In The Begining

Here we are with 2 Months to go before we start off on the Big Lap. It might sound like a long way off but from our perspective it is starting to come around quickly. It takes some planning to travel for an indeterminate length of time so I though I had better start writing down from the beginning before i forget details.

When did we start planning this trip? Well it's roots started back in 2008 when we completed a 3 month road trip towing a caravan from Bunbury to Darwin and back again. The 2008 trip was actually a test run to see if we enjoyed the caravan lifestyle and could live together in such a small space. Actually the space isn't that small if you consider you have the whole of Australia as your backyard.

For travelling we had a 16' 9" single axle Freedom Poptop being pulled by a six cylinder Ford EL Falcon sedan. While not the ideal setup for a long trip it servered us well, travelling up and back without a problem with either the car or van. We did a few enhancements such as installing a 100 amp hour 12 volt battery in the boot and two 60w solar panels on the roof. We also added a porta pot wich lived under the bed untill it was needed but apart from that the van and car was pretty much standard.

There were a few things that popped up to challenge the trip one that comes to mind. Anne said "3 months... can I be away from the Kids and grandkids for that long." " I replied "We have phone and e-mail to keep in touch but if you are feeling homesick and want to see them then we can put you on a plane back for a visit." That seem to ease the fears enough to agree. 

The Darwin trip pretty much confirmed we liked the lifestyle and would enjoy a trip of a year or more just travelling around this great land of ours, or, as they say doing the BIG LAP around Oz. The Darwin trip made us aware there are few goals we would need to achieve to make it possible.

1) Pay off the mortgage. It would be nice not to have to find a few thousands a Month especially when there is no steady income.

2) Buy a bigger van. While the facilities in most caravan parks were quite good nothing beats having your own shower and toilet especially on a dark and cold night. Beide we wanted to try a bit more off grid camping help save on accomodation fees

3) Buy a bigger car. To pull the bigger van. 

4) Look at ways to earn money while travelling. This trip is not so much as a holiday but a lifestyle change doing something different for the next few years so we will most likely need some way of funding it.

5)Rent out the House. As much as we love our house it would be waste for it to be sitting idle with no one in it. We decided to rent it out while we are away this will provide some income as well.

6) Do something with out exsting furniture. Store it or Sell it.

7) Do something with our second car. Same as above.