A Kookaburra stole my steak!

The trip to Lake Monduran was just the way we like it, easy, uneventful and arrived with plenty of time to setup.  Jason even got to use the UHF radio for the first time.  He called up a truck that was travelling behind us to let us know when he wanted to overtake and he would ease up.  It worked great and the truck driver was so polite and wished us well on our trip.  Our theory is to take it slowly which is around 90km and hour, but we obviously don’t want to hold up the trucks that need a lot of room and time to overtake.

We stopped in Childers for lunch and I just jumped into the back of the van and whipped up some sandwiches which we just ate in the car as both Hamish and Kayla were asleep.  The plan was to stop and stretch the legs but since the kids were asleep we decided to keep moving whilst the going was good.  It didn’t last long as they both woke up as we pulled out, but were great for the rest of the trip.

Just chilling with Hamish.

We easily got into our park, having no slab to line up with certainly makes it a lot easier.  Our aim was just to sit back and relax; there is no need to rush around.  However the park had a mini golf course so we had to go there and have a few rounds.  The true excitement for the kids came around dinner time.  We cooked up a BBQ and sat down to enjoy it.  We were watching a few miner birds picking on a Kookaburra.  We felt sorry for the Kookaburra and it flew towards our table to (well as we thought) escape.  Needless to say it landed on the table looked up at Jason, picked up his nice piece of steak and flew off.  It all happened so fast we had no time to react. 

Happy to have his photo taken.

Enjoying his steak.

 

Well that provided so much entertainment for the kids who just had to re-enact the story over and over again.  Meanwhile being the good wife I am, I proceeded to silently eat my steak only offering up some when there wasn’t much left.  He obviously knows me well enough to politely decline my offer.

Making some bread with Dad.

Lake Monduran is a beautiful quiet spot and is known for its fishing.  Not having a boat we only tried from the shoreline with no success, though apparently not many people where having success at all.  Some lovely not so grey fellow nomads invited us to their fire that night.  They were so lovely and it was great to hear all about their stories, especially as one couple had travelled when their kids were young too. 

Our next stop was Seventeen Seventy, however rather than go on the most direct route, we had to detour into Bundaberg to have our fridge looked at.  This was our choice as our theory was that if it was something major and they needed to order in parts, then they might arrive by Monday when we would be back in Bundaberg getting the caravan’s first service.  In the end we were only there about half an hour and it was just a valve at the back of the fridge that wasn’t fully open.  So the helpful Dometic service gentleman put silicone on it to keep open.     

Then we headed on the ever so bumpy road from Bundaberg to Seventeen Seventy.  Of course we stopped down the road at the Avondale pub.  Our plan was to do Hamish’s on air eKindy lesson there before having some lunch and doing the final hour and a half leg.  We read that the Collaborate software was down so just assumed there wasn’t a lesson; however that email was from the morning so we should have tried as it did occur.  It was no biggy but I was really looking forward to him having his lesson with other kids and getting use to the program before he starts Prep next year.  Still learning curves are what it is all about and I am so glad that his teacher Miss Leesa is very patient ad understanding.

One must guard their eKindy experiment from Kookaburras.

Mind you when I grew up doing on air lessons the teacher really couldn’t tell if you were paying attention or not (unless of course she asked you a question).  Now they can see you, so if you try and walk away or get distracted they can tell.  Not just that, if my van is a mess she will be able to see it, so one must think about which way the laptop faces.  So for the times we do lesson in the local pub we need to ensure that the laptop does not have the bar in the background!  Responsible parenting at its finest. 

Hamish doing his first session.

Seeing if the ice will sink or float.

 

Fridge Dramas

Yesterday we arrived at Ross Creek Store which has a beautiful free camp right next door.  It is on the way to Tin Can Bay from Gympie and other than the corner store there are only the odd farm house scattered around.  As we arrived early we were the only people there so got to pick whatever spot we wanted and the only spectators we had were the horse and cow in the paddock next door.  Just the way we like it.

Not a bad view at all.

We had to get the levellers out again and due to the fact there were a few prickles we pulled out our annex matting for the first time.  Once set up we got Kayla down for her nap and just sat back and relaxed.  It was so peaceful just sitting back and admiring the green rolling hills.  Eventually we set off exploring.  We knew there was Dolphin Feeding in Tin Can Bay in the mornings so we thought we would find out where we needed to go for that before moving onto Rainbow Beach. 

The kids love helping us set up.

Jason just had to find and see the Wall of Shame which is which is pictures of all the 4WDs that have come to grief on the Mudlo Rocks.  Luckily he had no desire to take our car on the beach, I don’t think my little worry wart self could have handled that.  Next we went off to Inskip Point on Jess’s recommendation.  It looks like a really beautiful spot to camp, however we don’t think we would risk trying to take our big van in there as it looks quite sandy.  Not to mention there were lots of campers.  So we quite happily returned to our little bit of paradise. 

On our return we had neighbours, a whole one other car.  I take my hat off to them, they are travelling around in a station wagon.  It looked so cramped and I kind of felt guilty that I could have a nice hot shower and a big comfy bed to sleep in.  Mind you I wasn’t exactly offering them to share as when free camping every litre of water is precious.  Not that I needed to worry about that as after dinner when I went to wash up I realised the fridge was on error, so no longer working on gas. 

Exploring the gardens around the store.

Dinner time.

Ending the night with a little fire and some toasted marsh mellows.

Out came the user manual – funny how you don’t read these things until something goes wrong!   We tried everything they recommended.  Next point of call was the Coromal owners Facebook page.  It is great having this page to bounce ideas off each other and we are really lucky to have two great guys on there who actually work for Coromal.  So within minutes of posting we had a bundle of suggestions.  Unfortunately none of them worked but it was great to see if there was a quick fix. 

Dale is actually from the Bundaberg Service Centre where we have our Caravan booked in for its first service on Monday.  First thing this morning he called us, unfortunately we missed the call but when Jason called him back he believed he knew the problem so would order the necessary parts for the Dometic Fridge and have them ready for us come Monday.  People say that customer service just isn’t the same now a days, however these guys went beyond any expectation I had, trying to help us out at 9pm at night.  You guys are awesome – thank you.

So obviously with no fridge working on gas we were presented with two options, move to a caravan park nearby or move on.  We decided to move on as we are on a budget that we would like to stick to otherwise it will eat into the money we have put away to go towards a house when we finish travelling.  So part of the budget is to only pay for 4 nights a week at Caravan parks, leaving 3 nights to free camp or plug in with family/friends.  We have a voucher for the Lake Monduran Caravan Park so thought we would put that into use.

Before we left the area we had to do the Dolphin feeding experience.  The Dolphins work on the same time as my kids and start to arrive at 7am with the feeding occurring at 8am.  So we were up and out the door relatively early to ensure we didn’t miss out.  It only cost us $20 for all of us to view it (standing in the water with them) and for Hamish and Kayla to feed them.  Hamish loved it, though was a too scared to feed them.  I think the black bird swooping scared him.  However Kayla had no fear, if anything I think the Dolphin was lucky to get the fish as she normally eats anything in site.  I really do recommend doing this if you are in the area.

You get up nice and close.

Hamish waiting to feed the Dolphin.

Kayla just loved it and wasn't scared at all.

So to leave you on a high note, Hamish didn’t asked if we were there yet until at least an hour into our trip today!   

We are on the road.

Finally it had arrived, the much anticipated departure date.  There was no big celebration, no streamers being thrown and certainly no large crowds.  We were lucky though as Jason’s brother Brent came to see us off and could take the token photos in front of car and van.  Even though our destination for the day was only just a little over 1 ½ hours away I was still nervous.  Whilst we have experience towing our little Jayco, this beast is another level up.  Mind you it isn’t like I was doing the hard concentration of driving, but sometimes being the entertainer of the kids is just as hard!  I think we had only just pulled onto the Gateway when Hamish asked the first of many ‘Are we there yet?’.  The look Jason and I gave each other was one of concern, we honestly didn’t think we would here that question the first day, yet alone in the first ten minutes.

All hooked up and ready to go.

Our saint to guide us on our journey.

The drive was an easy one, and we successfully made it to Cotton Tree.  We were in luck as someone had cancelled a waterfront site that morning.  I went and inspected it and thought why not!  Mind you when I then had to pay for it I started to second guess my decision.  Then when it actually came to reversing into it I cursed myself for not keeping it simple until we have notched up some more experience.  If you haven’t worked out already, I am the worrier.  I really over think everything, if there is a weird noise when towing I panic.  I know this will settle down once I am more use to it all, it did with the Jayco.  Jason on the other hand balances me out as he believes we can do everything.

Needless to say we got into the site pretty good, even with all the spectators and some help from others.  Honestly I think that due to the slope the site was too small for our long van, but we fitted (just).  I had already warned our neighbour we were new at this and he kindly complemented our park and re-assured us that it will get easier.  The two things we learnt this day was to firstly keep the kids in the car until the van is unhitched.  They don’t seem to stay where I ask them too!  Secondly, to ensure that our radios are on the same channel when trying to park the van.  Sadly I have to admit that it actually took us a while to work out why Jason wasn’t listening to my instructions or why I wasn’t giving any!

Not a bad view.

So hard not to feel anything but relaxed.

It was a beautiful spot and with the beach right across the road it was certainly an awesome play area for the kids.  We checked out Underwater World (thank you for the free ticket Brent) and the local markets but mainly spent the day at the beach.  The fishing rod for Hamish was even pulled out.  Thankfully he seems to have inherited his Pop’s fishing ability rather than his Dad’s.  The tally at the end of the stay was Hamish – 9, Kayla – 1 and Dad – 0.  They were all small whiting so had to go back, but the kids just loved it. 

Kayla checking out the fish.

Hamish had to try everything.

One very happy little man.

 

That is the best part so far, there really isn’t anything else to worry about so you can give the kids so much more attention.  I think the biggest hurdle we have to overcome is bedtime, and really, bedtime for Kayla.  This won’t happen overnight but I am confident we will get there surely by the end of the trip!  As for living in the van, we have to put everything away so that there is no clutter as it does build up quickly.  I have also spent much of the last 6 weeks working out what we don’t need and working out the best shelving options.  I will include a few photos of some of our cupboards.

My kitchen cupboards.

The kids clothes area plus a top storage shelf.

The bunk beds.

Making the most of space to store the broom and mop.

 

We are now at Ross Creek café, a lovely little free camp between Gympie and Tin Can bay.  Need to get back on track with the budget after the few nights at cotton tree.  As I type this I am looking out over green hills, we are the only ones here and there is a pony and cow in the paddock next door.  The simple life, it is great.

One must be sun smart.

Best entertainment ever.

They just loved it.

Enjoying quality time with Dad.

Our little fisherman.

Of course Kayla had to have a go too.

Why we have decided to sell up and hit the open road.

Welcome to our new blog.  Sorry it has taken a while but technically we haven’t started our trip yet so I guess I am not behind (yet).  With only four days until we hit the road for a year, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the reason as to why we decided to sell everything, buy a caravan and hit the road for a year.

Now as you all know we love travelling and more importantly exploring new places.  Maybe you thought this would slow down when we had kids or bought the house.  Realistically it probably has slowed down but our desire has always been there and it is something we have dreamed about for so long.  Our trip along the Murray River only cemented in our mind that this is something we wanted to do and we weren’t willing to wait until we retired.  We returned from that trip and slotted back into “normality”.

We weren’t unhappy in our suburban life, we had a great home, awesome neighbours and no financial worries.  With all this, something still just didn’t seem right.  There was always this sense that there was something better out there, something that revolved more around family and enjoying the time with Hamish and Kayla.  We started the year on the high of finding out we were expecting baby number three and then hit the low of losing our little baby.  This on top of the fact we had attended too many funerals of our friends parents, taken way too soon. 

Finally there was a reflection on ourselves and what we wanted from life.  We feel we are very much “yes” people, and struggle to say “no”.  Forever bending over backwards to help out and do things but getting frustrated and annoyed when it wasn’t returned or when others wouldn’t pitch in what we felt was fair.  Now as great as it would be that everyone should change to make our life easier, in reality we knew we had to change and set the example for our kids.  You can say no, you can do what you want and you don’t have to keep everyone happy.

I raised the idea with Jason that why don’t we stop talking about doing this trip and just do it.  Life is too short to sit around and wait for everything to fall into place, it might never happen.  We need to step up and take the giant leap of faith and do something totally outside our comfort zone. 

So then came the crunching of numbers, dreaming of winning lotto and even the contemplation of doing it in our little Jayco Dove.  Eventually we came to the conclusion to not just do this trip but also potentially change life as we know it.  Who says that we have to come back to Brisbane, to the same house and to the same lifestyle we are trying to break free from!  So of course we decided to sell everything.

 

 

Now that was a drama but we eventually got there, only having to store our small items as the buyers bought all the big furniture with the house.  I was happy as who knows if it will fit in the new home, yet alone suit.  It meant leaving the nursery set up exactly as it was when Hamish came home (minus the personal touches and antique chest of drawers), closing the door on all memories of the children growing up, and handing over our Aussie dream.

 

Do we miss it?  I can honestly say no, not at all.  I thought I would, especially now living in a caravan, but I don’t.  Having a house is wonderful thing, however it takes work, there is the endless cleaning and yard work, not to mention the mortgage that forces you to continue working.  Cleaning now takes half an hour and that is it and yard work is a thing of the past.  Currently we have a playground, pool and tennis court yet only have to go and enjoy them.  So needless to say the time we have on our weekends and days off is fantastic.  This time is being spent getting the last minute things sorted, but soon it will just be all about the kids and enjoying our time together.  As most people have told us, enjoy them while they are young as it goes so fast.

 

One day we will get our piece of Australia, but I have to admit it has changed our view of what we “need” in a house.  It is going to be more does this house suit the lifestyle we want.  More time as a family enjoying each other, so that one day we can look back and whilst we might miss the times, know that we made the most of them whilst we could.

So in four days we set off.  Are we nervous?  Without a doubt, but that is what comes from stepping outside your comfort zone.  So I will leave you with the quote that we have put on the back of our van.  "We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us" - anonymous.