For ten months it was our home. We learned what freedom a minimalist lifestyle can be. We journeyed. We talked. We visited awesome places. But yesterday our van went back into storage.

How does one describe a trip of ten months (which included three weeks in South African game areas)? A trip starting in Orange, to Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Western Australia. We travelled 32 450 kilometres. This distance included towing our caravan for 18 455 kilos. The many camping areas – from free camping to expensive (only twice due to circumstances).

In these travels, Australia has shown us places, situations, and diverse types of people. When starting this, we could not imagine what our journey would look like. Alas, we unexpectedly had to make our trip shorter. Nevertheless – an epic trip. In reflection, a couple of initial remarks after relaxing for a while.

1. We nearly missed the boat by postponing. A serious health scare made us aware we need to do this if we really want to – the sooner the better. This is my advice for any retirees considering a “lap” or “half-lap.” Do not postpone. Do not become complacent. Your time may run out and a dream shattered.
2.  It was more expensive than we expected. We have exceeded our budget – but we were prepared for it. In the last three months of travelling, I also noted this discussion on Facebook groups. Being a grey nomad is not as fairly priced as four/five years ago. I can confirm this. When budgeting, you need to have an emergency fund. But even more so, add another 10% on top of your budget – just in case you run into challenging situations.
3. Things will need attention on a trip like this. This is reality. I had to replace the hot water system and in Perth, the fridge’s motherboard gave in. Both are costly items. But such is life. It will happen and you will have maintenance expenses.
4. Include in your budget the costs to service both your car and caravan. Your journey depends on these items. I did this twice – in Darwin as well as Perth.

The above are initial thoughts. Some more will come later. We kept our friends up to date with a daily sharing of some photos. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Tomorrow, we start to move into our home which was rented out until now. A new chapter begins. Developing part-time work after being in full-time positions for around 40 years. We will be caravaning again, but regrettably not for such a long stretch again. This was an epic journey.