Our first week..
Places: Sydney-Wollongong-Jervis Bay-Eden-Lakes Entrance-Wilsons Promontory-Phillip Island-Melbourne
One week on and we’ve finally found the time to sit down and start writing this blog.
We have bought ourselves a 2004 Mazda E2000 and if you’re anything like we were two months ago that means absolutely nothing! However we can now spot a white van a mile off and recall the make, model and year and whether it would make a good campervan conversion or not. We won’t bore with all the specifics of buying the van; needless to say that’s a whole other blog post. (Key points: parking tickets x2, full nappies, mouldy noodles and having to move quicker than the London housing market). So after copious amounts of antibacterial wipes, bleach and a good lick of paint we left on schedule despite a pretty appalling weather forecast for the week.
Taking the Harbour Bridge South was about all we had planned for our big adventure! It wasn’t long (2 miles south of the bridge) that the predicted rain came tumbling down. By rain we mean tropical downpours which on top of the wind against us meant that our lovely new home on wheels and the brilliant aerodynamics of a brick meant that our first leg was cut short and we ended up pulling off the princes highway and spending our first night in Wollongong. Our dreams of a sitting outside our camper having a barbie with a glass of vino was therefore dashed and replaced by a bogan service station opposite the campsite.
The next couple of days followed a similar pattern. Leading to a kettle in the bed to keep warm and converting our camper from a living room to a bedroom under the shelter of a petrol station roof. The beauty of the white sands of Jervis bay were hampered by falling branches and tents flying through the air. At this stage we were thankful to be British!
Come the end of the week the sun had decided to shine just in time for Wilsons Promontory; a huge National Park at the southernmost part of mainland oz. Here we enjoyed wildlife such as emus, kangeroos, wallabies and wombats and a great span of beach. Finally we got to enjoy a barbie and a few glasses of vino! We then moved into Phillip Island. At sunset close to 2000 little penguins stumbled out the sea and waddle along the beach home for the night. It was a surreal experience and ended in Jamie having to convince me not to hide one in my bag!
Positive outcomes.. we are now pretty sure our camper is water tight!
Next stop Melbourne..!
Love Charlotte & Jamie x x
P.s. Any name suggestions for our little campervan will be considered!
Our little van!
Is campervan a ‘he’ or a ‘she’? Will make a difference to suggested names! Great blog!! Xx
James thinks you should call the camper van – “Charlie” or “Charmie” both parts taken from Charlotte &Jamie 🙂
Keep the posts coming as well as the photos
Regarding the name foe your van,how about MAZIE.
I like the Mazdas Japanese original name = Bongo, (or Bongo Brawny for a long wheelbase version)
Like the blog and photos
I am really enjoying reading your travel blog, looking forward to the next chapter.
Awww Sounds amazing guys! Love the pictures too! Still thinking of names for the van! I will keep you posted! X
Ahhh that first glass of vino looks like a lush spot! Shame about the torrenti rain but sure you’ve got 6 months of sunshine to make up for it!
I think you should call your camper van Karl (after Karl from neighbours) lots of love, miss you lots!!! Helz xxxxxx
Looks like you are having a great time, I’m not jealous at all :)!
I would like to throw in the name Derek…that’s just the vibe I get from the photos
Pleased to see that you are using your domains from Uni…although why you didn’t use the more explicit co.uk you own I dont know!
Have fun with the rest of your adventures 🙂