big trip planning

Submitted: Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 17:16

ThreadID: 67189 Views:3877 Replies:8 FollowUps:4

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How to Plan a Trip

Getting ready for the road, be it a three week trip or a three year trip might seem something of a daunting task, whether you are a 4WDriver,

Johnny boy

Hi all , My wife and I have been seriously thinking about taking an extended trip and have a few issues that we need to get past before making this a reality. I have pointed out a few below and hope you may be able to help us with some or all of these so here it goes. 1st..I just turned 40 and I have wanted to do this for the last 10 years. 2nd..we have 2 boys 10yr old in yr 5 and 6yr old in yr 1. My wife is a primary school teacher and we prefer not to disturb my sons while they are in high school. 3rd.. we have an English staffy pup and it must come with us we are not sure about National parks and Caravan parks. 4th..The house, we have a small mortgage and still need to pay it so we are thinking short term renting but we then have a the hassle of storage of our belongings which will also be an expense. 5th..Work..I have been told that I will pick up work easily as I'm handy ie, mechanical, welding, electrical etc do you think this is the case 6th..we are not sure which way to head as we don’t want to stop any where south of Cairns as we have already seen and are able to see more later on the short trips and Port Augusta would be our 1st stop down south for the same reasons, I have been told to plan our trip with season weather in mind ie. cyclones, floods and heat waves .7th..Do I take the tinnie on the roof of my car or leave it home to save fuel and security dramas and gain more room for storage in the roof basket 8th...I just turned 40 and....LOL! I hope I don’t sound like too much of a dill by asking all this but I l would like to be prepared as best as I can, so if anyone out there has some advice to give I'm all ears and thank you for taking the time to read all of this. Cheers. Kind Regards John.

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Reply By: Member - Cram (Newcastle NSW) - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 17:30

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 17:30

G'Day John,

I can't answer all of your questions but I am in my early 40's and have only developed an interest in travelling Oz in the past couple of years. My children are in Highschool so we have missed the boat in as far as travelling for extended periods with them.

Sure there are lots of things for you to consider but if you can work through them and come to terms with the decisions you need to make I would say go for it. Go now whilst you can because once they are in highschool the window of opportunity will disappear.

Good luck with it

Marc

AnswerID: 356134

Reply By: Member - Uncle (NSW) - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 17:49

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 17:49

Hi John,
you have come to the right forum, as there is a fair few members and non members here that have had a quite bit of experience in this area.I'll give you a run down on our journey.
We had business that we sold up, as we had always "wanted" to do a trip similar to the one you describe.Along the way we met countless people of our age who had kids around the same age as your's are now, and had taken them out of school for 12 mths, and the deal was with the kids, that wet days ,were school days.
And that seemed like a great idea to the kids, pretty fair, we thought too. Some of these folk had rented their house out, and others had sold. We put our gear into storage for 12 mths, which worked out at $1250, a small price to pay for a trip of a lifetime.
As far as work goes, there was heaps in WA, which was where we spent most of our journey , and ended up working on a 2 million acre cattle station for 4 months. what we saw, learnt and people we spent time with there is with us now forever, the whole experience was just priceless!.
We didnt take a tinny, but it would have been handy, in some places, but then again , we were quite happy fishing from the rocks and shore. I think we saved quite a bit on fuel costs though without the extra 350 odd kilos, boat, motor,fuel,fold up trailer, anchors and all the other crap that goes with it. The best time to do it would be as soon as you can I guess, if not this winter, try for next season. I'm 45 next month, and so glad we have already had one crack at it, and we cant wait for the next one! Cheers UncImage Could Not Be Found

AnswerID: 356135

Reply By: Member - Fred B (NT) - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 18:20

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 18:20

The biggest fear is about making the decision to do it! Once you have made up your mind to go for it, it becomes easier to plan and move on.

The kids will love it; you can 'home'' school easy enough; there are plenty of packages out ther to help you do it. Most rural areas need workers that are willing to have a go. Most people I know who have done this have never had too much trouble finding work.

Research your trip well... and go for it.

Fred B
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AnswerID: 356138

Follow Up By: Johnny boy - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 18:42

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 18:42

Hi Fred, thanx for your reply and yes I think we have made the decision that it is january next year or no trip at all ,its just the point I made about the house and work that concearns me as we will have to work at least a few days a week to make this work, as the money we will have saved by then will run out fast as I was talking to one fellow and he and his wife were spending on average about $3000 per month and we have 2 boys on top of that ,and we are not sure about what you mean when you say plenty of packages ..am I missing something here ? as I would like to explore all options.

Regards John.

FollowupID: 624160

Follow Up By: Member - Fred B (NT) - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 18:58

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 18:58

Hi John, I was talking about home schooling "packs" that schools put together to help you with teaching the kids. Various organisations provide them, start with talking to your kids school.

Fred B
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FollowupID: 624163

Follow Up By: Johnny boy - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 19:36

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 19:36

Hi again Fred, yes my wife has already started to organise a program for both the boys from her work and we already have them in a good routine that they get additional homework other than what is sent from school from mum ...It must suck a little to have a teacher as a mum but they will thank us in the long run LOL!

FollowupID: 624169

Reply By: Hairs & Fysh (NSW) - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 20:36

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 20:36

Hi John,
We're envious of your planned trip. We were planning the same kinda a thing until the bank said 'NO' this was six months ago.
Anyway, we're not here to talk about why we can't do it.
As others have said this is a place with a great wealth of info.
We found our local primary school was more than happy to help with organizing schooling while traveling for our 10,8 & 6 year old.
Some of the tips we received were.
Don't rush, take your time. Finances permitting,
Talk to the locals as you travel around.
You mentioned, renting your place out. We were given the advice not to unless you completely trust them. Other wise lock it up and pay friends/neighbours to maintain it.. Another though would be to try some of the House Sitting organizations.
Aussie House Sitters
housesitting in Australia
Now, of cause you would have to check them out complexity before taking that step.
Hope this helps.

AnswerID: 356174

Reply By: Lotzi - Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 20:39

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 at 20:39

G'day Johnny Boy

Read this and ask the questions again....

http://www.wrongwayround.info/

I, as with many others on this forum have travelled for a greater part of our lives .... don't waste the time, from the sound of your thread you have a desire to get out and about, is your cheese and kisses of the same frame of mind?
Remember the experiences that you get out of your future journey's, will have greater value at a later time.
Also sounds like the big 40 has had an impact, mine was at 30, when the chicks at the disco wouldn't talk to me ( wouldn't talk to me pre 30) ...
In the end, it's all about balance, the kids will have a ball, with many experiences that they can talk to their mates about.

All the best
Lotzi

AnswerID: 356176

Follow Up By: Member - Greg O (NSW) - Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 06:37

Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 06:37

Hi John,

We are off in two weeks with three kids for six months (Year3, Kindie and Preschool).

Sold the house and put everything in storage. Dog staying with the inlaws. As everyone has said, the hardest decision was deciding to commit to it - now it is done the rest is easy (I hope!)

We are only doing half the block and can't wait. Only 13 more sleeps. LOL.

FollowupID: 624235

Reply By: Member - Matt & Caz H (QLD) - Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 09:08

Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 09:08

Hi John,

We sold up the house last November, I am 40 this December........ Matt is younger at 38 in September!!! we have all our furniture in a 20 foot container at my in-laws (they have land up at Hervey Bay). We home school both our girls (we are registered with the HEU QLD) I wrote their programs and we use text books we purchased (which is now a tax deduction - Yay). We have been to many a caravan park and only there are a small number of parks that don't permit animals, however I don't think you can take dogs into national parks.

As for work - we were told we would get heaps of work fruit picking - NOT SO - you either "just miss out" (there are a lot of backpackers that work in pairs - the farms seems to like this - not sure why) or this season has been a bad one for farmers because of weather conditions, however Matt is a mechanic so we have had a little work fruit picking, the rest has been on the tools again.

Personally if we had a tinnie and could fit it on the truck we would definately take it!!!!

We don't regret selling the house, the girls are having a ball and never want to stop travelling, it has been GREAT for us as a family - we are doing the trip the wrong way around (but it is what suits us, everyone is different) ie we were in Longreach for December - yeah it was hot!!! and we are off to Tassie in May - yeah it will be cold............... however you do need to watch for up Nth and the wet season.

One thing I can suggest is - we took the girls push bikes SO GLAD we did!!!!

Hope this helps

Cheers
Caroline, Matt and the girls

AnswerID: 356266

Reply By: Member - Matt & Caz H (QLD) - Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 09:15

Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 09:15

Hi John,

Was just reading post below about it costing $3,ooo per month, we don't spend any where near that amount (everyone is different) we free camp a lot!!!! buy camps 5 (you can buy from this website, we did just the other day as we only had camps 4)

You will find that most CP's will charge anywhere from $4 - $6 per night per child extra - this is why we free camp. We have also purchased a small 2.2 kg wash machine (we are going to be on the road a few years so this will pay for itself in no time cost us about $369) most parks charge anywhere from $3.00 to $3.20 per wash machine - when we free camp I just use the "handi-washer" all these things save money.

Cheers
Caroline

AnswerID: 356269

Reply By: PradOz - Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 10:24

Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 at 10:24

firstly congrats on the decision to go. wish we could but with youngest in year 6, one in y10 and eldest just starting uni makes it difficult for us right now (plus some medical issues)

have a look at the following threads from here as you should find answers to some of your questions in them

66773

66848 and also look at the article overview at top of this thread that david added:making your itinerary

67092

(hope i got the numbers round the right way)

also current caravan + rv magazine has a pet friendly guide to van parks round oz in it. it can also be downloaded from their website.

re the boat i think most suggest that if you think you will use it regularly take it, if not better to hire one once or twice if needed at all on the trip. some have suggested they take it and end up not using it enough to make it worthwhile. cheers...

AnswerID: 356290