I have few friends that want to travel with me, we seem to not desire the same locations or are at cross purposes... EG a mate and his wife who I have known for over 20 years asked if we would like to drive north to Cairns with them... OH yes was our reply but things soon faded as they wanted to do the return from Canberra in 3 weeks... Thats a longish drive and at express speeds they cliam to have seen lots but I doubt it.
I have to admit that I tend to favour travelling alone but meeting up for a week here and there with friends seems to be what we have settled on. saves acrimonious discussions as to destinations and places to stay.
I tend to make friends on the road (in reality I'm a bit of a loner anyway) and I believe the optimum is more the casual friendship rather than the living in each others pocket type friendship. Unless of course you have something that I "need" eg you can get me up front with the driver on the Gulflander or such....
I don't get off at all on the typical "caravan club" mentality where at each stop everyone has a rostered duty to perform and tasking is allocated on your length of membership so as a newbie I'd always score setting up the marquee and getting the camp fire going and making sure SWMBO had "refreshments" organised.... I'm more into scoring invites to other peoples happy hours but always take my own eats, drinks & seating(unlike some nomads who when they read this will recognise who I'm having a snyde gybe at). Then there are those you meet who you cannot wait to get away from (lots of people think that about me I'm sure) and no matter where you go they turn up and they always have a problem that you feel obliged to help with ( They just have to get home for a childs wedding that they knew about for ages but because you have a laptop and internet perhaps you could book their flights, charge them to your card and they will pay you on their return)... Ahhh Friendship - thats why I have a dog LOL!!!
But then a mate of mine, a fellow Vietnam Vet, was heading up to "Pandanus Palms" where all us screwed up vets seem to want to go and on the way he came across a lady in distress stopped to help her and they married 6 months later - and are still married....

-- Edited by Basil Faulty at 14:39, 2008-08-11

Personally, I prefer to meet people on the road than to depart from home as part of a convoy.  I guess this is due to an experience we had years ago going on a camping trip with another family.  We had very different budgets: they wanted to stay in van parks - we preferred (or should I say, could better afford) to stay in NPs and bush camps; they wanted to stop at cafes for morning tea complete with scones and cream - we hoped to stop at the side of the road and pull out our little portable gas cooker; etc., etc.  Things didn't really improve that much when we stopped - they wanted to take the tours, hire the boat, and go out for meals and as for us .... we kept suggesting that the bushwalking looked pretty good.  You'd think that people could talk their way through issues such as these, but it really did put a bit of a dampener on our relationship for awhile. 
The good thing about meeting up with people for the first time on the road is that they don't know you in any other context, so you can be very honest about your plans, your budget and whether you'd like to travel together for awhile without fear of offending anyone.

Couldn't agree more foxy. Wev'e met some absolutley wonderful people on the road, and as a matter of fact we've made more long term friends in the three years we've been on the road than in the last ten years living in the burbs.
No expectations, no pre conceptions...everyone takes each other as they find them. Couldn't be better or more honest.

yeh, look I think travelling takes the garbage out of life, no more keeping up with the jonese's it's just people meeting people and no pre conditions with out airs and graces, I will keep my freinds but I love meeting and keeping new one's perhaps I am greedy, but hey all welcome at my camp any time, I'm happiest when lots of freinds around

Hey Dave... I used to work with a guy that called his missus "the dragon"... He'd introduce her at some outing or another, and say, (quite openly) "Now ya know why I take her everywhere I go, can you imagine kissing this goodbye, or hello?"... I've lost touch with him over the years.... not you is it?

-- Edited by general at 23:51, 2008-08-13

Perhaps its my new neighbour? Haven't met 'the dragon' yet, as her ill-health precludes her joining hubby until the renovations are complete.
My late (beautiful) sister had the nickname (from her smitten hubby) of 'the old moll' and when my daughter was born (in England), she scored 'the little tart'. I still call her (at 28) "dearly beloved 'orrible child', which apparently has shocked and been taken literally by some of my esteemed Greenvale-ites!!

This is why its difficult to 'talk' things through, sometimes. I speak in metaphors, but the references aren't understood by many people.
 Except old friends!!

-- Edited by nancyhector at 09:35, 2008-08-14

AHHHH!!! Dave and the dragon move in mysterious ways, some say we are a wisp of smoke, others deny our existance, others still say we died ten years ago somewhere beyond the black stump, if your neighbor is a big freindly bloke with an eveready g'day and come and have a beer under me back veranda and I'll cook you up a chop, and the dragon comes out with homebaked pasties and pies as well as a big double chokky cake, and makes you take home a bag of homegrown tomatoes, some offer you a chili concoction, then yep you are some of the lucky  that have met Dave & the dragon, we are everywhere, we may be your next door neighbor ( when was the last time you said g'day to them, or asked them in for a barby),  we could be the next people you meet, just go and say howdy and what time is happy hour, metaphors, cant live with them, cant live without  them, where would we be without nicknames, but to use them as a main means to open up communication channels is probably not the right way to go about it, I've always found that the best way to communicate is to actually just plain sit down and talk, amazing what you can learn from each other if you (1) listen (2) think before you answer, one word uttered incorrectly can never be taken back, if anything is bothering any of you at any time the forum is full of people just like you, we all have ears and any one of us would be glad if you shared your burden, it is a forum and as such open to conversation, it is a dying art and not used anywhere nearly enough, ( I hear Basil saying, "you use it too bloody much" ) yes I talk a lot, but only till I get others to talk, then I listen and am always amazed at how some introverts open up, they come to me the next morning and say " I havent talked like that in years, I feel wonderfull" simple thing to do, hard thing to start, me no stopping, no General not me, I would not admit to saying anything like that, especially where SHE MAY READ IT 

-- Edited by dave06 at 12:56, 2008-08-14

-- Edited by dave06 at 13:01, 2008-08-14

LOVELY to have a forum like this ! Also hope anyone coming thro' (Greenvale, Qld) will take the time to visit for a cup of coffee, snack or just a yak. Feel welcome.