Hi Girls (and those guys who are having a sticky),

What a great idea this thread is, hopefully we can keep it going.

We are only able to do short trips at the moment due to work committments but when retirement comes (hopefully within the next 5 years) there will be no stopping us from doing the big lap.

We have tried to think of the things we will need to do a long trip but until we actually get there we won't know if we have planned right or not. Our van is equipped with a Cobb oven, Eco Pot (Dream Pot), and my xmas present from Darren was a Turbo oven which is great, we also carry a butane burner which is the most used piece of cooking equipment in our van.

As for clothes, I always take too much but what the heck.... both summer and winter gear (hey we live in Tassie)!!! I take a pair of Crocs thongs (extremely comfy), a pair of good shoes for going out for dinner etc, a pair of trainers and pair of sandals.

I still use my hairdryer everyday, but thinking of having my hair cut in style that I don't have to blow dry when we do the permanent travelling thing. I also don't like going out without foundation and mascara but I'm used to wearing makeup for work so that will probably change when I'm no longer working .

I will also confess to having an iron and a baby ironing board for those things that 15mins of body heat won't fix.

Sorry if i've rambled on a bit but it's nice to have a girl chat which I'm sure you will all understand.

Kath

I too am glad to see this post given new life again....I only check the new posts so probably tend to miss the oldies.

I too am on countdown to retirement....256 days....but who's counting??

I am looking forward to heading off to the hairdresser and saying ...whip the lot off!! Might regret it but hey who cares I will be out there travelling which brings me to a qusetion. The ladies on the road full time with short hair....what do you do about hair cuts??

I am definitely not into the iron Kath....you can have that one all to yourself.

Also only do short trips, mainly weekenders but I do the driving for these as I often go on my own. The other half turns up a day or 2 later most times. Just had 2 weeks away at xmas....most of it on my own with my fur babies.

One of my concerns about being on the road was keeping in contact with the family....no more. Friends have recently been introduced to Skype...with free skype to skype calls. Just got to convince the family now.

Hi Baroma577. I talk to my family on messenger web cam when i can and ring them on the computer. My grandaughter Ella loves talking to me and she is only 2, I wuw you nannie she says. bye sheeya. How cute........
I also walk around with the computer and show them our campsite through web cam. Looks weird but works.... ha

I currently don't have a web cam Sue but it is on my list for when we hit the road full time and for the same reason you mention....the kids, be thye big or small.

We also have a grandie whose name is Ella...and mum's name is Ella.....bit confusing in the camp when one of my fur kids is Bella.

Hello all, we are not retired yet - still a few years to go. We have an expanda that definitely does what it is supposed to do -expand when the brood arrives with grandkids in tow!!! Our trips are confined to long weekends, easter and Christmas - with all the rest of the world!! We have one of the small butane stoves. It can cook a meal very easily, with small amount of fuss. I have acquired some new tupperware containers that collapse down - they are wonderful. You can have four of them and they take up no space until you need them. I have found the round ones not as good as the rectangle. If you decide to get them - stick with rectangle. The fridge accommodates them much easier!! I too make use of the ziplock bags. I just recently acquired on the the slow cookers(like a dreampot) Aldi had on special a few months ago - it is working a treat. I have used it at home a bit - not in the van yet!! Over the past 8 years a lot has been taken out of the van that we don't use - so hopefully by the time we do "The big one" I will have perfected our needs.
Maree.

We have bought a few of Woolworths prepackaged potato salads etc recently and found the square containers they use to be excellent storage containers. I wouldn't say they are airtight but I use them for leftovers in the fridge etc.
Tess.

Hi Ladies.
It may sound strange to others but the thing that really bugged me on my 18 week trip was trying to find somewhere to get my acryilic nails done. I found some places but was not in the position to be able to wait from several days to a week for an appointment.
I got that way that the first thing I did when I arrived in a large town was to look for a nail artist.
As that was the only problem I had I guess I should't complain
Clare

Hiya,
Question for Kath. I have the turbo oven but have been looking at the dream pot, which do you find better? Or do you think to have both is the way to go? Does the dream pot do roasts etc?
If anyone else has anything to add,please do.
Cheers,
Nola.

I'm with you Clare, I have my nails done fortnightly at home, so I am always on the lookout for a beauty salon when we are away, but I guess having their regulars fill up the appointment book, what chance have we 'blow-ins' got? So before we head off in May I am going to ring the first major town we'll be staying at and make an appointment and if we're delayed along the track, a phone call to change the appointment is easy enough. After that I'll probably have to 'wing-it', but if I can be sufficiently organised and we're likely to be passing through a biggish town, I'll phone ahead and Kevin will just have to cool his heels while I attend to the necessities of life! I will have my hair cut pretty short so won't have to worry about that for a couple of months. It's all about priorities really, isn't it!!!?? Jan

Hi Nola,

The Turbo oven (the actual name escapes me at the mo) and the Dream Pot are two totally different things. The Dream Pots is like a slow cooker, great for casseroles, corned beef etc where as the Turbo Oven is great for just about anything you would cook in your normal oven. I did roast chicken with vegies the other night in 40mins from go to wo. The best bit is that when you finish cooking you add water and a splash of detergent to the toughened glass bowl, set the oven to clean and it cleans itself. There are cheap models on the market but mine came from Myer for about $250 as it has the toughened glass etc. There are a good selection of accessories to go with it as well. I think the Cobb might eventually get the boot in favour of the Turbo Oven.

Happy cooking.....Kath