In August 2013 I had a visit from those Fab Two Mokees Jill and Allen Whatmore. They had driven up from their Melbourne home to Cairns in their converted Hino bus. This now luxurious mobile home boasts of everything including the kitchen sink. Their beaut Moke 'Scruffy' was quite happy to sit quietly on its trailer as it followed the bus between stopovers. 'Scruffy' then became dead useful and essential in the multitude of city and town stopovers where it was used to nip around easily. The mobile home being impractical for parking in such places.
'Scruffy' is a mighty fine 1978 Moke with a 1275, its name being derived from its somewhat tarnished appearance. For this tremendous trip its insides were packed with a multitude of spares which from experiences during past Moking adventures were now deemed to be essential. A really brilliant modification was the replacement of the original windscreen frame with one that was perfectly rectangular. This makes the windscreen far easier to replace if devastated by road rocks and thus eliminating a great deal of nail biting.
The now retired Jill and Allen were making their way to the Top of Cape York in Queensland the farthest anyone can drive north in Australia, any further would have required a floatation device. On the way they met up with a mob of seven like- minded mobile home fans in Mareeba so they were not short of travelling companions.
The drive from Cairns to the Top is not a pleasant one and is perhaps more for enduring than enjoying. This is due to the corrugated nature of the road which varies between 'very' and 'awfully'. They were wise indeed when they decided to leave 'Scruffy' and its trailer behind at my place in Cairns.
At home in Melbourne Jill and Allen are the proud owners of another roadworthy Moke called 'Maxx' along with 10 more Mokes which are all resting on one of their pannier sides to save storage space. It is envisaged that in the fullness of time each of these Mokes will have a new and loving owner.
For more about the Whatmore,s Moking adventures visit their blog whatmorebus.blogspot.com.au
