what I would do.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Look, I I think my tip would be, and this is exactly what we did, jump on their website. Okay, it's pretty old school, but you'll get the vibe. You can actually see the park map on the website and you can book online, but I rang and spoke to a lovely staff person and said, Hey, can like, can I request one of these beachfront sites? And she was like, Yeah, of course, same price, so no stress. So um, if you really want, you know, to have that grey water hook up or you are in a large event, or you just want to wake up and look out and boom, there's the ocean, then I would suggest ringing and booking. Um good to know that there is no dump point here either, again, because of the location, but it's only a not even 15-minute drive into Innisval where the dump point is.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Yeah, so cool. If you're a self-drive without uh anything in tow or no rooftop tent, they do have these really awesome looking shipping containers that have been converted into a com with a deck and large open windows, and there's a couple of those that are right on the uh the beachfront as well. There is a a turnaround bay, uh I guess.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

It's like a day parking area.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Yeah, bitumen area right in front of the campsite. So and then you're across that and into the sand. Yeah. Uh there's also a a pretty basic but a you know good enough kids playground, which is fully fenced, which is awesome because you can literally send your little whippersnippers over there and sit, you know, out under your awning, sipping on a pina clader, taking in the view and know your kids are safe. I I love that too, about these front sights.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

Yeah, absolutely. And we were directly opposite that playground, so that was great for Jasper. Um, and then of course, you know, there is plenty of sand well back from the water for the kids to play as well. And you know, somebody had strung a couple of, you know, the real old school rope swings with the big piece of driftwood, so the kids were swinging off that and just having a fantastic time.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

I saw quite a lot of the backpacker vans coming through, and uh they weren't camping, but they were setting up and kind of opening the back of the van door and then stringing hammocks between the palm trees, and I thought that's yeah, there's something about that too that I just beautiful way to spend a day. Yeah, there's a f there's

Camping Practicalities And Site Tips

SPEAKER_01 12:40

a freedom and a free-spirited vibe about that that picture that I love, and that was actually that picture perfect postcard that I stuck on my office corkboard while I was working away back there in corporate when I was dreaming about travelling Australia and touring with with uh with you, Katie and and Jasper. That was that image, and to be there on the beach and then look back up and see these, you know, young, free-spirited European bronzed bodies cracking coronas and and swinging in a hammock. I thought, wow, what a memory, a lifelong memory these guys are creating for themselves. But you can do that here, even if you're a day visitor.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Which is what I really loved about it. It was postcard perfect.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yep, definitely. Now, aside from the little caravan park, there is not too much else here, which makes it even more appealing. There is a lovely little fish and chip shop, we'll talk about in a moment. Wasn't that awesome, Paul? And beside that is the little Ettie Bay Surf Life Saving Club.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

What a surprise to see this facility. It is the largest part of the facilities here. And I I think it's been going, if I'm right, was it since like 1936? Yeah. It's recently won an award in the Surf Life Saving Club awards that are handed out nationally as I think the best little c club going. Um something like that. And then they have what they call in Australia Nippers, which are basically the weekend training education centre for surf life savers, you know, at grassroots level. And so to see the little nippers out there getting trained up early morning on the weekend. I love that. It's a core memory for me looking back when I was growing up on the beaches of the Gold Coast and and the Nippers, you know, it's it's an awesome system that they have here in Australia.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Yeah, absolutely. And I loved too that the beach was in effect patrolled. Well, it certainly was when we were there. The red and yellow flags were out. There is a huge uh stinger net that is out in the bay. Um in effect, they call it the safe swimming net. So if you do want to go for a dip, we would obviously recommend swim inside the net. Don't swim outside the net.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Look, people uh do ignore that warning. There's two trains of thought here. Some people say, well, then if the stingers get inside the net, then you're trapped in there with them. Uh y you might be better to be freer spirited. Either way, we've got to really address the elephant, or I should say, crocodile in the room. Um But this is still tropical North Queensland. Crocodiles have been sighted here, and that's the salt water variety. Uh basically the ones that eat humans. Uh the stingers anytime from November through to about April, May, stinger season and can be lethal. Uh the Cassawares, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

The Cassawaris, I mean, we haven't even spoken about the best part of this whole place.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Uh are here and are incredibly desensitized uh or conditioned to interacting with humans. Uh don't be delusional or d or think that they're still not incredibly dangerous animal. So there is a number of uh, I guess, wildlife environment uh potential hazards that are in this location that you just need to be aware of, and we're not trying to scare anyone, but I think it can be easy to be lulled into this sense of Yeah, like false security.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

You still got to be aware of these things. So yeah, so our advice would be listen to the locals, follow the rules, listen to the Surf Life Savers. There people still get stung in stinger nets, especially in these warmer conditions. I mean the temperature of the ocean at the moment up there in tropical North Queensland has been hitting 32 and a half degrees Celsius. Yeah, yeah. That's incredibly warm.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah, absolutely. And look, we we did uh Brave the Water and the boys went out and Jasper wrote his boogie board because we had uh a fairly breezy day and little uh waves whipped up.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

And look, uh a good advice there, Katie, would be to wear a stinger suit if you want to be, you know, covered head to toe and have that full protection. That would be a a great suggestion, great recommendation. Uh but we do get us

Postcard Vibes And Safe Swimming

SPEAKER_01 17:20

but did you guys swim? We did swim and we swam uh while it was patrolled. Yes. And was it is there still a risk factor involved? Yes, like there is in life in anything. But we had an awesome time.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Yeah, absolutely. Look, Polly, I want to just um quickly read out, if I can, a couple of the the signage that was along the beachfront relating to the cassowaries. Because like it's quite mind-blowing. I mean, we're Aussies, right? We've we've worked in the wildlife space, we've been lucky to have some pretty incredible experiences with wildlife, uh, both in captivity and in the wild. But there's something truly incredible about seeing a cassowary, this this prehistoric creature roaming through the caravan park or along the beachfront. In fact, our lovely neighbours, another family who's full-time on the road, had just made this gorgeous cheese platter at the end of the day, and the kids were over playing in the playground. And the cassowary just came and helped itself to their cheese platter, which is so devastating, but also incredible.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

The entire thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Cam and bear, if I don't mind. I'd say it the Camember Bear wheel would have gone down in one hit. But um, some of the signage that is along the foreshore. Yeah, the foreshore. It's very humorous, but also very serious. So I just want to read you a couple of the signage. One says, if you want to take a photo, do not corner the cassawary. Remember, it is a wild animal and it hates you. Its feet are daggers and it is always angry. It will slash at you, it will climb in your van and eat your food. This is all true. You should be frightened of Cassawaris.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

And it's kind of like a far side, was it? Yes. Larson was the artist. It's kind of this cartoon-depicted version of this angry cassauery, you know, coming to get you and climbing in your van. Uh, but they've done it really well, and it's it's actually a uh state government initiative to I think give the education in a sort of lighthearted way, but still with a serious message using these kind of cartoon-depicted imagery uh along a series of signs uh on the on the beachfront. Yeah. Because they are there. The it's it was quite awesome. Everyone was like, oh, am I gonna see one? Am I gonna see one? We saw a Cassaree four different times across the three days.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Yeah, absolutely. They seem to come out uh of an afternoon, sort of just before dusk, and they'll just wander through the caravan park. Um, we had a couple of people say to us actually, just watch your car. You're actually you're probably lucky that your car is white and not a dark colour because if they can see their reflection in your vehicle, they'll think it's another cassawary. And let's just say they're not very friendly to each other. And there is a sign on the beachfront as well that says, Did you know cassawaris like shiny cars? They see their reflection and think it is another cassawary and try to fight it. This can cause a lot of damage. Explain that to your rental car company or insurer. And in fact, we met a number of people who said, Well, yeah, my brother or my cousin's sister's best friend's neighbor had had their car and it's just like it's been in a hailstorm fully dinted in on the sides by the cassawari.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Full on. So be wary the cassawary, as the sign says. Uh, but this Jurassic-looking animal is a sight to be seen with its vibrant colours that come off the top of the crown of its head

Cassowary Encounters And Safety

SPEAKER_01 21:00

down into its kind of like, you know, looks like a a cattle ball bag hanging underneath it, doesn't it? I mean it does. Yes, it does. But then these bright I don't know what that bit's called. Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of like a turkey's gills. Uh we'd have to look that up. Does a turkey have gills? No, no, but that that kind of that hangy bit. Yeah. It's like it's like a big ball bag. I mean, I don't know how else to say it, sorry.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Let's move on. If you know what that's called, yeah, us wildlife experts, please let us know.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Terrible, Katie. Okay, let's talk about the fish and chippery because that was a highlight. We went back. Covlet. So good. Now it is locally caught Spanish mackerel, and you can have it however you like, battered, crumbed, grilled, with some chips, pretty reasonably priced, delicious, and our go-to meal in the summer. Seriously, for Jasper and I, and you too, Katie, but it is our absolute favourite. Give us the rundown.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Or give us the wrap.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Oh, I like what you did there. Our favorite meal at this time of year, especially when you have incredible fish at the ready like we did here in Eddie Bay.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

And incredible fruit and veggies. Oh my goodness. Start there when we where we got our actual supply from.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yeah, okay. Well, that's a good point. There's this great uh fruit and veggie stall, uh, sort of not far out of Innesvale on the way to Eddie Bay.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

On the south side.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

Yep. And we got tipped off about this again. We love that when somebody says, Oh, you've got to go and stop there. And so we did thank you, D from Paradise Camps in Babinda. And we picked up, I mean, there was an incredible array here. It's one of those roadside stalls that you never know what's going to be there on any particular day. It's just what they've had access to. It's um mostly all locally grown, which is fantastic. Uh, we picked up pineapple, watermelon, um, we got some raw honey, passion fruit, passion fruit, yes, limes, mangoes. Oh, stop. So good. So many amazing, delicious things here at this roadside store. So we would recommend wherever you are traveling around the country, if there is a a farmer's stall or a roadside market where it's local produce, do yourself a favor and do the farmers and the local community a favour and stop and pick up some produce there because you'll be so thankful that you did.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

We always find the best characters to arrange these local stalls. They've just got the good stories and they're normally pretty extroverted. So they're good value, good Aussie humour.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Absolutely. And another great tip is to always have a little bit of cash in your vehicle because a lot of these roadside stalls are cash only, particularly if they're unmanned.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Cash is king, baby.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Yeah, it is. But hey, the rise of the square, a lot of the places that we've stopped lately that have been staffed have, you know, the little square reader on your phone now, which makes it so easy. Okay, so we picked up our produce. Our favorite meal to make at summertime is Farcos.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Farcos? You can't say that on a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Well, thanks to some good friends of ours. We just used to call them boring old fish tacos. And we've got some great friends back on the Gold Coast who introduced us to the concept of Farcos, and we absolutely love it. So, of course, you need some really beautiful fish, and the the locally caught Spanish mackerel just hit the mark. In fact, we rolled into Eddie Bay and it was lunchtime, and so I jumped out, went and checked us in. We pulled into the site, unhitched. Uh like we hadn't even set up camp. And Paul said, I'm gonna go and grab us some fish. So we I quickly set up the inside of the van. Paul went and picked up some Spanish mackerel, came back, and we had Farcos. Okay, so you need a good tortilla wrap.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

The softest. Yes. You could use hard ones, but we love that you can a nice soft taco. You can mold these around.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Absolutely. Some great fish. Now we love to make up a salsa and it's so super quick and easy. And generally, I'll just use whatever I've got. Like I'm not um overly specific, but cucumbers, tomatoes. Um, if you like some red onion, throw some of that in there. I love anything pickled, so I'll love to add in some uh chopped up gherkins or dill pickles. Paul and I both love a good uh jalapeno, so we'll pop in some of those uh pickled jalapenos as well for a little bit of spiced.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Jasper, not so much.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

No, I keep them out for Jasper, but um, we certainly load them up for Paul and I. Mango, if it's in season.

SPEAKER_01 25:47

This is what makes this dish, I think, so good.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Absolutely. Now you could substitute the mango with some other tropical fruit, like pineapple. A beautiful ripe pineapple would be just as good in this salsa. But the mango really does it. And oh boy, Paul, the mango trees up here in tropical North Queensland at the moment are just they are so loaded with fruit. I what do you do with all of those like every single tree is just dripping with fruit.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

There's places up in Port Douglas. What happens is it seems to be biseasonal.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Yeah, cyclic, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Yeah, and uh and it gets to a point where there are so many mangoes, as you say, just dripping that there are signs on people's houses and along the foreshore that say, please take some.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

I mean, there is that many mangoes this season. It is blown our mind. They are literally from cook down all the way down. We have just been blown away with the just the amount of mangoes.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Absolutely. Be worth a road trip alone just for that.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Now a couple of other things, condiments that you might want to add that we do. We have sour cream. Yes. You could put, you know, maybe some mayo in there, but for us might might

Local Eats And Summer Farcos

SPEAKER_01 27:00

sort of kill the the the the flavor of the mango a bit. But the sour cream, very good. And then you can also have a bit of a chutney as well.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

Yeah, or a salsa, like a you know, a Mexican or a taco salsa or something like that, a pica de gallo or something to give it that real um kind of Mexican vibe, which we love, all of those fresh flavors. So go, stop it. You're making my mouth water.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

So there you go. It is uh really one of the best tasting fish if it is freshly caught. Okay. If it starts to smell fishy, pass.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

That's our our rule. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Oh look, that fish and chip shop was so good. We did go back and indulge a number of times, as Paulie said. And um, Jasper and I are quite picky with our fish. So if we eat it and we want it again, we know it's good.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

And you just slice it into like really long finger sizes so that you can wrap them up. And we use the mini wraps or tortillas. What how do you say it? Yeah, tortilla. Aha, see. And that way you just get this delicious, manageable amount. And if you're up for it, you can go back for seconds.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Yeah, look, we'd love to hear your thoughts if you give this recipe a go, or you've got one that you think will top that for us, you can leave us a message through the podcast. So jump onto uh the podcast uh page there on Buzz Sprout and leave us a message.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

All right, let's get on to the review. The Land Cruiser 300. It is six months pretty well now, and almost 20,000 kilometers uh of traveling and touring in combination with our zone Sojourn Family Bunk Van and the 300 and uh so many questions from fellow campers, travelers, they always want to come up and the questions generally are Have you cooked the engine yet? Has the 300 going towing three and a half tonne? You know, is it overheating? There's so many experts out there, I think, uh that were pretty quick to knock our choice of the 300. But I think a lot of those people maybe had seen one or two videos on YouTube that there were vehicles that had had problems and had overheated um being putting, you know, that much load on that V6 engine. So we went through that process of also watching those videos and making our decision on our vehicle, etc. And we did stick with the Toyota 300, but then we also went to Just Autos there on the Sunshine Coast and spoke to Matt, who is really the leading expert in the field on looking at working with these vehicles. He he that's all he works on is Toyota's and Lane Cruises. And to for us to be able to go through uh Just Autos, get a package three, which included a heap of gear and upgrades to support uh Reducing the impact of load and the heat that's associated by doing that. Watch our videos on YouTube or just Google Just Autos and watch Matt. He'll absolutely put it in layman's terms and make sense of it. Anyway, past all of that, I I can confidently say it has been incredible, this vehicle. Not only from a comfort, not only from its ability as far as power and torque to tow three and a half tonne. In fact, our van, when it has full water, full shopping, full our life, which it does anyway, or behind, but you know, full fuel, because we're diesel heating the vehicle not only through the hot water system, but also the heating, which we came through winter, um, the diesel heater. So there's 20 odd litres of fuel there for that as well, uh, wood, uh whatever, you know, but completely loaded up our van um when we did our tow way check was 3.6 tonne. Our vehicle completely loaded up, full tank of fuel, which is like 1, I think, 80 litres, 80 something litres. Uh all of the gear on the roof, all of our life again in it, uh came in at 3.85 ton. I was really trying to get the vehicle to about 10% heavier than the van because I don't want the tail to wag the dog, so to speak.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

Yeah, yeah. Super important for safety, but also how it feels when you're towing as well.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

Yep. So okay, you've got the picture now. That's how we tow in combination. But we'd never had really any hot weather. Well, coming down now from Eddie Bay to Townsville, because we're actually heading to Townsville. It's only 257 kilometres, but in the middle of the day, 37 degrees Celsius, uh, a couple of hill climbs, one that's very steep, gave us a real good opportunity to really test it under ex not extreme heat, but hot. Yeah. Certainly hot temperature.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Yeah, well, I think, you know, when you really do your research and your reading on what vehicle manufacturers class as anything that is, you know, in your inverted commas again, extreme pool. It's it it isn't extreme. It's just, you know, a little bit hotter than than a normal temperature or it it is under tow. Like so many things that are classified as extreme are just the day-to-day things that we deal with here in Australia when we're traveling.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

Yeah, we've got a unique environment going on here. You know, it yeah, anyway, you're right. So if you've if you're towing with a you know a Toyota of any type, then you're putting the vehicle under extreme pressure.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

Basically is what you're saying. Yeah. And then you add in the heat. So what was the outcome? Okay, we've got a scan gauge, and I'm still learning this. So uh, you know, I don't present here to be an expert in this field. And in fact, we've put this up on our YouTube episode this last week and had so many comments come in and and ideas and suggestions. So thank you to everyone out there who um is there to add value and actually give me some some direction here. Uh I'm gonna do some more homework on it now. And I'll also speak to Matt at Just Autos and get some more info. But I have on that main display screen a couple of things, the coolant temp and the transmission temperature. One thing that's missing off there that I now know I need to put on is the exhaust gas

LandCruiser 300: Six-Month Towing Review

SPEAKER_01 33:20

temp, the EGT. So that's a really great factor to give you an idea on how the vehicle's performing. Right. As far as temps. So let's go back to the coolant and the transmission temps. They are generally when we're under tow and you know, the temperatures are, you know, anything between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. Normal, we'll just call it for Australia uh Celsius. We are sitting between 85, 87 degrees on both of those Celsius. Right. Getting into this day, they were sitting around 92 to 94 degrees Celsius. So it was definitely a climb, but nothing extreme. Now, when I hit that range and I had to drop it back down to fifth gear, uh, mind you, I'm towing in seventh gear because that has been the advice given to me from the experts. It's the ratio one to one as far as the transmission's concerned, whatever that means. I I I actually still need to understand that. But as far as giving your transmission the best version of this kind of pressure, seventh. Right. So you switch it from a the ten, you know, it's a it's a ten speed automatic transmission. You can flip it into manual and then you can manually change those gears. Sure. So I I tow in seventh. Well, I dropped it down to fifth to get up this range, and the temperatures went up to 102 degrees Celsius. Um, which is the hottest I've seen it, but again, was still within the safe limit. I had no engine lights come on. The just auto's tuning and the the system they have, they factored in some warning signals uh that will illuminate that engine light for a few seconds, no s no no alarms or anything, and then that'll go out. And that's really an indicator to say, hey, you're getting up into the top end of temperatures here. You now just might be good to drop it back a gear and just come off.

SPEAKER_00 35:19

Back off, baby.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

Back back off, baby. Yeah. Um so listen, that that give you an idea, a picture of what we were experiencing that day. But as far as performance and yeah, nothing has gone wrong, nothing is going wrong. It it has been outstanding. We then took it into Cutler Diesel Performance Center in Townsville to have a service, and I spoke to the guys, and again, they said the vehicle's running perfectly. So they are also an authorised just autos dealer now. So anything that you have seen online that just autos do as far as their packages and their tuning, you can now get done at 13 different diesel performance centres around Australia. They've partnered with reputable businesses, like what Brendan Cutler is running here in Townsville. And so I was able to book ahead and get in there to have my service done and know that I'm in good hands and that Matt and Just Autos have, you know, pretty well given them the stamp of approval.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Yes, so good. And um, just on the servicing, a good tip if you are planning or you are heading out there to do a lap or travel around Australia. Be really pre-planned in your servicing because it does get super busy and if you do leave it to the last moment, you'll find it very difficult to book in for a service anywhere. So being planned ahead will definitely help get your vehicle in on time for the servicing.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Yeah, and also a shout out to Stevie, who's on reception there at Cutler Diesel Performance, and then Kevin, who did the service, who's the mechanic that worked with us um to get the vehicle, you know, a bit of a health check and tuned up and back on the road. It was awesome, awesome service, great people, great family business, been running there for uh a decade now and doing great job in the uh the tropical top end of Queensland. Awesome. Thanks, guys. Right oh, let's get on to the takeaway, Katie. I like this one. Choose curiosity over comfort. Growth lives there. We say that all the time, really, don't we?

SPEAKER_00 37:32

Absolutely. There's nothing like getting out of your comfort zone to stretch yourself. And what I love is when you do get out of your comfort zone and you stretch yourself, then you find a new comfort zone that you need to get out of again.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Yeah, you're always elevating your bar and your standard. Yeah, that's so true. Oh, you know, sit at home on the couch and and dream and grow old.

SPEAKER_00 37:55

Yeah, yeah. Look, gosh, it's so true. And we still have moments, you know. Polly still puts me in situations where he's like, right, you're in the driver's seat and you're tackling this new experience, and it's we're well and truly out of my comfort zone, even after six years on the road. And there is nothing quite like the feeling of getting through a new situation or a, you know, a new challenge, and then having all of the different emotion that comes with just even doing that, you know, regardless of the outcome, is that you said, yes, okay, I'm gonna give it a go. Because it's easy to say, oh no, I don't think so. And I've I've said that a number of times to Paul. He's like, get out, get in that driver's seat. You are driving, and you do it, and then you boom, comfort zone stretched. It's like, okay, how am I gonna like what do I do next to better

Heat, Hills, And Temperatures Explained

SPEAKER_00 38:45

that?

SPEAKER_01 38:45

So good. You've got this. Back yourself.

SPEAKER_00 38:48

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

That's what we'd say. One life, baby. Hey. You hunk it, get busy living. All right. Next week, we visit our favorite. That's right, you heard me, right? Our favorite location on the Queensland coast. Oh, yeah! We love it. For now, we'll say dream big, look after yourself, look after your family. And happy trail.