The Big Family Trip

Thanks chisel,

It is so hard to know what to do as we aren't sure how long we really need to dedicate to each area. I know that we are not going to be able to see every square inch of this awesome country but we would like to see the major things it has to offer and maybe a few well kept secrets.

Chell

There is a heap of info here to give you a good idea of where to go. Have a look under the buttons in the blue bar at the top of the Forum page - Places, treks and Blogs are good places to start looking.

In terms of preparation, strongly suggest that you do some training both for 4W driving and for towing before you set out. Also, do a few short trips before you set out to identify any problems or shortcomings in your rig. Much better to find those things out before you leave home.

Have a great trip,

Val

Hi C&C
Totally agree with what's been said above if you haven't had any experience with a 4x4 and towing a van.
Once you have done that the bottom line is head off and go for it, you will never ever regret doing it.
Travel safely and enjoy, you will see some wonderful sights and meet some great people.
Cheers
Baz

Good luck with your trip nighttrain. I hope it all works out for you. Thanks John and Val & Baz&Pud for your advice also. We picked up our van last weekend and spent a few nights in it. We love it, that includes the kids. It travels very nicely which is good. Madly measuring everything up to try and make storage more effective in the van. We are planning on doing a few more little trips before we take off.

Sorry forgot to add GOODLUCK......it will be an amazing experience.

Hi Luckymum, good luck with your trip also. I agree with your statement about being nervious and excited. I also agree with the money concerns as well, we have been told that we need to budget for about $1000 a week which is a fair amount of money but as I have now heard it from a few sources I am assuming it is pretty accurate. Will you guys be online during your trip?

Clint & Chell yes we will be online while we are away as we have a laptop. My email is lisagibson@mail.com if you want to email me or otherwise read our blog. We will have $1000 per week as a budget and anything else will go on our credit card (hopefully not too much!!). We are going to try really hard and stick with that amount.
I have just enrolled my two boys in the Sydney Distance Education Primary School. Its actually alot more involved than I thought it would be. Are you home schooling? Was your school supportive?
Great that you have picked up your van and have done a trial run, thats awesome. I bet you feel alot more comfortable now as we did when our first trip was over.
We leave 22nd July so the count down is well and truly on now!!

Thanks heaps for your post SDG, I saw an article recently on the Dinosaur Trail, very much looking forward to seeing that in real life. It will be a good lesson for the kids, we can do some home education projects on dinosaurs on the way. Again thanks for the advice, will definately be used.

Thanks for the well wishes Teege. Will look into the location of the closest towing training course thanks.

ps.............."She'll be right" is fine. It will be. The last thing you need is a detailed "plan". You must be flexable to take advantage of the things that 'just come up'.
Keep away from the cities and the tourist traps. You can see them any time.

Cheers,
Peter,
OKA196 Motorhome.

Hi Peter_n_Margaret. Thanks for the advice and yes I will be homeschooling both of the children, I thought I would start the 4 year old on homeschooling when we leave so that he is occupied and in the routine of it but obviously not expect too much from him. Why do you ask?

Thanks Brian we will have a look for the book. We picked up the caravan from the Gold Coast last weekend and towed it back to Coffs Harbour thankfully with no issues. Have since towed it to a few other areas and will continue to practice before the big trip. As previously stated we will look into training courses. Hubby had been getting weekend lessons from our brother in law who is a truck driver and also has many years experince towing huge horse floats etc.

If you have no luck with the book, let me know and I will see if I have an old one in the remnants of my collection.
I stopped camping three years ago due to old age and senile decay and have given almost everything away but I think that I still have a copy somewhere.
Regards
Brian.
You can email me at ---- historiwa@hotmail.com.

Postings in Sept Oct last year.

Thanks landed eagle will have a look. Thanks for the heads up about Mission Beach too.

Hi Luckymum, yep we are definately blessed to have the freedom to travel, never thought we would do it till the kids had left home and we were in the grey nomad class. Hubby had had a few training lessons with our truck driving borther in law before we pick the van up last weekend from the Gold Coast and drove it home via a few caravan parks along the way to catch up with various friends, thankfully everything went really well and the beauty of caravan parks and the people who frequent them is that if you are ever having any trouble or need advice there is always someone eager to help out.

Good luck on your grand adventure because it is really going to be a life changing experience. "IF" you ever decide to return home the kids will have so many stories that will last for years to come.

Like so many others are recommending..do a course in towing..once completed that..practice and practice..hooking up, hill starts, pick a day when the wind is howling and go for a drive with the 4wd and van fully loaded.

It will help if you, as well as your husband, know a little basic mechanics, where bits are and what to do if something stops working. Tyre changing...now there is an exercise all of its own. You wont need to carry a complete workshop but do think about the little things that you can fix on the run..fan-belts, radiator leaks in an emergency.

None of this is meant to frighten..just simple things that you could do without spending too much money.

Books..loads of books, dvd's and talk to the childrens school teachers about learning on the road.

As for where to go ?.. A huge country out there..you are booking the first few days and school holiday times...had to smile when you mentioned the word ..days..you will be gone for 52 weeks and so days will wont be part of your thinking once you are out there.

Once you are out on the road so many things will change to your itinery..so...dont have one..those first few days will teach you so much...how to get in and out of caravan parks, over coming your neighbours..tolerance comes to mind. North in winter..south in summer..travel west to east in windy periods ..effects fuel economy.

Other than my thoughts and the thoughts of all the other experienced travellers..just ...Do It and laugh a lot at life.

One other thing.....road trains...125 tonne at 100kph..takes about 1 kilometre to stop...so please don't pull out of the side road without looking for them..especially in the Territory and northern W.A.

So much to do..so many places to see..good luck and bon voyage

Hi Fugwurgin yep my big baby did go your partners child care centre have been meaning to email her to find out how it is all going but have been trying to get through my assignments and exams at uni, will try and send her one soon. So obviously things are going well which is awesome to hear. It would be fantastic to catch up along the road, who knows it might even be during your trip next year. LOL. Will grab out the map and track where you guys have been to give us an idea of timeframe as well. Take care.

Hi Peter II. Thanks for the well wishes and the useful advice. We have been very blessed by my daughters school as they are going to support us in educating our children and have provided me with all the books to work through with them and also will provide phone and email support which is fantastic. Funny you should mention 'IF' we come back, we have been saying the same thing. Thanks again.

Hi Mark at what I am guessing would be really cold Tamworth. We actually have already got a copy of that book plus a tonne of others we have bought so many books and magazines and spoken to so many people and read so many blogs and forums, that our heads are just spinning. But thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Your reply "that book plus a tonne of others"

Just remember that books are heavy and we found not to keep the ones we had read but just change them.

I also note you are measuring up for extra storage in the van.

There is a limit to what you can carry and its hard to keep down to the legal limit without being careful

Could I ask what the ATM on the vans plate is and what you are towing it with.

We have found that we had to empty stuff out to stay legal and there is only two of us.

Just a word to the wise.


Hopefully you also bought a WDH and some good rear vision mirrors with the van.

Mark your website is amazing! I loved reading it all. It is so thorough

We are about to head off for 5 months, I know it wont be long enough but its the best we can do at this stage. Our kids are 3, 6 and 8 and I just know they will love it.

Thanks for sharing.

I have read every word on your website and emailed you a couple of questions, hope you dont mind....

Hi Mark, I will check out your website now.