If you're reading this blog, you'll know that we are planning a caravan adventure with the family. People keep asking so many questions, so I thought I'd answer some of them here!
"How old is the caravan?"
Brand spanking!!! We've had a caravan built by Kingdom Caravans, through Aussie Adventure Caravans. Click on the link to get an idea of what it looks like. We've got green upholstery and the dinette is cafe-style with two benches facing each other across the table- but other than that, this is it! We chose it mainly because of the separate bunks at one end for the children. It also includes a shower and toilet.
"Where are you travelling?"
We plan to travel first to South Australia via Mildura and Renmark. After a bit of time in the Barossa Valley we want to head north up the Stuart Highway via Coober Pedy, Uluru and Kings' Canyon to Darwin. From there (making sure we visit Kakadu at some point) the plan is to head towards Cairns taking the Barkley Highway through Mt Isa and then make our way down the east coast.
Wherever possible, we'll be looking out for low-cost (even free!) camping sites. We've got several books and guides on this topic, as well as getting a lot of help from the Independent Camping website.
"How long will you be gone?"
We plan to leave on Friday the 5th of August, and hope to be back some time late in November.
"You're taking the kids out of school! Will they miss out? Do their teachers mind?"
I think they'll learn far more on this trip than they could possibly learn at school. As to literacy and numeracy... I think we'll cope! Both Philip and I are teachers, after all! The kids have subscriptions to Reading Eggs and we'll keep a journal of the trip. We'll think of some numeracy activities to keep them up to date, too! We do hope to have them back at school in time to participate in end of year activities and transition programs.