Boyne Island, Queensland, Australiaperegrinate (verb) - travel or wander from place to place
Well as my regular blog readers will know, its been a while since we travelled anywhere - in fact its been a while since anybody travelled very far.
Last year our plan was to do the Circle Pacific Cruise then in August take off and do the 'Big Lap" of Australia in our caravan. And then Covid 19 struck. First our cruise was cancelled - thank goodness - and we got a full refund, so then we thought ok we'll bring our big lap forward. Well it soon became obvious that was a silly idea so we just hunkered down and stayed home - me rediscovering my love of gardening and taking up a new hobby in macrame while Craig explored the intricasies of chain saw carving.
Then things started to open up and the situation looked not too bad and we decided we should get this big lap on the go. We weren't planning to go till at least April as Grant and Paula were planning on having their delayed wedding celebrations from March last year in March this year. But then a sudden 3 day lock down in Brisbane in January brought home to them just how suddenly things can still change and they've agreed with their venue to delay till 2022. But working around that date and Easter and school holidays we came up with the 19 April as our start date and we've stuck with that.
Had we gone last year I think we'd have been winging it a bit but this year we've had time on our side and we've put a fair bit of thought into how we should be set up. Time will tell if we've got it right.
We hope to free camp as much as possible so we've got an extra solar panel in addition to the two on the roof of the van and a generator which should mean that power won't be an issue. We've sourced a portable grey water tank - being a bit older (2012) our van doesn't have a built in grey water tank. So this option should give us the option to camp at 'self sufficient' sites in National Parks etc.
We decided if we were going to do this we needed to allow ourselves plenty of time and not be stuck to a schedule. Our only plan is that we've no plan! Although given the increasing numbers of people holidaying in Australia we may find ourselves having to plan ahead a bit to ensure we can get a place to park for the night.
Then there was the question of what to do about the house. First of all for insurance purposes you can't leave it unoccupied for more than 90 days without informing them and making necessary arrangements and then there's all this work I've done in the garden - garden beds, pots, planters, hanging baskets etc.
which would just go to rack and ruin without any care. So we've organised a housesitter. She's a single lady around my age who's been housesitting for over 6 years. She was very keen to have our job as typically she's doing lots of short term sits and since she's doing some online study would really welcome a lengthy stay in the one place. So Szulca (pronounced Shoolka) will be here for at least the next six months. We've met and done all the reference checks and we think she'll be ideal.
So here we are - the shit's getting real and its only just over two weeks till we're due to pull out the driveway. We're still organising things - we've bought a Toyota Landcruiser as our much loved Jeep was starting to have an issue or two. So we've had to arrange all the necessary electrics as well as a bullbar and snorkel. The bullbar has been a challenge as the factory closed down during the first Covid lockdown and now with the increase of people buying 4WDs to travel Australia, they can't keep up with demand. We ordered early in January and we're actually getting it fitted on 15 April - 4 days before we leave.
Our draft outline is to head North, spend a few days with my bestie Sharon in Townsville, then a few days with Craigs cousin Gail and Jimmy in the Atherton Tablelands then it's across the top to the West. Where we stop and for how long is anybody's guess.
Who's peregrinating with us?
ps - As always if you want an email link sent when I update instead of having to hunt around Facebook, let me know your email and I'll add you to my distribution list and likewise if you're not in to peregrinating around Oz let me know and I can remove you from the list.
Alison
2021-04-03
As always, I’ll be tagging along. It’s been a while x
Lyn n Greg
2021-04-03
Happy travels
Jen
2021-04-03
Will be travelling along with you.
Scott
2021-04-03
I'm Coming, Happy Days.
Cathy
2021-04-03
Have a great time. Can I ask what brand of van you have and have you had a any problems? We are just starting to do our research.
Rita
2021-04-03
I’m coming, super excited too. Going on a trip, how very exciting. Rushing home from work, making my cuppa to have an Annie moment, happy days xxx Oh you guys have fun too xx
Lindsey
2021-04-03
Will be travelling along with you and shall enjoy the adventures you are going to have. Stay safe.
Lee
2021-04-07
Van looks AB-FAB! Have fun.
Wendy
2021-04-08
Safe and Happy travels!
Lou (Linda)
2021-04-13
Your wee sis will be delighted to peregrinate and potter round the antipodes with the Porters!