13 years on the road

Waaaay back in March 2011 we bought this van/RV/motorhome (I never know what to call it, apart from home) and set off on what we envisaged being a one or two year trip discovering the high ways and by ways of New Zealand whilst checking out where we may want to one day settle. Fast forward 13 years and we are still travelling, still haven’t found exactly where we may like to settle one day, but why stop when you just love living this carefree life.

What would I do differently or tell someone who is contemplating hitting the road? First and foremost, make sure that you and your partner are on the same page and that you actually like each other! We’ve seen a few people hit the road with all good intentions but then discover that they either can’t get on in a confined space or don’t have a good enough relationship to be able to do their own thing when they want to. You each have to be comfortable in your own skin.

Secondly, slow down and take your time. We started with a hiss and a roar, moving every other day and rushing around to fit lots in. Why? Take your time, enjoy where you are, explore, talk to people, do new things, see what’s around you. It takes a while to slow down and smell the roses and enjoy your surroundings, in the end it’s worth it.

Next, make sure your accommodation suits both of your needs. Is it big enough? Do you want to make up a bed every day or do you want a permanently set up bed? Does it have enough storage space? Does it have enough load capacity i.e. what weight you can legally carry in your vehicle. Can you both drive it/tow it? You never know when there may be an emergency. Do you want a separate vehicle ie. a tow behind or a vehicle you tow your caravan/5th wheel? Do you want a car or a 4WD? Do you want to go off-roading or just use it for shopping or small trips? Or are you happy using your motorhome/van or maybe biking for those every day chores. That’s the next thing, do you want a bike and is your vehicle able to store or have the ability to have a safely and securely mounted bike rack? Do you want ebikes and can you recharge them easily?

We love living in our tiny home on wheels, we’ve done the big houses and property thing and quite frankly we don’t want to do any of that any more.

We’ve covered the country from Cape Reinga to Bluff, more than once, and yes we do revisit favourite places but we also like to explore new-to-us places and yes there are still plenty of places to explore and discover.

Someone once said that you retire so that you can have the time to keep all the medical appointments that suddenly seem to creep up on you, and sure, we have had our fair share of appointments, surgeries and checkup but we still want to carry on as long as we can.

Another wise person told us that as you get older your circle of friends tend to shrink, and you can become quite insular particularly if you don’t take up opportunities as they arise. One of the best things about living this lifestyle is that we are constantly meeting lots and lots of new people, some you instantly click with and you become great friends, others you may share an interest, others you meet up with occasionally as your paths cross. But there is a definite community of fellow full timers (and part timers) whom are welcoming and helpful, probably more so than when living in ‘sticksnbricks’, people are willing to stop, chat, say gidday, or conversely leave you alone when you want to be left alone to enjoy a bit of solitude. We definitely would not have met some of the folk whom we now consider very good friends had we not been on the road.

We would encourage you to shop local, especially in the smaller centres, you will find all sorts of wee gems out there of people doing amazing things wether it be food, art, mechanical repairs and many other things. That also goes for visiting local museums, galleries, or even libraries, it’s amazing what you will find.

We have been very fortunate to not only be able to travel around NZ but we’ve also managed to fit in quite a number of trips overseas. Each of our trips have been very different but all have been for 4-6 months at a time; from travelling around Europe in a motorhome, lots of train travel especially around Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and England. Narrowboating in England (thanks Marilyn & David), barging in France (thanks Ruth & Roger) and a Baltic Cruise plus of course plane travel, bus and car hire.

Before you ask what are your long term plans? The short answer is that we don’t have too many. The last 4 years in particular have demonstrated how quickly life, the world and our environment can change. We don’t know what is ahead of us but we are making the most of what we have, the time, the places and people we care about. Ask anyone who has faced their own mortality for whatever reason – money, property, cars and other trappings of modern life’s “status symbols” are not what is important, it’s about living life, exploring, creating memories and relationships and making the world a better place.

Reflecting on the last 13 years of travelling is there anything I would change? Apart from doing it earlier? then no, not a lot.