It's Arrived!! DOB: 24/11/12 Weight: 1950kg Length: 16"6'

 We've got our Caravan!!!! Our Home!!!
Woooo hoooooo and Yippeee!!!

One of the most exciting, nerve wracking and wonderful days that Dave and I have ever had.

In March of this year we went to the Caravan and Camping Show at Caulfield, Vic. all researched up and ready to go. On walking up the

raceway into the mass of caravans, campers and all paraphernalia to do with camping, we stumbled upon the stand of Goldstream. Majority of vans they had on display were PopTops but there was one caravan that drew Dave's attention..... the 16"6' Rear En suite.

We looked inside, opened some cupboards, sat on the bed (bounced up & down a bit), perused the outside, took note of the extras offered for the show, took a brochure and went on our merry way to view the multitude of other vans at the show.........comparing them all to this first one we saw.

We were serious about our quest at the Caravan & Camping Show, we had booked accommodation for 2 nights just down the road (2 nights too long in that accommodation shall we say - urgh) and so that night, in our multi-coloured, half repaired, power-point overloaded room we discussed Goldstream. Who were they, where were they based and how long had they been in business?

I have to admit, iPhones are pretty handy because we found out on the net they specialised in Off-road caravans, they were based in Pakenham and had been around for 19 years.  Reviews were all very favourable and the resale value of their caravans were extremely good.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.....this could be a goer!

So, to cut the proverbial long story slightly shorter, we bought one!!! A brand new caravan that would be built for us and be ready in December 2012.... as the young folk write:  O.M.G.!!!!

The previous 12 months we had weighed up the options of buying 2nd hand or brand new, what we could afford, what we needed in a van and what we didn't, how big and what type. The Goldstream 16"6' Rear En suite fitted all of our criteria, tick, tick, tick!

And so, on Saturday 24th November, we got in our Silver chariot and made our way to Pakenham. We pulled up outside the Goldstream factory/office, walked in and saw it!

First thought...O.M.G. it's F'ing Huge!!!!!!!!

2nd thought....That's ours!

3rd thought.....Is it really ours?

4th thought.....Yes, it really is ours..get a grip woman.

5th thought.....I'm glad Dave's towing it

6th thought.....I need some chocolate!

The hand over took about 3 hours and they showed us all the locks associated with the mass of keys given to us and what was inside the door attached to the said locks. We were instructed on how to operate the stove, grill, air con (yes, we have an air con, eeeeeeeh), fridge, toilet, water pump, batteries, fuses, hatches, awning, gas bottles.........POP!!!  that was my little mind exploding with the overload of detail.

 We were then hitched up, load distributed up, anti-swayed, big mirrored, all connected and ready to go. At this point I would like to say that Dave HAS towed in the past........small trailers and a 14' boat. 

We got into our car, Dave behind the wheel and he drove us out of the factory grounds and into the street and he didn't batter an eyelid.  A slight perfume of poo may have been in the air, but not one eyelid battered or finger twitch or nervous tick. 

My Husband, Dave, the Legend, drove us and our Home to it's place of storage until we depart in February. He then amazed me (and slightly turned me on) by reversing our Home to it's allotted position.

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've Got It!! It's Ours!!! We're Nearly There!!!! Yeah!!!!

For the next 11 weekends we will be doing short trips and practising to tow and reverse (me learning & Dave practising). We'll also be packing it up with our belongings, using the appliances etc and we'll hug it and squeeze it and pet it and love it. 

 A BIG thank you to our beautiful friends S & S & T who are letting us keep our Home at their Home until we go. Thanks guys, we completely appreciate your generosity.

Cheers!

The Tree Project by Amanda Gibson and Ixia Black on Pozible

The Tree Project by Amanda Gibson and Ixia Black on Pozible

Please please please click on the link above and be completely moved & inspired by the work of Amanda Gibson and the Australian Blacksmith Association on the Tree Project - a sculpture of healing and remembrance for the Black Saturday fires in February 2009.

Anything you can do to help is truly appreciated. Helping to create beauty and a reflection of love and support is a Good Thing and we need more of it.

Thank you.

Career Changes

Well, it is now under 20 weeks until we depart on our adventures..... eeeeeeeeeeehh!!!!!
We are both extremely excited and constantly talking about where we will be this time next year, what will we be doing, where will we be working......which brings me to Career Changes.

Since February this year, I have been working Saturday mornings at a little Fruit & Veg Market in Hastings which is run from a beautiful property belonging to Mark and Chris. They sell fresh local fruit and vegetables from the Mornington Peninsula and their own hand made jams, vinegars, cordials/syrups and their own fruit and vegetables when they have surplus.

We had been shopping there for over 6 months for our fruit & veg and we got to telling Mark about our upcoming travels and that we'll be looking to work on Farms and do some WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) and we could do with some experience in different kinds of jobs. Anyhoo, it serendipitously came about that Mark needed someone to help out Saturday mornings and offered me the job!

It has been a great experience and I enjoy saying 'Hello' to the regulars, hearing them discuss their own vegie growing successes and failures with Mark, their love of fresh produce and their excitement about a new season fruit or vegetable just arriving. The skills I have learnt and rediscovered in myself will no doubt help me gain jobs as we travel and I'm very grateful to have this oppurtunity.

Mark and Chris share a similar philosophy to us and they're actually doing it..... growing their own fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products and are on a journey to live sustainably. It is inspiring and encouraging to meet people of a similar ilk and to realise it's taken them a few years to get there, but they have, by simply making a decision to change and taking the steps towards it.

If you're in the area, come and visit on the weekends at : corner of Graydens & Coolart Rds, Hastings 3915 (there are signs out the front) or you may like to visit their website which has heaps of info:
www.grow-your-own-vegetable-garden.com

My 'day' job is an Insurance Broker at Pmh Insurance Brokers (www.pmhinsurancebrokers.com.au)  in Frankston and I have been there for 16 years.
Yes, you read correctly, 16 years.  A length of time not often heard of these days.
The main reason for the many years.... my boss/friend/mentor Dean Pollard.
I can not express enough how much he and his wife Sue have helped Dave and I over the years and my absolute good fortune to have a 'great' boss.
'Why are you leaving then?" you may ask (and many have :)), because as I've stated earlier, we both need a change : in our living environments, experiences, work life and careers.
I know I may never have a boss like Dean again and I completely appreciate the rarity of an excellent work place.
Over my 16 years working with Dean I have grown both as a professional and as a person. He has helped to show me that life is to be enjoyed and be apart of, not endured and shy away from.
Come February 2013, I will be a blubbering mess...

                                                                     Thank you!

Reactions

There have been many and varied reactions when we have explained our upcoming adventures to family, friends, acquaintances, strangers in the street - majority of them very positive:
"Oh, that sounds great!"
"How exciting!"
"You're so lucky"
"You are going to have a fantastic time!"
and then comes...................................
"I wish we could do that"
"You've sold your house? Will you be able to get back into the market?"
"What will you do for money?"
""Do you have any savings/security?"

These negative reactions aren't really directed at us, they're people's own fears surfacing when presented with something (our trip) that doesn't conform with the norm and what society expects.

Not only is our journey producing reactions from others, but it is also a product of our reaction to many events that have happened in our lives.

A dear friend of ours introduced us to a movie last year, "Into The Wild", which we 'totally got!!".  A young man disenchanted with society leaves a dysfunctional family behind and gives his life savings to charity to explore his country, by himself, using his own resourcefulness. We by no means are that 'hardcore', but to many people the fact we have sold our house and reduced our wordly possessions down to about 20 boxes and essentially don't have anything to return to is very confronting. Maybe a song from the soundtrack of the movie will help to explain some of how we feel and our reasons and reactions:

Society - Eddie Vedder

It's a mystery to me
we have a greed
with which we have agreed

You think you have to want
more than you need
until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
you think you need
and when you think more than you want
your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
'cos when you have more than you think
you need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

There's those thinking more or less less is more
but if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make
your level drops
kinda like it's starting from the top
you can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me
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As I explained earlier, we are not completely hardcore in removing ourselves from society or the grip of possessions/security, however to be able to travel, explore, work, dream, we have had to make (and to some it may be described as), sacrifices and do a lot of hard graft too, be it physical, spiritual, emotional or personal.

Together we have made a choice to live a dream and a life concept and since making that decision and taking action for our own happiness - well, we have been happy, deeply happy and it has permeated through to the people we love and inspired some.

There have been a few deaths in our family in the past 5 years and it does make you think, not about your own mortality, but about our life and our 'living'.
Society had us believe life must play out like the following:
- get a job,
- find a partner,
- get married,
- buy a house,
- have kids,
- get a better paying job (often doing something you don't like),
- buy a bigger house,
- buy lots of 'things' to keep up with everyone else,
- work harder and longer to pay for the bigger house and lots of 'things' in a job you hate,
- save for your retirement so you can travel and enjoy life,
- work harder and longer to tread above the debt water line and continue to save for retirement,
- end up dead or being too old and miserable when you retire to travel.

Why wait until retirement to be happy? Just do it now (or when you're ready).

So, in answer to those questions:
"I wish we could do that" - you can if you really want to and are prepared to work on it and yourself.
"You've sold your house? Will you be able to get back into the market?" - who said we want to get back into the same market? We might not stop travelling and be professional gypsies or we may end up somewhere completely different to where we started.
"What will you do for money?" - work!!! If you are prepared to work you can find work in Australia. Oh, to experience all kinds of jobs and people, stretch ourselves and maybe 'fall' upon our soul purpose.
""Do you have any savings/security?" - yes, we're in our late 30's to 40's, we're not completely bonkers :) but it is only enough for an emergency and so we must work and only buy what we really need.

We have learnt that when you start to make decisions and choices for your own happiness it is generally met with love and joy. 

Thank you to all the people who have been supportive, encouraging and excited by our adventure.

52 Weeks to Goooooooooooooooooo!!!

On Saturday 18th February 2012.................. it was officially 1 year until we leave for our trip!!!
aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

We are IMMENSELY excited :) We have chosen the date of departure to be 18/02/2013 because we were always looking at Feb 2013 to go and Mum wanted us to wait until after her birthday - so it gave us a definite date. We now have something to work towards and count down to.
Dorky me even made up a 52 week checklist to tick off as the weeks go by :)

So, what will we be doing in the next 12 months:
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.

Doctor's to inject us
Dentist's to corral Dave in to
Podiatrists to pad in to
Making Lists of items we need/want/desire/drool over
Buying listed items (the only time I will enjoy shopping!!)
Experienced caravaners brains to pick apart
Courses in Responsible Serving of Alcohol, Gaming & Food Handlers to take - help with job opportunities as we go.
Researching caravans for sale
Buying "The" caravan
Going on Test Trips with said caravan.
Towing Courses for both of us.
Organising what we do & don't need to take with us
Packing
Breathing
Goodbying
Leaving
Yahooooooooing

On the 9th & 10th March we're going to the Caravan & Camping Show in Caulfield - kids in a huge candy shop. We went to it last year and it was very over whelming - so much to see & absorb. This year we will be a bit more discerning and we have a much clearer idea of what we are looking for. It will be an information gathering experience and we might even be able to buy camping equipment at sale prices.

Really looking forward to it :)