GREY NOMADS - The challenges facing 3 generations; 6 people in a campervan

---

Here we are: back in Sydney: Now would be a good time to reflect on life as a Nomad. I understand there is this group of elderlies that travel around Australia in much the same fashion. They call themselves the grey nomads. I have not had a chance to google them.



At the start of compiling this list, we were en route to Yulara Kata-Tjuta National Park (Uluru) – humming along facing backwards, dodging paper planes, flying currants, catching baby bottles and dummies, reading upside down, making up stories, clapping your hands in different ways, pulling funny faces, catching the odd view of the Aussie outback which is surprisingly green and far more dense in vegetation than I ever imagined.



Getting dressed or undressed poses its own problems; lying flat on your back in a 45cm high space; you remember after a while to set out all your requirements for the next morning’s session in the order you will be needing it before lying down.



Sharing your bed with a travelling bag each and your backpack; at the foot-end; (best and handiest cupboard) and your cameras; reading glasses and pc (for midnight insomniac blogging) and tissues; water at the head end. Why does baggage always have babies when you are travelling? The mountain at the footend of the bed gets higher and bigger and our bed and “cabin” gets smaller as the holiday progresses. In fact gets to the stage where you stretch out your leg and lodge your foot under between two bags or whatever they and keep it their in case you lose the spot to your partner or to baggage shifting in the night when you lodge and dislodge the other foot, or is it your elbow or arm?? Entering and leaving the “cabin’ via a ladder becomes a breeze after a few practise runs, thankfully there was no learning the hard way.



Secretly eating chocolious Tim-Tams with that first cuppa coffee in the morning so the SKnee-Hi’s won’t notice while they are eating their cereal and secretly avoiding eating anything resembling porridge in the morning also so the Knee-Hi’s won’t notice remains a challenge. J



The headlight at your face; on your forehead; directly in your eyes becomes very handy and your tiny little room above the driver’s cabin with its wall to wall mattress becomes quite private when you draw the curtains and claustrophobic (thank heavens for a skylight and hatch.)



Juggling entry to the camper between unsynchronised nap times takes skill or complete abandon.



Couldn’t get used to foregoing the hot toddy before shut eye to avoid waking the others. I guess I’ll appreciate it more in future. J



Here we are; home from home: I have flashback memories to 16 June and have been much, much tireder in my life on 16 June on at least 7 of those dates. (running 90 kms Comrades) We left Erldunda at Sparrows Fart; arrived in Alice Springs, handed over the camper; hung around the airport until our delayed flight arrived, then hung around Melbourne until our delayed connecting flight to Sydney arrived. That was the extent of it. But it was pleasant and at that family time. We had a cosy cheese and wine supper with Lourens and Ronelle this evening. Tomorrow it’s back to work routines for them and we re-group, re-organise our laundry and find ourselves a car to take a south of Sydney to recce for a place to retire in. J

---

Photos

Knee-Hi entertainment when you arebeetling along
Many ways to apply play dough

With all this space in Aus ...
we get wedged in between others to get to our power plug

Early morning view from the top bunk
while waiting for my coffee

Kieren inherited this caravan from her granddad
She's on her way from Melbourne to Darwin to look for work.

IN the meantime she and boyfriend Hans
are having some fun redecorating. I saw this same van again at King's Canyon but did not get to photograph the finished work