Col and I decided to not have a toilet and shower in the van. This was a big discussion, but ultimately I think a good decision. We have a hot water shower on the outside of the van and use a privacy tent. We have both a single and a double one that can have the port-a-loo on the other side. You can open up the adjoining wall between them if you prefer.
This offers a little more privacy than being in the van and reduces the cleaning. It is still located close enough that it is not an inconvenient walk to get to it. It also meant that we could get a smaller, cheaper van too, which suits our off-road needs.
The double tent has a zip between the two sections. When showering I usually set up a table in the toilet section to put your dry clothes and towel on. Keep the middle section zipped while showering as you will likely spray the hose in that direction. There are also handy pockets on the tent to put your shampoo, conditioner and soap etc. Make sure you set the tent up far enough away so you don’t block the vent, as this is a fire hazard.
Double Shower and Toilet Tent
We also have a small tarp floor that we put down which helps to keep your feet clean, but it is not shown in this photo. The idea with the outdoor shower is to wet yourself, turn off the water then soap up and we then use the water we are standing in as a bath and use it to rinse off a bit as well. This helps to reduce your water usage when water is not readily available.
Shower floor of outdoor shower
We don’t use the hose hung up like this, just handy for when not in use.
Outdoor Shower set up
If you are worried about the challenges of folding up the toilet tent when you have finished, try watching the video on an easy folding technique for these that saved us hours of frustration.
Leaving Baroota and heading to Coffin Bay today. It is about a 5 hour drive, Col wanted to get there about 3pm….. We made it around 5pm. No stress because we weren’t really in too much of a hurry, we knew where we were going to camp and would have plenty of sunlight to set up in.
When we arrived, we tried to find a swimming beach for a quick dip before dinner. We took the FJ on the sand to try and find a spot but the tide was way out at the beach near our camp and we quickly drove around Coffin Bay trying to find somewhere else. We ended up swimming somewhere very shallow with smelly mud haha. Not adding that one to our top 10 beach list! The dip cooled us off and cleaned off some of the dirt from Baroota so our objective was achieved. It was 35 degrees Celsius, so a little warm today. Continue reading “Day 3 – 16th January 2018 – Baroota to Coffin Bay”
We stayed around camp at Baroota and Col gave me a lesson on how to use the drone while filming the camp site (which he is currently editing and will upload soon), he also gave me a web site lesson (so I can update the blog) and we practised using the GoPro and filmed driving into Baroota (also to be uploaded shortly) . Col created ‘left over pilaf’ for dinner because we forgot to take meat out the freezer, but was very yummy. We will be adding a Camping Recipe section so you can recreate some of these yummy creations! Continue reading “Day 2 – 15th January 2018 – Baroota”
I downloaded Audible for the long drives so I can listen to a book instead of music. I highly recommend it. I started to feel a bit sleepy at the 2 hour mark and was counting the kilometers listening to music. I switched to the book for the last half of the drive and was alert and didn’t notice the time or the kilometers. I could have kept driving. Needs to be a good book I guess! You can preview the narrator before you purchase and I would highly recommend this, as some of the voices would drive me crazy to listen to. You also need to download the book ahead of time, so be prepared. The great thing is you have access to a book store anywhere you have internet, they are way cheaper than paperbacks, easier to travel with as they don’t take up room and you can listen to your favourite books while driving. Winner. I also downloaded the Kindle app on my laptop too.Â
Thinking I might start an on-line book club if anyone is interested in reading and discussing each month – let me know. I am currently reading ‘Silent Child’ by Sarah A. Denzil.
Books I have listened to:
‘Silent Child’ by Sarah A. Denzil
‘The Girls of Mischief Bay’ by Susan Mallery
‘Sometimes I lie’ by Alice Fenney
‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman – Currently listening to this one and it is my favourite book so far. Only a few chapters in.
Carry cash – small notes for National Parks and Bush Camps that you need to sign in yourself and put the money in an envelope. Col and I use credit cards a lot and if we have cash it is often a bigger note. So be prepared for this as you don’t get change.
You also use many $1 and $2 coins for washing machines, dryers, water and even showers. Start saving them up and keep them somewhere handy.
Find a big second hand shop near you and stock up on summer stuff before you go. You don’t need perfect clothes for the trip and what you will likely wear in the hot and humid weather up North is not what you would necessarily have in your wardrobe on a day to day basis. I found a QuickSilver wetsuit in great condition for $18 at Savers in Noarlunga. You can save a heap of money and get what you need this way.
Insect Repellent – Natures Botanical – Rosemary and Cedarwood Oil. I love the smell of this product, and I am very hopeful that it will be effective up North, as I don’t like using DEET base replants. My partner’s sister swears by this stuff, so will see how it goes. So far so good – thank’s Sam!
And so it began at 10.45am, Sunday 14th Jan 2018…..
All the planning, dreaming and waiting has finally paid off and the day has arrived.
My beautiful children and their partners and one of my grand kids, came down to help us pack up at the Christies Beach Caravan Park. They bought us McDonalds for breakfast and gave us a wonderful send off. We even got great coffees from our very own Barista, Erin Cunningham (spoilt!).
I was towing the boat and Col the Van, and the drive from Adelaide to Baroota went smoothly. We chatted on our UHF radios throughout the drive and it was a pretty relaxing and enjoyable start to the trip.
I feel as though I have been stuck on a treadmill for many years. Caught up in the daily bustle and busyness of the business world. Don’t get me wrong, I have had career opportunities that I am very proud of and grateful to have had. I have worked with many great people too. I guess I am looking forward to stepping off the treadmill for a while and working out what life is about and who I am without work defining that for me. I have always had a balance of personal life and work life and both have been full and amazing.
This is just a privileged year to stop. Drink coffee. Listen. Watch. Breathe. Learn. Love and Live.
I still remember the moment at Coffin Bay, reading an article suggesting that if driving around Australia for a year is on your bucket list then pick a date and make it happen…Â I actually found a photo of this moment.
Birth moment of our Big WA trip, Bay north of Farm Beach near Coffin Bay SA
So we did. It was about 18 months ago. We picked a date and began our planning. Decision made on the 23rd September 2016 to leave on 14th January 2018. Everything feels as though it has fallen into place from that moment. The stars have aligned and now we are set to leave!!!! It has seemed so far away for so long, but now it is suddenly here, hard to believe it is really happening.
I took my 3 months long service leave over 6 months at half pay and the remainder of time is leave without pay, we have a little annual leave to add to that too and have rented out our house for a year. We will also try to pick up work along the way. An interesting year ahead to say the least. I get to do this with my best friend and partner in life. Take the two cars, the boat and the van and fish and camp our way around this amazing country. So incredibly lucky.
I just read holly butcher’s final letter. A young 27 year old who died of cancer. A good reminder to focus on the things that matter. That life is not a guarantee but a special gift to be treasured and lived. Not to keep waiting for retirement: the future is now. I particularly liked her reminder to be kind and do good for others. Not to waste energy in the negative and to keep things in perspective. This is what I hope for the year ahead. A year of learning and growth. Of living and treasuring this amazing gift of life. Colin and I both realise the amazing opportunity that we have, we are so lucky to live in Australia.
We made a decision to take both cars so that I could tow the boat and Col the caravan. It has given us heaps of space to bring what we need to. We have UHF radios to communicate between the cars. We have had a lot of surprised reactions to this decision. It will be interesting to see how it goes as I don’t have a huge amount of towing experience, but luckily Col does. We think it will be good to be able to listen to our own music and will likely enjoy the space after living in a caravan together. We shall see how it goes but will try to keep the driving to 4 hours a day where possible.
We did need the full 18 months to do all the trip preparation, and my advice to others considering doing this is to start earlier than you think you need to. The time really does evaporate quickly. We had a heap to do around our house in preparation for the trip – concreting down the side of the house, building a gate, painting, paving, new carpets, packing, down sizing, Garage Sale, budget planning – to list just a few. As I was going to be away all of December and we had planned to leave in January, we picked a date for the start of October to advertise the house for rent. Just in case this took a couple of months to find the right tenant. I started packing boxes about 6 months earlier, at the time I thought I had started too early, but in the end I was grateful that I had. The house has a shed but we didn’t rent the shed with the house and kept it to store our furniture and belongings while we travel. As luck had it we found the right tenant at the first open and they moved in late October. We then moved in with my Son and his wife, Sam and Steff, for November, and that was awesome. We miss our Roomies!! I then went to Canada in December and Col moved into the Van at Christies Beach Caravan Park. I joined him there on my return from Canada late December and we began the final trip preparation. All in all we are pleased with how the preparation has gone and now we will see how this adventure unfolds…
