20 - 2023 - SUMMARY of our 2023 travels

 

Entry 20 – 2023 – SUMMARY of our retirement travels.

Our cost summary for 2023.

All costs have been rounded out to the nearest $100.

Days spent travelling              =                      187

Expenditure averaged out                             $80 per day

Kilometres travelled                                      13,600

Food expenditure       =                                  $2,700

Fuel expenditure         =                                  $5,400

Accommodation expenditure           =            $2,700

Other living expenditures       =                      $2,800

 

We spent 23 nights in National Parks, 36 in caravan parks, 94 at free camping locations and 32 at showgrounds / low-cost camping areas.

 

Below is our personal record, for our future reference.

2023 was a year full of special commitments. We still managed 187 days of caravan travel to various locations in Australia.

There was Steve’s mum’s 90^th birthday gathering with all of our family in attendance.

There was the first gathering of our immediate family in its present format and the first time we had all been together since 2019.

Early 2023, we had clocked up 10 years of retirement, with a primary focus on our Australian caravan travels. We found ourselves contemplating what type of lifestyle we might like to lead during our future years. There was considerable time devoted to thoughts and discussion, with many different proposals put forward for our future direction.

Some of our thoughts; do we sell our caravan, replace with a small 4wd motor home, is it time to move into a lifestyle/ retirement village, do we down-size our home, should we spend more time travelling over-seas exploring the world, etc etc.

Our last 10 years had been very special. There were no working life detractions, plenty of special family time and we were enjoying one another’s company, more than ever.

In the end we decided to continue with our caravan lifestyle, lashing out, ordering a brand-new caravan with a design including consideration of our future needs. Then there were more headaches with design and selection of equipment. It probably was similar to building a new home. And the 18 months wait till delivery time.

2023 was probably the most social year we had experienced in a long time. We managed to touch base with many personal friends and spend time during our caravan travels catching up with many of those special people we had come across during our last 10 years of travel in various locations of Australia. There were also some times where we were so busy socialising that we forgot to take any photos. Sorry.

And of course, there were many more memorable high-lights from our travel locations.

2023 was different, still good.

19 - 2023 - September - Canberra to Adelaide

 

Entry 19 – 2023 – September –  Canberra to Adelaide.

Leaving Canberra, the maximum daily temperatures were hovering in the lower teens for a few days. The ambient air temperature was cool, providing pleasant driving conditions. We had another commitment, a surprise 70^th birthday gathering about 500 kilometres down the road.

We spent a night at free camp locations of Jugiong and Benalla. Both were great locations providing an opportunity to stretch out with some walking and pleasant bush scenery viewing. Benalla provided some interesting ceramic art work with a mix of murals.

The surprise 70^th birthday party went well. Brian shared his birthday cake picture with another lady who was also having a birthday. We ended up spending an enjoyable 4 nights at Violet Town staying at Brian and Anne’s home.

We continued travelling west towards our home base in Adelaide. Initially we had spent some time travelling along the Hume Highway, the main route between Sydney and Melbourne. Where we can, we avoid the main roads, which can be busy with their high volume of fast-moving vehicles. Along those less “busy,” roads you can have a more personal, closer exposure with the country-side, where we enjoy some grand viewing of the passing scenery. Leaving Violet Town, we were able to travel along some of those less busy roads and they tickled all our feel-good senses.

Along these less travelled roads some of the small country towns do their best to entice some business from the passing traffic. The township of Colbinabbin had established some magnificent silo art. It was grand viewing. Adding to the atmosphere, you could hear the sound of the grain conveyer belts running in the back-ground of this operating silo.

We spent a night at St Arnaud and another at Bordertown. Both locations we enjoyed time with a walkabout, exploring both locations, appreciating the scenery.

There was a stop at the township of Murtoa where we were able to get up close to a “Stick Shed.” It was the last remaining stick shed in Australia. The stick sheds were constructed during World War II when there was a wheat glut and exports were restricted. The Murtoa stick shed took 4 months to construct and like all the other stick sheds was built by hand with a life expectancy of about 10 years. The shed was about 270 metres long, 60 metres wide and 19 metres high. It was a delightful experience, where we were able to get up close to the last remaining stick shed in Australia.

2023 was a different year for us, with some pre-planned activities creating a more structured movement, with some deadlines to adhere to. During this time of the year, September, a “normal,” year for us, we would be enjoying the warmer climate a couple of thousand kilometres further north, for about another couple of months. Generally, when we head south through these regions the country-side would be dry looking, accompanied by substantially warmer weather. There would be lots of activity out in the paddocks with the grain harvest in full swing and the roads would be busy with trucks transporting grain and machinery moving about.

It was the tail end of winter and the ambient air temperature was quite chilly, unsettling when we were outside. The cold felt like it was entering our bodies with our bones feeling like they were freezing. The positive for travelling through these regions of Australia at this time of the year was the pleasant viewing of a lush green country-side and roads deserted from the busy grain harvest activities.

There was a deviation to visit Mary’s mum who was still living at the family farm. We spent a few nights on the Fleurieu Peninsula returning to some of our favourite locations. Port Elliot caravan park and time spent at the home property of friends Petra & Jeff.  We even managed some catch up time with friends of Steve from his boy scout days. It had been around 6 years since we had last managed some chat time with Lew and Rob. Our last picture for the year was to be breakfast time with Petra & Jeff.

As per normal for us, we were savouring our time, living the travel lifestyle, putting off returning to our home base. It was Wednesday 13^th September when we finally succumbed to the call, driving the final 75 kilometres to our home.