We arrived home yesterday after 5 months and 20,000 km's, and were so glad to be home I could have hugged my back door!
We had some wonderful experiences, saw fantastic sights, met great people, learned lots, and we are grateful had no breakdowns in health or vehicle. But we arent planning any more long trips. (Plenty of short ones though!)
Maybe we just arent cut out to be proper Nomads, grey or otherwise. Everywhere we went, every free-camp or caravan park was packed... our hopes of quiet camping were not to be, and we found it rather trying. Maybe our fault for choosing to go away at the busiest time, the same as everybody else escaping Southern winters.
To those of you who live on the road, you have my admiration. You must be more patient, and have more stamina than us; or is there an extra something needed to be a successful long-term traveller?
Boroma577 said
10:34 PM Oct 4, 2011
Gerty Dancer wrote: or is there an extra something needed to be a successful long-term traveller?
I think the thing you need Gerty is a passion to see new things and new places all the time....think that has to over rule all else.
Then all those other nigglies would disappear....maybe you love your 'home' more that you love long term travel and there is nothing wrong with that....different folks, different strokes.
BTW....I think that Nomads come in all forms.
-- Edited by Boroma577 on Tuesday 4th of October 2011 10:35:19 PM
blaze said
11:05 PM Oct 4, 2011
I dont see us ever selling the family home to go on the road permant. I really enjoy the life style we are now living, meeting lots of people, different types of employment etc. The rate we are travelling I think it will be at least 5 years before heading back to tassie for a more sedate lifestlye on a more permanate basis but in the meantime we will go back for about 4 to 6 weeks at chrismas to do our annuall family camp. cheers blaze
Boroma577 said
11:11 PM Oct 4, 2011
blaze wrote:
I dont see us ever selling the family home to go on the road permant.
Isn't it funny....I can't wait to get rid of my house. It feels like a noose around my neck and when we do go home I still sleep in the van.
Next time we go back, we will be putting the house on the market....can't wait.
milo said
12:11 AM Oct 5, 2011
im kind of like blaze on this, id call us part time nomads
AmandaJayne said
12:14 AM Oct 5, 2011
Nothing wrong with being part-time nomads... I love the idea of travelling but my partner is not so sure about it all.. at least he is willing to try and if he does not like it then I shall be content with short trips for a few months at a time just to get out there.... :)
MikeMin said
12:27 AM Oct 5, 2011
We sold our home two and a half years ago, never having owned a caravan in our lives! Mad? Stupid? Maybe, but we have now been on the road since March 2009 and I can honestly say we have not regretted one moment. We have more or less identified those spots we absolutely love and those are the places we return to for months at a time. We fish, walk, swim, cook and meet the most fabulour people. We have done the huge 20,000 plus trip and will never do it again.
We are currently slowly making our way down the east coast from Mission Beach and will spend two months in Melbourne awaiting the birth of our first grandchild before moving off to South Australia to catch a few Pink Snapper! After that ......................... Far North Queensland again.
ChiChi1 said
12:47 AM Oct 5, 2011
At the moment I'm content taking small trips. I am always pleased to see home again, but after a short time want to go again.
ozi2 said
08:13 AM Oct 5, 2011
Hi Gerty, welcome home, its been great reading your posts over 20000klm ( and you dont think thats nomadic?() but yes its always great to arrive home to either a fixed address or whatever roof is over your head each night.
Cheers,
ozi2
beachball57 said
08:41 AM Oct 5, 2011
yeh i have to agree with grety, i had thought of the nomadding life style but like you i was glad to get home and that was just after a short trip (month) we did enjoy itwhile we were away this year in tassie despite the weather and last year at cape yorke and the year before that on the great ocean road,,, but being a full time driver for most of the year i do get a little sick of driving when on holidays,,, what we are going to do now is each year pick aplace we haven't been to and there are plenty of them, and save go for a look around and then come back home,, i must admit i like pottering around in my garden and my shed, i like my toys as well (Landyachts and other stuff) sharron likes her space too and i doubt that we could have that if on the road fulltime,,, hey look if selling up and hitting the road fulltime is your thing then more power to ya, but i think that it's not for us and not for everyone either,,so i guess like you gerty we'll just be part time nomads, like, i expect, a lot of others.....in the mean time short trips throughtout the year as well as a longer one will be the go for us i think,,, for now anyway
-- Edited by beachball57 on Wednesday 5th of October 2011 08:46:02 AM
Smokeydk said
09:27 AM Oct 5, 2011
With my partner working full time.....its hard getting away longer than say..4 days at a time.....but that doesnt mean we dont........we been camping last 2 weekends......about 3 hour trip each way.....and off again in 2 weeks......She doesnt take her annual leave in one hit but breaks it up a few days here and there over 12 months......this year we have done that 11 times so far.
We looking forward to her retiring so we can do longer trips......but I dont think we would be full time Nomads
Boroma577 said
11:32 AM Oct 5, 2011
MikeMin wrote:
We are currently slowly making our way down the east coast from Mission Beach
What is your approximate location now MM?
kandagal said
02:50 PM Oct 5, 2011
I don't think I could get my chauffeur to give up being a full time grey nomad. He says a house is just a place to store all the things you don't need
Ma said
02:57 PM Oct 5, 2011
Would venture to say he's got that right...........well, for some of us anyhow
Beth54 said
03:37 PM Oct 5, 2011
Maybe it was partly the time of year Gerty. I been away the last 2 winters and don't think I'll do it again. My sister and b-i-l have been doing their tripping around May for several years. They beat the southerners onslaught...no offence intended...and the weather is more pleasant. Not too cold yet, but not so hot either.
Personally, I don't think I could be a full time nomad. I don't like to be away from my family for long stretches. I know, I'm a sook!
Shogun said
03:55 PM Oct 5, 2011
I am a very new GN and am in the process of selling my apartment in Geelong ( message me if interested :) ) and also my car and heading off for how ever long it takes me to see what I want to see. I am looking forward to exploring this great country on my own and meeting as many people as I can along the way.
Having just turned 50 this year, I will be full-time on the road by the end of this month and cant wait. My 3 kids are happy with my decision and to me that's all that matters.
Looking forward to getting out there and from what I have experienced in such a short time there will many wonderful journeys to come.
Hope to see a many of you as possible over the next few years :)
Brett
Boroma577 said
03:58 PM Oct 5, 2011
Shogun wrote:
I am a very new GN and am in the process of selling my apartment in Geelong ( message me if interested :) ) and also my car and heading off for how ever long it takes me to see what I want to see. I am looking forward to exploring this great country on my own and meeting as many people as I can along the way.
Having just turned 50 this year, I will be full-time on the road by the end of this month and cant wait. My 3 kids are happy with my decision and to me that's all that matters.
Looking forward to getting out there and from what I have experienced in such a short time there will many wonderful journeys to come.
Hope to see a many of you as possible over the next few years :)
Brett
Great sentiments Brett.
Onedodger said
04:08 PM Oct 5, 2011
We have done the long trips, 15 months 12 months and more and love it.
However we have kept our home simply because we love it as well and when we have those medical problems then the home with familiar faces is very welcome.
We both yearn to be off again for an extended trip and will do so next year but in the mean time it will be 3 weeks here and 3 weeks there when we can.
We have just came back from a 3 week stint and both of us did not want to return however we had to. We like the out of the way places and had many a camp site where there were very few people and a couple where we were the only ones so don't despair there still are some places where one is one with nature.
Cheers Dodg.
shazartist said
05:25 PM Oct 5, 2011
If we all wanted the same things in life the roads would be empty, the homes would be full, or visa versa. It is wonderful that we all want something different, that means there is always enough great stuff to go around!
BTW..Our Paradise Oasis Sprinter is just a couple of weeks away ......yippy.....it is looking very nice.
pauline said
05:43 PM Oct 5, 2011
I agree with a lot of the sentiments here, each to his own, but with me if we go for 3 weeks it goes like this 1st week - so excited, on our way, new places, new faces 2nd week - settling in, decisions still, chilling out 3rd week - turn towards home, wasting time, just want to be there now That is why when we go on the road next year HOPEFULLY there will be no place to have to go back to.
Cheers
Andrea said
07:48 PM Oct 5, 2011
What a fascinating range of responses, and it's good that we're NOT all off to the same places at the same times. Like Mike and Min, we jumped in the deep end by off-loading everything, and now just cruise slowly -- no 'circuit', just meandering, and we love it; wouldn't have a house again!
But welcome home, Gerty; perhaps we'll see you on the road sometime, when you get itchy feet again!
Andrea & John
jonathan said
08:08 PM Oct 5, 2011
.. Once you've had a slice of the GN factor .. it will stay with you .. just so glad you could share it with us ..
Jon
MikeMin said
09:11 PM Oct 5, 2011
Hi Boroma,
Arrived in Bowen this afternoon. Looks like we will be here for about a week.
lilly31 said
09:35 PM Oct 5, 2011
pauline wrote:
I agree with a lot of the sentiments here, each to his own, but with me if we go for 3 weeks it goes like this 1st week - so excited, on our way, new places, new faces 2nd week - settling in, decisions still, chilling out 3rd week - turn towards home, wasting time, just want to be there now That is why when we go on the road next year HOPEFULLY there will be no place to have to go back to.
Cheers
This is me too pauline ..
pauline said
09:44 PM Oct 5, 2011
Thanks lilly, we only rent don't own but while ever there is somewhere you call home you feel like you have to be there and I believe you lose a bit of the enjoyment. I think Jonathan had it right when he said that your home is your van or was it your van is your home. At least we own that and it will be up to us where our front yard is.
Pauline
Boroma577 said
09:50 PM Oct 5, 2011
pauline wrote:
it will be up to us where our front yard is.
Love that concept Pauline.
pauline said
09:53 PM Oct 5, 2011
Thanks Baroma, sometimes I wonder if I have lost the plot.
goinsoon said
09:54 PM Oct 5, 2011
pauline wrote:
Thanks lilly, we only rent don't own but while ever there is somewhere you call home you feel like you have to be there and I believe you lose a bit of the enjoyment. I think Jonathan had it right when he said that your home is your van or was it your van is your home. At least we own that and it will be up to us where our front yard is.
Pauline
I know what you mean Pauline, we have rented our house out and have been on the road since november, with occasional trips back staying at sons place (in van) to check our house etc.
Not looking to going back home in Nov. but centerlink say we have to as house will become asset on pension asset test
Boroma577 said
09:56 PM Oct 5, 2011
pauline wrote:
Thanks Baroma, sometimes I wonder if I have lost the plot.
Definitely NOT....either that or we have both lost it. LOL
pauline said
10:02 PM Oct 5, 2011
Ah Centrelink, it would be nice to think you could do what you like with your own home, after all you paid for it. Keep them happy then do what you want, after all it is what you worked for, can't get my head round what has become of this great country.
Hi Everybody
We arrived home yesterday after 5 months and 20,000 km's, and were so glad to be home I could have hugged my back door!
We had some wonderful experiences, saw fantastic sights, met great people, learned lots, and we are grateful had no breakdowns in health or vehicle. But we arent planning any more long trips. (Plenty of short ones though!)
Maybe we just arent cut out to be proper Nomads, grey or otherwise. Everywhere we went, every free-camp or caravan park was packed... our hopes of quiet camping were not to be, and we found it rather trying. Maybe our fault for choosing to go away at the busiest time, the same as everybody else escaping Southern winters.
To those of you who live on the road, you have my admiration. You must be more patient, and have more stamina than us; or is there an extra something needed to be a successful long-term traveller?
I think the thing you need Gerty is a passion to see new things and new places all the time....think that has to over rule all else.
Then all those other nigglies would disappear....maybe you love your 'home' more that you love long term travel and there is nothing wrong with that....different folks, different strokes.
BTW....I think that Nomads come in all forms.
-- Edited by Boroma577 on Tuesday 4th of October 2011 10:35:19 PM
cheers
blaze
Isn't it funny....I can't wait to get rid of my house. It feels like a noose around my neck and when we do go home I still sleep in the van.
Next time we go back, we will be putting the house on the market....can't wait.
We are currently slowly making our way down the east coast from Mission Beach and will spend two months in Melbourne awaiting the birth of our first grandchild before moving off to South Australia to catch a few Pink Snapper! After that ......................... Far North Queensland again.
Hi Gerty, welcome home, its been great reading your posts over 20000klm ( and you dont think thats nomadic?(
) but yes its always great to arrive home to either a fixed address or whatever roof is over your head each night.
Cheers,
ozi2
-- Edited by beachball57 on Wednesday 5th of October 2011 08:46:02 AM
We looking forward to her retiring so we can do longer trips......but I dont think we would be full time Nomads
What is your approximate location now MM?
Would venture to say he's got that right...........well, for some of us anyhow
Maybe it was partly the time of year Gerty. I been away the last 2 winters and don't think I'll do it again. My sister and b-i-l have been doing their tripping around May for several years. They beat the southerners onslaught...no offence intended...and the weather is more pleasant. Not too cold yet, but not so hot either.
Personally, I don't think I could be a full time nomad. I don't like to be away from my family for long stretches. I know, I'm a sook!
Having just turned 50 this year, I will be full-time on the road by the end of this month and cant wait. My 3 kids are happy with my decision and to me that's all that matters.
Looking forward to getting out there and from what I have experienced in such a short time there will many wonderful journeys to come.
Hope to see a many of you as possible over the next few years :)
Brett
Great sentiments Brett.
We have done the long trips, 15 months 12 months and more and love it.
However we have kept our home simply because we love it as well and when we have those medical problems then the home with familiar faces is very welcome.
We both yearn to be off again for an extended trip and will do so next year but in the mean time it will be 3 weeks here and 3 weeks there when we can.
We have just came back from a 3 week stint and both of us did not want to return
however we had to. We like the out of the way places and had many a camp site where there were very few people and a couple where we were the only ones so don't despair there still are some places where one is one with nature.
Cheers Dodg.
BTW..Our Paradise Oasis Sprinter is just a couple of weeks away ......yippy.....it is looking very nice.
1st week - so excited, on our way, new places, new faces
2nd week - settling in, decisions still, chilling out
3rd week - turn towards home, wasting time, just want to be there now
That is why when we go on the road next year HOPEFULLY there will be no place to have to go back to.
Cheers
What a fascinating range of responses, and it's good that we're NOT all off to the same places at the same times. Like Mike and Min, we jumped in the deep end by off-loading everything, and now just cruise slowly -- no 'circuit', just meandering, and we love it; wouldn't have a house again!
But welcome home, Gerty; perhaps we'll see you on the road sometime, when you get itchy feet again!
Andrea & John
.. Once you've had a slice of the GN factor .. it will stay with you .. just so glad you could share it with us ..
Jon
Hi Boroma,
Arrived in Bowen this afternoon. Looks like we will be here for about a week.
This is me too pauline ..
Pauline
Love that concept Pauline.
I know what you mean Pauline, we have rented our house out and have been on the road since november, with occasional trips back staying at sons place (in van) to check our house etc.
Not looking to going back home in Nov. but centerlink say we have to as house will become asset on pension asset test
Definitely NOT....either that or we have both lost it. LOL
Cheers