Somehow last year the husbear and I found ourselves the proud new owners of a motorhome, despite the fact we are a good ten (or more!) years away from becoming grey nomads.
A mate needed to raise some funds fairly quickly and wanted to sell his motorhome, and knowing of our previous caravanning trip around Australia and dreams of one day taking on the RV lifestyle, gave us first option.
It needed quite a few repairs, and he wasn’t keen on the hassles of fixing it up for sale. For example, the electric step doesn’t work, the hot water system for the shower needs replacing, the air con unit doesn’t work, there’s a tear in one of the dinette cushions … but overall it’s pretty sound.
I must confess, my first reaction when the husbear told me was a loud and resounding NOOOOO! It didn’t seem the right time, we don’t really have the room for it here, it needed work etc … but then I heard the price and began to reconsider.
So here we are 😉 .
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a motorhome looks like when it’s truly being used, and not just on display? Wonder no more!
We haven’t used it nearly enough (even without the pesky coronavirus lockdowns), but I’ve realised that there are a lot of things I love about motorhoming!
1 – Back to basics. As a slightly upmarket (and more comfortable!) version of camping, motorhoming is a great way to get back to basics and what really matters.
2 – Food just seems to taste SO much better, regardless of whether we cook inside on the stove, or outside on the BBQ or even a campfire (oh, and the husbear seems to take on all of the cooking duties which is such a joy for me!).
3 – We also found that we only eat when we feel like it, rather than set mealtimes (and we’ve noticed we usually come home with lots of food; we don’t seem to eat as much when we’re away).
4 – Campfires. Staring into the flames is mesmerising, far better than TV! We’ve toasted marshmallows, and made jacket potatoes that were to die for. Nom nom nom!
5 – Birdsong. I guess it’s because there are a lot more birds, and we’re in the outdoors, but I love listening to the birdsong. The call of the whipbird, the cackle of the kookaburra, the chime of the bellbird, the honk of geese, to name just a few.
6 -They don’t call it ‘the great outdoors’ for nothing! We love getting out and exploring the spot where we are camping – walking along the beach, paddling in the creek, hiking the nearest hill. We might throw a line in, the husbear might fly his kite, or I might indulge in an impromptu yoga session.
7 – Part of getting close to nature is the animals – and on our motorhoming adventures we’ve made friends with geese and ducks, horses and cattle.
8 – The sunsets, and stars at night, are just amazing!
9 – I don’t care about clothes, I just pull on whatever’s comfortable, and there’s no fussing with hair, makeup etc. Oh, and a bra is optional 😉 .
10 – We can just ‘be’, without stressing about doing the washing, housework, Covid-19, my dad being sick, work, etc, for just a little while. When we’re at home, there are always things to be done.
11 – But perhaps the main reason I love motorhoming is that it is quality time for just the two of us. Call me greedy, but I get the husbear all to myself which I love!
We still haven’t fixed things up properly, and now there are a couple more things that need doing – like the weekend getaway where we were nearly knocked over by the pungent scent of ammonia, when the gas fridge died. Still, we’ve made it work for us. We take an esky for our cold food, and the husbear has cleverly rigged up a ‘hot shower’ out of a pump spray pack (like you’d use for killing weeds, or fumigating) which we fill with hot water from the kettle.
We’ve stayed in proper caravan parks, other people’s properties (thanks to Youcamp), and also plenty of free camping stops which you just can’t beat if you want to get away from it all (not to mention, being the ultimate in budget weekend getaways!).
We’ve camped in the depths of midwinter; in the middle of the pouring rain; in gusty westerly winds; and sunshine in spring (not summer however, unless the air con is fixed! I couldn’t cope). We’ve stayed at the beach; on a farm; by creeks and rivers; beneath a canopy of trees; in the mountains; and at a rest stop in the drought-stricken countryside.
I’m not sure how much longer we will be keeping our motorhome. We could get a good price for it now, as they have become increasingly popular as one of the few Covid-friendly travel options!
We haven’t gotten away nearly as much as we would have liked. This little thing called ‘life’ keeps getting in the way (also why the repairs haven’t been a priority).
And, the longer it sits in our yard, the more it is deterioriating 🙁 .
I know it doesn’t make sense to keep it, but we’ve sure had some good times, created some great memories, and taken some awesome photos while we’ve had it!
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