A friend has asked me to fill her in on life on the road in a caravan.
We originally purchased a second hand van - a Jayco back end of 2008 but because work was so full on did not get to use it until March 2010 due to Steve having his stroke in May 2009.
This van was 15ft but only 7ft wide which in actual fact is a little too small. It had a full annexe which was great and gave an extra room and privacy as well. It had twin beds which is ideal but hardly any living space. We used this van only four times before we decided to upgrade to a younger van. This time we purchased a Compass. 17ft long and 7.6ft wide-heaps better. This van has a roll out which is the roof coming out from the top of the side of the van to keep the elements away as much as possible. This van does not have walls but they will be with us soon as I hated being without an annexe on this last trip.
The setting up when one arrives at their destination is fairly straight forward as long as you follow the rules and go about it slowly then it should all come together well.
Firstly you go into your booked site. Sometimes we ask management to tractor us in as it is so much simpler than Steve trying to do it. He is able to but I sometimes get yelled out for giving the wrong directions. Once in, the van is removed from our 4WD and the jockey wheel put in place and the legs are brought down to stablise the caravan while parked. Probaby the most important thing is to get your power connected so your fridge contents will remain fresh.. Then on goes the water hose to the van and after that the hose for the grey water is put in place.
The roll out is pulled out and held in place by stays and arms.
The TV is Steve's number one priority and has to be tuned in asap. Does not worry me a bit as I can live without television.
We find at most parks people turn up as you pull up asking if they can assist you in anyway.
It is a great social atmosphere and lots of friendships are made that become long standing.
You settle into a daily routine and what I enjoy about it is that my housework takes me fully five minutes to do.
Most of our cooking is done outside but if the weather is not the best it can be done inside on the stove.
We always try to book a site not too far distant from the amenitites block as it makes it much easier for night time visits to the "loo".......though people without toilets in their vans often use a bucket.
Once when we where staying at Lane Cove National Park Caravan Park I headed off to the loo about 5am one morning and was greeted with a "hoodie" wandering around the park. That scared me so the bucket has now come into use!!!! The hoodie would have been there in hope of stealing I guess while people slept.
On departing our stay all the jobs are done in reverse with the electricity lead being the absolute last thing to be unplugged. Then it is back on the road to either the next stop or back home again.
I have learnt one thing very early on in our travels that I need to have clothes, linen, kitchen items just for the caravan. They need to be left there from one trip to the next. Otherwise there is too much work involved with packing and then unpacking. Of course all foods have to be placed in the van at the beginning and then removed at the end.
This is a wonderful way to see this great country of ours and we plan to continue this for as long as we are able. It is a cheaper way out as long as you stay out of the peak times. Most nights we pay around $25 for a powered site. Sometimes it is has been below $20 per night.
I trust that I have answered some questions. Next time around I will try and download some photos.
Actually it is not bad being "a grey nomad".....even though I am blond.
Then out comes the beer and wine to celebrate another successful setting up.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Life Finally Begins
Well the time has come for us to hit the highway and enjoy our travels in our caravan along with our little moodle dog Rangi. Sadly we have to leave our Russian Blue cat in boarding as Mitya is too old to teach him to travel in a van with us.
Steve has semi retired due to a major stroke back in May 2009 so we purchased a van and have been away five times now.
Our first trip was to Jimmys Beach caravan Park at Hawks Nest which is on the northern side of Port Stephens Bay. Just a short hop from home here at Anna Bay. Decided not to go too far just in case Steve took sick and I needed to get us home. It was a good five days but park was very old and since then has been closed. We had some close encounters with dingos as they are very prevalent on that side of the Bay.
They love little dogs so I kept Rangi close by my side at all times. One day we were sitting on the beach - Rangi was cuddled up to me thankfully because when I looked up there was a dingo about six feet in front of us. Of course staring at Rangi and thinking about his next feed!
Our next trip was to Great Lakes Caravan Park at Tuncurry. We had an excellent week here. Great park and conditions and the fishing was good. Not too many people so we had some good quiet time. I also managed to catch up with a close friend of mine who lives at Tuncurry.
Trip No. 3 was to Beachfront Caravan Park at North Haven. What a wonderful spot. Right alongside the ocean and the river. Steve fished. Pretty unsuccessfully I must say! Rangi and I walked up to 5 times daily. He was in heaven. It was here I caught up with a cousin of mine whom I had not seen in years.
We also met Barbara and Jim who have become good friends and we are planning a trip away together in 2011. Not sure where to at this stage.
Trip No. 4 was to Lane Cove National Park Caravan Park in Sydney. What a fantastic spot. Right on the CBD and all we needed to do was walk 12 minutes to catch at train into the city. We had a day with my daughter Jenny and her husband Ashley. Jenny was down to see a specialist. It was lovely to see her.
We are planning a trip back to this park in 2011 for about 4 nights so we can do the sydney sight seeing thingy.
Trip No. 5 was back to Tuncurry and to the same park. BUT this time I was not too keen on the stay there as there where far too many people. Every night the park was chockers......and no quiet time was had at all.
Rained for the first 3 days which put a dampner on it and then Steve had to go and get bitten by a 100 sandflies. The bites subsequently became infected. $58 later I had all the chemist said he needed to ease his misery. I was not feeling too great either as I was recovering from surgery and while there actually had my staples removed from 3 wounds. Rangi was attacked twice - once by a loose cattle dog who did break the skin on Rangi's back leg and then the next morning by another loose minature thing that just tore into him.
I reported both but it got me nowhere.
I have to say that I came home from here more stressed than when I left to go away. We are not in a hurrry to go back to this park.
We have decided to stay right away from busy times and try to pick the quieter periods.
Next trip we hope maybe to South West Rocks - perhaps it maybe this one we will go away with our new friends
Steve has semi retired due to a major stroke back in May 2009 so we purchased a van and have been away five times now.
Our first trip was to Jimmys Beach caravan Park at Hawks Nest which is on the northern side of Port Stephens Bay. Just a short hop from home here at Anna Bay. Decided not to go too far just in case Steve took sick and I needed to get us home. It was a good five days but park was very old and since then has been closed. We had some close encounters with dingos as they are very prevalent on that side of the Bay.
They love little dogs so I kept Rangi close by my side at all times. One day we were sitting on the beach - Rangi was cuddled up to me thankfully because when I looked up there was a dingo about six feet in front of us. Of course staring at Rangi and thinking about his next feed!
Our next trip was to Great Lakes Caravan Park at Tuncurry. We had an excellent week here. Great park and conditions and the fishing was good. Not too many people so we had some good quiet time. I also managed to catch up with a close friend of mine who lives at Tuncurry.
Trip No. 3 was to Beachfront Caravan Park at North Haven. What a wonderful spot. Right alongside the ocean and the river. Steve fished. Pretty unsuccessfully I must say! Rangi and I walked up to 5 times daily. He was in heaven. It was here I caught up with a cousin of mine whom I had not seen in years.
We also met Barbara and Jim who have become good friends and we are planning a trip away together in 2011. Not sure where to at this stage.
Trip No. 4 was to Lane Cove National Park Caravan Park in Sydney. What a fantastic spot. Right on the CBD and all we needed to do was walk 12 minutes to catch at train into the city. We had a day with my daughter Jenny and her husband Ashley. Jenny was down to see a specialist. It was lovely to see her.
We are planning a trip back to this park in 2011 for about 4 nights so we can do the sydney sight seeing thingy.
Trip No. 5 was back to Tuncurry and to the same park. BUT this time I was not too keen on the stay there as there where far too many people. Every night the park was chockers......and no quiet time was had at all.
Rained for the first 3 days which put a dampner on it and then Steve had to go and get bitten by a 100 sandflies. The bites subsequently became infected. $58 later I had all the chemist said he needed to ease his misery. I was not feeling too great either as I was recovering from surgery and while there actually had my staples removed from 3 wounds. Rangi was attacked twice - once by a loose cattle dog who did break the skin on Rangi's back leg and then the next morning by another loose minature thing that just tore into him.
I reported both but it got me nowhere.
I have to say that I came home from here more stressed than when I left to go away. We are not in a hurrry to go back to this park.
We have decided to stay right away from busy times and try to pick the quieter periods.
Next trip we hope maybe to South West Rocks - perhaps it maybe this one we will go away with our new friends
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)