Planning Page - Selling or Renting the House
The three kids were in their final year at Uni or working during the 6 months we were away on 'The Big Trip' in 2006. It was time to think about downsizing, and this holiday provided the opportunity to start moving in that direction. The house was too large for the three kids on their own especially with the added responsibility of looking after the 2100 sq m of yard, gardens and pool so they moved out with friends. We rented the house while away on the trip and sold it upon our return. Now we are trying unit living - a big change.
I think we are the only people living in a unit with a caravan in one of their garage spaces!
Planning - road trip buddies, vehicles and vans, where and when
If you have checked out the Do's and Don'ts for 4WD-ing on the 4WD page, then you will know that it is best not to 4WD on your own. A couple of our friends are keen to go on this trip too. Gary hopes to have wound up his current business by then and Karen will be ready for a job change so 6 months off works out well for them too. We have both recently purchased 4WDs and caravans - camper trailers they are called - the ones that popup from half way. Check out the 4WD page and Camper Trailer page for a run down on our choice of vehicles and vans.
Starting from Brisbane the best direction of travel is anti-clockwise leaving around April and returning around September. This way you travel through the hottest parts of Australia in the coolest months. You also avoid the busy Christmas holidays so bookings are not essential in most places.
Planning - time off from work
Pete & I both work for the Government so we are able to take 3 months Long Service Leave for this trip but that is not long enough! There is a new type of 'purchased leave' available now that we both hope to apply for. The way this works is that we get paid at 40/52 of our normal salary for the 12 months before our trip starts. By doing this we 'purchase' an extra 12 weeks leave at 40/52 salary to add to our Long Service Leave. Starting in July 2005 we both drop back to about 4/5ths of our normal pay.
Planning - this website
I intend to update the site at least every 2nd week so keep coming back to check out our progress. I will need to upload pages & photos to the site while we travel around Australia. For this I need a laptop. I settled on a Dell Inspiron 9300 with a 17" screen and an extra large battery. The hardest thing to get up and running has been the mobile phone GPRS connection which I can use to connect to the internet while travelling when an internet cafe is not available. Finding the correct cable connection and correct software for my phone and the particular setup required was VERY difficult. You would think a lot of people might do this and that the phone companies could tell you exactly what to do...wrong! After being passed from phone company to phone carrier to ISP and back a number of times with each saying it was a problem with one of the others, I managed to scrape together enough information to work it all out. Next purchase is an in-car charger for the laptop that can also charge from the extra battery we have charging in the 4WD while we are travelling.
Other plans?
Apart from knowing who was going (Cath & Pete, Karen & Gary), where we were going (anticlockwise around Australia starting in Brisbane), when we were going (Easter 06 - Oct 06), how we were going (4WD towing popup caravan) and why we were going (we love travelling & the freedom of a camping road trip), apart from all that, we didn't planning much more. Most of the initial action was on the 4WD and Camper Trailer/Caravan pages. During the trip there were updates on the Trips & Photos and Travel Map pages as we went to each different destination.
Food planning was no more than you would for a 2 week trip as we knew we would be in range of a shop quite regularly. We carried a few long life tinned and packet items that were kept for those unexpected times when shopping was not possible.
Clothes planning consisted of trying to cut back then cut back again! We only took things that didn't need ironing, didn't show the dirt much and that mixed and matched with other items of clothing. One winter outfit good enough to wear to a restaurant and one good summer outfit. Remember that nobody sees that you are wearing the same thing...again... when you are constantly on the move. Most places are pretty casual anyway. Even though we tried to keep it to a minimum we still took more than we needed.
Two sets of towels and sheets etc was enough. Take less than you think you will need as you can always buy if you have to.
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This page last updated on 22-Dec-2007
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