Latest / Off Grid Down Under by MDC / EP 48 | No Fixed Address: The Truth About Living Full-Time on the Road in Australia

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EP 48 | No Fixed Address: The Truth About Living Full-Time on the Road in Australia · Off Grid Down Under by MDC

0:00
SPEAKER_02: That was the start of our full-time travels.
0:01
SPEAKER_02: We sold our house, all the kids were off our hands.
0:04
SPEAKER_02: So we decided, well, while we're staying at home, mortgage, uh big house, utilities, rates, we just thought, no, let's do it.
0:13
SPEAKER_04: I think last year we drove back from WA across the Nullabore for a 50th for someone that we met through M D MDC.
0:20
SPEAKER_04: And they invited us to stay before they'd even met us, too.
0:22
SPEAKER_04: They invited us to call in and have dinner, and we'd never met them.
0:25
SPEAKER_04: And like Mandy was making comments, like, what if they're serial killers before we arrived?
0:30
SPEAKER_02: We're not, we promised.
0:31
SPEAKER_02: But the thing is, just get out and do it.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: You know, life's too short, we say, and you've got to just grab it and go for it.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Off Grid Down Under the Podcast.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: Today we're at Gucci Creek at the Queensland Muster, with lots of MDC owners arriving as we speak, many already here, and the dogs are out in force, another great event, and with me two very, very special guests, Pete and Sonia.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: Now, Pete and Sonia are living what most caravanners would call living the dream.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Retired, full-time on the road in their MDC XT19 HRT Mark III with their dog Indy.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: Absolute living the dream, very jealous, and after 18 months exploring Tasmania and years of attending MDC's owner events, the first of which was at Grafton at uh at the gorge, they join us now to talk candidly about their experience living full-time on the road.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: Now, Pete and Sonia, welcome.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: Good to have you here.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: Looking fantastic.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: So obviously, life on the road's agreeing with you.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: Sure is Indy looks amazing.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: So welcome to the show.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: And for anyone that hasn't met you before, tell us a little bit about who you were, where you're from, and where on the map you are right now in terms of your travels.
2:09
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Son, start us off.
2:12
SPEAKER_04: What do you want to know?
2:14
SPEAKER_04: So I guess um I'm originally from like Southeast Gippsland in Victoria.
2:21
SPEAKER_04: And before we started to travel, I was working in the prison system.
2:25
SPEAKER_04: Um I've got a master in social work, so we run all the clinical programs for serious violent offenders.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: Serious violent offenders.
2:33
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we probably do.
2:35
SPEAKER_04: So I was doing that, and yeah, Pete was, what were you doing before we started travelling?
2:40
SPEAKER_02: Uh well, I was a um policeman for 35 years in Victoria and uh retired in Apr August 2022.
2:49
SPEAKER_02: And um yeah, we just uh bought ourselves a van.
2:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh I remember that one.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: It was the 16, wasn't it?
2:56
SPEAKER_02: MDC 16, and we just started doing weekend trips around home, Lakola, Dargo, all those high country areas where we lived.
3:05
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
3:05
SPEAKER_02: And um and our first MDC catch-up with people was the Clamor Scores that you organized.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: That was a good event, and what happened?
3:15
SPEAKER_00: You sort of someone twisted your arm and got you to buy a 19.
3:19
SPEAKER_04: Well, they twisted our arm and got us to buy tickets to the big round bash first.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: And then next thing you know, you're in a a 19, which is wonderfully custom decaled.
3:30
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad you asked for that because it is a one-of-a-kind.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: Very, very noticeable.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: So now that you're retired full-time on the road with Indy, what's the setup?
3:43
SPEAKER_00: How do you make it work?
3:44
SPEAKER_00: How did it start, and how have you evolved that over the time you've been traveling?
3:49
SPEAKER_02: Well, we started with um the 16 and um when we two dogs.
3:54
SPEAKER_02: Two dogs then.
3:55
SPEAKER_02: Yes, uh, we had a greyhound called BB, which you I remember BB, and uh he was uh at Clarence Gorge with us, and that was our that was the start of our full-time travels.
4:05
SPEAKER_02: We sold our house, all the kids were off our hands, so we decided, well, while we're staying at home, mortgaged, uh big house, utilities, rates.
4:14
SPEAKER_02: We just thought, no, let's do it.
4:16
SPEAKER_02: If I'm gonna do it, I'm 59, son's 52 now, so it's four years ago.
4:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, well, three years ago now.
4:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, full.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: And um, yeah, basically, uh, 16 took us to Clarence Gorge, and from there we just realized we needed that little bit bigger van because of having two dogs at the time, but that little bit extra room certainly helped as well.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: And then the caravan mass kicks in and you end up with a V8 Nissan patrol.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: You do, yes, again, thanks to Wayne.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: Don't don't come to an event unless you want to get talked into a better setup.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: Don't so look, Wayne, you you talk to customers every day, you understand their needs and that.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: So, how common is it for people to say, look, we're getting this van, we're gonna pack up, sell or rent out the house and head off and see Australia for what it really is.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: It is certainly one of those things where a lot of our customers that that is the end goal, and it's it is the dream to to do the big lap.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: And I remember uh growing up, you know, we we did a couple of the the little laps as we uh as we were kids, and our parents took us around the country, and now that has evolved into the the constant lap.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: So people living on the road full time, and Pete and Sonia are a good example of that.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: Like, as you said, started in a 16 and somehow twisted my arm into uh ordering you a champagne XT19, which our uh our uh general manager product technical absolutely loved, and and uh I think had a little bit to do with your uh Nissan as well.
5:50
SPEAKER_04: I think so.
5:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, because we saw your car and we're like, yeah.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: No, and it it is a good thing about the events because you can get out and everyone is friendly, no one is gonna say no and bite your head off when you want to stick your head into to something that is bigger than yours or something that you might be interested in, and yeah, I guess what that's what the community is all about at the end of the day, yeah and and that's something I want to touch on.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: It's with the community, and obviously you guys have become quite a big part of the core MDC community.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: How much difference does being part of that knowing so many people around Australia, knowing you can come to events like that?
6:31
SPEAKER_00: How big an influence is that in your travels now?
6:35
SPEAKER_02: It's huge.
6:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
6:36
SPEAKER_02: When we first started, we were because of our backgrounds in work, we were um not shy but reserved.
6:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
6:44
SPEAKER_02: And um just as we started traveling and and meeting people, um you start to open up to that a little bit more, and then um, you know, at the end of the day, you become nice and relaxed, and I'll talk to anyone.
6:56
SPEAKER_02: I can walk up to a group and just talk to anyone, you know.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: So, and it's and it's good, that's how I like it.
7:01
SPEAKER_02: And we we've made so many friends in the last two and a half years since we've been full-time on the road, and um, yeah, it's we we can from cans all the way down the coast, we've got people that we've met and we can pop in and see them and say good day, stay.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: It's just lovely.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's it, and as I said, the day you want to take a bit of a break from it, boom, you you've got somewhere to stay.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: You come and stay at my place.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: I dog sit for the I will have indie at my place for a couple of weeks while they're away doing other stuff.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: But it is fantastic that community, and and like if you're looking at this kind of lifestyle and you want to know people, have people in your circle that can help you with advice and their previous experience doing this, really get involved in the MDC groups, the MDC and Oz RV owners club and owners group and get to these sort of events.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: You will meet people that will become lifetime friends and really support you on your travel, even if you're just doing the annual leave stuff.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: It really is a great asset having a group.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: Yes, definitely.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: So so how do you manage the day-to-day logistics?
8:14
SPEAKER_00: No fixed address, mail, Medicare, vehicle regios, all of that sort of stuff.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: Is it complicated?
8:20
SPEAKER_00: Is is it difficult to manage?
8:23
SPEAKER_04: No, it's not complicated.
8:25
SPEAKER_04: No, no.
8:26
SPEAKER_02: We've still got uh family uh around in Victoria, so we just re have our mail redirected there now.
8:32
SPEAKER_02: Um the government can't find us anymore.
8:37
SPEAKER_04: So I know true, nearly everything's online, so you don't really need a residential address, but for the things that we do, we use family.
8:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
8:44
SPEAKER_04: And then I mean, if you order something online, uh someone has a habit of ordering random things for the car, you just get them sent to a parcel locker and pick it up in the next town, basically.
8:54
SPEAKER_04: It's pretty easy.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's good.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: So well, you can manage it.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: That's good.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so do you plan your travels far in advance or is it some spontaneous stuff?
9:04
SPEAKER_00: How how far ahead are you in your travel plan now?
9:08
SPEAKER_02: Uh we we're planned up until the end of this year.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: Which is not like us, we don't normally plan.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: But once we leave here, then we're off to Cairns for a friend's 50th birthday, and then we're gonna come back down to Cape Palmerston for um a black dog event that um Rolly by the Campfire are gonna be putting on.
9:32
SPEAKER_02: Uh and then another birthday further down the road.
9:36
SPEAKER_02: So that's our that's the only plans we make, other than that, it's just spontaneous.
9:41
SPEAKER_02: We make a decision where we want to go and we just slowly walk work our way up that way.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, Rolley's event is a good example of of the community, isn't it?
9:50
SPEAKER_00: Like it is, these events aren't normally where the larger populations are, yeah, but so many people in the MDC community will go out of their way to go there support the events and Black Dog event, it is absolutely worthwhile.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: Yes, but I I love personally just how far we will all travel to be a part of each other's lives and and celebrate, you know, things like birthdays.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: It's fantastic.
10:16
SPEAKER_04: I think last year we drove back from WA across anular ball for a 50th for someone that we met through M D MDC.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, that's yeah, that's that's awesome community.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: So you do a bit of house sitting along the way as well.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: How'd that come about?
10:30
SPEAKER_00: And is it the income?
10:32
SPEAKER_00: Is it just the break from being in the van?
10:34
SPEAKER_04: We mainly do it for friends, don't we?
10:36
SPEAKER_04: It's more for friends.
10:38
SPEAKER_02: So um I've got relatives in Murray Bridge, uh in South Australia.
10:42
SPEAKER_02: When we go back to Mafra to our hometown in Gippsland in Victoria, we uh have done a couple of house sits there while friends take trips away.
10:50
SPEAKER_02: It's a bit of a break for us from the caravan, yeah, although it's difficult sometimes when you walk back into a house and it's just so big and you think, oh my god, you know.
10:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're sick of it after a couple of weeks.
11:00
SPEAKER_02: Well, like we need almost so used to this small area, yeah, and that's so it's it's yeah, it's good.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: And so we do that, you know, um a couple of times a year where we can.
11:09
SPEAKER_04: And it's normally for our old next door neighbours because we sold our house and the people next door to us we're good friends, so when they want to travel overseas, we go back and look after their house, and then we're right back next door to our old house, which is a bit tough sometimes.
11:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I would imagine.
11:24
SPEAKER_04: But yeah.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: So you've you've just topped off 18 months in Tassie, roughly.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: Eight months, eight months.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: Eight months, yeah.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, now that that's a long time on an island, yes.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: So you're pretty serious about seeing it.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: Why did you want to go there?
11:39
SPEAKER_00: And what are some of the the highlights of that time on the island?
11:43
SPEAKER_04: We've been to Tassie a couple of times.
11:45
SPEAKER_04: I think that was our third time, wasn't it?
11:46
SPEAKER_04: Yep, with it.
11:47
SPEAKER_04: But for shorter stints, and we always had to be back at work.
11:50
SPEAKER_04: So we sort of said next time we do it, we want to go and spend as much time as we think we need.
11:55
SPEAKER_04: Um, so we went from November um last year till May this year, and yeah, it was a good amount of time.
12:02
SPEAKER_04: At the first five weeks, the weather was terrible, so we were like, no, this we're gonna go back early.
12:08
SPEAKER_04: We had enough, and it was cold the whole time, but we did get some beautiful weather.
12:11
SPEAKER_04: I think the last month was probably the best.
12:14
SPEAKER_04: But we love everything about Tassie, the hiking, the nature, just all of it.
12:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we've done a lot of hikes.
12:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we did a lot.
12:21
SPEAKER_02: Just on 15,000 Ks in Tassie.
12:23
SPEAKER_02: And people are going, that's a lap of Australia.
12:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
12:27
SPEAKER_02: And they're saying, What did you do?
12:28
SPEAKER_02: And we we don't follow a lap, we follow just where we want to go.
12:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
12:31
SPEAKER_02: You know, zigzagging all over the place.
12:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:34
SPEAKER_02: And um we still didn't get to see everything we wanted to, but we had been to those places before, so we tried to do things that we hadn't been to.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: It must have been good because I don't think I've ever seen you post as much content as you did.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we did a lot over there.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: So that was it, that was a ton of where you were, what you were doing.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: It's pretty easy to keep track of you.
12:53
SPEAKER_04: So beautiful because every around every corner is something, you know, that you want to go and look at.
12:58
SPEAKER_04: So it's easy.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Waterfalls.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so much to do.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: So if if someone's contemplating travelling there, say a couple, all right, we're gonna go and do Tassie.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what do you think they should know about travelling in Tassie and you know, a bit about the roads and that?
13:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what are some of the highlight places they really need to make sure, like bucket list destinations in Tassie?
13:21
SPEAKER_04: So many.
13:22
SPEAKER_04: The roads are uh the roads, I mean, yes, they're windy and very narrow, but they're actually not that bad.
13:28
SPEAKER_04: I think some people over sort of they make people scared about Tassie, they overthink it, but it's actually not too bad.
13:34
SPEAKER_04: That's the reason we're gonna be windy.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: We did a sports bike trip back down there in the 90s.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: The roads are really good.
13:42
SPEAKER_04: The roads are perfect for motorbikes, like they're they are narrow and winding, but also there's not a big distance, like a long way to go.
13:49
SPEAKER_04: No, so you're there, you know, in an hour or whatever.
13:53
SPEAKER_04: So if you can manage that for an hour, and once you do a couple of the roads, you have more confidence and you you know you're fine.
13:58
SPEAKER_04: And they're not all like that either.
13:59
SPEAKER_01: So apart from a lot of your uh your little back roads between towns, yeah, most of their infrastructure there is designed for logging trucks.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
14:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
14:10
SPEAKER_02: And the nine with the ki with the car is almost a logging truck.
14:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, don't be scared of the roads, you'd be fine.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: So, what what would be the top three to five you know iconic spots to go and visit?
14:22
SPEAKER_04: Oh, there was a few.
14:23
SPEAKER_04: One I'd always wanted to go to was uh Trowatta Arch, which is in the middle of nowhere on the west coast, and you sort of do the beautiful drive to it, and then you walk and it's like a big cave and it opens up.
14:36
SPEAKER_04: So any of the well-known touristy spots in Tassie are all beautiful, like they're lovely.
14:40
SPEAKER_04: Bruni Island's amazing, we love that.
14:43
SPEAKER_04: There's you know, remarkable cave is also really good.
14:46
SPEAKER_04: There's quite a few spots to go, isn't there?
14:48
SPEAKER_04: And some nice walks into waterfalls, beautiful hikes all over the place, around the lakes, in the like Cradle Mountain, all of it.
14:56
SPEAKER_04: And then we did all the east coast hikes as well, so all the way up the east coast with the ocean and the views on the hikes are just stunning, aren't they?
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Maybe not a spot to go if you've got bad knees, but no, if you if you like a walk, this sounds like hog heaven.
15:11
SPEAKER_04: I think one of the hikes had four and a half thousand stone steps, so maybe not if your knees are there's a lot of steps.
15:18
SPEAKER_02: That was um Mount Huey.
15:20
SPEAKER_04: Uh Cape Howe.
15:21
SPEAKER_02: Cape How Yeah, I'd be trying to book a helicopter for that one.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: But the views that once you get to those areas and you're looking out, it just dunning it's done in beautiful scenery.
15:30
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I got to the top and I said, I don't think I'm gonna make it back, but I did, so we're all back.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: So Pete, I heard you met someone down there who ended up inviting you to stay on their property for a while.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a bit about the story?
15:43
SPEAKER_02: Well, um Link.
15:45
SPEAKER_04: It was Link's fault.
15:47
SPEAKER_02: Link's fault.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: He uh got in touch with a um uh a person over in Tajmont who lives over there who's also got a 19.
15:54
SPEAKER_02: So um basically he put us in touch, and anyway, we started uh doing texting with each other, and before you know it, we're um he's invited us to his in-laws block of land, which is um in Orford, yeah, and it's just near Tribunna, which overlooks where they do Mariah Island cruises.
16:13
SPEAKER_02: Oh nice, yeah, beautiful block of land.
16:15
SPEAKER_02: So we parked up there for about a week and we caught up with his family, absolutely lovely people.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so that was Damien.
16:22
SPEAKER_02: Their names are Damien and Tamika, so big shout out to them.
16:25
SPEAKER_02: Shout out, guys, and um and then we left there, and Easter time they said uh if you're coming back in Easter, or if you're still around in Easter, I've got a shack down at um uh near Eastern.
16:38
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
16:39
SPEAKER_04: Macquarie Heads.
16:40
SPEAKER_02: Macquarie Heads.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: So we thought, yeah, why not?
16:42
SPEAKER_02: So we're on one up one end of Tasman, so we had to come back again.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: So that's what I'm saying.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: We just do zigzags all the way.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: All the way across, yeah.
16:49
SPEAKER_02: So we spent uh the whole of Easter at their shack with them.
16:53
SPEAKER_04: Camped at the beach shack, which is really nice.
16:55
SPEAKER_02: Fantastic, yeah.
16:57
SPEAKER_02: So you know, we keep in touch now when we're planning to do a trip next year with them when they come over for a couple of months.
17:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're looking to come to um the Gibb River Road and they'll do a lot of things.
17:07
SPEAKER_02: I'm looking to do the the muster or one of Raleigh's campfires next year, and then we'll go and do a trip with them before they head back to Tassie.
17:15
SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this is the MDC community, guys.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely absolutely breathtaking the places it takes us and the people that that come together.
17:25
SPEAKER_04: And they invited us to stay before they'd even met us, too.
17:27
SPEAKER_04: Similar to Mandy and Roley, they invited us to call in and have dinner and we'd never met them.
17:32
SPEAKER_04: And like Mandy was making comments like, what if they're serial killers before we arrived?
17:36
SPEAKER_04: We're not, we promise.
17:38
SPEAKER_04: But we had the best time, it was so good.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: Yep, so you know it's it's a big lifestyle, it's a it's a big thing to undertake.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: So, what are the moments that make it really worthwhile that say, Thank God I didn't stay home?
17:54
SPEAKER_04: I think all of it.
17:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well the freedom is the first thing you don't need to wake up and go to work.
17:58
SPEAKER_02: No, yes, so that's a great start.
18:00
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, the freedom, um, where we park our van, you know, is our front door, our back door, you know, the friends you meet when you're trailing around.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: So all that makes it worthwhile.
18:12
SPEAKER_02: And then you get these events come up and we sort of get to those events where we can if you if in that area.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it's um fantastic.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, most important thing, traveling with a dog.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: Crazy not to.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yes, definitely crazy not to.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: What does that look like day to day and the sort of things you have to be aware of as a pet owner?
18:34
SPEAKER_04: I think it depends on your dog, doesn't it?
18:36
SPEAKER_04: We're very lucky because our dog's 17, as you know, Indy's 17.
18:40
SPEAKER_04: So she would sleep all day if you let her.
18:43
SPEAKER_04: A lot of the hikes we did in Tassie were four or five hours, so we were lucky that she's older and could sleep all day.
18:49
SPEAKER_04: I think if you travel with a younger dog, you'd want to plan your activities around maybe getting a dog sitter or leaving them with a vet, because quite often vets in Tassie will look after your dog for you.
18:59
SPEAKER_04: Oh, that's good.
19:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, which is really good, or anywhere you can ask the vet.
19:03
SPEAKER_04: So I think as long as you've got strategies in place to manage it, it's pretty easy to do.
19:07
SPEAKER_04: We never miss out on like national parks or anything, do we?
19:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we never missed out on anything.
19:11
SPEAKER_02: You know, we're lucky that we can put Indy in the van.
19:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we just clock close the screen door so she can still see out.
19:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: Um, and she just sits there and just watches the world go by whenever we whenever we sleeps all day.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: Whenever we leave her, she's either saying, okay, mum and daddy going to the pub again.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: But that's not true.
19:31
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, not every day.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: So you know, we can we can prepare for you know for just about anything in life, including travel.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: But what are the things that you think to yourself about living full-time on the road and travelling that you think, well, nobody ever told me that?
19:50
SPEAKER_04: Oh, I guess when you first start, you don't know anything, especially if you've never had a van, like the first van we bought the 16.
19:56
SPEAKER_04: We'd never had a we'd had a pop-top, another brand, I won't mention the name.
20:00
SPEAKER_04: Um, and we travelled in that, but we sort of didn't do our maintenance on that ourselves.
20:05
SPEAKER_04: We took it in, got it serviced.
20:06
SPEAKER_04: So with this one, we wanted to do more off-road stuff and do the maintenance, didn't we?
20:10
SPEAKER_04: But you learn a lot of that from Banksy at the end.
20:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we've done a lot of scorch.
20:13
SPEAKER_02: Well, we'd done a lot of research on vans, and MDC just drew us to their vans because the way they're built, the structure, everything that you need in them.
20:24
SPEAKER_02: You don't need to add things on all the time, like other other brands occasionally.
20:28
SPEAKER_02: And um, and then Clarence Gorge um caught up with uh Banksy Mark Banks, and he showed me a few things to maintain and keep an eye on.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: And ever since then, I've done all that.
20:40
SPEAKER_02: The only thing I haven't done yet is bearings, so I'm still learning the craft on that.
20:44
SPEAKER_02: But anything else I can do, and um you know, it's it's easy now.
20:49
SPEAKER_04: And we've never even heard of MDC.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: So from being from Victoria, how people have it, how many people have it in Victoria?
20:56
SPEAKER_04: You don't say well, you never used to see them then.
20:58
SPEAKER_04: You do now, but when we were looking for a van, I found them online and I liked the way they looked, and then I looked at the how solid they were, and they had oh, the one our 16 had their um rock tame or rock, what are they called?
21:11
SPEAKER_04: Stone stompers, rock stomp, whatever they're called at that time.
21:14
SPEAKER_04: Like, oh, that'd be good to tie the dom to, and then we're like, Oh, they look like they go off-road really well.
21:19
SPEAKER_04: These are these are my brain is like this is why I buy a van because of how it looks, and I can tie my dog to it.
21:24
SPEAKER_04: And so we decided to go look at them, didn't we?
21:27
SPEAKER_04: And we actually went to look at the one that Banksy has, the 14E.
21:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
21:32
SPEAKER_04: And when we saw this 16, I was like, I want this one, it has a separate shower and toilet.
21:37
SPEAKER_02: And then and then when we toaded the first time we tatted home, we were both nervous because it was it was a huge van.
21:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, huge.
21:43
SPEAKER_02: And we've never tated anything that big, and I'm just thinking, geez, you know, look at it the back there, it's still attached.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: Stop thinking, and now we've got a 19 and we don't even know we're towing it.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: No, neck minute with a 16, we're on our way to Cape York.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we did Cape York with uh the tag along with the Did Steve, yeah.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: So you didn't look like you're too scared on that trip.
22:03
SPEAKER_00: So that was a good one.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Nah, it was a fantastic trip.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: That one.
22:06
SPEAKER_04: And we both tow as well, so it's quite easy for us to do long distances or you know, where neither of us are worried about towing and we enjoy it.
22:14
SPEAKER_02: So and we don't we don't travel every day.
22:17
SPEAKER_02: No, we don't travel for eight hours a day.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: Usually when we on travel days, we normally uh are leaving by about nine, nine thirty and arriving at about twelve thirty so we can set up.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: So it's a three-hour drive usually set up and just enjoy the afternoon.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: And when the dog, you don't want to be traveling all the time, no so we we might travel for an hour and a half, stop, have a coffee, let her out for a toilet break, back in the next hour and a half, we're at our destination.
22:42
SPEAKER_02: So it's good, yeah.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: And it's so much less fatiguing to travel like that.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: And and let's face it, you know, it that is a big danger on our back roads and whatnot in Australia is fatigue.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's a very, very sensible approach as well.
22:55
SPEAKER_02: And the big thing we've noticed too, travelling, is people who don't have UHF radios.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, drives me insane.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's so annoying.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand why they don't.
23:06
SPEAKER_04: We've radioed people before that have left their windows open and they just obviously don't have one.
23:11
SPEAKER_04: And one of them who was driving too fast and had his windows open, we've come around the corner on the Bruce Highway and he was jackknifed on the side of the highway.
23:19
SPEAKER_04: You know, if he had been stopping to check his window, he might have slowed down and be able to do it.
23:24
SPEAKER_02: If you had the UHF on, he would have known.
23:26
SPEAKER_02: We we try to radio him.
23:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:27
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, these things happen.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's a people thing.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: It is.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: So if you were to start, if you were to do this again, is there anything that you would do different?
23:39
SPEAKER_04: I don't think so.
23:40
SPEAKER_04: You don't know what you don't know.
23:41
SPEAKER_04: You just start and then you learn as you go.
23:44
SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
23:44
SPEAKER_04: Is there anything you would do different?
23:46
SPEAKER_00: No, I don't think so.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: I think um nah no gold nugget of information that you'd want to pass on to anyone that's sort of thinking you're doing it.
23:56
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'd probably say talk to other caravan owners.
23:58
SPEAKER_04: Think about what you really need to suit your lifestyle, chat to other people that own them, find out what the good and bad things are, yep.
24:06
SPEAKER_04: And then make a decision before you buy a van and make sure you can tow the van.
24:11
SPEAKER_04: We see a lot of people that buy a caravan, their car can't tow them.
24:14
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
24:15
SPEAKER_04: And you just, yeah, it's hard.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: No, that that is good advice.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: So here are the musta.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: Have a you look around.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: You've done Big Red Bash, Monday, Victoria Mustard.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Now this one.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: What is it about these events that you love that makes you want to keep coming?
24:31
SPEAKER_00: People in DC community.
24:34
SPEAKER_02: Because we've met so many people in a row.
24:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, vodka.
24:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that too.
24:39
SPEAKER_02: This one.
24:41
SPEAKER_02: But no, definitely the um the people that we've met on our travels.
24:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
24:45
SPEAKER_02: Um, we all try and get to these events, and we, you know, there's small group of people that we really keep in touch with, and then there's a broader people out that you sort of meet and you know, uh make friendships with as well.
24:57
SPEAKER_02: So it's good.
24:57
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's good to meet new people and new people that love doing the same stuff.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: Even even with Indy, like when we were sitting over by your van before, all these people come over and she's up, the tail's going, she's excited.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: There's all these familiar faces that she knows.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and and that's a good thing, it's even healthy for your pets.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: Get a pet and come to this event.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: We say we do this for the people, Steve, but it's just so you and I can play with the dogs.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: We know.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: For those that don't know, I had four dogs, they've all passed on now, and now I live vicariously through everyone else's dogs, and there is there is a chocolate lab puppy here.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: I saw him before I'm going to abduct later.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I will give it back in the end.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: So gorgeous.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: Nice.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: So there's a real atmosphere at these events, and you know, old friends, opportunity to make new friends, like you you can really feel it.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: For someone listening who's never been to one of these, how would you describe what actually makes an event like this muscle?
26:00
SPEAKER_00: And this one's special.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: This one's there's people everywhere.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, you know, there's so many people here, and it is like Gucci Creek.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: This place is the most spectacular piece of land here, and Montana on the McAllister in Victoria are the two most pristine and amazing pieces of real estate.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: And Montana on McAllister gets a a little bit of an extra for me because I caught a two and a half pound trout there on my fifth cast.
26:31
SPEAKER_00: So that's why Victorians go.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: And this year's master is smack in the middle of uh open season for trout.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: Victoria loses points for me because of how cold the river was.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: It is to get in.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: It is fresh mountain water coming from the room.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: And it's our home area.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: That's true, yes.
26:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
26:55
SPEAKER_02: We're lucky because that's our backyard from where we live in Mafra.
26:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you've got the Macalta Road.
26:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, then you've got the Lakola River, it's beautiful.
27:02
SPEAKER_02: Dargo River.
27:04
SPEAKER_02: Just beautiful area.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: East Kitchen.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: So, what would you say to people that are thinking about this, other than get your backside down here?
27:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think the mustards are really good because if you've never been to something like this before, some of it is structured and some is some is not.
27:18
SPEAKER_04: Like some, you have time to do your own things, plenty of downtime.
27:22
SPEAKER_04: But also, if you want to be social and hang out round the fire and do all that, you can do that.
27:26
SPEAKER_04: And Leo does a fabulous job of having activities ready.
27:30
SPEAKER_04: I mean, there's wine tasting, there's games, there's quiz nights, massages, food, there all sorts of things.
27:36
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, you're gonna be entertained, but then you don't have to always be entertained.
27:41
SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's right, you can go back to your van and just sit down and relax.
27:44
SPEAKER_02: But the thing is, just get out and do it.
27:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, life's too short, we say, and you've got to just grab it and go for it.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: And it's pretty open and everyone's really mingling.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: The only people that keep a little bit to themselves is the the the Fort Nine rally over in the corner there.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: It's it's like a patch in one area of the Fort Nines, but hey, they're great.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: They're they're having a great time with everyone else.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: So you've you've made some like genuine lifelong friends.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit about some of those.
28:18
SPEAKER_04: As we mentioned before, Mandy and Rolly.
28:20
SPEAKER_04: Yep, definitely.
28:22
SPEAKER_04: I mean you guys, you're all out there.
28:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you guys, you know.
28:25
SPEAKER_02: Family.
28:25
SPEAKER_02: Wayne Wayne um took us in one night and fed us.
28:29
SPEAKER_02: This is true, yes.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: Yes, he did.
28:36
SPEAKER_01: Steak, whiskey, new caravan.
28:37
SPEAKER_04: That's all it's steak and whiskey.
28:40
SPEAKER_04: We bought it before we finished it.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: We don't provide good.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: Oh, so how many people have cooked you a beautiful steak before selling your caravan?
28:51
SPEAKER_05: That's just true.
28:52
SPEAKER_02: Special.
28:53
SPEAKER_04: But you know, um that uh Mark and Sarah Banks, Dan and Lydia, Bean Chris, like Belle and Cole, all of them.
29:00
SPEAKER_04: Like they're all they've been Shorty and Cheryl Lee, who sadly aren't here, but you know, they've been just really good people and good friends.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: And and it's amazing the cross-section of personalities and lifestyles across the spectrum, and then even better is all the personalities on the spectrum.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.
29:19
SPEAKER_04: Including all of us.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: It is, and and it is, it's laughs, jokes, fun.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: Everyone's pretty thick skinned, everyone's quite happy to torment each other.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: But you know, if you if you need friends, they're there like that, and they'll come from anywhere for you.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: So Wayne, from from an MDC perspective, what what what do you see these events and and whatnot, the musters, do for the brand?
29:48
SPEAKER_01: It is as I said before, like it is all about the community, and uh, as we've seen, we've doubled the numbers here in Queensland.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: Like the Queensland one was probably half the size of what it is now.
29:59
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm sure the boys will throw some stuff up so we can actually see the comparison between first and second years.
30:04
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it is it is definitely all about the community, and it's it is the people coming together, and as uh Pete and Sonia have said, like, you know, everyone helps each other out.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Uh these events are really, really good because you've always the MDC Musters are really good because you've always got your uh your staff here, and I uh think Banksy and I have helped a few people already.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: And first first night I was uh helping uh Marg put her roof up in her van because her 14 decided that it wanted to uh throw an error code, but it was actually she just hit the power switch.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: But that's the other thing, yeah.
30:37
SPEAKER_02: Um it's great to see staff attend that we just put these events on and staff attend, and you know, you guys just walk around and something something's wrong.
30:47
SPEAKER_02: You can go and help out or meet the staff, just have a chat to them.
30:51
SPEAKER_02: And then you and then you know, you know, you've got a contact, and you guys carry that phone 24-7 and uh always contact if you need to be.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: It's it's not an imposition for us to go and help someone because you know we we we live and breathe what the customers do.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: Like we wouldn't be out here if we didn't believe in our products, and Steve and I have spent a lot of time on the road together, and it's just one of those things where you becomes second nature to to help people.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: So look at this muster, we've had uh someone's car break down.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, actually, yes.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: They've been towed back to Gimpy.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: We've gone back, picked her and a van up, brought them to the event, and on Monday we'll see that her and her van get back home to Brisbane.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: Good, yeah, and and she will not have missed out on the event.
31:35
SPEAKER_03: And perfect.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: We don't even think about think twice about it.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: It's just and it's not because MDC owner or anything like that, I think.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: That's just the nature of the people we've been fortunate enough to bring into the community, yeah, and also bring in to MDC as staff.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we we're very, very fortunate to have that.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: So you know, for someone who's just bought an MDC and a bit hesitant to come to something like this on their own, because one of the one of the larger communities we have is the solo lady travelers, and and we do everything we can to support them.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: We have a Facebook Messenger chat group just for those ladies.
32:17
SPEAKER_00: They have uh real-time immediate uh access to myself and Link.
32:22
SPEAKER_00: So if they need help, advice, Link looks after them with spare parts and getting servicing and stuff like that.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: I help them with troubleshooting and all the rest of it.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: So we create a very secure environment for them to own an MDC and get out.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: So for anyone solo, what would you tell them?
32:40
SPEAKER_04: Well, we've just done a pub crawl from Ipswich to here with Dan Easton, and two of those vans were solo women travellers, and they've had a great time.
32:50
SPEAKER_04: And I mean, obviously, one has a lot of experience.
32:52
SPEAKER_04: Chrissy, she's travelled all over the place.
32:54
SPEAKER_04: Um, but the other lady, Tanya, hadn't had as much experience, and she has learned things along the way, as well as being able to like just check in and make sure you know she feels safe when she's traveling.
33:04
SPEAKER_04: All of us have helped with that, I think.
33:07
SPEAKER_04: Um, but she's been great, she's had a great time.
33:09
SPEAKER_04: So I think that's important for people to know they've got a bit of a community around them, and MDC are good at that.
33:16
SPEAKER_04: That's what they do.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but Chrissy Chrissy's a bit of a uh a one-off because I took we take her up the Cape one year, and she learned did so much in between that and the following season, she was ready to take another group up there.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, oh she's great.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: I've never seen such a quick learner.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: She saves everything we post in that group, and she's so ready and she's so willing to help other people as well.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she's she's worth a weight in gold.
33:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think if you're a woman buying a caravan, it it's a fabulous group to join.
33:51
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
33:52
SPEAKER_04: So much help.
33:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
33:53
SPEAKER_04: So what's next on the map for you guys in terms of we're in Queensland now until the end of the year, basically.
34:02
SPEAKER_04: Um, we've got, like Pete said before, a 50th, a couple of fundraisers and things booked in between now and then.
34:08
SPEAKER_04: We're going to London for two weeks to visit Pete's son because he lives in London in November, and you're kindly looking after Indy while we do that.
34:17
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
34:18
SPEAKER_04: And then we're not sure, but January we have another house sit in South Australia and Murray Bridge.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: Murray Bridge.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: And then and then the plan is to we haven't done a lot of Western Australia, haven't done Northern Territory, so that'll be our next 12 months.
34:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
34:35
SPEAKER_02: Not planning, but doing that.
34:38
SPEAKER_02: And obviously, coming back to Queensland every now and then to catch up with friends and events.
34:43
SPEAKER_04: Back and forth across the Nullabore again a few more times.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you just hate this Queensland weather, so good to have some fantastic weather.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: Like I I've lived in Sydney all my life and moving up here on you know, moved up just coming into winter, and I bought a motorbike and I rode right through winter as though it was spring.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, for me.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: I didn't realise there was a winter in Queensland.
35:10
SPEAKER_04: I don't think there is.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm good like summer now.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: 12 degrees.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: Oh great, I can I can actually wear a leather jacket on the bike today.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: So the weather is spectacular.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: If you ever thought of moving to Queensland, get up here.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: It is so worthwhile.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: It's good.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: So for anyone listening and thinking, I want it, I want to do what these guys are doing.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm sold, you've sold me the dream.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: What piece of advice would you give them other than do it?
35:38
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, why not?
35:39
SPEAKER_04: See Wayne.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Go see Wayne and get a caramel first.
35:43
SPEAKER_02: Get an MDC van to start it.
35:45
SPEAKER_04: Do that, that's all you need.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: Ring me, I'll work out all the weights on your car, and I can tell you exactly down to the can how much beer you can carry.
35:55
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: People worry about the financial side of it.
35:57
SPEAKER_02: They do.
35:58
SPEAKER_04: That's a big thing.
35:59
SPEAKER_04: And for some people it is a very big thing, as it has been for us as well.
36:03
SPEAKER_02: Especially with fuel prices.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you don't realise people don't understand.
36:08
SPEAKER_02: It still does cost money to travel and buy groceries.
36:12
SPEAKER_02: You know, we don't do restaurants every night.
36:14
SPEAKER_02: We do our own cooking on the campfire and that.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: So um it does still add up, but if you've got a budget in mind, just keep to it and yeah, I think it's about how you want to travel.
36:25
SPEAKER_04: So you know, it it's a lifestyle.
36:28
SPEAKER_04: So if you've got all the money in the world, you can do all the experiences, you can travel as far and wide as you like.
36:33
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
36:34
SPEAKER_04: Fabulous, like that's great, but not everyone can do that.
36:36
SPEAKER_04: So knowing what your budget is, actually having a think about what it's gonna cost, because you can do it on a very low budget, no worries at all.
36:45
SPEAKER_04: You just have to plan and cook your own food and do all that stuff.
36:48
SPEAKER_04: And we do a lot of that because I'm not working at the moment, I have worked on the road before.
36:53
SPEAKER_04: So when I'm not working, we do things a lot differently to when I'm working.
36:57
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, depending on what's happening, I think it's individual for everyone, and it depends on what set up you've got and how you want to travel.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: I think also with how far caravans now have come in terms of off-grid living, yeah, being able to bypass holiday parks and things like that.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Of course, yeah, you've got a washing machine in yours, haven't you?
37:21
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, for some people that ain't, so it's either a laundromat or the or the odd stop at a caravan park to do that sort of thing.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: Which is what we did if you look at the 16.
37:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because we didn't have a washing machine.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: So we stopped and done the washing once a week and all that.
37:36
SPEAKER_00: And routine, routine matters, I think.
37:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it does to keep organised.
37:41
SPEAKER_04: But there are so many free camps, you don't have to pay for accommodation.
37:44
SPEAKER_04: How many caravan parks did we go to in Tassie?
37:46
SPEAKER_02: Two in eight months.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and this was just all free camping to Tasmania.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: Tasmania is set up particularly for free camps in the world.
37:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
37:58
SPEAKER_04: And if it's not free, it's probably ten dollars or fifteen.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: And that's even Australia-wide now.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: I I recall travelling back in uh the late 80s, early 90s, yeah, and travelling now, the amount of RV friendly towns, free camps in the most beautiful spots along rivers with willow trees, and my god, it's paradise, and all they want is a gold coin.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's it.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, and hey, there's toilets, there's dump points and water filling in these towns, and all they want is you know, go do a bit of shopping at the local IGA, go to the bakery and the butcher, support the community, spend a few bucks at the pub.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah you know, same as what you would do at home.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: So definitely the the scope for getting out and doing this on a budget for a period of time or or an extended period, yeah, is the country is very, very, very geared to it.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Even in the Northern Territory, what amazed me when I was up there last was every every main sort of tourist spot, everywhere you stopped, there was free Wi-Fi.
38:59
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, yeah, that's true.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: Free Wi-Fi, dump points, water points.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: Everything.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: And we're talking remote places like Glen Helen Gorge, out around the loop and out from Uluru.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about in towntown, and that infrastructure was all in place.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: It was amazing.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh Western Australia's come light years, and there's so much amazing camping over there.
39:22
SPEAKER_04: I can't wait to get over there again.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Australia and and I've got to I've got to give kudos to the various caravanning associations around the country, and in particular Stuart Lamont and the National Association for the work in coordinating working with these towns and everything.
39:42
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's in the town's interest that it brings income and that sort of thing, the revenue stream into those towns, but it makes travelling full-time, living on the road so much more accessible and so much so practical that if you're a couple and you you're in your 60s, your super's available to you.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: And if you have enough super between you and you own your own home or two, you can rent them out.
40:09
SPEAKER_00: There's I don't know, between a thousand and fifteen hundred bucks a week of income.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
40:14
SPEAKER_00: Put all your super into a into a high return account, and you know, there might be another six grand, seven grand a month tip in for you to go travel.
40:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
40:27
SPEAKER_00: And and there's plenty of work on the road as well.
40:29
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: If you can work on the road, there is plenty of work out there.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, if you're an electrician.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: Really?
40:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, true.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: Go see Wayne, buy a caravan and get out on the road.
40:42
SPEAKER_00: If you can weld electrician or got skills, hospitality.
40:45
SPEAKER_00: Auto elect.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: Auto elect, yeah.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: Auto elect.
40:48
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, yeah.
40:48
SPEAKER_00: Kit kit out, yeah.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: What what do electricians drive?
40:52
SPEAKER_00: Rams or whatever those does.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
40:55
SPEAKER_00: Big trucks, get all your gear out in the back.
40:57
SPEAKER_00: And you won't have to leave the caravan parts.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Drive in, they'll find you.
41:02
SPEAKER_01: I think their select vehicle choice is a Ford Ranger.
41:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
41:05
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: Ford Ranger.
41:07
SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the opportunity is only limited by your imagination and your willingness to get out and do it.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: And um true.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: So is there somewhere the people can find your follow your journey online?
41:23
SPEAKER_04: Everywhere.
41:23
SPEAKER_04: Everywhere, yeah.
41:25
SPEAKER_04: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
41:27
SPEAKER_02: So we're called we're called Parole Granted.
41:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
41:29
SPEAKER_02: Parole Granted.
41:30
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
41:30
SPEAKER_02: So obviously the name gives it an indication of what our background was.
41:34
SPEAKER_04: Just don't ask Pete because he'll tell you we robbed a bank and buried the money and we've dug it up and now we're travelling.
41:40
SPEAKER_01: I'm pretty certain that's how Pete sold it to me when I first met you guys.
41:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
41:43
SPEAKER_04: I was like, what's that?
41:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: Really?
41:46
SPEAKER_00: The only reason Sonia got out of the prison system was because Pete bailed her out.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
41:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it didn't really work that way.
41:55
SPEAKER_02: That dangerous edge.
41:56
SPEAKER_02: Look out.
41:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we kept both we kept each other in a job.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: So it was good.
42:00
SPEAKER_04: Lock them up rehabilitated.
42:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:02
SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, we got uh Progrants on Facebook page, uh Instagram and TikTok, which now sign is running.
42:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, not very well.
42:11
SPEAKER_02: We've done a couple of YouTube's, but uh we just haven't mastered that yet.
42:14
SPEAKER_02: So we're we we're happy with what we've got on online.
42:18
SPEAKER_02: It's it's not a a lot of stuff, but it's just stuff that for friends and family and people can look at.
42:24
SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, with our Tasmanian travels, or if you want to go to Tasmanian Travel, look at our page and see where we've gone.
42:31
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of videos for Tasmania.
42:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and that's what that's what we do with other people's pages.
42:36
SPEAKER_04: We just a lot of South Australian content from us too on there.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's awesome.
42:40
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you guys, as every time we sit and have a chat.
42:44
SPEAKER_00: It's awesome, it's entertaining.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: And thank you so much for watching our podcast.
42:50
SPEAKER_00: I hope there's a bit in it for you.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: You've learned something about full-time living on the road and traveling.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: So thank you, Pete.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Sonia, thank you, Wayne.
42:58
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Steve.
42:59
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Steve.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: That's it from us.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: Get onto our YouTube channel, follow the other podcasts.
43:04
SPEAKER_00: If you own an MDC, get in and check out the videos that will tell you everything you need to know about opening, closing, everything to do with your caravan, and also the masterclass series.
43:15
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, thanks for watching.