A bang in the night

November 9, 2019November 5, 2019 Itching for Hitching

My favourite time of the day in the caravan is late at night when everyone is asleep. I like to do a crossword or sudoku or a little macrame and just listen to the night noises, the call of an owl, the surf in the distance. Now, just for a minute imagine the sound of a plywood cupboard door slamming. Now imagine that multiplied and echoing around a lightly built caravan (of plywood and thin plastic held together with glue and staples) when a couple of not so happy campers arrive late after a too long drive and start banging … Continue reading A bang in the night

Qld, Why Caravanning11 Comments

Travel – It should be classed as an addiction

November 8, 2019November 3, 2019 Itching for Hitching

Some of us are nesters and others are born to roam. We like to look over that next hill, just to see what is there. Sometimes it’s more of the same. Sometimes it’s red dirt and mulga to the horizon but other times …well there’s a vista to make your heart swell. Continue reading Travel – It should be classed as an addiction

Qld, Wildlife14 Comments

Red Tailed Black Cockatoos

November 7, 2019November 3, 2019 Itching for Hitching

Sep 2019, Mulambin, Qld A flock of Red Tailed Black Cockatoos feasting on the fruit of Beach Almond trees. With a distinctive cry, you’ll always hear these fellows before you see them. Continue reading Red Tailed Black Cockatoos

Caravanning Hints, Qld13 Comments

It’s a Grey Issue

November 6, 2019November 3, 2019 Itching for Hitching

The handling of grey water is a contentious issue for caravanners in this country. Some campgrounds don’t like people to drop their grey water because sullage hoses that aren’t moved regularly can spoil the ground. On the other hand, we’ve seen desert caravan parks that ask visitors to drop their grey water and helpfully move the sullage hoses around their lush lawns and garden beds for us. That said, it was no surprise when I received this text from friends who for privacy’s sake I’ll call Crafty Colleen and Bob the Builder. “We drove into Charleville Bush Camp and a … Continue reading It’s a Grey Issue

Vic, Wildlife12 Comments

Cicada – Redeye

November 5, 2019 Itching for Hitching

I found this handsome fellow clinging to a signpost beside the Yarra River at Warburton, Vic. He was about the length of my index finger so it’s no wonder that the kookaburra that we’d spotted earlier was having trouble devouring one. Continue reading Cicada – Redeye

Places, Vic8 Comments

Warburton in spring

November 4, 2019November 1, 2019 Itching for Hitching

How long is it since we last visited this part of the Yarra Valley? Quite possibly Queens Birthday 2014 when we stayed with mates at Healesville prior to heading off on our first big trip. The Gulf trip, the one … Continue reading Warburton in spring

Caravanning Hints14 Comments

Remember nudity when choosing a caravan

November 3, 2019October 30, 2019 Itching for Hitching

The layouts of most standard Australian caravans have the external door situated either between the bathroom and kitchen or bedroom and kitchen. Husbands have a bad habit of opening the caravan door when wives are naked. Let me explain. You’ve just jumped out of the shower and you decide to spread out a bit as the bathroom isn’t big enough to swing a cat let alone your aging boobs. You’re drying yourself, arms and legs akimbo half in the bathroom and half in front of the fridge, when hubby flings the door open as wide as it will go, sticks … Continue reading Remember nudity when choosing a caravan

Great Drives, Why Caravanning13 Comments

Our Winter of Discount Tents

November 2, 2019October 29, 2019 Itching for Hitching

A summary of our Up the Guts and Follow the Sun adventures (with apologies to William Shakespeare). Overall Summary for our miniscule part of the Up the Guts trip: 3 days and 3 nights 792kms, Fuel cost $271.68 Accommodation $10.00*, or $3.33 per night (*RACV Total Care paid for our accommodation after the car broke down while we waited for it to be assessed, provided a car for our return journey and one nights accommodation on the way home). Overall Summary for our Follow the Sun trip: 65 days and 64 nights. 8220kms, Fuel cost $1586. That works out at … Continue reading Our Winter of Discount Tents

Vic, Why Caravanning10 Comments

Follow the Sun – Merton to Home

November 1, 2019 Itching for Hitching

Day 65, 16/9/2019 Monday, Merton to Home, rain 7- Oops, I forgot to look It rained most of the night. We wake to puddles all around us. It’ll be nice to get home to our other life, but we lie in bed listening to the rain and wonder which one is our normal life. The usually brown hills are a bright emerald green. We fuel up with coffee in Yea and thread our way home through the lush Yarra Valley and that folks, is the end of our winter sojourn. Summary 168kms and now to unpack and succumb to a … Continue reading Follow the Sun – Merton to Home