Like everyone else who plans and goes on a long trip/holiday, there are always hiccups or little setbacks before you eventually take off and we certainly had those as well.
Fortunately they turned out relatively minor and we left Yellingbo (Melbourne) today only 1 day later than our planned departure. Thanks to Emily and Nathan for allowing us to park Be Brave in their front yard the past 3 weeks and Sue and Andrew for our week together with them in Shepparton.
A number of people have asked me when did I start planning the trip and what was involved?
The idea started back in the late 70’s when my brother (Rick) and I gained our car licenses. Caravanning had started to get bigger and I spent a few summer weekends down at Dromana in a caravan with the Cricket Club and I thought this has merit! Rick and I both got married in the late 80’s and we agreed we do the “Grey Nomad” thing together and that’s when I started to think about the trip seriously, that’s how and when it all started.
True planning began about 8 years ago when Susan and I went to a Caravan show. If we were going to travel around Australia we had to have a van that would be big enough and comfortable enough to do the job. After all we would be in our 60’s (what a horrible thought then) and our days of roughing it would be over. At 6′ 5″ my concern was finding a van with the correct height and a queenside bed. There were many vans that fitted the bill, so that was not an issue but having a vehicle to pull the van was. Our Land Cruiser Prado could only tow 2500 Kg’s, well below the weight of the van’s we were looking at. After a number of options, which included a modification to the Prado we decided to trade up to the Land Cruiser 200 which will tow 3500 Kg’s. So in October of 2015 we traded in the Prado for a 200 series Cruiser and that’s when planning really started. Over the last 4 years I have modified the Cruiser just for the trip. Bull Bar, Roof Rack & Driving lights were first then a Diesel Chip, larger exhaust system and a suspension upgrade. Whilst this was all going on other mods inside the vehicle, like a 3rd battery system, CB radio, Car fridge and other were added. In fact just last week the final piece was completed with higher rated rear springs fitted to the Cruiser to increase our weight carrying capacity to 4015 Kg’s. Now you are probably thinking exactly like Susan, is this all necessary? Well yes, if you want to stay compliant with road rules and insurance and most importantly stay safe.
The Caravan ended up easier as there was really only 2 van manufactures that I felt comfortable in their vans. In the end we went with a Jayco Silverline 22′ with slide out Bed and Lounge. It’s very comfortable and should see us through many trips over the years. Once again we added a few things, a Grey water tank was a necessity if we wanted to free camp and an additional solar panel also was needed to ensure we had power when off the grid. Satellite TV was fitted (I can’t miss the football or golf) for remote areas and a few other mods that help personalise the van for us. Also the “Be Brave” sign on the back of the van was most important, it’s where this blog get’s its name from. This was my mother’s saying and it seemed appropriate to name the van in her honour after she passed away in 2017.
So the Vehicle and Van were sorted but what about everything else. The house was the big issue, what do we do with it for 12 months whilst were away. Simple thing as to rent it out but after all the hard work we had done, to come back and find wrecked would have been soul destroying so that was not really and option. The block was getting more difficult to manage but we didn’t really want to sell, we had a great location with great neighbours so we sought to sub-divide as it was close to an acre and a half, if we could sell off have the block it would be great. No, that was not permissible so in the end with much regret we decided to sell. Once this excision was made we had to have a place to come home to after the trip, so we bought a place about 10 minutes from our old place but on a much smaller lot, more manageable in our declining years. After about 6 months of activity which also included me retiring on the 20th of December last year, we left the Cottage in Kallista on the 24th of January, with the new house is rented until the end of 2020, Be Brave is now our home.
With the major tasks out of our way its been organising all insurances, banking and most importantly the internet that has kept us busy the last 4 weeks. Having a reliable internet service/access is most important, that’s one thing we have learnt in the last few weeks. Without it you can’t do anything in this world. We are still having issues but are getting a bit more savvy on what to do.
Well that’s been the main “guts” of the story, there was a lot more to it but I’m being bullied by Susan that I’m writing too much crap and I have to stop! One day in and I’m under the pump already.
Until next time, hooroo from “Be Brave”.
Silo art in Tungamah.
Silo art in Saint James
Silo art in Devenish. We stopped for a drink in the Devenish pub directly opposite the Silos and had a lovely chat with another Grey Nomad couple travelling thru NE Victoria. A really good pre-cursor to our big leap of Oz!
Silo art In Goorambat which I consider the best of the lot! What do you think?
Street art in Benalla
Be Brave on Tour 