Late 2019 Paul sat down after work and said we really should just sell up and go traveling. After I finished laughing and composed myself I realised he was actually serious, had given it some thought, and come up with a very vague plan (benefit of being on the road for work, plenty of thinking time). So began 3 years of work, planning sessions, good ideas kept, bad ideas tossed aside, and a bit of a shock for our adult kids (not to mention 2020 OMG). The house renovations were the biggest job and the least fun to be honest so
we'll just mention it in passing here.
We spent hours looking at caravans online and after a lot of back and forth between styles and sizes settled on a 15ft New Age Manta Ray, it's big enough for two and we'll be outside a lot anyway.
It would be 14 months before we actually took ownership but at least it was ordered.
Money was another big issue to be tossed about the planning table. We have a couple of investments which will cover some of the income we'll need, being frugal will help a lot but we will also need to find some other ways to fund our gallivanting lifestyle.
We need to give a shout out to Amanda from Peter Lees in Launceston, She did an amazing job helping us get ready to sell and found us a buyer in a little over a week. So we had 6 weeks to sell all our possessions, buy a home base/flat (the cats and youngest needed a home after all), and set up the Van for living. For those who've downsized you know what we went through, all those little decisions.... do I actually need a citrus grater in the caravan? How many ballgowns are enough for a trip around Australia?
We've been fulltime in the van since mid-December mostly staying
at Old Macs Farmstay in Launceston and are sorting out all the little problems and hiccups now before we set off. We're working and making some dollars ahead of time and all going well we'll be Ready to Set and Go! by the time our sailing date on July 6th.
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