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!
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