Australia, The Great Adventure

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I have a feeling that the National Public Toilet Register could be useful to us as we travel. It is a national government initiative, which, as stated on the website, shows the location of more than 14,000 public and private public toilet facilities across Australia. Details of toilet facilities can also be found along major travel routes and for shorter journeys as well. Useful information is provided about each toilet, such as location, opening hours, availability of baby change rooms, accessibility for people with disabilities and the details of other nearby toilets.

Sometimes you just gotta go!

I figured that it would be a good idea to answer the question of “why are we going” all in one place. We have lots of reasons floating about in our heads, but sometimes it is a bit difficult to get it all out if someone asks us.

So here goes…

Always in our hearts to do
This has been something that has always been in our hearts to do, even since before we were married. And we always felt constrained, tied down by our responsibilities to church and job.

A little while ago I put in a post called ‘To RV or to not RV?’ the essence of which was that I actually remembered to ask God what he reckoned would be the best way for us to do this travel thing around Australia. The following is a condensed excerpt from the first post -

Thought I’d better get an article started about our mobile and comms options.

We can, of course, go cheapie cheapie, or super expensive!!!

Cheapie cheapie:
Normal mobiles - only coverage in built-up areas.
Laptop for offline work (already own the laptop).
Internet at libraries (USB key to transfer stuff to/from laptop).

Super expensive:

Just had a call from Telstra - to review our account options…

This is what they suggested:

In our “on again, off again”, “do we want an RV or a 4wd and caravan?” dilemma, we are back to the RV side of the cycle!

(After “trying on for size” the idea of a big 4wd and an offroad caravan, we have realised that we really prefer a big RV, with a covered trailer and 4wd on the back.)

And this is what we would like in an RV.

Must have

• full queen size bed
• 3 x bunks
• bathroom, shwr, toilet
• able to tow trailer suitable for 4wd
• air cond and heating

To RV or to not RV, that is the question…

Since before we decided to bite the bullet and actually set a date for exploring the ‘wild blue yonder’ of Oz, we had pretty much decided that we were going to get a Bus RV, you know, a bus that has been converted into a ‘home on wheels’ that we could use for travelling around the country.

Yesterday we went to the RV & Camping Leisurefest at Sandown racecourse. Interesting demographic - lots of retirees, and a few younger families like us.

We had a look through some of the RVs - spent some time at the Winnebago stand - had a look through a few and had a chat with the sales rep.

At the end of the day, even though some of those winnies get pretty big, none of them have what we want. Which is the ability to have the boys go to bed in their own beds (not sharing a double), while Carla and I can stay up a little longer into the evening.

Well, we’d thought we were going to go the POD storage option, but after a small amount of investigation we’ve decided that’s just not a goer. We really liked the idea because they bring the shipping container to you and you pack it at your leisure - the idea of having it in the back yard and we could just slowly load it for a month or two, sounded perfect. Unfortunately there was no way to get the shipping container into the backyard without removing a fence post as well as a couple of sections of fence! Hmmm. Oh well.

RACV has an online Trip Planner that is a free service to members.

Use it to do anything from create a map and driving directions, to plan accomodation, attractions, town information and multiple maps.

Find it at www.racv.com.au, click on Travel and follow the links to the Trip Planner.

We need to investigate what license we need if we drive a bus as an RV. Are there different licences for different sized busses? How do we go about getting them? Will we need lessons? How much will it cost? What is the time delay on booking?

OK, I checked out the VicRoads website, and it all depends on what size vehicle we want to drive. Assuming it is a bus, then it is likely that we will need at least a Medium Rigid (MR) endorsed license (over 8 tonnes gvm (total weight when loaded), and one rear axle). Unless it isn’t too heavy - between 4.5 tonnes and 8 tonnes gvm means a Light Rigid (LR). But if we want to tow a trailer, then we need at least a Medium Rigid. If we want to drive a bus with two rear axles, then we will need a Heavy Rigid (HR).