We Are On Our Way
The adventure has begun and we are starting on the run. Friday we collected and went through the changeover of our new Jayco Silverline Outback caravan which will become our home for our Aussie Caravanning Lifestyle adventure. We left home with the Jeep packed with most of everything imaginable that we thought we would need for our Aussie exploration, plus of course the inevitable “few” little extras J. The hand-over was an exhilarating experience, thanks to the team at Watsons Caravans and the excitement of knowing that our dreams of taking to the road were actually only moments away gave us goose bumps.
A few hours later the Jeep was hooked up to the Jayco and they had become ‘one’ mighty travel machine. Woohoo time to hit the road and start our shake down trials. Hitting the road running was a little nerve racking for me. Graeme however said it felt good having the Jayco behind the Jeep at last and we nosed out into the flow of traffic and headed to Coffs Harbour’s Park Beach Holiday Park for the start of what we were calling our ‘shake-down-trials’. The plan was to stay two nights in Coffs and then two nights at Corindi Beach, just 45 minutes north of Coffs. We decided to have these 4 nights close to home so we could get a better feel for the what we felt we should load into the Jayco and where some things fitted better than others and then take the less essential bits and pieces home. Park Beach Holiday Park at Coffs Harbour was a good choice for our first two nights and for Graeme to get some reversing practice. He made the comment later that he felt the selected option of a longer ‘A’ frame was a big plus to the ease of manoeuvring into the designated site.
To say the first couple of trials of putting the awning out were ‘interesting’ could be one way of describing the moments. Fortunately it didn’t take long though and some helpful people were there to assist by sharing their knowledge. Thanks to those fellows who were obviously well travelled caravanners teaching the almost newbie. We even weathered a storm at Corindi Beach which was quite awesome in itself.
By the end of the four nights and mornings we were feeling relaxed and ready to tackle our first planned short adventure of a few weeks through NSW’s Central West, the Riverina and into the northern side of the Snowy Mountains Region. Graeme was impressed with how well the Jayco towed behind the Jeep and had no worries as we headed back through the middle of Coffs Harbour’s traffic to the Public Weigh Bridge to get an idea of our weights. Yes we were well within all recommended minimum and maximum weights.
We found it truly beneficial and self-rewarding that we had decided to do the first few nights close to home to give us the chance to get to know the Jayco. Especially the first two days where we could grab a few things that we had not known we needed and also discard those that we now knew would not be required on our journeys.
Now we are home again and we have a few lists to complete of essential items for our bigger trip. I must say we both feel pretty exhausted after our packing and unpacking and got used to our caravan living. We have stopped into home for a couple of nights to give us a chance to clear some internet issues, buy a new mobile phone and have a roof rack fitted to the Jeep. We will also get the guys at Jeeps.R.Us to have another quick look over and under the Jeep before we head up and over the Dorrigo Mountain west of Bellingen to start our next outing.
I think we are both going to have a lot of fun once we narrow down the comings and goings and of course meet the many other people on our roads living the Aussie Caravanning Lifestyle.
Find out more about the Caravan Parks we stayed out by following the links below:
Park Beach Holiday Park – Coffs Harbour
North Coast Holiday Parks – Corinidi
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Happy Aussie Caravanning Lifestyle
Dixie and Graeme