It wasn’t long into our travels that Willow discovered a way to climb up the rear ladder of our old van and perch herself on the roof. She would carefully make her way up each rung, wedging herself between the ladder and the back window before making one last stretch to the top.

There she would sit watching the world go by; the birds in the trees, or a desert sunset.

It also wasn’t long before I discovered, also, that the roof was in fact a great place to be. It had been those moments together on the top deck that I had missed greatly since getting our new van.

With the new van near complete after an intensive 3-month fit-out it was now time to focus on those finishing-off projects.

I went to a big chain hardware store and found that the specialty decking was quite expensive. However, I found some 1.8 meter Merbau pickets which were just the right size – and price at $6.25 each.

I cut them to size as they were a fraction too long, gave them a quick sand to remove any splinters then applied a coat of oil. Then, each was bolted into the channel on the roof rack.

At that moment I was very proud of my roof rack design as it allowed this project to be completed very quickly.

With the deck (Okay, it’s really just a platform?) complete it was now time to test it out. Willow hasn’t quite figured out a way to get onto the roof yet so for now she receives a little help.

I climbed the ladder with a beer and some cat treats and on our new deck we sat. With a bit of elevation we could see all around us – at the other end of the orchard the horses were grazing with their friend, the willy wagtail.

Willow sat and looked out over our little world. After I gave her some treats she cleaned her paws.

When it was time to come down Willow saw an opportunity to execute the manoeuvre herself. She balanced herself on the sliding door before pawing below to find a foothold (pawhold?) and landed herself inside the van.

Now, what’s for dinner?

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Thanks for joining us for another story. I’m sure Willow will find a way to get up there herself someday. Do you have a special place you spend time with your cat? I can’t wait to spend some quality time on our top deck with Willow and Steph on our next adventure.

Want to see how the rest of our van was built? Check it out here.