CARAVANNING

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.