G'day all. My DH and I are in the process of readying our too large house for sale, after which we may be homeless for a short time while we search for the "perfect" escape vehicle. Like many others, we can't afford the vehicle until we sell the house. The plan is on course. We have the laptop and we are installing relevant information. We have the hand held GPS, and are learning to use it. We are investigating metal detectors, and know that we won't make our fortune using it, much like lotto, but hope to have fun regardless. We look forward to our adventure!

Re the house; the finishing touches are almost done. Hopefully she will be on the market in a few weeks. But wow! How much stuff we accumulate over the years, and how we become complacent with maintenance. Oh, I will fix that "insert job here" soon. LOL
I suspect we are all guilty to a degree. hahaha   

Cheers,  Jill & Rick

HAH!!!  right back at ya, welcome to the forum, good to hear you are going to join this nomadic tribe of unwashed misfits and neverdowells. yes there are quite a few of us trying to attain the dream (sell cave, hunt buffallo, bbq buffallo, eat buffalo, drink moonshine, sleep) some unfortunately dont make it, others only one makes it, some arent game to even try, then there are the succesfull ones whom totally shun society and you never hear from them again (my dream), alas and alack I have 2.10 years left before I can shed my wordly possesions and don my "couldnt give a rats t-shirt" and head north for the winter and south for the summer, I too wish to attain the status of "finder of the golden nugget" but that hat eludes me, I have the magic stick that beeps, but it remains silent except around ringpulls (I have the market cornered if ever they get valuable), we all have a cave full of war trophies which we must sling to the opposing tribes, some are more sucesfull than others in disposal of their prenomadic clutter, no hints there as we all must do the same, instructions pending read, just close eyes and throw. my DH Hmmmm!!! this shortening of the glorious english language that I continuosly stumble over, is that a leftover from that horrid pastime of the unspeakables, TEXTING, hmmmm!!! 

Welcome aboard.  There's nothing better than the planning stage (except maybe the 'finally doing it' stage).  Although GPS devices seem to be the 'must have' items in many people's arsenal, I don't think there are many things better than studying a map and planning the route.  Good luck with your house and planning.

Thanks for the welcomes dave06 and Silver Fox. dave, sorry about the abbreviation DH. I learnt that from another forum I visit. Texting and I are NOT compatible! I tried it once, that was enough. The dreaded mobile phone stays switched off, only to be used in an emergency. And yes, the Husband has been reading about those ringpulls. We might end up with a collection to rival yours. hahaha Silver Fox, I like to study maps. The Husband likes the tech toys.

maps versus G.P.S. the great debate, I'm afraid that I sleep in both camps on this matter, I have a G.P.S. (or more commonly known as "naggin nancy" turn this way, turn that way, you're going too fast, turn around you missed your turn, nag, nag, nag) I use this device, or marriage saver, in cities, on the open road, I use the camps australia 4 book, the one with all the drool on it, what?  yours hasent any drool on it, oh must be just mine, anyway I digress AGAIN, when I haul up for the night I like to just sit and ponder ( no not my navel!)  where the next days travel will take me and what wonderous delights therein await the wide eyed traveller, I pick out a camp spot and then when the morning awakes we try to find the nearest bakery for brekky, if anybody is heading for tassie brrrrrrrrr!!!! head for Geeveston bakery, my god they bake croisonts, pasties and pies, bread and pastries just behind you ( ten feet away) YUMMM!!! and as you sit at a table and stare out of the huge picture window that looks directly at a huge mountain scene amongst the smells of a fully operational bakery in full swing, they bring you the most amazing coffee with croisonts and jam with real cream, O.M.G  take me lord I been done ready to go, heaven on a stick, the only rival was either campbell town or it might have been oatlands, they have a bakery there with the most amazing pies and pasties, but what was most inviting to me was the bottomless coffee cup, FILL UP AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE, wellll!!! me being  a coffee adict I was climbing the walls for days  didnt sleep for three weeks, talking at 5 times normal speed, running everywhere, the dragon kept me away from there, wouldnt let me go back, these women, no sense of humour 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Tassie. We are being pulled back there, after one of our rush-around trips. 7 days, with car hire, motel accomodation all inclusive. Just a taste................... We missed so much the island state has to offer in our short jaunt. We plan a lengthy return at some stage. Husband is now obsessed with new toy, metal detector, so I suspect our first trips out of here will be to various outback gem fields and such. Not a problem.........beats running a small business from home, hands down! Our house is almost ready for the open slather, or, market, so hopefully soon I can post that we are purchasing our vehicle. Fingers crossed here.

we did the tassie thing about 5 years ago ( I think?) motorhome hire for 14 days seen about 20% of what the island has to offer, next time we return we will stay for 12 months, god I hope we have the diesel heater in our motorhome by then, ahhh!! the magic beeping stick has a new home, we wil have to compare ringpull piles one day

-- Edited by dave06 at 23:22, 2008-08-12

Dave, husband has now found 2 ring pulls! The collection has begun.

HI Jill, the one thing I did see whilst down at port vincent on the yorke peninsula was a fellow combing the beach with a beepy stick, he also had with him an old crutch, the ones the hospitals use that clip to the top part of ones arm, the other end he cut the rubber stopper of and bolted a lump of 100mm pvc stormpipe to it, the stormpipe had a great swag of holes set roughly 10 mm apart so as to let the sand drain through, he would sweep with his right arm and dig the doohickey in with his left and was able to cover a lot of beach in a short ammount of time, very quick to empty as well, he was obviously after money and the holes were set accordingly, good way to cover ground thought I.

Sounds like a plan Dave, must tell husband. He is good at making stuff.

Hi Dave Thanks for the tip of Geeveston bakery my husband and I are just heading off on our trip around aust early Nov from Perth we will be arriving in Tassie in January I will be keen to stop at the bakery on the way. sounds yummie
Rolex

Rosemary please dont bring up the geeveston bakery, too many good memories, my saliva glands will not respond to normal behaviour when mentioned, the drool takes hours to clean up, I go weak at the knees with the very mention of Tassie, the huon trail, port arthur, the kids chasing the little wallabies with torches around the port arthur caravan park and you dont often see a wallaby with a torch do you HMMM!!!, the west coast, dove lake, cradle mountain, I have reams of photographs just waiting to bore the living daylights out of anybody that merely mentions the little heavenly island, I bring them out when I think the guests have stayed long enough, I will one day sit down and commit all my photos to dvd, that way I can put it on our huge lcd telly, they cant help but see them there, they leave quicker that way and dont drink all my booze, AND ANYWAY WELCOME TO THE FORUM YOU, in my excitement of tassie I forgot, sounds like a great trip you have planned, I am a fountain of knowledge if you have a little room in your boot for an old feller, I dont eat much, and I wont drink ALL your booze. if I can offer any advice on free camps or places of interest, dont be shy give me a yell