For five days we went without paying for a camp site and without paying for power. We have kept our cost to the minimum, saving every cent possible. What an experience it was. It was uplifting and character building.......Do we really need to use power every day? Have we become to reliant on our mobile phone and creature comforts?
As the years of travelling have passed I have seen backpackers pull into unpowered sites. which can save them more than $5 per night, and still take advantage of power to charge their electrical items. Visit any ammenities block in any caravan park and you are sure to find the mobile phones, ipods and lap tops of overseas tourists plugged into the power points, charging whilst they shower and attend to their needs. Have a meal at the camp kitchen and you are sure to find the same thing.
There are many options for lighting, from that of gas lighting to taking advantage of the lights in the camp kitchen, around the park and at the barbeque area. Want to save even more money, wash by hand. Even better help the environment and save water by washing your clothes by hand whilst in the shower.
Save even more money, stay away from caravan parks altogether, and take advantage of the many rest area's around Australia. Many times we have stopped in rest area's and had wonderful chats with overseas tourists as they light up the gas to boil the billy or cook up the 2 minute noodles. Grey Nomad's have now joined the party.
So our goal for the five days.....do as others do......free camp all the way.
We spent five days travelling from Mt Duneen Victoria to Dubbo NSW without spending any money on accomodation, showers, water, power or washing of clothes.
Here is how we did it.
Day one - Grass Tree Rest Area.
The first night we were very lucky and fell upon a gold mine of a rest area on the highway outside Seymour which had two power points......and flushing clean toilets. We pulled in at lunch time with the plan for a break to eat and ended up staying the night.
Whilst eating our lunch Alex pointed out that the man under the other barbeque shelter was using his lap top plugged into power. POWER! was my reply and the search for power under the shelter we were at began. With no luck I soon set of to have a chat with this lovely gentleman. There were two power points, which we later discovered were there to service the holiday stop revive survive lions club cuppa vans. The gentleman had his van plugged into one and his lap top into the other but was more than happy to give up a power point for us to use. His wife and himself had stayed the previous night and were enjoying the rest so had decided to stay another.
I quickly moved the van so our power lead would reach, plugged in and then, using the external power socket on the outside of my van, ran another lead and power board into the sheltered area. We shared our power board with our new gentleman friend and we all had a wonder afternoon of computers. That evening we sat and talked of our travel experiences.
With our van carrying enough water to last us a week and power to boil the kettle we had a comfortable night and a good rest. Free electric barbeques were provided at this rest area so it was a barbie for dinner. That evening we sat and talked of our travel experiences. The next morning as we said goodbye to our new friends, who had only just began their journeys having only been travelling 3 months, we were sure we would meet them somewhere down the road again.
Free power and new friends.....what more could one ask for.
Night two - No free power but plenty of light and a flushing toilet 20 km outside of Junee NSW. This is the second time we have stopped the night at this rest area. The ammenities are clean and well looked after and their is plenty of lighting to be taken advantage of and for security.
We spent the afternoon laughing, sharing, drawing and cooking pasta on our gas cooker. We took photo's and shared memories of times past. With no power when it got dark we went to sleep. When the sun rose we awoke and pulled out the gas cooker again. For breakfast we served Semolina, hot chocolates and coffee, toast made on the frypan and fried eggs......a feast fit for a king.
It is possible to stay clean without a shower. Each morning and each night during free camping we would boil the kettle on the gas cooker and fill the plastic wash basin. A good sponge down does just as well as a shower. Brush the teeth and you are feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the world.
Day three and four - The beginning of day three saw us drive to West Wyalong where we were lucky enough to get a free shower at the local road house. I was expecting to have to pay a few dollars, as most roadhouses charge around $2 a shower but when I enquired I found they were free. Like the overseas travellers we grabbed a power board and all of our rechargable items and made use of the power in the ammenities.
Later that afternoon we again fell upon a wonderful free short term stay spot along the river at Forbes NSW. This spot is a large grass area provided by the council. There is no power or ammenties as it is sign posted that all caravans and motorhomes must be self sufficient, but they do provide water and bins. We do not have ammenities within our van but did not find this an issue as it was only a short walk to the ammenities at the local lions club park.....forward planning was all that was required and exercise was an added reward......and when you leave it a little late Penelope Pee Bucket to the rescue.
We loved this spot and the serenity it offered that we decided to stay two nights. We left the car and van at the free camp on the second day and took a walk across the other side of the river into town. We actually ended up doing this twice as we forgot an item the first time. Besides this we again took photo's, explored, wrote and did a lot of chatting. On the last afternoon we had a wonderful couple of hours decorating our car and van with the spirit of Christmas and laughing at the looks on the faces of passers by. Our car is now Rudolph with our van a sleigh full of positive cheer. We have since driven to Dubbo with our decorations and will continue to spread our Christmas cheer right up to Christmas day.
Day five - A rest area 14 kilometres outside of Dubbo. By this time we had exhausted our battery life on our note books and our mobiles. The day was one of the wettest I have seen in a long time so we pulled over just after lunch. What to do when 4 humans of various ages, a dog and a cat are stuck in a small 12 foot van for hours on end.......more laughter, chatting, sharing and fun. I completed a find a word, the first in many years and we all read books. I read to Celeste and we played match box cars. We played with the kitten and cuddled the dog. We cooked, ate and took the dog, and Celeste, for a run in between showers. Time soon went by and it was dark...no lights....goodnight.
You may wonder how we coped without a fridge since we didn't have power. No problem. Milk comes in a powdered form that only need be made up in the amount required at the time. If you want to eat it then it probably can be found in a tin. Think about how hungry you are before you cook....cook only what you are going to eat......or feed left overs to the dog. Only buy your fresh food as you are going to use it. We found that the only thing we missed having was a really cold drink as a couple of our free camp days were really hot but this was easy to overcome by a trip to the closest shop. Need be the old esky and ice will always do the trick.
To me the most rewarding and fun part of our free camping were the ones where we did not have the power. No power really takes you back to basics. Without computers we definitely had to amuse ourselves and pull out all 'the old tricks' We spent heaps more quality time together and definitely laughed more, if that is possible in this family. Don't get me wrong, without my computer, technology and power this message I send to you would not be possible. Free camping helped me be more thankful for what I have and also made me realise that it can rule our lives and stand between us and our family and friends. Time away from it does not do us harm but enriches our lives.
Could I live without my computer? yes, I did not miss it one bit but of course would get not be able to complete Good Gabble without it. For me personally technology adds extra stress and takes me away from time I would like to spend with my kids....that is if they didn't have their heads in their technical world.
Could I live without power? Definitely. After a day or two you really just get into the swing of a different way of life and don't really notice it. You start to listen to your body and nature. We do not wear watches but rely on our mobiles and computers for the time. Without them we had no idea what the time was. Without power we had no lighting.....except the torch or candle.......so retired with nature and rose when she called.
We had a great five days and hope to use free camping a lot more in our future travels. We helped do a little for the environment by using less power and resources and made some new friends. We experienced a new way of living.....one that was done long ago but has since been forgotten.
If you ever get the chance leave the power and shower behind and get out there and be at one with nature....you will be suprised at the difference it makes to how you feel at the end of the day.
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