Heya Straya

Peaking it The best days are those unexpected ones, with no expectations. I’m famous for hyping something up only to be bitterly disappointed if it’s not as awesome as I thought it would be. Movies, TV shows, parties, food… yes, food is a big one. The things I genuinely boast about are indeed, unknown or unplanned things, that element of wonderful surprise. Of course, I’ve heard of Mount Kosciusko, the highest mountain in Australia, but I didn’t realise we’d be visiting it on our lap. I had my must-see list sorted long before we left: Whitsundays, Port Douglas, the Daintree Rainforest. John had his list, Fraser Island, Cape York, Tasmania (next week – yeehaa!!!) Going to Mt Kosciusko was not on my radar at all so loving it and putting at amongst the top of our stops has come as a very welcome, wonderful surprise. It felt like I was in a scene from a Camp USA brochure. I don’t want to peak too early, with much of our trip still to go, but at this moment I have the overwhelming urg...

  Yee haw Cowgirl I am so comfy wearing one of Johnny's flannees and pulling my jeans out of the shallow depths of our limited caravan storage... I don't have cowboy boots, thongs are my only form of footwear, but I have a an akubra so that's a close enough cowboy hat. I've never wanted a giant belt buckle until this precise moment. I can rock this outfit and totally fit in. Everyone is dressed like this, there's only a handful of scantily dressed girls donning a cowboy hat and boots strutting about - they don't fit in.   The spectacle begins From the get-go the cowboys and cowgirls gallop out so crazy, fast and wild. It's  exhilarating. This is not how horses act at The Melbourne Cup. No, this is crazy, erratic, mayhem. I love it. I am envious. I want to do it.   Next up the cowboys lassoo the calves, I was so not expecting that little cow to flick back, ahhh... shocking, but ok, fun! Do it again, faster - tie that little dude down (then let him ...

Keeping it real  We have swapped the luxury yacht for a tent roughing it in the bush, a bush with the tallest palm trees I've ever seen. We are at one with nature, mozzies, March flies, crows, giant lizards and dingoes. Luckily our camp is surrounded by fence so no sign of the Dingo in this cage. We love tenting as much as everything else, it's so cosy being all wrapped up. You feel safe within those canvas walls from the chill, squawking birds and whatever it is rustling through the ground footage outside. It's those damn insects that spoil camping so I can see why is not for everyone.  Let me give you the hot tip - we've found the best bug deterrent is Detol - we mix it with suncream to apply it to our skin. You smell like a clinic but no more itching and scratching!  There are resorts on the island if you're not convinced bush camping is for you - and of course we spent a day in their pool, because that's how we roll. We moved to a bug-free beach camp after w...

Dedicated to Ashleigh – for your future journey   6 months on the road We’ve been 6 months on the road. Can you believe it? It’s gone so fast but we’ve done so much, and it seems like we chose the perfect timing for this epic adventure  feeling bloody lucky we missed that persistent Perth rain, dodging lockdowns and now borders opening up for the road ahead. My cup spilleth over, my heart is overflowing, I feel so joyous, so relaxed, so grateful.   Blogging again Caravan life is now just normal life.  That initial excitement that inspired me to holiday blog was full of anticipation of the unknown and undiscovered (by us, thankful someone else found them and made them known to be worth seeing). People always asks for the the low-down on where to go that is non-touristy - but there's a reason why they are touristy - they are worth seeing! We've been too busy adventurising than diarising. But now, I’m blogging again… why am I re-inspired? We’ve gone off-road, in t...