Six Months on the Road — What Jim and Michelle Wish They'd Known Before Taking Off
A year ago, Jim and I set off on what was meant to be a grand Australian road tripping adventure in a caravan.
Little did we know those six months on the road would throw curveball after curveball at us, making us alternately laugh and cry, all the while questioning our sanity.
You see, we were not prepared.
The new caravan ticked the box marked budget but missed almost all the other ones – boxes we didn’t even know existed, until we did.
So, in case you’re having thoughts of your own grand Aussie adventure, here’s what we wish we knew before we set off.
How to Mess Up a Perfectly Decent Road Trip
Day 1: We set off, very excited. The country flashes by and after a long drive, we can’t wait to fire up the barbie and head straight to bed.
It is here, in this dark and remote park, that we discover that we’ll have seven new grey hairs by the time our cooktop heats some sauce.
Off to bed, lukewarm dinner rumbling around inside, and we discover that ‘foam mattress’ is not code for ‘comfy night’s sleep.’
I have serious 2am misgivings.
Day 45: Despite the bleak start, we got through another month and a half on the road before the door fell off. Literally.
It’s raining in torrents, but no undue force is exercised before the hinges give and Jim is seeing stars.
A call to the caravan service centre rings endlessly and we give up, only to try again the next morning.
Much to our annoyance, the door isn’t covered by our warranty, because surely we’d been misbehaving with it – some mid-60s wild door swinging, perhaps?!
Nevertheless, a 200km diversion and a day later, we can once again shut out the deluge.
Day 70: While making many happy memories on the road, our meals, sleep and general interactions with the caravan remain bleak.
Adjust your attitude, we tell ourselves. At least it isn’t dangerous.
Until it is….
A corrugated outback road is our undoing. With a snap, something down below gives way, and we’re stranded.
That’s when we realise that our water tanks are hopelessly inadequate and we started planning our liquid-recycling strategy in earnest.
Thankfully, we’re rescued before it comes to that.
What Did We Learn?
- Australia is magnificent.
- Off road camping is no joke – don’t save your dollars on a cheap caravan. It could mess up your trip – or worse. Choose the best off road caravan you can afford.
- Built tough is key when buying Australian Off Road Caravans.
