Serendipitous moments and six degrees of separation

I’ve often mentioned in these pages that on our very first freedom camp foray, the first person that we met turned out to be a member of the caravan club that we obliviously later joined. We had travelled many thousands of kilometres with our mate Veewee before realising through Facebook that she was a friend of Woody’s cousin, then discovered that she and Woody were distantly related by marriage and have since found another genealogical link. I’m constantly amazed at how many people we meet on the road who have in some way crossed our paths in life before. There … Continue reading Serendipitous moments and six degrees of separation

Something in the air

One of the strangest things about caravanning is that each place feels different. Even when you’ve closed the blinds and locked the door at night, something in your sub-conscience knows that you’re in a different place from last night. Is it the smell or sounds barely audible? Is it the level of the van that almost always varies? Is it different insects making tiny sounds or something slightly climatic? Whatever combination it is, those changes do become pleasantly welcoming and addictive. Continue reading Something in the air

Washing Woollies

I’m surprised at the amount of wool cleaning we’ve come across in our travels. In Mudgee, NSW the museum guide showed me a box that the poor old sheep would be put into. Only his head would be poking out of the wooden box while he was rigorously scrubbed of dirt and burrs. In Blackall, Qld we toured the Wool Scour a building where fleeces were washed and cleaned by machine. Thankfully without the sheep in them. In Robe, SA we camped beside Lake Fellmongery, a place where wool was scoured and where wool was removed from sheep skins. Not … Continue reading Washing Woollies

The Social Set

Life on the road is as social as you want it to be. We find that during our winter trips we often catch up with friends who’ve moved north for good. We also run into mates who are on a different timetable and maybe heading south as we’re going north or vice versa. That planned catch up over a bowl of noodles in Glen Waverley becomes Korean in Canberra instead. Then there are the folks that we’ve met during our travels and who are as peripatetic as we are, if we’re lucky we can meet up in a little town … Continue reading The Social Set