Lap of the Map

[Cuppa]

What time of year are you going?

Camper - def a hard floor as a minimum, if the budget stretched to it a semi- hardshell like an Ultimate or full hardshell like a Tvan is even better. Access and setup becomes paramount when you are doing it on an almost daily basis, the easy the better by a loooong margin.

I'll second that, & add that whilst something like a Tvan is ridiculously expensive for what it is, you would be able to re-sell it after your trip for much the same as you paid for it. I have seen a couple of decent looking older ones for sale in the low $20k recently. We love the reassurance that their solid construction gives us & that they'll follow us hassle free pretty much anywhere we can take the Patrol.

To expand a little on what ET has said - every little extra task, every extra minute it takes - when setting up or packing away - becomes a real chore when doing it every day over long periods. Very different to a weekend away or the annual 3 week holiday. Minimise the number of poles, ropes & pegs as much as possible. We love the Tvan because it is so quick & easy to set up/pack away. Whenever possible (quite often) we don't even use the tent section. Just open the hatch, 30 secs to put the elasticated bug mesh around the opening & we're done. Many use a variety of awnings with them. We carry the quick one with us to put up over the kitchen when needed, but have probably only used it half a dozen times since we left home last June. The main awning with 8 poles, ropes & pegs & heavy canvas stays at home, as does the zip on 'en-suite'.

A lap of the map in 6 months? Can be done but it'll be a marathon effort, very tiring & you'll miss heaps. If you can take longer - do so. I 100% guarantee you wont regret it. I'd say you need a minimum of 12 months, but longer is better. 6 months may sound like a long time but it'll whiz by in the blink of an eye. Imagine rocking up at that special place you have dreamed of seeing one day & all you can think is "What's the point, it's just another thing to look at" ...... that is an almost inevitable experience you will have sooner or later if you are rushed .... & you will be if you stick to 6 months. The idea is to relax, enjoy & savour the experiences along the way & for that you need time. If 6 months is the max you can manage then I strongly suggest that you consider a 'half lap' instead.

Our first lap (actually a 45,000km figure 8) took us 18 months & was wonderful, we 'picked the eyes out of it' but we still missed a lot. Before leaving it seemed like such a long time ahead of us, but it passed so quickly. It took 3 months before we felt we had started to 'find our rhthym'. If like most folk, used to daily work/life schedules, getting out on the road is about far more than just sightseeing. As a couple it's about leaving the 'norms' behind for a while & discovering/adventuring together. The hardest part of making that happen is 'slowing down', not being driven by what is around the next corner, but instead learning to really enjoy the present. No exaggeration about that being hard, it takes practice - for us it was that first 3 months before we began to 'find our pace'. 24/7 together, different roles to those we were used to - a few ups & downs in the process as we worked it out.

Don't over plan & don't set a schedule for yourselves. Have a list of 'must see/do's' & make the rest up as you go. The best bits will be the unplanned/unexpected if you allow yourselves the ability/time to 'go off course/stay longer'. Booking ahead is for folk who like stress.

There is much I could continue to add - travelling around Oz is my passion. But ...... if I were to give just a single piece of advice based upon our experience it would be 'Make a primary goal of the trip to find wonderful places to camp, recognise when you've found them & stay a day or two longer'. Not every camp is great, & we had many times , especially in the early days when we were camped up in some crappy rest area/gravel pit, wishing we had spent longer in the place we left that morning, but had let that 'need to push on' (I think it's a male thing) take precedence.

[Mc4by]

I'll second that, & add that whilst something like a Tvan is ridiculously expensive for what it is, you would be able to re-sell it after your trip for much the same as you paid for it. I have seen a couple of decent looking older ones for sale in the low $20k recently. We love the reassurance that their solid construction gives us & that they'll follow us hassle free pretty much anywhere we can take the Patrol.

To expand a little on what ET has said - every little extra task, every extra minute it takes - when setting up or packing away - becomes a real chore when doing it every day over long periods. Very different to a weekend away or the annual 3 week holiday. Minimise the number of poles, ropes & pegs as much as possible. We love the Tvan because it is so quick & easy to set up/pack away. Whenever possible (quite often) we don't even use the tent section. Just open the hatch, 30 secs to put the elasticated bug mesh around the opening & we're done. Many use a variety of awnings with them. We carry the quick one with us to put up over the kitchen when needed, but have probably only used it half a dozen times since we left home last June. The main awning with 8 poles, ropes & pegs & heavy canvas stays at home, as does the zip on 'en-suite'.

A lap of the map in 6 months? Can be done but it'll be a marathon effort, very tiring & you'll miss heaps. If you can take longer - do so. I 100% guarantee you wont regret it. I'd say you need a minimum of 12 months, but longer is better. 6 months may sound like a long time but it'll whiz by in the blink of an eye. Imagine rocking up at that special place you have dreamed of seeing one day & all you can think is "What's the point, it's just another thing to look at" ...... that is an almost inevitable experience you will have sooner or later if you are rushed .... & you will be if you stick to 6 months. The idea is to relax, enjoy & savour the experiences along the way & for that you need time. If 6 months is the max you can manage then I strongly suggest that you consider a 'half lap' instead.

Our first lap (actually a 45,000km figure 8) took us 18 months & was wonderful, we 'picked the eyes out of it' but we still missed a lot. Before leaving it seemed like such a long time ahead of us, but it passed so quickly. It took 3 months before we felt we had started to 'find our rhthym'. If like most folk, used to daily work/life schedules, getting out on the road is about far more than just sightseeing. As a couple it's about leaving the 'norms' behind for a while & discovering/adventuring together. The hardest part of making that happen is 'slowing down', not being driven by what is around the next corner, but instead learning to really enjoy the present. No exaggeration about that being hard, it takes practice - for us it was that first 3 months before we began to 'find our pace'. 24/7 together, different roles to those we were used to - a few ups & downs in the process as we worked it out.

Don't over plan & don't set a schedule for yourselves. Have a list of 'must see/do's' & make the rest up as you go. The best bits will be the unplanned/unexpected if you allow yourselves the ability/time to 'go off course/stay longer'. Booking ahead is for folk who like stress.

There is much I could continue to add - travelling around Oz is my passion. But ...... if I were to give just a single piece of advice based upon our experience it would be 'Make a primary goal of the trip to find wonderful places to camp, recognise when you've found them & stay a day or two longer'. Not every camp is great, & we had many times , especially in the early days when we were camped up in some crappy rest area/gravel pit, wishing we had spent longer in the place we left that morning, but had let that 'need to push on' (I think it's a male thing) take precedence.

@Cuppa thanks for your input.
The T-Van is on the upper side of $ but I take your point about re-sale.
The wife retires later this year (I did last year) and so the 6 months is just a number in reality. I take your point about rushing. We did 3 weeks in the U.K. and it was a sprint. We really have all the time we want and are considering caretaking at various bird sanctuaries. The wife is a keen photographer.
I agree with the 'male thing' about moving on, so I will be working on taking my time.
You make a good point about taking 3 months just to get in the flow.
I will start with a 12 month plan now.