“I picked up the local newspaper and it said ‘fiberglass caravan for sale’. So I went and had a look at it and sadly it had holes all through it, it was a wreck. I had to say no. “So I went to have a beer with a mate who lived nearby, happened to look over his back fence and then I saw another one in the neighbour’s yard.” Neville says it was another few months before he was finally able to buy the van which had been used as a kid’s cubby house for many years and was in a bad state of repair. The restoration took the couple just over 12 months to complete, doing all the work themselves, including the re-upholstery. “We tried to keep it original as possible. The curtains came from my Mum’s, I cut them up when she passed away a couple of years ago,” Margaret says. The only major modification made is the addition of an auxiliary power supply system so they can go camping where they like. Since completing the restoration they’ve travelled extensively including a major trip to Adelaide via the NSW Snowy Region and Victoria’s The Great Ocean Road. “It weighs just 910kgs and on that trip we averaged 15 litres to the 100km on that trip.” Neville and Margaret obviously adore their Olympic they still refer as “the Cubby House” and are looking forward to many more years of travelling. “It’s got so much character and it gives us the freedom to go where we like and do our own thing.”
