At the end of 2018, Bridie completed our crew and we started thinking about how we could make our dream happen as a young family of 5. The first decision we made was to start looking at caravans. For both Saul and I, a caravan is cheating when it comes to camping. We are used to tents and swags and digging a hole behind a tree. But we are also practical about making our life easier with 3 young kids, so the hunt for a van began.
There are so many options out there with caravans, but we didn't want anything huge, we just wanted basic and comfortable and something that can get us to the exciting places we want to see. Triple bunks, ovens, washing machines and TVs - now that is just not camping. So we found a lovely Windsor Rapid with fold out beds and a little kitchen and a little bathroom - and when I say little I am not lying!! She has been well looked after and hasn't done much hard work in her life so it was Gumtree find too good to pass up. I was not prepared to miss the opportunity to see the van so I drove to Whittlesea with the 3 kids in December 2019 without Saul because he was out of town. Then and there I put a deposit on our little Windsor Rapid and Saul drove down and collected her the following week.
The next few months were a bit of a rollercoaster - dramas with electric breaks and learning very quickly that caravans are complicated...a lot more complicated than a tent or a swag.
After what seemed like forever, we managed to take the van out of the yard for our first ever trip. We didn't venture very far - but found a very comfortable campsite on the Campaspe river near Barnadown. This happened to be Elsie's 4th birthday and the weekend that COVID restrictions started (and 2020 got even more crazy!!) Elsie was meant to have her first ever birthday party with friends invited but we had to cancel due to the restrictions but instead we had a fun day by the river, complete with spiderman cake and video calls with the family. Little did we know that this would become the new normal for birthdays in 2020.
The other exciting thing that happened on this little 48 hour trip was that Zara's first ever tooth fell out!! So we had the toothfairy pay us a visit as well.
Our next trip we ventured a bit further and experienced a freezing cold foggy long weekend at Carrathool with Uncle Roger. Thankfully this was just after our first covid lockdown was coming to an end and restrictions were easing. We all desperately needed to just get in the car and drive.
We learnt a lot this trip - including that air bubbles can prevent you filling the water tank properly, and to remember to switch the inverter over when travelling so that the solar charges as we drive. Because the sun was basically hiding all weekend, we struggled to charge the batteries and our lights were a cozy dim glow by the end of the evening.
We are all constantly learning in this life - and caravaning provides us lots of things to learn. We took all these lessons on board and started to get ready for our next trip - with fingers and toes crossed that Covid didn't shut the state borders again!!!
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