Making the effort to pack up and go. Breaking the ties of the mundane, the habits, the chores. The day to day takes a hold of your mind and won’t let it go. Yet when you do finally hit the road you always say “Why didn’t we do this sooner?” Then, before you know it you are putting off going home “Oh, do we have to?” Continue reading Leaving Home is the Hardest Part
Like many others, we don’t have a camera on the back of our van so we use hand held UHF radios when reversing into a caravan park site. However, me shouting “Stop, stop, stop” into the CB when it isn’t even turned on is a recipe for disaster. Oops Navigator in disgrace. Continue reading Walkie talkie?
We camp beside the Barwon River near Walgett around lunch time. We have a nice view of the river. Views are not for our mate though she parks back down the track with the van in a clearing and facing north. That’s north to pick up the satellite signal and clear of overhanging gum trees. After much grumbling and cursing the signal is finally located and she retreats to her van. We spend the afternoon sitting beside our van catching up on the Saturday papers, reading quietly in the sun entertained by the distant sounds of a footy tragic shouting … Continue reading To View or Not to View
We left home without any fruit or vegetables as on our first night we would be going into a fruit fly free zone. After buying a pack of mushrooms in the country supermarket and then wondering what to do with them, some frozen chicken and a bottle of red became Coq au Vin. Continuing on the theme the next night was lamb ribs, pot roasted with Kecap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), balsamic vinegar, rosemary and olive oil. This was christened Lamb au Van. What next? Caravan Kofta perhaps? Continue reading I’m Working on a Trilogy
I attended a rather informative workshop at the Girgarre Moosic Muster in January, one for advanced Ukulele players. Advanced? Hmmm. The instructor Paul Jonson from New Zealand had some compelling reasons why I should upgrade to a new uke. I took his advice and visited Lord Uke in Carlton and bought a sweet tenor sized Luna, with a Low G String that gives it a little deeper voice. What does all this have to do with caravanning? Well it means that I now have one instrument that has a broader range of music. So I’ll probably travel with only one … Continue reading My New G String
The noise of our neighbours generator forces us indoors and we start to wonder why they need a generator these days anyway. It turns out that they are powering a microwave, hairdryer and two Waeco fridges. But why? The fridges can be powered by 12 volt. The 12 volt system can be topped up by solar power. In cold weather gas and diesel heating will make a caravan cosy in minutes. If it’s too cold to air dry your hair there’s always the car heater. And who needs the chicken defroster anyway? Continue reading Gen Why?
Woody galloped over to the showers at 6:00am as usual then once shampooed and showered, went on to the laundry with our washing basket. Greeting him in the laundry was our park neighbour with every machine filled and another load waiting in front of each one.”Oh” she says “you can use those two over there.” “Not much use to me” says Woody “they’re both dryers.” “We’ve been on the road for five weeks.” she counters, as if we haven’t. Next morning Woody gets up at 6:00am and loads the washing machines…before he showers. Continue reading Washing Day
In no particular order. Rubber matting The type that comes in a roll and is cut to the length that you require. It doesn’t need pegging down and hugs the ground naturally. Somehow, dirt and sand falls through it and doesn’t come back up. Make sure that you get the one that is soft on your bare feet, because once you’re in the tropics you don’t want to be putting shoes on just to walk across the mat. Aldi also sell good rubber matting, just wait for the camping specials. Awning De Flappers We fix two to each awning arm … Continue reading Accessories and Necessities
Now here’s a post that will confuse the heck out of the international readers but a friend recently reminded me of this important pre requisite for senior caravanners most of whom are living with a chronic illness. There is a health programme in Australia called Chronic Disease Management Plan. The advantage of this scheme is a regular visit for a check up by your physician and the chance for you both to discuss your health and the results as determined by the relevant specialists that you are visiting. It is also a chance to get prescriptions for your medications prior … Continue reading Keeping Your Vitals Up To Date
So often I hear people talk of how lucky we are to be caravanning. From a health perspective yes, we are lucky, very lucky. But from the financial perspective, well that is altogether different. From personal experience we’ve found that once you have the rig (van and tow vehicle) that suits your budget and needs, then life is cheaper on the road. “What about the fuel?” I hear you say. Keep your hair on! We all bemoan the price of fuel at some time or another but if you travel a little slower you will spread out your fuel costs. … Continue reading The Cost of Living on the Road
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