Tin Can Bay!

We booked to stay at Stanthorpe (in our "new" Spacevan) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our first "real" date but that plan was canned due to wet weather, so we ended up at Tin Can Bay instead!

Nick arrived home from night-shift, we packed the car and then I drove several hours up the coast, to our budget cabin accommodation.

We enjoyed the quieter surrounds and exploring.  We had fun feeding dolphins, meeting some locals at an open mic, admiring Rainbow Beach and doing a daytrip to Hervey Bay.

The cabin had a microwave, some plug-in hotplates and a frypan - but that worked out well.  We dined all fresco on the verandah, listening to the flying foxes and enjoying the stillness. At one stage, Nick went inside to refill his drink and I noticed a few mozzies, so suggested we both retreat inside. Hah. Seemingly they'd been so busy biting him previously that none had attempted to bother me! 

I tried something different this trip and packed one of our wide-mouth thermoses with ice before leaving home - so we had icecubes for our drink bottles en route and on arrival.  That was a bit flash! (I think it was during our Big Loop trip that we first packed flexible ice cube trays and those came away this time also).

Suck it up!

We did a local hike about a week before heading out to Carnavon.  I took a (purple) fashion backpack and my purple insulated drinking bottle. It's fair to say neither was up to the task!  

I love the drink bottle but did not love taking my backpack off multiples times to access said bottle.  Of course, 600ml was nowhere near enough water for the day's hike.  

The day after that local hike, we took advantage of an Anaconda sale to purchase two day packs - and a two litre hydration bladder for me.  

I have some back issues, so am mindful of how much weight I carry - and chose a small pack.  Nick opted for a pack with greater capacity, cos he carried a lot of food etc during our Carnavon walks.

We've used our packs a few times since April, when walking closer to home.  I folded a Daiso light insulated bag around my hydration bladder, while I pondered a better option.   

Earlier this week, we did a local-ish walk.  The drinking tube was very handy, though I wasn't so keen on the warm water mouthfuls.  

After Googling and YouTube research last night, I got up this morning and sewed an insulated cover for the tube as well as an insulated bag to fit properly around the hydration bladder (which then sits inside an inner pocket of my pack).

I made Erin an insulated lunch at the beginning of the year.  I found two offcuts from that project, which were ideal for the drinking tube cover.  (The whole tube didn't require covering as some of it will be inside the insulated bladder cover).  My next task was to create a simple bag for the bladder.  That made up very quickly also.  I just lightly quilted two fabric pieces to insulated batting, trimmed those to size, overlocked all the raw edges - then sewed the two pieces together.  

Ta-dah!  I'm looking forward to some field testing of my good work!

Makin' the bed!

One of the major benefits of the Cub Spacevan - is the space!  As well as the large floor area, the higher walls allow for an innerspring mattress.

Our offer for the local Spacevan was accepted as we were heading to my usual chiro treatment (so you can see the appeal of a proper mattress).  

We visited a Makin Mattresses showroom later the same day.  Their Matilda range is specifically intended for RV use.  

The height of the Spacevan meant we could choose the most comfortable, deluxe option.  

After taking careful measurements, we placed our order the following Monday.

Our custom mattress was ready for collection on Friday of the same week, much earlier than advised or expected!  I'd ordered a canvas cover and that arrived the same morning, so everything clicked into place nicely!

We set the bed up as we had done with our previous mattresses, in the D9 camper and 2006 Spacevan, using some irrigation matting to provide ventilation. 

The canvas mattress cover will keep our bed and bedding dry/clean - as the canvas walls and roof pack down into the camper/onto the bed when travelling.  If we have a particularly cold night, we can pull the canvas cover over our other bedding, for an extra layer of warmth - like a swag.

Setting up the exterior ...

Our first Spacevan had an interior kitchen, with an exterior BBQ and slide-out pantry. 

After our first trip in that Spacevan, we worked on better organisation of the pantry drawer (along with other missions).

The plastic baskets fit the new Spacevan, though I've filled one with our plates etc rather than the plastic containers.  

One of the many ads I viewed showed an exterior kitchen with expandable cutlery drawer - so I bought a similar one from Kmart to try.  It may be that I can fit another shallow container on top for a few longer utensils but I'm happy with the plan so far.

Kmart also had a "magnetic laundry station".  It fits quite well beside the window and I'm hoping it can hold a few essentials to free the limited bench area.  (It won't travel on the side of the van, just be put up when we're on-site).

I've joined a Cub Camper specific FB group, where the members share their various mods.  A few had DIYed an exterior side shelf, rather than buy the Cub version.  We also decided on a cheaper solution, using some supplies from Bunnings.

At this stage, we've only tried our improvements in the backyard.  We're hoping to have a night away soon for some proper testing!

Our 2006 Spacevan was an early model.  The 2015 design has sliding windows.  It also has bungee loops to clip the canvas into place, rather than press studs (as used previously).

Spacevan celebrations ...

While our insurance claim was being processed, we both looked at many camper trailer ads - on FB marketplace, Gumtree and some RV specific sales sites.  There were lots of listings.  Too many choices.  

As we talked though, we realised we would be very happy to buy another Spacevan and that realisation helped our search.

There were quite a few Spacevans advertised.  Most were interstate but we spotted a local one, quite close to home.  We looked at it just before our Bundaberg trip.  At that stage the insurance claim was still processing - and we weren't sure we liked the layout.

Our original 2006 Spacevan had an internal kitchen.  While we hadn't expected to like that setup, we came to appreciate the convenience - particularly in cold weather!  The local Spacevan was a younger model and had many good points, including better overall design.  It was in very good condition and we liked the seller (cos it's nicer to deal with nice people).

There were a few negatives.  The main issue was the external slide-out kitchen, without any inside option for cooking.  The original interior had included bunks, which reduced space for other built-in storage.  The top bunk had been removed, leaving an odd bench that wasn't much use to us. Due to the bunks, the main bed ran across the van, which we knew would be awkward (having had that set-up during our 18 months of caravan living).  Yep, there was a lot to think about!

After much discussion we decided the pros outweighed the cons, so Nick made the seller an offer and we soon became the new owers of a 2015 Cub Spacevan!  We celebrated at a local cafe and then again at home the next day, with scones made in the house oven and a kettle boiled on the Spacevan's exterior gas burner!

Spacevan Send-off ...

While at Chinchilla, we organised the Spacevan's insurance assessment - for a midday appointment on the Gold Coast, the day after we returned home.  

The assessor indicated our van would be written off - which was an outcome we'd vaguely considered but even so, it wasn't quite the advice we were expecting!  

We provided all relevant information to streamline the claim's progress.  While checking out of Bundaberg we received confirmation of the write-off.  The tow company was in contact later that week and collection organised for yesterday - with payment made soon after (four weeks after the assessment).

As you can imagine, there's been a lot of discussion over the past month.  We were already planning a vehicle upgrade, which impacts on the weight of anything being towed.  We're still thinking at this stage.  There are so many options available!

Prepping provisions ...

Our Carnavon trip was provisioned the day before leaving, while Nick and I stood in Coles!  

I was able to do most prepping for Bundaberg before leaving home.  There was a microwave in the cabin kitchen, so I pre-cooked some meals and froze them for defrosting / reheating on site.

There was no Engel fridge or freezer this trip.  All the frozen food was packed into a large esky.  We used a smaller cooler for fridge items.  

We ate well - but we always do!  I had sliced cold sausages in bread rolls and packed them into a container for an easy lunch.  They defrosted well for our Childers picnic on Tuesday.  I also made fruit-cake, from the remaining fruit (soaked for last Christmas).

My little teapot and our owl mugs came with us - along with a basket that held our preferred tea, coffee and basic spreads.  There were chips and a small bag of nuts.  

We bought a few vegies and some fruit from a farm-direct shop near our cabin accommodation.  

On Tuesday night I did the vegies in the cabin microwave.  I prepared the packet pasta side-dish in a saucepan, on the small stove.  Nick BBQ-ed the steak and we enjoyed our combined cheffing efforts on the cabin verandah, listening to the waves and watching the stars.  And yes, there was some lovely red wine -  purchased at the Adelaide wine centre last year!

I'd made frittata at home from leftover roast vegies.  The quarters were packed and frozen.  We had a piece each with toast on Wednesday morning.  It reheated fairly well in the microwave (with paper towel underneath and on top of the slices).  We went into Bundaberg after breakfast but returned to the cabin for lunch, so had wraps with meatloaf (more frozen leftovers) and salad.  

Dinner that night was fudged around the concert.  I had some frittata as a very early dinner - and then we both had pumpkin soup quite late in the night, when we returned to the cabin.  (The pumpkin soup was made at home and frozen). 

I also made lemon butter at home and brought a small jar with us, along with some maple syrup.  It was easy to reheat our flash-frozen pikelets for Thursday's finale breakfast, enjoyed on our cabin verandah with a view of the ocean.    

Bundaberg-ing!

Our Bundaberg road-trip was booked back in January - timed because we  bought (front row) tickets for the Tommy Emmanuel concert!  

(There were venues a lot closer to home but we would've been much further from the stage).

We booked two nights at a caravan park cabin and drove up in the fuel-efficient red car.  (That was always the plan, even before the spacevan's unfortunate incident).

The main focus of the trip was to attend the concert, so there wasn't a great deal of time for sight-seeing.  We drove to Hervey Bay on Monday afternoon and stayed with Di that night - then drove the rest of the way on Tuesday.  We stopped for lunch and a walk at Childers and checked into our cabin later in the afternoon.  

We saw some of Bundaberg on Wednesday - the free zoo was very well presented and we had a wander down to the Burnett River afterward, where there were welcome swallows and an egret (keen to steal bait fish from the local fishermen). There was time for a stroll around the main part of Bundaberg before returning to our cabin and readying ourselves for the fantastic evening concert.  

After checking out on Thursday morning, we drove along the coast to see some of the little townships before returning to the highway and then heading down to Hervey Bay for more time with Di.  We left her in the early evening and arrived home around 9:00pm that night.  It was a quick trip but we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Provisioning ...

We planned to be at Carnarvon for six nights.  The closest towns were either Rolleston (103km) or Injune (153km). (Both had small grocery shops).  

There was a convenience kiosk at our caravan park but we didn't want to depend on it for meal provisions, so did a large shop at home on Saturday (the day before departure).  What did we buy?  I hadn't prepared a proper meal plan but jotted down the days we would be away and where we would be each night (to judge energy levels for cheffing).  

Our initial thought was to take one Engel only, running as a fridge - so I picked three of the vacuumed packed Coles One Pot meals. There was also butterflied pork shoulder, a pack of lamb steaks and a pack of marinated pork steaks. All pre-packed options had long expiry dates.

We actually took both Engels, so the meat packs were frozen.  We also froze some bacon, pulled pork and chicken (for wraps/sandwiches), as well as a loaf of bread.  Nick froze some bottles of water, to help the effectiveness of the freezer.  It would have made sense to freeze some milk and I'm sure we'll do that another time, now we've been reminded of how horrid UHT skim milk tastes!

Once the meat portions were in the trolley, the other main meal ingredients were fairly easy to select.  We also took packet pasta cabonara, plain pasta and rice.  There were wraps, peanut butter and vegemite, juice boxes and small fruit packs along with various snacks to have when walking.  There was a carton of UHT custard and two small cartons of UHT cream. (Cheese and antipasto were chosen for a celebratory platter at the end of all our walking).  

Flour, six eggs and a few other basics were packed from home, including frozen corn.  We picked up extra groceries at Roma - bottled water, a pre-mix salad pack, a few vegies, some mushrooms and a small bottle of red wine (for the beef bourginon).  I think there was a packet of chips and another block of chocolate.  

I made creamy bacon and mushroom pasta for our first night.  There was some leftover, which was used as a side dish the second night - with lamb steaks and salad.  We had beef bourguignon the third night, when the mushrooms were good.  Beef madras may have been after that.  I know we had Mexican beef at the end of our 24km/12-hour hike cos Nick put that one together!  I BBQ-ed the marinated pork on our second-last night and we had a cheese platter finale to round off our Carnavon week.  

There was another round of creamy bacon pasta at Mitchell (made with UHT cream), though sundried tomatoes were substituted for mushrooms.  We had the pork steak on our first Chinchilla night.  The second night was BBQed chops purchased from the local butcher, served with potatoes done over the coals and some simple coleslaw.

The one pot meals had good flavour and only needed an onion, a tin of tomatoes and one or two other extras.  We liked them but thought we could choose better quality meat in a DIY version.

Chinchilla-ing!

We left Mitchell at 10:00am on ANZAC Day.  Although we'd been advised the baths would open at 12:00, we decided we'd enjoy them on another visit - so headed back to Roma (where many memorial bottle trees had ANZAC wreaths).

There was no need to re-fuel, so we made our way toward home.  We'd thought of staying overnight at Dalby but stopped at Chinchilla.  

Although we had stayed at Chinchilla Weir on another occasion, it was easier to have a powered site for the Spacevan, so we chose Charleys Creek Campgrounds.

As much as we'd loved Carnavon Gorge, we hadn't been so keen on the busy-ness of our caravan park there - so really appreciated some space around us and being right beside the creek.  

The caretaker suggested we buy a bag of firewood and have a fire, which was a splendid idea! 

Charleys Creek was lovely and we stayed another night - so had two fires! 

We rang the insurer to arrange a claim assessment - for the day after we returned home.  

Bump on the road ...

Our Carnarvon pack-up was smooth and we started heading back to Roma.  There was no real plan.  We had lunch at Injune, at the same picnic spot we'd visited in 2020.  (I had Nick shake hands again with the miner)!

A little further along was Gunnewin, so we stopped to have a look around there.  We re-fuelled at Roma but weren't ready to return home at that point, so decided we'd go to Mitchell - and soak in the mineral baths after all our walking.

I'd not long booked a site at Mitchell when the plan hit a huge bump.  As did we.  

Nick pulled over when it was safe.  By then we thought the trailer might have a flat tyre but once stopped Nick could see the issue.  Sadly the Spacevan's spare tyre had worked free of it's drawbar mounting and then dropped onto the road.  The bump we felt and heard was trailer running over the tyre.  We were both quite shocked to see the side panel damage.  We circled back to look for the tyre but couldn't spot it in the long grass along the roadside - and weren't really sure where it had dropped onto the road.  We stopped again, so I could rescue a tortoise - and then we headed to Mitchell.

Once checked in and set up (on the same site as our first trip in the Spacevan), I used the free wifi near reception to lodge an insurance claim via the app.  Neither of us felt like soaking in the mineral baths and we had a fairly early night.

Gorge-ing ourselves at Carnavon!

Carnarvon Gorge had been on our agenda for a few years.  We almost got there in 2020 but there were no sites or other  suitable accommodation available, so we set off on our Wing-it Wanderings road-trip instead.  

(While staying at Rolleston during that trip, we chatted with other travellers who had just been into the Gorge.  They spoke of the many mice they'd encountered - due to a mouse plague at the time - and we felt better about "missing out")!

There were other false starts but everything finally aligned for visiting in April.  Nick had leave approved and we booked several months ahead.  (Our initial booking was for six nights but we were able to extend an additional night once there).

We bought hiking boots as our anniversary gifts in January and started to break them in soon after.  (I was also getting used to new orthotics). I actually started the year very well, increasing my walking to 30 and 35 kilometres for the first two weeks in January. And then I got Covid, followed by some other issues - which set my physical activity back considerably.  Nick had hurt himself when packing (possibly cracked a rib), so neither of us were in prime condition.  Given how long it had taken to get leave etc lined up though, we decided to just go and do our best.

Plenty of bloggers have written about Carnarvon and there is a lot of YouTube content also.  Although we read tips and watched some footage before arrival, it was still awesome to experience such stunning country first-hand.  I took many, many photos while there.  We managed to walk 70km over the course of our week-long stay, saw everything we wanted to see and even made it all the way out to Big Bend, Cathedral Cave and Boowinda Gorge in one huge 24km/12-hour day!  

When viewing the caravan park's intro video and reading various descriptions of the walks, we felt a bit daunted by all the numbers.  After studying the rated walks, we decided to get up super-early and view sunrise from Boolimba Bluff.  It was one of the level 4 walks and once we'd finished that one (the first hour in darkness, with just the light of our headlamps), we were more confident about doing others.  We had done a level 5 hike close to home the week before heading out to Carnarvon and that experience was good to compare to the sunrise Bluff walk.  

A few days after our level 5 hike, we bought much better backpacks from Anaconda, in preparation for Carnarvon.  I also bought a water bladder to use instead of a drink bottle, which was a great choice.  Nick found my hiking pole when packing and that was so very handy for all the creek crossings we did.

Some people didn't stay long at the caravan park and tried to do all the walks in one or two days.  We took a far more leisurely approach and spent time at each of the sites once we reached them, to fully appreciate all there was to see.  Nick went up to the office the day after our 24km stint and was able to extend our booking, which meant we could have a rest day before our Moss Gardens and Amphitheatre finale.  

This is how our week panned out.  We were very chuffed with our efforts - and how wonderfully everything fell into place.

Day 1 (  3.0km) - Arrive late afternoon

Day 2 (  6.5km) - Visitor Centre Nature Walk and Mickey Creek

Day 3 (10.5km) - Boolimba Bluff and Rock Pools

Day 4 (13.5km) - Art Gallery and Ward's Canyon

Day 5 (24.0km) - Big Bend, Boowinda Gorge and Cathedral Cave

Day 6 (  4.5km) - Warrumba Creek Gorge (Mickey Creek), caravan park lookout

Day 7 (12.0km) - Moss Gardens and the Amphitheatre

Day 8 ( 5.0Km) - Departure ...

Setting off (and setting up) ...

Although we enjoyed two road-trips last year - our Big Loop tour in February and then a Sydney visit in November - it had been nearly 18 months since our first (and only) Spacevan trip, back in September 2021.

In the meantime, we'd completely unpacked the camper, plus moved house.  These two happenings made packing a lot trickier than usual, cos once we'd decided what to pack, we then had to find it! Hah!

Nissa visited for the first two weeks of April.  We holiday-ed at home during her stay, doing daytrips and having a lot of fabulous fun together.  It was wonderful!

After fare-welling Nissa on Friday night, we started packing - aiming for Sunday departure. 

We worked very hard on our separate missions. Nick sorted lights, power and water as well as our two Engels.  

The Engels travelled in Elmer, one as a fridge and the other as a freezer.  The freezer was in the back because we wouldn't often need it (and standing on the tow bar to reach it is a bit tedious).  

The rear seats were folded down and the fridge was stowed in the passenger-side footwell, where it was a little lower for easier access via the side door.  Both Engels stayed in Elmer for our overnight stop at Roma.  Nick ran an extension lead to the car, so they had mains power for that period.  (They use 12-volt power while in transit).

Vaughan came with us for our first Spacevan trip and a section of the rear floor was used for his sleeping area.  It was just Nick and I this time. When we set up properly, the two Engels were carried inside the camper.  

One folding table was used inside, so our Gladstone bags were at a good height for access.  I took a number of plastic hooks and these were very handy for hanging jackets, shower bags etc.  I'd made two shower totes early last year, for carrying clean clothes etc to the amenities block.  We've used them as swimming bags since then but this was their first run for their intended purpose - and they were great!

I'd done other sewing for the Spacevan and those accessories were used for the first time also.  Although I'd intended to make dedicated Spacevan laundry bags, that project had stalled - so we used the set I'd made for non-camper road-trips.

We took two sets of camping mats.  The site was dusty, so it was great to have eight inside.  The dust falls down the holes and sits within them, which minimises the amount tracked onto the upper floor.  There was another set of eight, just outside our doorway.  (We'd forgotten our step but didn't miss it too much).

Random Adventure Packing!

We've had a couple of excellent, random adventures in recent times.  One of those saw us driving to Redland Bay after my usual chiro appointment.  

We fluked low tide at Wellington Point, so walked out to King Island - a first for Nick and only my second visit.  We had hats but would have loved beach shoes and sunscreen.   

Not long after that impromptu fun we did a day-trip to Toowoomba.  I'd packed picnic gear and we were well provisioned for lunch and other breaks but otherwise the day was largely unplanned.

Crows Nest Falls were recommended to us, so we did a 4-5km bushwalk after our picnic lunch.  Yep, no walking shoes for me and my feet suffered, as did my dress flats!

A lovely friend gifted me a Gladstone bag last year, to add to my collection. 

She and I joked about possible meanings for the R.A.P. initials but agreed Nick mightn't be a fan of "Rebecca and Partner!" 

In light of our recent imprompt exploring, I've decided to transform that bag into a Random Adventure Pack, to keep in the boot of our smaller car. 

R.A.P. had a spa treatment and is now packed. There's a towel, hat, long-sleeved shirt, shoes (in custom shoe bags), socks, sunscreen, soap, plastic bags and some panadol. 

I also put in a small purse with some emergency cash (aka icecream money)!