NOMAD OBSERVATIONS
I slept in the Kea Nomad M700 for three nights on a wintery foreshore in Victoria. Here’ s what I realised. First, it’ s essential to rugup when you ' re free-camping in the southern states during winter! That’ s a given, obviously, but even more so when you’ re not plugged into mains power.
The roof-mounted reverse-cycle air-conditioner would have been amazing to run on its heat setting at night time, when temperatures dropped to teeth-chattering levels. But this was Paradise Beach, a little spit of land in the Gippsland region where you won’ t find a 15A outlet for love or money, and a diesel-fired heater isn’ t part of the standard package with this rig.
I therefore had to make do with layers and blankets at night. And in all honesty, It wasn’ t too bad!
The lack of mains power did mean, however, that I couldn’ t run my kettle. I do carry a portable lithium battery on my travels but even with the inverter running in its‘ boost’ mode, it struggles to boil a kettle. But thanks to the stove and the on-board 9kg gas cylinder, I could boil water in a pot and drink warming soup and herbal tea.
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