General questions about Grey Nomads!

_chien · Member

General questions about Grey Nomads!

jimbo · Guru

Freedom!! To go (almost) Where one wants too go.......To meet and talk to others who enjoy this life.....

Bubs · Senior Member

Basically I chose the lifestyle because I saw so many people in the cancer treatment centre, where I was working, loose their choices/chances in life. It was too late for them, but not me. I learnt a lesson from them and I decided to live while I am alive.
I am also an artist, and as my lifestyle is so low maintenance, I don't have the need to work fulltime, and it gives me the opportunity to paint. To follow my passion. I think that is the key to the whole thing ..... owing it to yourself to follow your passion!
Most Grey Nomads are passionate about what they are doing.
Any further questions, feel free to ask.
Cheers,
Dianne

jimbo · Guru

I would also like to add...That I just recently came back from Newcastle NSW and stayed every night in Caravan parks and did not meet any fellow Grey Nomads that contribute to this great site.......

This i was surprised at.......

jimricho · Guru

Hi _chien and welcome to the forum, and welcome to Australia too! Cold Tassie must be a bit of a shock to the system after Malaysia!

As Jimbo has said .....freedom... We're a very diverse lot here but mostly retirees or near retirees but also some who work their way around the country for a living or part living. Our entertainment and leisure activities are just as diverse but tend to reflect our age group, I doubt there would be too many "night-clubbers" or bungee jumping enthusiasts amongst us.

Jim

_chien · Member

Everything sounds great, thanks! :D

I'm also interested in daily routines. For example, do most caravans/trailers have their own kitchens, toilets, and washing machines, or is it just a place to sleep at night? OR does this really depend on the individual? And stuff like food, do you stock up whenever you arrive in a town/city?

@Jim, "We're a very diverse lot here but mostly retirees or near retirees but also some who work their way around the country for a living or part living." - is there a possibilty of Grey Nomads bringing young children along with them on the road?

-- Edited by _chien on Tuesday 18th of May 2010 07:09:33 PM

pricey43 · Guru

Hi Chien,

We have decided to adopt the Grey Nomad lifestyle for numerous reasons. Numerous serious health scares in the past, my husband feeling 'burnt out' in his employment after 35 years, love of the caravan lifestyle and a desire to experience as much of this wonderful country as possible.

We both grew up with caravan holidays with my husbands father building his own caravan for his family. We started our children off camping in tents progressing to borrowed vans and then our own. As you get older and more financial you need a little bit more comfort. We currently have a 16' pop-top. I once commented that I would never have a washing machine in my van, now my wishlist includes a washing machine, shower,toilet. Even if it never happens we'll still travel and enjoy with the facilities we have.

Yes we do usually stock up in larger town/cities to save on cost. Also the meals tend to be alot simpler and easily cooked.

Hope I have answered some of your answers Chien.

Cheers, Robyn

justcruisin01 · Guru

welcome wrote:

I would also like to add...That I just recently came back from Newcastle NSW and stayed every night in Caravan parks and did not meet any fellow Grey Nomads that contribute to this great site.......

This i was surprised at.......

It would be good to have some kind of maping system on here so we could pin point our locations at any given time & update as we move around, would have to help with meet ups.

Helena · Guru

Hi Chien, We have always loved travelling and when we retired decided to travel Australia we have cooking facilities in most of our vans here although a lot of us like to cook on an open fire (weather permitting). Some of us on the forum live permanently on the road others of us have a home base but travel quite a lot of the year. Welcome to Aussie have visited your country and loved it. Helena.

villatranquilla · Guru

Hello Chien - welcome to the forum. One of the joys of caravan life is the freedom from a regimented working life. This country is so vast and varied to make the most of it you need to take your accomodation with you. We have basically the same facilities we have at home but with a good battery supply, generator and 200 litres of water we can camp for free when it suits us (will soon be getting some solar panels to boost the batteries)
There is nothing as enjoyable as sitting round a campfire on a chilly clear night admiring the stars and enjoying the company of like-minded people who are happy to share their experiences. We eat much the same food as we do at home although a bit more thought goes into shopping as you may not have access to shops for a few weeks and therefore must stock up. We have a small washing machine, shower and chemical toilet - all of which make caravan life very comfortable. - Jenny

pricey43 · Guru

"There is nothing as enjoyable as sitting round a campfire on a chilly clear night admiring the stars and enjoying the company of like-minded people who are happy to share their experiences."

________________________________________________________________

Totally agree!!!!!

Cupie · Guru

Hi Chien

In my experience there are as many different profiles as there are Grey Nomads.

Some are part time GNs. ie Have a home base & travel in caravans/motor homes. Trips vary in length from weeks to months.

Others are full time GN who live & travel in their van/motorhome for years or maybe forever. They may or may not retain a home base.

Some of both categories prefer Bush Camping or free camps that usually have no or just basic facilities. ie an unregulated spot to park with no fees and maybe some basic facilities .. like a toilet. Refer Camps Australia for listings & locations

Others prefer managed Caravan Parks. They offer a range of facilities from 5 star Holiday Parks to unpowered or powered sites, some with their own ensuites. Most have communal showers, toilets & coin operated washing facilities as well as camp kitchens with cookers, fridges & TV. Most have internet access with a growing number of wireless hotspots. Refer to Top Tourist or Big 4 brochures for a representative range of CPs.

Some GNs prefer Off Road dirt roads & bush tracks, with self sufficient camping in quiet close to nature locations. Others stay on the bitumen most of the time. Each to their own.

We are part time GNs who prefer CPs. When we first started on retrirement at age 58 some 12 years ago. For the first 8 years we would spend at least 3 to 6 months every year on the road, interspersed with some overseas travel. These days we choose to confine ourselves to lots of short 1 to 3 week trips in the local area, usually with the grand kids. We expect to resume longer trips in a couple of years. To date we have travelled >180,000km.

Our rig is 216 with an additional equivalent area enclosed in an annex for longer stays. It has gas hot water & cookers as well as 240v microwave & aircon. We have 150L capacity water tanks and a battery installation should we choose a short (3 to 4 day) stay at unserviced free camps. We have an ensuite with hot shower & chemical toilet.

Refer to Caravanning Mags for info on the range of rigs used .. or maybe go to an Annual Caravan Show in any of the major cities.

As far foodstuffs etc .. we function as normal with maybe weekly shopping in the larger centres & topping up with local produce wherever available. We eat lots of BBQs, stir fries, salads and pasta for main meals and sometimes have full mid day meals at local RSL clubs or the like.

We caravan for the experience of seeing & sharing with others this wonderful country. We see great sights & meet fantastic people who share our love of country. For us its about the place, the people & the laid back life style.

Hope that is the sort of stuff you are after

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 19th of May 2010 04:58:49 PM

_chien · Member

@Robyn, I guess a washing machine, toilet, and shower would be more convenient!

@Helena, thanks! Glad you enjoyed your trip to Malaysia.

@Jenny, it's great to hear that you're getting solar panels soon! With the washing machine and shower, what happens to the grey water - is it stored in tanks and disposed off when you're able to do so?

@Cupie, wow, I really appreciate all the information that you've provided! I guess it really does all come down to the individual - whether or not you require a toilet, shower, and kitchen on board.

To anyone out there, is there a possibilty of having grey water recycling systems, and perhaps even rain water collecting and filtering systems on board? Maybe something like this already exists, I don't know!

Really wanna explore the endless possibilities as my assignment is set in the year 2020 with sustainability as my main focus. Who knows what sort of technology would be available in 10 years time. Will there be caravans with a full solar panel exterior making them capable of generating enough power to travel without consuming any fuel?

It'd be great if anyone has some crazy ideas to share!

Chien.

jimricho · Guru

Hi again,

It would be an interesting exercise for you to visit a Caravan and Camping show to see the amount of stuff aimed at sustainable camping that's available. You would find the extensive use of solar power by many campers very interesting. Those campers (and this includes many members of this forum) that regularly "free camp" or "bush camp" (that is camp away from facilities) practise sustainability and conservation to quite a high degree. This is dictated by the need to carry water, gas, and battery power. The use of solar panels to recharge the batteries is very common.

Also worth a visit would be caravan parks in your area, not only to see how various "rigs" are set up but also to discuss with the owners/managers any potential sustainability practices they use as well as impediments to their adopting some more sustainable practices in the future. Contact the parks in advance to arrange this as park staff can get busy at different times of the day, also to get an indication of how cooperative they're likely to be. You will need to talk to the owners or managers as other staff will not be in a position to provide as much information or help.

Best wishes in your endeavours as you're researching issues that will be relevant to all of us in years to come,

Jim

Bubs · Senior Member

To answer an earlier question, I have also met many families with young children doing exactly the same thing. They school them using the School of the Air (I think it is called). Some of them are able to do their business on the road as they go, (computor orientated) or stop and work occasionally as some of us do.
Cheers,
Dianne

jimricho · Guru

_chien wrote:

Who knows what sort of technology would be available in 10 years time. Will there be caravans with a full solar panel exterior making them capable of generating enough power to travel without consuming any fuel?

It'd be great if anyone has some crazy ideas to share!

Chien.

And Hi again,

Photvoltaic technology would need to take a quantum leap of several orders of magnitude to achieve this (I think the Physicists would call that a statement a mixed metaphor). Even if this technology were "in the pipeline" now (gawd, how many metaphors is that!), the lead time from laboratory to "real world" would be much longer than 10 years.

Nuclear is a different story, the technology is here and now. Nuclear reactor in a RV ???? no, of course not, but nuclear power stations providing power to the grid, some of which is used to "manufacture" hydrogen (yes pedants, I know Hydrogen is an element and can't be maunufactured in a strict sense of the word). The technology is here now and hydrogen is a very clean fuel as the product of its combustion is plain ol' H2O.

Don't be fooled by the move to "hybrid" or pure electric (plug in to recharge) vehicles. Common rail diesels are achieving as much on the greenhouse front and as for the pure electric, they're coal burners, the dirtiest fuel of the lot. (The coal is burned at the power station)

-- Edited by jimricho on Wednesday 19th of May 2010 06:44:21 PM

Cupie · Guru

_chien wrote:

@Cupie, wow, I really appreciate all the information that you've provided! I guess it really does all come down to the individual - whether or not you require a toilet, shower, and kitchen on board.

To anyone out there, is there a possibilty of having grey water recycling systems, and perhaps even rain water collecting and filtering systems on board? Maybe something like this already exists, I don't know!

Really wanna explore the endless possibilities as my assignment is set in the year 2020 with sustainability as my main focus. Who knows what sort of technology would be available in 10 years time. Will there be caravans with a full solar panel exterior making them capable of generating enough power to travel without consuming any fuel?

It'd be great if anyone has some crazy ideas to share!

...........................................................................................................

I don't want to be a nay sayer .... but ... It will take a great leap forward to be able to be anywhere sustainable for traveling GNs.

Might be OK to stay put & generate own solar for a simple (& maybe enjoyable) lifestyle ... even to recycle some of your own water .. maybe some waste stuff even .. but to transport the stuff & rig might turn out to be the greatest challenge. For lots of GNs the travel is the prime motivator. Otherwise we would set up camp in the back yard.

Lots of current 'green' alternatives at this stage seem to me to just transfer the carbon etc costs elsewhere.

If you don't have S K & T on board then I suppose that you must use those in 'camp kitchens' or dig a hole & burn fossil fuel etc etc ...

I must say that I have long thought that the days of the sort of caravanning that we do might be numbered & we might have to revert to more primitive methods .. or just use those terrible on site facilities. I might just be past it all by 2020.

Good luck with your project.

ps.. In the future we might just get back to the image in my atavar.

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 19th of May 2010 11:26:01 PM

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 19th of May 2010 11:28:05 PM

villatranquilla · Guru

Hi Chien - there is a channel system that can be fitted to the front of the van with a hose connection to the water storage tank to catch rain water. Have not seen one in use so don't know how successful it is - we have lowered the awning at one end and caught rain water in a bucket when free camping. Most WA grey Nomads probably try to avoid the rain however and head north for the winter. We usually run our shower and washing water onto trees or other vegetation as we are usually camped in fairly dry arid areas. Always use biodegradable products where possible.

capt cream bun · Senior Member

Not to long ago while enjoying a cuppa and a cream cake on a veranda over looking a highway i started to count the RVs passing by. From that i approximated the ratio of RV numbers to truck and car numbers. I cant remember the statistics now but it was remarkably high. I do remember my conclusion however.

Just as this nation ages so does its people. The grey nomad generation is a healthy and wealthy lot compared to those of similar ages in past times. We are better educated, we are communication experts, we are demanding we are forever seeking and exploring the boundaries.

But...in our era as more and more people age and look to lifestyle changes how does our own government manage the ever increasing RV to truck and car numbers? or to put it another way ..the working tax payer to the retired ?

It is my view our government no longer seeks for find solution to problems but more likely tries to control people for find solutions to problems.

I think Cupie is right on the money!

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/dont-try-to-run-our-lives/story-e6frfhqf-1225868870608

_chien · Member

What makes your rig a home?

The people you travel with?
Specific items with sentimental value?
A comfortable bed?
Having a toilet and kitchen?
All of the above?

Or is it just a place to sleep at night?

Kantiki · Senior Member

Although we are not fulltime travellers, when we do travel it is our home. One of the attractions for me is that I have all my own things with me. i.e. the sheets and towels, the dishes and pots and pans etc. I have everthing I need with me, rarely is anything important forgotten or left at home. It is all as I like it, and there is nothing I would change in the immediate future.

_chien · Member

thanks for your help everyone!