Setting Out In My Lonely Camper

Hi I'm Julie! I'm an advertising exec from Brisbane and Kiwi expat, and I'm currently exploring the top end of Australia with the help of my trusty campervan 'Duncan' (don't ask). I've been on the road for about a week now, I set off the day after my 31st birthday, and it's actually the first time I've traveled on my own. Not that you ever seem to be on your own when traveling! I've met so many great people at stops already, and have had dinner with friendly groups of fellow travelers quite a few nights since I set out. I never even knew that camper travelers have such a community happening.

Before I even get into telling you about the adventures I've had (so many), I'll tell you about how leaving Brisbane went, or didn't as the case may be. Actually maybe I'll just pull some bits out of my diary, that'll give you the best idea.

Friday 30th:
So apparently it's not a good idea to leave hiring a camper to the last minute! Thankfully the guys at the rental place were very friendly and pointed me to this site seeing as they were all out. That was close. I think I actually saved some money in the long run using the website, because it compared all different companies. Maybe not though, because I did have to pay extra for booking so late. Either way, note to self: don't book so late next time!!! Ugh stress.

Anyway now I have a camper parked outside my house, and am leaving a day later than planned. I originally wanted to get an RV with the works (TV, shower, toilet, and lots of space) but who am I kidding I'm not made of money. I settled on a reasonably sized thing that's basically an oversized panelvan, but it's got bedding, cooking stuff (I didn't even know you could get this), and aircon thank god. All up I'm pretty pleased but I'm a bit worried about fitting everything in! So far I've only put in clothes and I'm already running out of space.

Back to work I guess.

Sat 31st: I chose a camper to get away from the stress of getting hotels and transport every night and it's already paid off in spades. I left late, typical me, and by the time I made it out of Brisbane's traffic half the day was already gone. I've made it to the Glass House mountains as the sun was already going down, but the scenery driving in was still amazing, sunsets certainly helped. All in all I'm staying another day here so I can explore it properly, but my god imagine if I'd had to book something when I got here, or only could stay the night and then had to move on again xD. That would have been a bad start to the holiday.

Tues 3rd: Woops no entry last few days. Bit of stress! Glasshouse was amazing but I may have slightly damaged the camper coming down the hill on the way out. There was a rock across the road I didn't see till the last minute [EDIT: looks like this is pretty common], not too bad damage but I had to get a towtruck and everything. In short, thank goodness I got insurance. Pro-tip for people reading: Get rental insurance, it's so worth it!!! I've now got a new camper and I'm hoping things run a bit smoother from here :/ I'm currently on the Sunshine coast, stopped in a caravan park with my new camper nicknamed Duncan because boy does he like to drink! Cheap petrol couldn't have been timed better. Dinner with new friends in the park in an hour, gotta go!

That's all for now, but that was certainly a rollercoaster week. I'll type up some more journal entries for the next few days when I get some more wifi.

Thanks for reading!