Preparations for the Big Lap

First shakedown trip in the new caravan

We are officially excited!

Who am I kidding!  I've been super-excited ever since we made the decision late last year to do a lap of Australia in a caravan.  Not having a caravan or a suitable tow vehicle was just a minor drawback.

We (for we read Barb - John was initially and blissfully unaware) plunged headlong into researching vehicles and vans.  My sister Pamela's partner Pat provided the answer for a tow vehicle that we could afford, as he was upgrading from his elderly (2001) Jackaroo he'd owned since new and had garaged and serviced regularly.  It suited us perfectly.

Our Jackeroo does the job of towing very well.

 

Next was the big search for the caravan. Budget was a limiting factor, and we wanted something light enough to tow but with an island bed and a shower & toilet.  We found a second hand caravan at a dealership in Brisbane that fitted our needs perfectly. As soon as we (ie Barb!) stepped inside it we knew we'd found the right one for us.  By mid January it was ours!

                                                   Our little caravan....what a beauty!

On picking up the caravan we found that the area at the side of our house where we planned to park the van was in fact VERY difficult to access.  (In fairness to Barb she'd realised this from the start and knew we'd sort something out.  Did we mention John's blissful unawareness?).  With a retaining garden wall and several water meter hatch covers on the ground on one side, and low overhanging eaves from our roof and a brick letterbox on the other side, it was pretty tricky to manoeuvre between, and much to our relief next door neighbours' daughter came to our aid.  She's an experienced caravanner and even she had trouble.

So, John went straight in and ordered an electric jockey wheel. It's proved a marriage saver already!

We needed to do a shakedown trip before we head off into the outback.  John still has another month left to work before retirement, so he took a day of annual leave to add to his days off so we could have three nights away.  We went to the Gateway Resort at Rochedale where we'd done a shakedown trip with our camper trailer three years ago.

This is livin' !

Somehow we managed to score a diabolically difficult caravan site.  High gutter, limited ability to back up because of a cabin right opposite, a high cement plinth and palm trees.  Great!  The electric jockey wheel paid for itself on its first outing and we got in without raising our voices at each other, not even once.

John loved using his power drill (with extension bar) to wind down the caravan legs.  We figured out how to deploy the Fiamma rollout awning and got set up quite quickly.

                                                      John takes care of the batteries.

John checks the skylight hatch....we can see the stars at night from our bed!

Our first visitors were our good friends Karen and Steve and their friends Kathy and Ian.  These two couples have been planning a caravan trip round Australia together in their two vans for a couple of years. It turns out they're leaving Rockhampton on the 1st July 2017. Snap! That's when we're going too.  Definitely going to meet up with this four and do at least the first section (to Uluru) with them.

 Our friends Karen and Steve visit along with Kathy and Ian. We'll all be on the road in July.

Steve, Ian and John getting to know each other and sharing caravanning tips.

We had a great first night in the van. The bed is comfy and long enough for Barb. We no longer have to crawl over each other in the middle of the night to traipse to the amenities block (as we had to do in the camper trailer). 

Showering in the "shoilet" (combined shower/toilet) is best described as snug.  It can be done, but it's difficult to get dressed unless you stand in the kitchen.  I'm sure it will be a minor inconvenience when in the outback to do this but at least we'll be clean. And we have a loo. The last person to shower will have to chamois the shower/toilet recess after use.

We'll have to do another shakedown to a nearby freecamp before the Big Trip so we can test out the solar panels and generator, our water management and waste management set ups.  It's all looking do-able.

While down in Brisbane we caught up with more good friends Louise and Maurice.  Maurice is recovering incredibly well after a very serious health scare last  year. (He almost died & became quadriplegic ... but didn't through sheer hard work and determination. It's a miracle that he can walk independently now).  They had their daughter Sian and her baby Killian visiting, so we spent a pleasant time having a Devonshire morning tea and catching up with them and also Paulette (Louise's cousin) and Ferris who called in while we were there.

                                 John, Louise, Barb and Maurice at their unit at Tennyson.

                                                       Ferris drops in for a chat.

                          Sian, Louise, Barb, Paulette and baby Killian share a Devonshire tea.

That evening we went to visit the afore mentioned Karen and Steve at Rochedale where their daughter Sarah lives with her husband Colin, and kids Willow (4) and Max (1).  Ian and Kathy also joined us and we ordered in pizzas, before having a very spirited game of "Zilch". We were quite loud and happy and laughed ourselves silly.  Thank goodness didn't wake the grandkids.  I think we'll have to camp a good distance from our fellow campers if we're playing games with these guys (never mind generator noise) but we're sure to have a lot of fun!

Steve loves a BIG mug of tea. Willow enjoys dinner with her Moppy and Poppy.

The next day yet more friends (this was a helluva busy weekend away) Renee and Anton dropped by to our caravan site to see us and check out our rig and setup.  They are experienced  caravanners having done 16 months around Australia a few years ago in their 25 ft caravan.  They had lots of good tips and advice for us too.

                              Anton and Renee shared their caravanning experiences with us.

On our way back to Maleny we called in to the public weighbridge at Caboolture to weigh the caravan and the Jackaroo and have the tow-ball weight measured to make sure we'll be compliant with weight limits on our trip.  Phew!  All good.

A bit embarrassing though when we went to depart and had failed to hitch up properly on the tow bar and dropped the caravan on the weighbridge.  The staff seemed unfazed - one got the feeling it wasn't the first time they'd seen it - even though my nerves were frazzled!  Several men came over and helped lift it onto the tow-ball and off we went.  Just like that!

Getting back into our home park was a cinch. So experienced now! We used the electric jockey wheel and parked to perfection.  First shakedown a success.

John was happy to discover that our UHF handheld radios arrived while we were away.