Southward bound!

Maleny to Lennox head, NSW and back 4-6 Feb 2011 (562km)

This trip had been in the planning for quite some time. The weekend away was pre-booked with a whole swag of members from the vintage caravan forums and so yet another weekend of old vans, classic cars, hot rods and good company was assured.

When Mum had told me she was planning a visit over from New Zealand at around this time I'd said "I have a vintage caravan outing then". She had suggested rescheduling her trip until after that. "No way!" I said. "Come along, you'll love it!" Having already made my son promise to join me on this one, I thought why not make it a family affair and drag Mum along too?

Mum's flight got in at 10.30am. At 9am I was still running around Maleny organising last minute things like an oil top up for the car. Then there was some last minute tweaking of the electricals on the tow bar to fix the right indicator which was wired wrong. Thanks to the lovely Maleny mechanic at JLR Mechanical and the Maleny Auto electrician next door for squeezing those last minute repairs in for me! Van all loaded on to the car, and bags all packed, the next stop was a fuel up and air pressure check on all tyres before hitting the road; destination Brisbane International. At around this point, running about half an hour behind schedule I got a text from Mum. "I'm here, where are you?". Ummm, "I'm still in Beerwah!" Oops! I raced down the highway at the speed limit (not something I normally do when pulling a van) to pick up a waiting Mum with the hopes of then dashing down to Yatala to meet the meandering convoy at 11.30 for the rest of the journey. Amazingly we made it! The pace slowed considerably from there, as the older cars and their cute caravans cruised down the highway at a much more leisurely pace, getting us into Byron Bay for a scenic detour and arriving at Lake Ainsworth Caravan Park at around 2pm QLD time.

The weather was awesome! We went for a swin in the surf once camp was set up, and then soothed weary bodies in the warmer and more sheltered tea tree lake. Once night fell, there was a big sausage sizzle at the communal BBQ area and vintage vanners gathered for a feed and a yarn well into the night.

On Saturday morning while some of the vintage vanners decided to go off treasure hunting at local garage sales, Mum, Bas and I went to Byron Bay. Although the beach there was nice, I found the town itself just a bit too full of tourists and hectic busy-ness for my liking, so we parked the car down the southern end of the beach and went for a long walk up to the lighthouse and back and all got severely sunburnt in the process! The lighthouse was beautiful, as always; a most photogenic landmark it is, set against the bright blue sky on the most perfect Summer's day. It was the first taste of a real summer I'd felt in a long, long time. All we've had here in the "Sunshine State" for the past three months or more, is rain!

I accosted a guy in the lighthouse carpark who was applying sunblock and asked if he'd mind if we could have a bit. "Is it always this hot here?" I asked. "Are you not from around here?" he asked. "No, I'm from Queensland!" It was pretty funny.

Anyway, we had a blast, despite looking like beetroots, came back for fish and chips and slept soundly. On Sunday morning Banno's crew made use of their new industrial-sized pancake makers for a communal griddle cake breakfast on the BBQ's - yum yum!

Then all the coolest cars and hot rods lined up and took many willing passengers for a quick blast around Lennox head which caused quite a stir with the onlookers at the local pub! Mum, Bas and I all got to ride in Banno's bright orange rod which went beautifully with the cute Sunliner they had only just finished in time to bring down to this event.

There were a great selection of vans and cars to be seen, a total of 26 vans attended and the whole weeekend was relaxed, stress-free and loads of fun with a real seaside family-holiday feel to the weeekend. And that, after all is what vintage caravanning is all about! Bas had fun with Izzy and the Banno boys - something to do with sparklers, glow sticks and bombs... hmmmm... no damage done apparently!

I managed to get some video footage of all the vans as I wandered around on Sunday morning before everyone packed up to go home. The Olympic fibregalass contingent were all gathered in one corner (they assure me this was pure coincidence). Then there were 1950's bondwoods, 1960's aluminiums, and a few fibreglass bubble shaped sunliners like Joey and Banno's along with a teardop and a couple of folding vans scatterd about within our designated part of the park.

For all her initial doubts, I think I've managed to convince Mum, as I have down with so many people now, that caravanning is not "camping". It's so much more civilized being able to rock up at your destination with your own bedroom all made up just the way you like it, a fully stocked pantry, a working fridge, stove, and electricity. This 'aint no roughing it - I adventure in retro style! Now Mum is even looking at vans for sale in New Zealand so I think I may have hooked another one!

So, the trip home was a lot quicker without the convoy and without incident. I love having that little van behind me, it makes the whole journey so much more fun.

We all had so much fun at Lennox Head that we've decided to do it all again next month.

Congratulations Mum on your first Vintage caravan outing!

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Woodford Folk festival 2010 (aka: "Mudfest")

After weeks of preparation, countless lists of "things to pack" and a packed-to-the-roof caravan load, on the 24th December we drove down the range a mere twenty minutes from home to set up camp for the Woodford Folk Festival. After weeks of incessant rain, the site was muddy and boggy and all attempts to reverse into position failed due to loss of traction as the mud turned my tyres into racing slicks. But I managed to find a good spot in the volunteers camping area by driving to the top of the road and literally sliding down to the flat at the bottom. I unhitched the van and set up the full annexe for the first time - complete with tarp and carpet flooring, two camp beds and inner spring mattresses, and our outdoor setting from home, including a coffee table. 

The annexe was the boys zone and our lounge and the inside of the van remained my space (and miraculously managed to stay mud free for the whole week!)

Having had the gas reconnected the week before, we had the three-way fridge and gas cooker going and compared to most punters in leaking tents, we were the envy of many of our neighbours. Mud was kept out of the annexe with a compulsory foot-bath beside the annexe entry and a stricly enforced "boots off" policy before entering. Yeah, I know, I'm a cleanliness nazi, but as much as I love sloshing in the mud with the rest of the hippies, I sure as hell don't want to sleep in it, which is why I have a van in the first place!

The festival was wonderful despite the rain. It was very much a showcase of multi-coloured gumboots and rainbow umbrellas and, although I was not keen to take the good camera out on the really wet days, we were lucky enough to get one day of sunshine which was a cause for great celebration and so I made sure I took the opportunity to get the camera out and capture some of it. 

I was also stoked to see the addition of a new venue/ performance space I am sure they made just for me called "Trailer Trash" - a collection of artist-decorated old caravans assembled in a circle and a stage for live music in amongst it all providing the answer to that question "where do old carvans go when they die?" I now know - they go to Woodford!

Everything about Woodford is art - even the toilet walls covered in posters advertising the various gigs happening around the many stages over the course of the week provide a visual feast.

And every year the intersections on the streets become shrines to a combined artistic effort as addition after addition is made to the spirals and mazes scratched into the gravel.

Yes, I do love Woodford. Despite the mud, the way too many late nights that saw me crawling back into the van in the wee hours of the morning, and the sore throat I've come home with, I know I'll do it all again next year.

Vintage vanners campout Canungra, Gold Coast (350km return)

Yes, it has been a while since Vicky and I hit the road, but this weekend we set out to Canungra on the Gold Coast for the vintage caravanner’s campout at Canungra Showgrounds. It was awesome! What do I love best about caravanning? The fact that even though it’s been a few months since our last trip, the van has everything I need already packed inside – the beds are made, the pantry is stocked, the fridge is already cold by the time I get there and the crockery and cutlery is all in its’ place. All I need to do is hitch her up and we’re off. No matter how far I drive, or how exhausted I am when I get there, all I need to do to set up camp is open the door and my dinky little home is just as I left it ready and waiting for me. No stuffing around with tents and sleeping bags or packing the car full of camping equipment. I just grab a bag of clothes and toiletries and that’s it. Pure freedom and no stress – that’s what caravanning means to me.

I was busy all day Friday sewing up the cute vintage van print material into cushions to take with me and managed to sell a few while I was there as well as put one on the raffle giveaway table, the rest are still in the van looking ever so pretty.

I set off on Saturday morning and arrived at Canungra showgrounds just after lunch. I found myself a possie next to the other aluminium vans. Across from us was a fine collection of fibreglass Olympics and over the other side were a collection of older bondwood vans, a selection of teardrops and the odd classic, around 40 vans and 88 forum members came and we all had a great time checking out each other’s vans.

Some of the restorations and interior decorations were amazing. Check out this one that even had chandeliers! I love the way you can personalize a van and it becomes such a reflection of the person who owns it. Of course, although I have chosen to leave the interior in the mint original condition I bought her in, my decorative finishes are just so pink it leaves no one in doubt as to what my favourite colour is! On Saturday night we had a catered group dinner and Santa came for the kids before playing trivia and doing the raffle draw.

Fellow vintage vanner, exhibitionist and griddle cake expert Banno gave a plug for my cushions and threatened to get his gear off if they didn’t sell. He followed through at breakfast the next morning and we were welcomed to griddle cakes on the barbeque by the naked chef himself.

Vicky did me proud and received plenty of compliments and even an offer to buy her – which was, of course, quickly denied. As my fifth van, I assured the potential buyer that she is the only one for me now and is not for sale at any price.

I met heaps of great people and even a few from the Sunshine coast and I am sure we will catch up again at the next event.

The drive home was lovely; there is something about having the van on the back of my car that just makes driving so much fun. When the van is on, my heart soars. I had to stop and take a picture of this place though – hmmm... son of manland? Hilarious!

Here are a few more pics of the lovely vans I saw:

 

Butcher Bob and Maria were about to set off on their around Australia trip

A big thank you to the organisers of this event and for the hospitality and friendliness of all who attended I look forward to catching up with you all again at the next event.

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