Here we go again!! Where?? There...

Europe here we come!

Yes, we are off again.
The purpose of this trip is to do some via ferratas* in the Dolomites on Northern Italy, meet up with our danish-resident son, follow the trends to Iceland and visit a place I've been waiting to go to since I was 20!

It looks like we'll be all over the place.
And indeed we will be darting around.
This is due to the time of year as it will be cold already in Denmark by the time we get there and so we decided to fly south and chase the sun including Albania! How cool is that?
I'll let you know how it goes!

*via ferratas are climby things using ladders and things in norther Italy and other places around there.
They were originally built during WW1 to move troops around the mountains and are now used by outdoor enthusiasts.

Moorland Tearooms

You may have seen the sign as you zoom up or down the Pacific Highway near Taree on the mid north coast, NewSouth Wales

"Best scones on the coast"!

Bold claim indeed!!

But I bet you have never stopped.
One day we did stop, actually we had been exploring Middle Brother Mountian which is nearby and we rolled on down the hill into Moreland.
The cafe is actually very close to the highway, only about 200 metres, so there is really no excuse for not stopping.

We had one of their special home made pies as well as scones for lunch.
The pie was a rather strange affair made in an electric pie maker with a square of puff pastry. Nice enough.
There was also a choice of scones - plain, date...
With proper jam and cream in dishes not those little plastic square thingys.
They were excellent.

And it is a very quirky place.
So next time you are zooming along....slow down, turn off and try the best scones on the coast.

Moorland Cottage

So you want to buy a caravan?....or whatever

...or a camper, or a mobile home, or a pop-up tent, or....
you just want something, but what?

So here I hope I can help you come to the right decision.

How to choose a "mobile" home.

By "mobile" I mean anything you travel with and sleep in -
tent
campervan
campertrailer
mobile home
caravan
pop-up
slide-on
roof-top tent
etc....

The choices out there are mind-boggling!
And you can ask as many people as you know and they will all give you different answers.
Our needs and preferences are as different as we are!
It's a good idea to look over your friends "mobi-home" of choice.
And to visit some camping and caravan shows, or camping and caravan shops

 But there are some questions you should ask yourself before you go shopping.

1. Budget. *
How much money have you got to spend on it?

2. How often will you use it?
It is for a once a year holiday at the beach, say in a caravan park?
Are you going to become nomads and take to the road for a long time....for ever?
Are you going to use it for lots on mini-breaks, weekends away?
Is it going to be a temporary home? a permanent home?

3. How long do you intend to keep it?
Forever?
Use it and sell it?
Update it regularly?

4. What sort of place will you stay in?
Caravan parks only?
Free camps?
National parks and informal campsites?

5. Will you be moving on every day? Or will you base yourself somewhere?

6. How many people need to fit in?

7. Are you travelling with pets?

8. What will you be towing with?
Or are you dead against towing something?

9. Will you need another vehicle apart from the tow vehicle, or motorhome?

10. Think about your own personal style.
Do you like luxurious, plush interiors? Or are you a "woody" person?
How about the modern black and white look?

11. What facilities do you need?
Ensuite bathroom?
Kitchen appliances? Fridge, cooker, oven, microwave?
Water heater? Solar panel?
TV?
Air conditioner?
Heater?
Washing machine?

12. Where will you store your mobi-home when you're not away?

13. Do you want to buy a new or used one?

OK?
Got thesee questions all answered?
...then off you go!!

If you are thinking of a caravan, there a million other questions...

What size caravan do you need?
Single of double axle?
Insulated or not?
Will you need anti-sway bars or load distribution hitch?
Do you want a full annex to go with that?
Do you want an off-road version?

It is soooo confusing, there are sooooo many choices.

Here is how we came to our decision.

We have been campers and bushwalkers for years, and have had 2-man tents, 4 man tents and a huge family tent that took one hour+ to erect.
So when we decided to take to the road for a while and especially when we realised it would be our home while we built a house (which turned out to be a year), we chose a caravan.
Also because we are campers, anything was an up-grade for us!
And because we love camping in natural places, national parks and such, an on-board toilet and shower seemed useful. We have a combo-style bathroom, which doesn't seem popular any more. But it is perfect for us.

We didn't want a pop-top van as I like the solidity of walls. And we didn't have to worry about storing it in a low carport or garage.
I wanted an oven as well as cooktop, a fridge, and comfortable seating.
Our caravan also came with a microwave which you need 240 volts to use, so we use it as storage.
Also it came with a great little TV/media player which we didn't think we wanted but have used a lot.
We forewent the airconditioner (not going to be pluggin in much) but got solar panels, which have been great.
Our hot water, the cooker and the fridge run on gas.

We didn't want a huge van, as I said any size was an improvement on camping!
So we got an 18 footer, which was the smallest one with the bathroom thingy.
It is a Coromal Elite 550, which is made in Western Australia.

Although we like getting off the beaten path we didn't go for the total off-road thing.
We got a slight up-grade, to a rural terrain package, which has slightly bigger wheels and a more solid frame.
We reasoned that if we wanted to go off-track, we'd un-hitch and take a tent for a few days.

Having a mobi-home is a good chance to down-size your life, de-clutter, and take only the important things with you.
It's tempting to buy a bigger rig than you actually need.

Our smaller van is more manouverable and will fit into a lot of camping spots.
It comes with an awning which is great in hot or wet weather. But we never felt the need for an annex, although it might have been useful the first Christmas we moved when we had 3 extra bodies and it poured with rain!

Times we have really appreciated having a caravan to shelter in -
when it's wet.
when it's windy.
when there are mozzies/flies.

Other pluses are -
caravan is easy to set up. Just park it and level it and if you are moving on the next day, you don't even need to unhitch.
Also easy to pack up and get on the road. No wet or dusty canvas to wrestle.

Minuses.
Towing.
We always travel more slowly, about 80 - 90 kph.
Fuel costs increase....a lot!

The caravan we chose has worked really well for us.
We travelled for 3 months and then lived on the land for another 9 months while the house was built.
We have been to Western Australia, up to Cairns, and roamed around Victoria for 2 months.

And we are still not sick of it!

* consider if you spend $50,000 on a caravan, say you could stay for 250 to 500 nights in cabin/hotel/motel
accommodation for that amount of money.
You would need to use your mobi-home for many years to get it to pay or itself, and that doesn't take into account
 increased fuel costs!

An Alternative Lakes Crossing - another journey in South America

There is a classic trip in South America - Cruces de Lagos - the Lakes Crossing.
It straddles the Andes between Chile and Argentina in the beautiful Region de Los Lagos (Lakes District).

Lago Nahuel Huapi

It seemed like a really good idea.
But it is also a really expensive idea.

You start in Bariloche, chocolate capital of the world! And finish in Puerto Varas, Chile.
(Or the other way round)
The trip involves a bus, a boat, a bus, a boat, a bus, a boat and a bus.
It's a long day, and in winter it takes 2 days apparently.

It costs $375!!
Too much for us.

But I feel that we saw most of it anyway apart from the middle bit.

This is what we did....

Lago Nahuel Huapi

In Bariloche we hired a car and drove out along Lago Nahuel Huapi.
It was gorgeous.
We stopped at Puerto Panuelo where the first lakes crossing boat departs from.
And luxurious Hotel Llao Llao where president Obama had just stayed.

There are also boat trips on the lake, leaving from Bariloche or Puerto Panuela, but I can't remember why we didn't.

Bariloche

To get from Bariloche to Puerto Varas we took a bus.
It was a lovely ride along Lake Nahuel Huapi and through other towns and villages.
Up and over the border where we had a very interesting experience at the customs post.
All our luggage was subject to sniffer dogs, as you cannot take food, most foods from Argentina into Chile.
The dogs were unable to detect my cheese and tomato which I had previously declared!

The border sign as we zoomed past.

The bus is very comfortable!

Lago Llanquilhue

Volcano Osorno

From our base in Puerto Varas we hired a car and drove to Petrohue, where there is a boat voyage on Lago Todos Los Santos (All Saint's Lake).
You get off the boat at Peulla, where there is a hotel and restaurant. Most people had lunch here but we had a picnic in the grounds.
Lovely.

It is the most spectacular boat journey as you can see Volcano Orsorno most of the way, and others pop into view.
Lovely, just lovely.

Petrohue with Osorno behind

Approaching Peulla

Peulla

Hotel at Peulla

Valley behind Peulla

Messing about on the river - Lower Glenelg River paddle

While we were wandering about Victoria earlier this year we did something we have never done before - an overnight canoe trip!
The Lower Glenelg River is in the far West of Victoria, right near the South Australian border and flows into the sea at little Nelson.

the start  at Moleside Landing

It is a well-known, well-organised canoe trip.
In fact there are canoe only campsites along the way administered by Parks Victoria. The campsites need to be booked in advance as there is a maximum limit at the campsites.
There are also many more campsites along the river which can be reached by car, and walk-in campsites used by the Great South Walk walkers.

We stayed a Nelson and left our caravan in the caravan park there while we were paddling.

Our biggest problem was getting to the start of the canoe trip and then back to camp at the end.
We got the guy from Nelson Canoe and Boat hire to get us to the start at Moleside Landing.
This involved G taking me and our gear to Moleside, driving back to Nelson and getting driven back to Moleside by Mr Nelson Canoe Hire.

At Moleside there was a big group of school kids camping and getting ready to paddle too.
We were a bit perturbed that our peaceful camping and paddling would be disturbed but they started long after us and stayed at different, bigger campsites.
When we did see them it was quite entertaining to watch their steep paddling-learning curve!

As you can see we have a large canadian canoe with 3 seats. We originally got it when the kids were littleand we all fitted in.
Now we can fit our backpacks and other stuff in.

view from our first campsite

All the campsites are equipped with drop toilets and a water source, plus a table and seats. Very civilised!

It was a beautiful morning as we set off and within the first hour we saw...
- a platypus that came swimming towards us and totally eyeballed me!
- a pair of inquisitive swans
- gang gang cockatoos drinking next to the river.

We were a bit too enthusiastic and paddled for 2 hours before stopping for morning tea at Saunders Landing.
Then lunch at Prichards.

Our destination was Skipworth Springs, a small canoe camp with a jetty.
It was a hot day and we were hot and sweaty so we thought we'd have a dip....unfortunately the river bank was a couple of metres of thick black mud and the way the jetty was designed, I don't think I'd have been able to haul myself out of the water.
I have to make do with pouring water over myself from a bottle.

It was a lovely peaceful camp spot.

Lot of Gang gang cockatoos came to drink at the little creek that ran though the campsite.
But then.....after the sun set we were beset by squadrons of mossies and I had to beat a hasty retreat
to the tent.

Day 2.
The gaggle of school kids passed us before we had set sail, weaving back and forth across the river.
Then we set off and lo and behold within the first hour we saw another platypus.
This one came and checked out G in the back of the canoe....and disappeared lickety-split!

Today we had more breaks as bits of me were certainly aching. The current carried us along a bit if we had a rest from paddling.

Our destination was Bowds. Another snuggly campsite with a water tank instead of a spring for water.
Thankfully the mossies stayed away her, but once again it was an awkward little jetty for getting out of the river.
A lot of the other landings had bigger jetties and/or wooden docks with actual ladders to get out of the water.
We'll know next time!

Bowds campsite

Day 3.
The longest day, because instead of getting out at Donovans Landing and getting a lift back to Nelson, we decided to push on to Isle of Bags which was very close to the caravan park in Nelson.
We also knew that the weather was going to change with a strong southerly.

In the morning the river flows through a limestone gorge and is very scenic.
There are also some caves you can visit, Princess Margaret Rose Cave you have to pay.
But we didn't think we had enough time, so we pushed on.

So far we'd been travelling in a roughly westerly direction, but just before Donovan's Landing the river crosses into South Australia and as if it doesn't like what it sees...it swings around and goes back into Victoria.
So....after we stopped for lunch at Donovans we were heading directly into a strong wind.
Yikes!
It was hard work.
We had to keep stopping and hanging on to a tree or a sign which was in the river.
We passed the school lads who were lying sprawled out on the bank. Exhausted.

You know you are approaching civilisation again as you pass the shack settlement of Dry Creek
There are two sections of the river than are waterski zones and in one of them a boat offered to give us a tow.
Which was interesting. And maybe a bit dangerous.
But they towed us along a really exposed stretch and we were grateful.
Apart from getting soaking wet from the extra waves.

Then we weren't too far from Simpson's Landing and we landed there.
By this time I was quite cold and soaked to the skin.

G ran off to get the car and we were soon home and dry.

It was quite an achievement for us
And totally exhausting!

Day 1. Moleside Landing to Skipworth Springs. 13.7 kms.
Day 2. Skipworth Springs to Bowds. 14.4 kms.
Day 3. Bowds to Simpsons Landing. 20.2 kms.

We stayed in Kywong Caravan Park in Nelson.

All camping is booked through Parks Victoria.

Canoe hire and guided tours are available from Nelson Canoe and Boat hire, and Paestan Canoe Hire.