February 14, 2025 • 39 mins
Uncover the joys and challenges of off-road, off-grid living in Australia. We discuss essential preparations, such as education, water management, power systems, communication devices, and relationship dynamics during travel.
• The importance of education before embarking on off-road adventures
• Key considerations for water management in remote areas
• Importance of reliable power sources while camping off-grid
• Essential communication tools for safety and coordination
• Relationship dynamics and strategies for travelling couples
• Resources available for further learning, including a free audiobook
• Free tickets for Australia’s largest Caravan and Camping Super Show
Before we sold up our life on the Gold Coast, we had never even owned a tent. Fast forward 180,000km, three different vans, two vehicles, and a few “well, that was a bad idea” purchasing decisions—we’ve learned a thing or two.
From the highs of remote sunsets and campfire cook-ups to the lows of vehicle rollovers, split heads, broken ankles, ribs, and the occasional tyre blowout, we’ve lived to tell the tale. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” … or at least a whole lot wiser!
The first couple of years we cruised the blacktop, but for the last three years, we’ve gone full send into the off-road life. Cape York, Oodnadatta, Meerenie Loop, Plenty Highway—if it’s remote and rugged, chances are we’ve driven it. In fact, our first year with our ZONE RV and Toyota Landcruiser 79 was spent entirely off-grid—unplugged, self-sufficient, and loving it!
If you’re planning on heading off road and off grid, survival is great, but thriving is even better! Here’s what you need to master:
- Water
- Power
- Communications
- Waste
- Food & Beverage
- Essential Gear
- Emergency Plan
Plus, for our Victorian listeners, we’ll be presenting at the upcoming Caravan and Camping Supershow from the 19th-23rd February 2025, and have a fantastic BUY ONE GET ONE FREE ticket offer for you! Thanks to our friends at Caravan Industry Victoria, use our CARAVANSHOW_FEELGOOD code to pay only $20 for 2 adults to attend the show. Plus kids under 15 are free! Get your tickets here - https://tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/ee778850-bc0d-4e71-b814-93cd859769cd?accessCode=caravanshow_feelgood
Get your hands on our free Tow Vehicle and Caravan Acronyms Information downloadable here - https://shopthefeelgoodfamily.com/products/free-tow-vehicle-caravan-acronyms-information-sheet
And as a massive thank you to our podcast listeners we’re offering a 25% off discount code on our best-selling eBook bundle! That’s over $200 in value, for only $60! Use discount code PODCAST25 to take advantage of this awesome offer -https://shopthefeelgoodfamily.com/products/eofy-e-book-bundle
Subscribe to Jasperoo - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCceGx3esRSQBYZfWvf4KVtw
Our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/thefeelgoodfamily has a new destination video every Tuesday night at 7.30pm (AEST). We would love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram and our website www.thefeelgoodfamily.com
Our Family Travel Australia Podcast is now LIVE and available on all podcast platforms, with a new episode aired every Friday night 8:30pm [AEST].
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the Travel Australia podcast.
We're Paul, Katie and Jasperfrom the Feelgood family.
Join us as we explore thisgreat country, Australia, its
people, places and cultures.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, it's the Travel Australia podcast, where we
share the latest in RV industrynews road trip travel,
caravanning and camping, productreviews, guest interviews,
where to go, what to do, and somuch more Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
This week we have a special edition episode that's
right, it's Off-Road, Off-GridAustralia where we discuss
everything you need to knowbefore you go, plus how to get
your hands on some tickets toAustralia's largest caravan,
camping and outdoor super show,yes, and not just any tickets.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Paul, free tickets.
Who doesn't love a freebie?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Oh, I love a freebie.
I remember as a kid, you know,as soon as someone up there on
stage or whatever it was saidright, who wants the free stuff?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I don't need it, but I want it.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah, you just used to stampede to the front of the
stage to get your free choppa,choppa, whatever it was.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Absolutely.
And look, they're not just freetickets.
Of course, it's the opportunityto come and catch up with us,
so we will talk all about that,but I think there is so much
good content that we want toshare with you as far as this
Off-Road, off-grid AustraliaSpecial Edition goes, so let's
jump straight into it.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Paulie, fantastic Katie.
Look, it is a trending hottopic and you know, as you will
have probably followed ourjourney over the last five and a
half years 180,000 kilometers.
We weren't always off-road oroff-grid, but certainly in that
first two and a half years werealized that we wanted to be.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Absolutely.
Look, we, you know, as you know, if you've been a part of our
feel-good community from thebeginning, you would know we
were totally green, we weren'tcampers.
We were totally green, weweren't campers.
So those first couple of yearsfor us were all about finding
our feet, you know, reallyunderstanding this incredible
lifestyle that we now had at ourfingertips.
(02:11):
And we did that while we were,I guess, really easing ourselves
into this lifestyle, stickingto the bitumen, really, you know
, enjoying those caravan parksand not being too adventurous.
But something happened for usand we kept seeing all of these
other campers turning off andfollowing these incredible
remote tracks to incredibleremote places that, you know, we
(02:34):
could only conjure up in ourminds.
And so we decided, okay, thetime has come, two and a half
years in, it's time for us toget more adventurous.
And so we did.
We upgraded our vehicles toenable us to be able to do that,
not only safely, but securelyas well, comfortably,
comfortably, knowing that whatwe were towing and the vehicle
(02:57):
that we were towing with werefit for purpose, and that's a
whole other podcast we can talkabout.
But we started to get out thereand, look, we have not looked
back.
This country is amazing.
It is full of incredible placesand many of those are a little
more remote than what you'llfind when you are sticking to
the bitumen that we have pickedup over the last couple of years
(03:23):
and, I guess, accumulated intoseven areas of consideration
that we want to share with youfor anybody who's thinking I'd
love to explore some of thoseplaces.
Or you know what I really wantto stick it to the man.
I want to get off grid.
I want to be self-sustainable,you know, be my own person and
(03:44):
not rely on anybody for mypower-sustainable.
You know, be my own person andnot rely on anybody for my power
, for my water.
You know all of those resourcesthat we need when we are out
there exploring this amazingcountry.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Awesome, perfectly said, katie.
I do have to say one thing,though.
Sure, you do make it soundrather romantic.
We watched them turn left ontothat, you know dusty dirt.
You forgot to mention theendless corrugation, your teeth
chattering out.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yes, Well, look, hey, I am not the one who just
surprised me on stage the otherday when we were speaking at the
let's Go Gold Coast Caravan andOutdoor Expo with a hey, let's
do the Cape again this year.
I mean, we've had no discussionabout doing the Cape again
since we left the Cape last timeand we said, well, that was
(04:33):
amazing, but do we really needto come back and do that again?
No, probably not.
There's other places to explore.
You dropped that bombshell onme in front of hundreds of
people.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
When I was younger, I heard this phrase you dry clean
your memories.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And when it comes to corrugations you do, you really
do.
But what goes up must come down.
So, yeah, you've reminded me.
Oh yes, the Cape is a one roadin, one road out kind of
adventure, as many of theseplaces are.
And yeah, what goes up mustcome down.
But, look good, suspension.
That's all I'm going to say.
Going to spend some money spendit on suspension.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Absolutely, that is a great hot tip.
So if you are wanting to get tosome of these really remote
off-road places, definitely makesure you've got the vehicles to
get you there safely.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
And another thing you know, when we're really now
doing our talks around thecountry at the super shows and
the expos and the off-road,off-grid chat.
We weren't always this way, asyou mentioned, katie, but our
first year in our off-road vanwe spent off-grid.
That is, that we did not pluginto shore power and, as you
said, that was quite.
You know, it was aself-challenge, but it was quite
(05:52):
rewarding for us to be able toachieve that Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And boy didn't we feel like totally legitimate
campers every time we'd rock upto a campsite and know that we
were able to manage all of ourresources by ourselves, without
needing to plug in or rely onanybody else.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Okay, now let's get into it.
But first things first.
Okay, we said there were sevenareas for consideration for
off-road, off-grid touring inAustralia.
Okay, now we, obviously we'refull time.
Okay, but you can be a weekendwarrior, you can be.
You know the gap year, youcould be the long service leave
whatever version.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, school holidays .
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, look, this is going to add value.
Okay, but first things first iseducate yourself.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yes, we are big on the education and coming.
You know, we've had thatjourney ourselves, you know,
from not knowing anything, andso really educating ourselves
was a big part of our journey toget us to where we are today.
And so we would say to anyone,no matter what level of
experience you have, educationis, you know, when you think
(07:01):
about the costs that you pay forthese educational resources
versus the value that they'regoing to add to your lifestyle,
it just is an absoluteno-brainer.
So let's run down these quickly.
Paul, Obviously, if you aretowing a caravan or a vehicle of
any sorts, we would recommendyou go and do a towing course,
(07:22):
tick, do it together, and a realexpert telling you and your do
a towing course, tick, do ittogether.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And a real expert telling you and your wife what
to do.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Absolutely.
Look, we joke about this.
It always gets a great responsewhen we're doing our live
presentations.
But for the ladies, you know,if you are planning to mostly be
the passenger, going and doinga towing course with your spouse
absolutely, going and doing atowing course with your spouse
absolutely.
I just can't reiterate enoughhow important it is for you to
(07:49):
know the basics.
Even if you never get behindthat steering wheel and tow that
caravan, you need to at leasthave the basics under your belt
if a situation arises where youdo need to step into that role.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And how good to be encouraged by the instructor
Absolutely, instead of yelled at.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
By your hubby.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I was going to say by your wife, you're not doing it
right.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yes, whichever way it goes.
You know, having an expert whois outside of your immediate
relationship, no matter whatyou're learning, is always more
beneficial and, I think, moreconducive to a really open and
encouraging learning environment.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Love it.
I broke my ankle twice in ourfirst six months of travel and
Katie had to take on thatresponsibility, which I had
absolutely took on as mine.
Yes, because I love to be incontrol, probably but, you know
I was the primary driver and youknow the man of the house and I
(08:50):
felt like that was what I was,my role.
But look, in many cases that isthe case, yep, you know the
hubby's going to be the onedriving, and so to have that
skill set delivered to you sothat you had a little bit of an
idea but a lot of confidence togo, I got this.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yeah, and what's actually come from that now,
Paul, is that you know being, Ithink, thrown in the deep end
really early on in our journey,where, you know, I gripped that
steering wheel so tight and Ihad to remind myself to breathe,
and every time a truck cametowards me I, you know, wanted
to close my eyes, and of courseyou can't do that because you're
(09:26):
driving.
But what's come of that now isthat anytime we're remote and
off road, I say to Paul rightomy turn, Let me get in that
steering position.
I want to take the wheel.
I love it, I thrive on that.
I still don't particularly liketowing at 90 kilometers on the
highway when there's plenty oftraffic and trucks, but get me
(09:49):
out there on those dirt roadsand I am in my absolute element.
I would never have been in thatposition had we not done that
original educational towingcourse before we set off.
So definitely do that Again.
If you're towing, go and getyour vehicles professionally
weighed.
There are so many servicesaround the country now.
(10:10):
They will come to you or meetyou somewhere.
It takes about an hour maximumand the information that you get
from this is so valuable.
Not only will you confirmwhether you are legally within
your vehicle's limits, butyou'll also really understand
what those different compliancesmean and how they impact your
(10:31):
setup.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Look, six that you need to really be concerned
about three for the tow vehicle,three for the caravan.
The acronyms are like a rapsong.
Yes, the GCM, the APTC, youknow, gvc, gee, what's the other
one?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I don't think you even said any of them other than
GCM doll.
It's a GVM TBC.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Anyway, look, let's just say you should give up your
career as a rapper right now.
Okay, dear mama, now listen.
If you want to understand theseand get a bit of you know
comprehension of what theseacronyms mean.
We have a free downloadable onour website, along with loads of
other free resources all theW's thefeelgoodfamilycom.
(11:14):
You can download that for free.
Thank you to Dave Lewis fromWaitCheck.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Excellent.
And now, paula, we'll just jumpin and while you're talking
about our website and resources,and say we are going to fly
through this information in thispodcast today, however, as a
gift to you we love you guys, weappreciate your incredible
support we have our number oneaudio book.
It is Off-Road, off-grid,australia.
(11:45):
It is an hour and a half plusof our dulcet tones where we
delve into this information inabsolute detail.
So we want to gift that to youand say thank you.
And again, you can jump ontoour website.
A little pop-up will come up.
You pop in your details there,give us your email address, and
(12:05):
you will get an immediatedownload link to download that
audio file Totally free.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yes, okay, it's not a discount code or anything.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
No, it's a gift from us.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It is our number one audio book.
Yep, go for it.
Just you know, bootleg it nodon't do that.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
No, don't do that.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
It'll only be available free till the end of
March 2025.
Okay, so there's what's that,katie?
Four or five weeks.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Absolutely yeah, and we would encourage you to get on
and get that, because we do gointo a lot more detail than
we'll be able to cover off.
We do go into a lot more detailthan we'll be able to cover off
.
I mean, goodness me, we'realready 13 minutes in and we
haven't even talked about thecontent.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Okay, six weeks actually, it's available, all
right.
The other things is a first aidcourse?
Yes, a full drive course.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Okay.
And if you can do them withyour better half, yes.
If you are traveling as a duoor if you've got older teenager
kids, get them involved with allof these or many of these
courses.
We do have our own version ofall of this coming out in the
next couple of months, called RVFirst Aid.
(13:12):
Oh yes, watch this space.
Very exciting 10 industryexperts, over 10 hours of video
content at your fingertips.
We'll explain more about thatas it unfolds in the next couple
of months.
Rv first aid watch this space.
Okay, let's move on to the topseven areas of consideration for
off-road, off-grid touring herein Australia.
(13:32):
Number one is water, two, power, three, communication, four,
waste.
Five, food and beverage, six,essential gear and number seven,
emergency plan.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Awesome, paul.
Now, look, we're not going toget through all of these on this
podcast, so we would encourageyou to please do get on and grab
yourself that free audio book.
As I mentioned, we will go intodetail on all these seven areas
, but let's talk about probablythe most important one, which is
water.
It is obviously the thing thatkeeps us alive.
(14:04):
We all need it and we need itfor everything, and when you're
going remote and off grid, it'sno different.
You really need to be prepared,and preparation really is the
key across every area when youare going remote and off grid,
to really reduce the stress andyes, you would know we're all
(14:24):
about reducing the stress.
This is camping right.
It should be fun, not stressful.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I love it.
As we said a couple of episodesago, camping is cheaper than
therapy.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
All right so far as water goes.
A couple of really key pointshere.
If there's a way for you to, ifyou're towing a rig and you've
got a few water tanks or eventwo, dedicate one as a drinking
only water tank, and the reasonis, then you can manage that
tank.
You won't cross, contaminate itwith bad water.
(14:58):
You know from bore water.
Look, not all water has beencreated equal here in Australia.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, look, that's so true and we've certainly
experienced just about every endof that scale, from you know
your town water when you'resticking to the East Coast, to
incredibly stinky,yellow-looking water that comes
up from underground that youthink, oh gosh, do I really have
to shower in this?
I mean there, it varies widely,but being prepared,
(15:28):
particularly with your drinkingwater, is so important, because
you certainly don't want to getan illness from a water-borne
bacteria.
That is something that nobodywants to go through.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, exactly, I mean you can go without food.
Certainly, depending how muchextra Christmas pudding you ate,
depending on your girth, Forweeks you can go without food,
but water very different story.
Yeah, it can be three, four,five days and you're done.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, look, that's a really good point, Paul, and for
our international visitors.
We hear countless stories ofyou know the underestimations of
how much water actually isrequired when you are setting
off into these remote areas, andit is far more than what you
may think.
(16:17):
In some of these remote placesin Australia, we are known as
the hottest, driest country onthe planet, and so being
prepared with enough water isabsolutely crucial.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yes, exactly, don't perish in the impact.
Okay, now, a few key productsthat we would talk up.
Is purification tablets A fewbucks from the chem.
We'd also suggest that youcheck out a product called Soya.
Is purification tablets A fewbucks from the?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
chem.
We'd also suggest that youcheck out a product called Soya
yes Squeeze the Soya SqueezeFiltration System.
This is a new product for us,but boy we're loving it.
Tiny little water filter has anincredible lifespan and can
turn creek water into beautifuldrinking water.
So this one's a great littleone to have in your kit if you
do like to leave your setup togo for a hike, or you are going
(17:08):
to be doing some overnighthiking as well, or you know that
you're traveling to remoteplaces where you know you want
to really know what thatdrinking water quality is going
to be.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Look, even with the bags to support the system.
It weighs, I think, under 500grams and can filter, in its
lifetime, 450,000 litres ofwater, which obviously is going
to outlive your drinkingcapacity.
Yes, it's quite a remarkableproduct.
Again, we're not affiliatedwith this product.
(17:39):
We hopefully one day will be,because we think it's amazing.
But, yeah, get your hands onthat.
I think it's 120 bucks, youknow?
Fantastic, no brainer.
Another piece of kit that we'drecommend is the Adventure Pump.
It's a 12-volt fullysubmersible water transfer
solution.
Love this product.
Again, you can go to ourwebsite and you can check this
(18:00):
out and get yourself a 10%discount using the code FEELGOOD
.
Great piece of kit.
We would recommend it.
Let's move on to power, katie.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Okay Now, almost as important as water.
When you are getting off gridand really remote, I mean you
need to be able to stay in theseplaces for as long as you want,
right?
There's nothing worse thangetting to this incredible
campsite and then realising acouple of days in that you need
to hitch up and go and findsomewhere to plug in to recharge
(18:31):
those batteries, because youjust don't have enough power.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Exactly so an area that we would recommend that you
do invest in as far as settingup your rig whether you're, you
know, on a rooftop tent or yourtoe on a big rig or a camper,
trailer or a swag even butreally consider your power
management system, whetherthat's just having a little
portable power bank.
(18:55):
Uh, you know, there's a greatsystem calledCO, which not only
is a jump starter for yourvehicle In fact, ours is a 2000
amp NOCO jump starter.
It could jump start our V8 LandCruiser 40 times off one charge
.
It also has SOS light function.
It has the ability to chargeany device.
(19:18):
Basically, it can run thatlittle 12-volt submersible
adventure pump.
It's lightweight.
We can carry it in a backpack.
Fantastic, love this device.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
What's really great when you're caravanning around
Australia is finding productsthat are multi-use, and this
little NOCO is definitely one ofthose.
It fits the bill.
Now, a solar blanket is anothergreat addition, particularly if
you are light on in your setupor you are, as Paul mentioned,
swagging it, or in a rooftoptent and you need that
additional power.
(19:49):
Coming in, a solar blanket is agreat idea.
Now, as Paul mentioned, wewould say, if you are
caravanning or motor homing orgetting one of these incredible,
you know Iveco trucks to travelaround the country, the areas
that we would say to you investyour money in is your power
(20:14):
management, your battery andyour solar setup and, of course,
your suspension.
Without these two, you'llreally struggle to get to these
remote places and stay off gridfor any length of time.
So we've learned, you know,through our experience, haven't
we, paul, and you know, when wefirst started, we didn't have
the lithium battery set up, andthen moving into that and then
(20:37):
switching up our vehicles aswell, we've really had that
journey of evolution, and now wejust know, you know, for this
style of travel, it's the way togo, and these are the two areas
.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Lithium ion batteries .
They're in everything.
I've got a talk coming uparound the safety of this
technology, the incredibleadvancement in this technology.
The price is coming down, theweight is coming down.
It is amazing, but there aresome absolute risks with this
(21:11):
that are user error basedthrough the charging and the way
you charge and when you chargeand how you charge and correctly
charging.
So I'll share that informationthat's come out from the peak
bodies here in the CaravanningIndustry Association and the
Police Department here inAustralia.
That's coming up in anotherepisode.
But the main thing to know isthat it is an incredibly safe
(21:36):
technology when you follow theinstructions.
Don't try to install this gearyourself.
Get it professionally done, getit signed off and you will be
absolutely fine.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Great advice, Paul.
Okay, now let's move on tocommunications.
Now we'll touch a little bit oncommunications between your
traveling party, but we alsowant to give a shout out to some
of the incredible gear that wewould recommend that you
definitely don't go without whenyou are heading into these more
remote places, and the firstone would be the UHF radio.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Look, we left here on the Gold Coast as our home base
the first two years without aUHF in sight.
We look back on that time nowand just think what were we
thinking?
We didn't know.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
No, that's right and well, you don't know what you
don't know.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Yeah, and now it is the most essential piece of
safety equipment if you'replanning to tour Australia,
whether that's in convoy, as arooftop, as we said, or towing a
big rig, especially if you'retowing something fairly heavy
for you to be able tocommunicate clearly your
intention with other travelers,with the truckies that are, you
(22:53):
know, on a schedule generallywhen we're traveling and other
vanners you're not really on aschedule they are being able to
communicate and let them move onand get on with their job is
essential to yours and theirsafety.
Being camp, being able to showyour kids how to clearly
communicate on a UHF radio isessential.
(23:16):
It's also lots of fun.
There are chatter channels,there are dedicated emergency
channels, there are dedicatedhighway channels, convoy
channels, camper channels, andyou can learn all of this online
.
As we mentioned, our rv firstaid uh digital product is coming
out, so that'll have all ofthat in there as well.
But an incredible device andwe'd say get multiple versions
(23:39):
of this.
We've got a hardwired one inthe cab of our 79 land cruiser.
We have a few portable devices.
Some are two watt watt, someare, you know, waterproof.
Five watt that can get you know, 17 kilometer distance in the
right range.
So these are an incredibledevice to be able to communicate
(24:00):
a problem and get help as well.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Absolutely, and a great Aussie product that we'd
love to give a shout out andagain, we don't work with these
guys, we'd love to is GME, socheck them out.
They do the UHF radios.
They also do some personallocator beacon devices, and this
is another essential piece ofkit that we would say every
traveler needs to have.
(24:23):
It's hard to believe, but thereare plenty of places around the
country that still don't havemobile phone or cell service,
and so you want to ensure thatif you do find yourself in some
of these remote places and inneed of help, you can get that
quickly and easily.
Starlink is another greatoption in the communications,
(24:45):
not only for keeping youconnected with friends and
family, keeping you connectedwith the latest Netflix series,
but also on a safety andsecurity wavelength of, you know
, being able to be connected ifyou are somewhere remote, if
something does happen and youneed to make an urgent phone
(25:06):
call or, in our case, we'veFaceTimed our mechanic a number
of times around the country whenwe've had something going on
with the vehicle that we don'tknow how to fix, and he's been
able to talk us and walk usthrough how to solve those
issues.
It's incredible, isn't it?
We live in an amazing age oftechnology and it's going to
only improve and get better andquicker and lighter and smaller.
(25:31):
And you know it just isremarkable and it blows my mind
to think about.
You know when Jasper is olderand what this whole landscape is
going to look like.
Beam me up, scotty, exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Matter of time, really, isn't it?
Okay, another couple of realpearlers as far as communication
go is around your communicationwith each other.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
We often say the number one thing or advice that
we could give to any couple outthere is to like each other
before you roll out of thedriveway.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Look, it's very funny , but it is very important.
And this is a common theme thatcomes up when you talk to any
couple or family who are outthere traveling Australia for
any length of time.
I think living in such a smallspace together 24-7 brings up
its own issues.
(26:24):
You know everything iscompounded.
Emotions can feel bigger andmore heightened.
There's only one door to slam.
In some cases that can be agood thing and in others maybe
not Slam it a few times.
You can struggle and a lot ofpeople do particularly in that
(26:46):
adjustment period.
It's like bringing home a brandnew baby and then trying to
figure out what to do with it,so communication between
yourselves is super important.
Now a couple of gems that welearned along our way that I
know have absolutely enhancedour relationship together when
it comes to being a marriedcouple, travelling together and
(27:09):
relying on each other, and a lotof times they're stressful
situations, particularly whenyou're reversing into a campsite
.
Now we all know you know youdon't want to be the afternoon
entertainment, and there'snothing more than Aussies love
than to have a good look atwhat's going on over there with
the neighbours.
(27:30):
You know we all love a bit of asticky beak, and so that adds
pressure as it is.
So a couple of gems we wouldsay to you is the acronym GOAL
Get out and look.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
We love this one.
We have to thank KYD.
Keep your daydream from America.
Love this family.
They were our inspiration whenwe were binge watching a family,
but they were from the States.
We weren't looking for travelinspo, but we were looking for
inspiration and they providedthat for us.
Highly recommend that familyand there's a couple of things
here that we got from them inthose early days and get out and
(28:05):
look or goal was one of them,and that really is dedicated to
the driver.
To look or goal was one of them, and that really is dedicated
to the driver.
To get out before you reverseand have a good look behind you
and see what is there, so thatwhen you then communicate with
your partner, you're able tounderstand what they are talking
about.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, look, and we do this every single time, without
fail.
And it wouldn't matter whetherwe're in a cramped caravan park
or whether we are out in themiddle of the outback and
there's not another caravan ortraveler in sight.
Paul will still hop out andthat way we both know we're on
the same page from the get-go.
There's not going to be anyconfusion here.
(28:45):
Now, while we're talking aboutavoiding confusion, we don't
talk to each other using leftand right or right hand down or
left hand up when we're tryingto maneuver the caravan.
When Paul is reversing in, itdoesn't matter where I am
outside of that vehicle helpingto guide him in on comms, of
(29:05):
course, uhf or mobile phone.
I will say to him push the backof the caravan to the driver's
side or push the back of thecaravan to the passenger's side,
and it doesn't matter where I'mstanding, whether I'm at the
front of the tow vehicle orwhether I'm at the back of the
van.
He knows exactly what I mean,because you cannot confuse the
(29:26):
driver's side and thepassenger's side of the vehicles
, and this will save you everytime, it will save arguments, it
will save stress.
Believe us, try it, you willthank us, and this is something
that we really, you know.
If there's one piece of advicethat we would say to you to do,
it is this one.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
I love it.
And again thank you to KYDthere for those two gems,
because they're marriage savers.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
They absolutely are, and they will also save you from
being that afternoonentertainment, you know,
shouting at each other in frontof all of the other campground
occupants.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Yeah, you just end up shouting into the void, don't
you?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yes, no, never a good look, no, okay.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Just end up shouting into the void, don't you?
Yes, no, never a good look, no,okay.
Now, as we mentioned, there arefour more areas for
consideration.
They include waste, food andbeverage, essential gear and
emergency plan.
We're going to save those foryou to enjoy.
On that free audio book, did Isay it was free?
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Our number one audio book.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Did I say it was free , our number one audio book and
we have decided to do this overthis period of this next five or
six weeks.
I think it is because we arespeaking at all the major shows
and it's an easy way for us togive back and really add value
to that experience that westruggled with.
(30:50):
When we started, we weresearching the internet and you
can find a lot of thisinformation, but you have to
find it from multiple places andit can get a little
overwhelming.
Well, hopefully this will easethe overwhelm and really give
you that confidence through ourencouragement that, honestly, if
we can do it, then so can you.
So we'll leave really theOff-Road, off-grid segment there
(31:14):
with lots more to really getacross through that audio book.
And, yeah, get on and getyourself that copy.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Just awesome.
Love talking about this.
We could talk about this topicall day long.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
All right, I think we have to quickly give a thanks
to our podcast episode sponsor.
This week's podcast is broughtto you by Nakey, home of the
world's first 100% recycledhammock, made from 37 plastic
post-consumer water bottles andweighing less than one kilo.
Nakey products will not onlymake you feel good see what I
(31:49):
did there but they make theenvironment feel good too.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Love it Nakey, relax wherever you go.
Seriously, what are you waitingfor?
We love the Nakey products somuch.
We have so many of the Nakeyproducts and they are all
awesome.
Look, if you want to get yourhands on some Nakey products,
jump on over to our website andtake advantage of the awesome
15% feel-good discount code thatour good friends at Nike have
(32:16):
provided for our awesomefeel-good family audience.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Thank you, team Nike, gee.
We love you guys All.
Right Now the takeaway for thisweek.
I love Take away for this week.
I love collecting moments, notthings, because the best
souvenirs are stories.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So true, it's so true .
And look, we've been guilty ofbeing collectors.
In fact, we were awesomecollectors once upon a time.
You know you, particularly Paul, with your little antique wares
that you loved the time youknow you, particularly Paul,
with your little antique waresthat you loved and we had some
incredible pieces that wecherished you know so much.
And then really deciding, whenwe, you know we made that
(33:00):
decision to throw it all in andbuy a caravan and travel for a
couple of years we made somehard decisions on what are we
going to box up and keep as ourabsolute precious items.
And we still have about sixboxes in a storage shed that has
God knows what in it.
I really can't remember what wesaved and what was important to
us at the time.
(33:21):
That'll actually be aninteresting exercise, you know,
to unbox those boxes and reallyget a grasp on who we were back
then, because we've changed aspeople and as a family and in
our relationship so much andwhat matters to us.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
I'm sure has changed.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yeah, I reckon we'll be like why on earth did we keep
this?
It'll be interesting.
You know it will be interesting, but really living this
lifestyle, you know, reminds usevery day of what really is
important when you break lifedown, and it is the time that
you get with the people that youlove and the memories that you
(33:59):
get to make with each other.
And look, we had an experiencerecently with our little man
where we went to a funeral of afamily member and the outpouring
of love at this particularevent and then the discussion
(34:21):
that ensued afterwards withJasper, at only eight years old,
was the perfect reminder for us, paul, that nothing really
matters other than theconnections that you make with
the people that you love and theexperiences that are going to
(34:43):
live on with you.
You know past all of this andwe can't help ourselves.
We get woo-woo every podcastand this is probably going that
way, but we really.
This takeaway is so awesome andso poignant at this time.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
And again, as far as funerals go, it was a very
moving and beautiful experience.
That was an incredibly sad timefor our family.
However, it reminded me when wewere in the chapel that it's
not what is left on yourheadstone at your grave that
(35:25):
matters.
It's the impression that youleave on people's hearts, and it
wasn't that evident in thatmoment.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Incredibly so, incredibly so, and something for
us all to aspire to as well.
I think you know when we thinkabout our own legacies and our
own journeys and the impact thatwe're making on other people's
lives, and you know that's whatdrives us, and we love sharing
our journey with you as well,because we wholeheartedly
believe that if you know, thesetwo absolute novices from the
(35:58):
Gold Coast, who didn't knowanything about this lifestyle
can make an incredible changefor their lives and their family
, then you know, if we can do it, anybody can.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
All right, katie.
Now we are speaking down thereat the Melbourne Super Show from
the 19th to the 23rd ofFebruary, and I call it the two
for one.
But basically, how to get afree ticket to this huge event?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Oh, and this is.
This is the biggest event onthe Caravan and Camping calendar
across the year.
It is on from the 19th to the23rd of February 2025, and we
will be there.
We are so excited.
We've never been at this eventbefore.
We'll be guest speaking twicedaily on the RV Master Stage and
(36:46):
also at the let's Start Caravanand Camping Area.
We're so excited about that.
We've got meet and greets andplenty of other things planned
during the days while we are atthe show and we want to see you
there.
So if you are in Melbourne,geelong, victoria or interstate
and you are headed that way,international Katie.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
International.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Come on down.
You know we should have prizesfor who's come the furthest, but
look, the event organizers havegiven us a discount code to
share with you guys, which isfantastic.
It's not an affiliate code, itis a genuine discount for you.
They understand that budgetscan be tight and so this is
honestly the best value ticketyou can get to one of these
(37:30):
events.
It is a buy one, get one, soadults are $20 tickets If you
use our code.
Okay, you've got this.
Listen, clearly it's a big one.
All capital letters CARAVANSHOW.
One word underscore FEELGOODone word.
We'll put it in the descriptionof the podcast with a direct
(37:51):
link.
Go in there, order yourself oneticket and, boom, like magic,
you'll have another one added toyour cart.
Two adult tickets for $20.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Not an affiliate link .
Genuine discount for you outthere if you're coming to the
show.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Absolutely.
And look if you've got kids,kids under 15 are free or 15 and
under are free.
So you know, aren't they all 15?
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Yes, you know, growing up with seven kids in my
family, my mum and dad wouldtake us to the drive-in and
they'd put four of us under ablanket and then the three older
ones I was the third.
We would all sit with our feetthen on top of all the other
kids and dad would roll up tothe window and go three kids,
mate.
Yeah, and two of them are under, you know, six.
Yeah, so you're paying for oneExactly.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
That's seven.
I don't know why some of youryounger siblings maybe have a
few family issues going on, youknow, having feet on their backs
the entire you know growing upperiod.
But anyway, no, look, seriously, guys, we'd love to see you
there.
So please do make use of thatawesome discount code and get
yourself along to this fantasticshow.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Can't wait to see you there Now next week.
We share two of the best beachlocations in Australia.
In fact, it's Queensland versusNew South Wales, both bordering
each other, one just there atBurley Beach, the other there at
Kingscliff.
We can't wait to share thatwith you Beach.
(39:12):
The other day at Kingscliff, wecan't wait to share that with
you.
Plus, we have a special guestfrom Getting Lost Down Under.
Can't wait to be inspired bythese guys.
For now we'll say dream big,look after yourself and look
after your family and happytrails.
Oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
(39:37):
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh.
Welcome to the Travel Australia podcast.
We're Paul, Katie and Jasperfrom the Feelgood family.
Join us as we explore thisgreat country, Australia, its
people, places and cultures.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, it's the Travel Australia podcast, where we
share the latest in RV industrynews road trip travel,
caravanning and camping, productreviews, guest interviews,
where to go, what to do, and somuch more Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
This week we have a special edition episode that's
right, it's Off-Road, Off-GridAustralia where we discuss
everything you need to knowbefore you go, plus how to get
your hands on some tickets toAustralia's largest caravan,
camping and outdoor super show,yes, and not just any tickets.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Paul, free tickets.
Who doesn't love a freebie?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Oh, I love a freebie.
I remember as a kid, you know,as soon as someone up there on
stage or whatever it was saidright, who wants the free stuff?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I don't need it, but I want it.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah, you just used to stampede to the front of the
stage to get your free choppa,choppa, whatever it was.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Absolutely.
And look, they're not just freetickets.
Of course, it's the opportunityto come and catch up with us,
so we will talk all about that,but I think there is so much
good content that we want toshare with you as far as this
Off-Road, off-grid AustraliaSpecial Edition goes, so let's
jump straight into it.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Paulie, fantastic Katie.
Look, it is a trending hottopic and you know, as you will
have probably followed ourjourney over the last five and a
half years 180,000 kilometers.
We weren't always off-road oroff-grid, but certainly in that
first two and a half years werealized that we wanted to be.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Absolutely.
Look, we, you know, as you know, if you've been a part of our
feel-good community from thebeginning, you would know we
were totally green, we weren'tcampers.
We were totally green, weweren't campers.
So those first couple of yearsfor us were all about finding
our feet, you know, reallyunderstanding this incredible
lifestyle that we now had at ourfingertips.
(02:11):
And we did that while we were,I guess, really easing ourselves
into this lifestyle, stickingto the bitumen, really, you know
, enjoying those caravan parksand not being too adventurous.
But something happened for usand we kept seeing all of these
other campers turning off andfollowing these incredible
remote tracks to incredibleremote places that, you know, we
(02:34):
could only conjure up in ourminds.
And so we decided, okay, thetime has come, two and a half
years in, it's time for us toget more adventurous.
And so we did.
We upgraded our vehicles toenable us to be able to do that,
not only safely, but securelyas well, comfortably,
comfortably, knowing that whatwe were towing and the vehicle
(02:57):
that we were towing with werefit for purpose, and that's a
whole other podcast we can talkabout.
But we started to get out thereand, look, we have not looked
back.
This country is amazing.
It is full of incredible placesand many of those are a little
more remote than what you'llfind when you are sticking to
the bitumen that we have pickedup over the last couple of years
(03:23):
and, I guess, accumulated intoseven areas of consideration
that we want to share with youfor anybody who's thinking I'd
love to explore some of thoseplaces.
Or you know what I really wantto stick it to the man.
I want to get off grid.
I want to be self-sustainable,you know, be my own person and
(03:44):
not rely on anybody for mypower-sustainable.
You know, be my own person andnot rely on anybody for my power
, for my water.
You know all of those resourcesthat we need when we are out
there exploring this amazingcountry.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Awesome, perfectly said, katie.
I do have to say one thing,though.
Sure, you do make it soundrather romantic.
We watched them turn left ontothat, you know dusty dirt.
You forgot to mention theendless corrugation, your teeth
chattering out.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yes, Well, look, hey, I am not the one who just
surprised me on stage the otherday when we were speaking at the
let's Go Gold Coast Caravan andOutdoor Expo with a hey, let's
do the Cape again this year.
I mean, we've had no discussionabout doing the Cape again
since we left the Cape last timeand we said, well, that was
(04:33):
amazing, but do we really needto come back and do that again?
No, probably not.
There's other places to explore.
You dropped that bombshell onme in front of hundreds of
people.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
When I was younger, I heard this phrase you dry clean
your memories.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And when it comes to corrugations you do, you really
do.
But what goes up must come down.
So, yeah, you've reminded me.
Oh yes, the Cape is a one roadin, one road out kind of
adventure, as many of theseplaces are.
And yeah, what goes up mustcome down.
But, look good, suspension.
That's all I'm going to say.
Going to spend some money spendit on suspension.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Absolutely, that is a great hot tip.
So if you are wanting to get tosome of these really remote
off-road places, definitely makesure you've got the vehicles to
get you there safely.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
And another thing you know, when we're really now
doing our talks around thecountry at the super shows and
the expos and the off-road,off-grid chat.
We weren't always this way, asyou mentioned, katie, but our
first year in our off-road vanwe spent off-grid.
That is, that we did not pluginto shore power and, as you
said, that was quite.
You know, it was aself-challenge, but it was quite
(05:52):
rewarding for us to be able toachieve that Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And boy didn't we feel like totally legitimate
campers every time we'd rock upto a campsite and know that we
were able to manage all of ourresources by ourselves, without
needing to plug in or rely onanybody else.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Okay, now let's get into it.
But first things first.
Okay, we said there were sevenareas for consideration for
off-road, off-grid touring inAustralia.
Okay, now we, obviously we'refull time.
Okay, but you can be a weekendwarrior, you can be.
You know the gap year, youcould be the long service leave
whatever version.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, school holidays .
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, look, this is going to add value.
Okay, but first things first iseducate yourself.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yes, we are big on the education and coming.
You know, we've had thatjourney ourselves, you know,
from not knowing anything, andso really educating ourselves
was a big part of our journey toget us to where we are today.
And so we would say to anyone,no matter what level of
experience you have, educationis, you know, when you think
(07:01):
about the costs that you pay forthese educational resources
versus the value that they'regoing to add to your lifestyle,
it just is an absoluteno-brainer.
So let's run down these quickly.
Paul, Obviously, if you aretowing a caravan or a vehicle of
any sorts, we would recommendyou go and do a towing course,
(07:22):
tick, do it together, and a realexpert telling you and your do
a towing course, tick, do ittogether.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And a real expert telling you and your wife what
to do.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Absolutely.
Look, we joke about this.
It always gets a great responsewhen we're doing our live
presentations.
But for the ladies, you know,if you are planning to mostly be
the passenger, going and doinga towing course with your spouse
absolutely, going and doing atowing course with your spouse
absolutely.
I just can't reiterate enoughhow important it is for you to
(07:49):
know the basics.
Even if you never get behindthat steering wheel and tow that
caravan, you need to at leasthave the basics under your belt
if a situation arises where youdo need to step into that role.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And how good to be encouraged by the instructor
Absolutely, instead of yelled at.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
By your hubby.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I was going to say by your wife, you're not doing it
right.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yes, whichever way it goes.
You know, having an expert whois outside of your immediate
relationship, no matter whatyou're learning, is always more
beneficial and, I think, moreconducive to a really open and
encouraging learning environment.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Love it.
I broke my ankle twice in ourfirst six months of travel and
Katie had to take on thatresponsibility, which I had
absolutely took on as mine.
Yes, because I love to be incontrol, probably but, you know
I was the primary driver and youknow the man of the house and I
(08:50):
felt like that was what I was,my role.
But look, in many cases that isthe case, yep, you know the
hubby's going to be the onedriving, and so to have that
skill set delivered to you sothat you had a little bit of an
idea but a lot of confidence togo, I got this.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yeah, and what's actually come from that now,
Paul, is that you know being, Ithink, thrown in the deep end
really early on in our journey,where, you know, I gripped that
steering wheel so tight and Ihad to remind myself to breathe,
and every time a truck cametowards me I, you know, wanted
to close my eyes, and of courseyou can't do that because you're
(09:26):
driving.
But what's come of that now isthat anytime we're remote and
off road, I say to Paul rightomy turn, Let me get in that
steering position.
I want to take the wheel.
I love it, I thrive on that.
I still don't particularly liketowing at 90 kilometers on the
highway when there's plenty oftraffic and trucks, but get me
(09:49):
out there on those dirt roadsand I am in my absolute element.
I would never have been in thatposition had we not done that
original educational towingcourse before we set off.
So definitely do that Again.
If you're towing, go and getyour vehicles professionally
weighed.
There are so many servicesaround the country now.
(10:10):
They will come to you or meetyou somewhere.
It takes about an hour maximumand the information that you get
from this is so valuable.
Not only will you confirmwhether you are legally within
your vehicle's limits, butyou'll also really understand
what those different compliancesmean and how they impact your
(10:31):
setup.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Look, six that you need to really be concerned
about three for the tow vehicle,three for the caravan.
The acronyms are like a rapsong.
Yes, the GCM, the APTC, youknow, gvc, gee, what's the other
one?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I don't think you even said any of them other than
GCM doll.
It's a GVM TBC.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Anyway, look, let's just say you should give up your
career as a rapper right now.
Okay, dear mama, now listen.
If you want to understand theseand get a bit of you know
comprehension of what theseacronyms mean.
We have a free downloadable onour website, along with loads of
other free resources all theW's thefeelgoodfamilycom.
(11:14):
You can download that for free.
Thank you to Dave Lewis fromWaitCheck.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Excellent.
And now, paula, we'll just jumpin and while you're talking
about our website and resources,and say we are going to fly
through this information in thispodcast today, however, as a
gift to you we love you guys, weappreciate your incredible
support we have our number oneaudio book.
It is Off-Road, off-grid,australia.
(11:45):
It is an hour and a half plusof our dulcet tones where we
delve into this information inabsolute detail.
So we want to gift that to youand say thank you.
And again, you can jump ontoour website.
A little pop-up will come up.
You pop in your details there,give us your email address, and
(12:05):
you will get an immediatedownload link to download that
audio file Totally free.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yes, okay, it's not a discount code or anything.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
No, it's a gift from us.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It is our number one audio book.
Yep, go for it.
Just you know, bootleg it nodon't do that.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
No, don't do that.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
It'll only be available free till the end of
March 2025.
Okay, so there's what's that,katie?
Four or five weeks.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Absolutely yeah, and we would encourage you to get on
and get that, because we do gointo a lot more detail than
we'll be able to cover off.
We do go into a lot more detailthan we'll be able to cover off
.
I mean, goodness me, we'realready 13 minutes in and we
haven't even talked about thecontent.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Okay, six weeks actually, it's available, all
right.
The other things is a first aidcourse?
Yes, a full drive course.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Okay.
And if you can do them withyour better half, yes.
If you are traveling as a duoor if you've got older teenager
kids, get them involved with allof these or many of these
courses.
We do have our own version ofall of this coming out in the
next couple of months, called RVFirst Aid.
(13:12):
Oh yes, watch this space.
Very exciting 10 industryexperts, over 10 hours of video
content at your fingertips.
We'll explain more about thatas it unfolds in the next couple
of months.
Rv first aid watch this space.
Okay, let's move on to the topseven areas of consideration for
off-road, off-grid touring herein Australia.
(13:32):
Number one is water, two, power, three, communication, four,
waste.
Five, food and beverage, six,essential gear and number seven,
emergency plan.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Awesome, paul.
Now, look, we're not going toget through all of these on this
podcast, so we would encourageyou to please do get on and grab
yourself that free audio book.
As I mentioned, we will go intodetail on all these seven areas
, but let's talk about probablythe most important one, which is
water.
It is obviously the thing thatkeeps us alive.
(14:04):
We all need it and we need itfor everything, and when you're
going remote and off grid, it'sno different.
You really need to be prepared,and preparation really is the
key across every area when youare going remote and off grid,
to really reduce the stress andyes, you would know we're all
(14:24):
about reducing the stress.
This is camping right.
It should be fun, not stressful.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I love it.
As we said a couple of episodesago, camping is cheaper than
therapy.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
All right so far as water goes.
A couple of really key pointshere.
If there's a way for you to, ifyou're towing a rig and you've
got a few water tanks or eventwo, dedicate one as a drinking
only water tank, and the reasonis, then you can manage that
tank.
You won't cross, contaminate itwith bad water.
(14:58):
You know from bore water.
Look, not all water has beencreated equal here in Australia.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, look, that's so true and we've certainly
experienced just about every endof that scale, from you know
your town water when you'resticking to the East Coast, to
incredibly stinky,yellow-looking water that comes
up from underground that youthink, oh gosh, do I really have
to shower in this?
I mean there, it varies widely,but being prepared,
(15:28):
particularly with your drinkingwater, is so important, because
you certainly don't want to getan illness from a water-borne
bacteria.
That is something that nobodywants to go through.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, exactly, I mean you can go without food.
Certainly, depending how muchextra Christmas pudding you ate,
depending on your girth, Forweeks you can go without food,
but water very different story.
Yeah, it can be three, four,five days and you're done.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, look, that's a really good point, Paul, and for
our international visitors.
We hear countless stories ofyou know the underestimations of
how much water actually isrequired when you are setting
off into these remote areas, andit is far more than what you
may think.
(16:17):
In some of these remote placesin Australia, we are known as
the hottest, driest country onthe planet, and so being
prepared with enough water isabsolutely crucial.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yes, exactly, don't perish in the impact.
Okay, now, a few key productsthat we would talk up.
Is purification tablets A fewbucks from the chem.
We'd also suggest that youcheck out a product called Soya.
Is purification tablets A fewbucks from the?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
chem.
We'd also suggest that youcheck out a product called Soya
yes Squeeze the Soya SqueezeFiltration System.
This is a new product for us,but boy we're loving it.
Tiny little water filter has anincredible lifespan and can
turn creek water into beautifuldrinking water.
So this one's a great littleone to have in your kit if you
do like to leave your setup togo for a hike, or you are going
(17:08):
to be doing some overnighthiking as well, or you know that
you're traveling to remoteplaces where you know you want
to really know what thatdrinking water quality is going
to be.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Look, even with the bags to support the system.
It weighs, I think, under 500grams and can filter, in its
lifetime, 450,000 litres ofwater, which obviously is going
to outlive your drinkingcapacity.
Yes, it's quite a remarkableproduct.
Again, we're not affiliatedwith this product.
(17:39):
We hopefully one day will be,because we think it's amazing.
But, yeah, get your hands onthat.
I think it's 120 bucks, youknow?
Fantastic, no brainer.
Another piece of kit that we'drecommend is the Adventure Pump.
It's a 12-volt fullysubmersible water transfer
solution.
Love this product.
Again, you can go to ourwebsite and you can check this
(18:00):
out and get yourself a 10%discount using the code FEELGOOD
.
Great piece of kit.
We would recommend it.
Let's move on to power, katie.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Okay Now, almost as important as water.
When you are getting off gridand really remote, I mean you
need to be able to stay in theseplaces for as long as you want,
right?
There's nothing worse thangetting to this incredible
campsite and then realising acouple of days in that you need
to hitch up and go and findsomewhere to plug in to recharge
(18:31):
those batteries, because youjust don't have enough power.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Exactly so an area that we would recommend that you
do invest in as far as settingup your rig whether you're, you
know, on a rooftop tent or yourtoe on a big rig or a camper,
trailer or a swag even butreally consider your power
management system, whetherthat's just having a little
portable power bank.
(18:55):
Uh, you know, there's a greatsystem calledCO, which not only
is a jump starter for yourvehicle In fact, ours is a 2000
amp NOCO jump starter.
It could jump start our V8 LandCruiser 40 times off one charge
.
It also has SOS light function.
It has the ability to chargeany device.
(19:18):
Basically, it can run thatlittle 12-volt submersible
adventure pump.
It's lightweight.
We can carry it in a backpack.
Fantastic, love this device.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
What's really great when you're caravanning around
Australia is finding productsthat are multi-use, and this
little NOCO is definitely one ofthose.
It fits the bill.
Now, a solar blanket is anothergreat addition, particularly if
you are light on in your setupor you are, as Paul mentioned,
swagging it, or in a rooftoptent and you need that
additional power.
(19:49):
Coming in, a solar blanket is agreat idea.
Now, as Paul mentioned, wewould say, if you are
caravanning or motor homing orgetting one of these incredible,
you know Iveco trucks to travelaround the country, the areas
that we would say to you investyour money in is your power
(20:14):
management, your battery andyour solar setup and, of course,
your suspension.
Without these two, you'llreally struggle to get to these
remote places and stay off gridfor any length of time.
So we've learned, you know,through our experience, haven't
we, paul, and you know, when wefirst started, we didn't have
the lithium battery set up, andthen moving into that and then
(20:37):
switching up our vehicles aswell, we've really had that
journey of evolution, and now wejust know, you know, for this
style of travel, it's the way togo, and these are the two areas
.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Lithium ion batteries .
They're in everything.
I've got a talk coming uparound the safety of this
technology, the incredibleadvancement in this technology.
The price is coming down, theweight is coming down.
It is amazing, but there aresome absolute risks with this
(21:11):
that are user error basedthrough the charging and the way
you charge and when you chargeand how you charge and correctly
charging.
So I'll share that informationthat's come out from the peak
bodies here in the CaravanningIndustry Association and the
Police Department here inAustralia.
That's coming up in anotherepisode.
But the main thing to know isthat it is an incredibly safe
(21:36):
technology when you follow theinstructions.
Don't try to install this gearyourself.
Get it professionally done, getit signed off and you will be
absolutely fine.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Great advice, Paul.
Okay, now let's move on tocommunications.
Now we'll touch a little bit oncommunications between your
traveling party, but we alsowant to give a shout out to some
of the incredible gear that wewould recommend that you
definitely don't go without whenyou are heading into these more
remote places, and the firstone would be the UHF radio.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Look, we left here on the Gold Coast as our home base
the first two years without aUHF in sight.
We look back on that time nowand just think what were we
thinking?
We didn't know.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
No, that's right and well, you don't know what you
don't know.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Yeah, and now it is the most essential piece of
safety equipment if you'replanning to tour Australia,
whether that's in convoy, as arooftop, as we said, or towing a
big rig, especially if you'retowing something fairly heavy
for you to be able tocommunicate clearly your
intention with other travelers,with the truckies that are, you
(22:53):
know, on a schedule generallywhen we're traveling and other
vanners you're not really on aschedule they are being able to
communicate and let them move onand get on with their job is
essential to yours and theirsafety.
Being camp, being able to showyour kids how to clearly
communicate on a UHF radio isessential.
(23:16):
It's also lots of fun.
There are chatter channels,there are dedicated emergency
channels, there are dedicatedhighway channels, convoy
channels, camper channels, andyou can learn all of this online
.
As we mentioned, our rv firstaid uh digital product is coming
out, so that'll have all ofthat in there as well.
But an incredible device andwe'd say get multiple versions
(23:39):
of this.
We've got a hardwired one inthe cab of our 79 land cruiser.
We have a few portable devices.
Some are two watt watt, someare, you know, waterproof.
Five watt that can get you know, 17 kilometer distance in the
right range.
So these are an incredibledevice to be able to communicate
(24:00):
a problem and get help as well.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Absolutely, and a great Aussie product that we'd
love to give a shout out andagain, we don't work with these
guys, we'd love to is GME, socheck them out.
They do the UHF radios.
They also do some personallocator beacon devices, and this
is another essential piece ofkit that we would say every
traveler needs to have.
(24:23):
It's hard to believe, but thereare plenty of places around the
country that still don't havemobile phone or cell service,
and so you want to ensure thatif you do find yourself in some
of these remote places and inneed of help, you can get that
quickly and easily.
Starlink is another greatoption in the communications,
(24:45):
not only for keeping youconnected with friends and
family, keeping you connectedwith the latest Netflix series,
but also on a safety andsecurity wavelength of, you know
, being able to be connected ifyou are somewhere remote, if
something does happen and youneed to make an urgent phone
(25:06):
call or, in our case, we'veFaceTimed our mechanic a number
of times around the country whenwe've had something going on
with the vehicle that we don'tknow how to fix, and he's been
able to talk us and walk usthrough how to solve those
issues.
It's incredible, isn't it?
We live in an amazing age oftechnology and it's going to
only improve and get better andquicker and lighter and smaller.
(25:31):
And you know it just isremarkable and it blows my mind
to think about.
You know when Jasper is olderand what this whole landscape is
going to look like.
Beam me up, scotty, exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Matter of time, really, isn't it?
Okay, another couple of realpearlers as far as communication
go is around your communicationwith each other.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
We often say the number one thing or advice that
we could give to any couple outthere is to like each other
before you roll out of thedriveway.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Look, it's very funny , but it is very important.
And this is a common theme thatcomes up when you talk to any
couple or family who are outthere traveling Australia for
any length of time.
I think living in such a smallspace together 24-7 brings up
its own issues.
(26:24):
You know everything iscompounded.
Emotions can feel bigger andmore heightened.
There's only one door to slam.
In some cases that can be agood thing and in others maybe
not Slam it a few times.
You can struggle and a lot ofpeople do particularly in that
(26:46):
adjustment period.
It's like bringing home a brandnew baby and then trying to
figure out what to do with it,so communication between
yourselves is super important.
Now a couple of gems that welearned along our way that I
know have absolutely enhancedour relationship together when
it comes to being a marriedcouple, travelling together and
(27:09):
relying on each other, and a lotof times they're stressful
situations, particularly whenyou're reversing into a campsite
.
Now we all know you know youdon't want to be the afternoon
entertainment, and there'snothing more than Aussies love
than to have a good look atwhat's going on over there with
the neighbours.
(27:30):
You know we all love a bit of asticky beak, and so that adds
pressure as it is.
So a couple of gems we wouldsay to you is the acronym GOAL
Get out and look.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
We love this one.
We have to thank KYD.
Keep your daydream from America.
Love this family.
They were our inspiration whenwe were binge watching a family,
but they were from the States.
We weren't looking for travelinspo, but we were looking for
inspiration and they providedthat for us.
Highly recommend that familyand there's a couple of things
here that we got from them inthose early days and get out and
(28:05):
look or goal was one of them,and that really is dedicated to
the driver.
To look or goal was one of them, and that really is dedicated
to the driver.
To get out before you reverseand have a good look behind you
and see what is there, so thatwhen you then communicate with
your partner, you're able tounderstand what they are talking
about.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, look, and we do this every single time, without
fail.
And it wouldn't matter whetherwe're in a cramped caravan park
or whether we are out in themiddle of the outback and
there's not another caravan ortraveler in sight.
Paul will still hop out andthat way we both know we're on
the same page from the get-go.
There's not going to be anyconfusion here.
(28:45):
Now, while we're talking aboutavoiding confusion, we don't
talk to each other using leftand right or right hand down or
left hand up when we're tryingto maneuver the caravan.
When Paul is reversing in, itdoesn't matter where I am
outside of that vehicle helpingto guide him in on comms, of
(29:05):
course, uhf or mobile phone.
I will say to him push the backof the caravan to the driver's
side or push the back of thecaravan to the passenger's side,
and it doesn't matter where I'mstanding, whether I'm at the
front of the tow vehicle orwhether I'm at the back of the
van.
He knows exactly what I mean,because you cannot confuse the
(29:26):
driver's side and thepassenger's side of the vehicles
, and this will save you everytime, it will save arguments, it
will save stress.
Believe us, try it, you willthank us, and this is something
that we really, you know.
If there's one piece of advicethat we would say to you to do,
it is this one.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
I love it.
And again thank you to KYDthere for those two gems,
because they're marriage savers.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
They absolutely are, and they will also save you from
being that afternoonentertainment, you know,
shouting at each other in frontof all of the other campground
occupants.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Yeah, you just end up shouting into the void, don't
you?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yes, no, never a good look, no, okay.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Just end up shouting into the void, don't you?
Yes, no, never a good look, no,okay.
Now, as we mentioned, there arefour more areas for
consideration.
They include waste, food andbeverage, essential gear and
emergency plan.
We're going to save those foryou to enjoy.
On that free audio book, did Isay it was free?
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Our number one audio book.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Did I say it was free , our number one audio book and
we have decided to do this overthis period of this next five or
six weeks.
I think it is because we arespeaking at all the major shows
and it's an easy way for us togive back and really add value
to that experience that westruggled with.
(30:50):
When we started, we weresearching the internet and you
can find a lot of thisinformation, but you have to
find it from multiple places andit can get a little
overwhelming.
Well, hopefully this will easethe overwhelm and really give
you that confidence through ourencouragement that, honestly, if
we can do it, then so can you.
So we'll leave really theOff-Road, off-grid segment there
(31:14):
with lots more to really getacross through that audio book.
And, yeah, get on and getyourself that copy.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Just awesome.
Love talking about this.
We could talk about this topicall day long.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
All right, I think we have to quickly give a thanks
to our podcast episode sponsor.
This week's podcast is broughtto you by Nakey, home of the
world's first 100% recycledhammock, made from 37 plastic
post-consumer water bottles andweighing less than one kilo.
Nakey products will not onlymake you feel good see what I
(31:49):
did there but they make theenvironment feel good too.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Love it Nakey, relax wherever you go.
Seriously, what are you waitingfor?
We love the Nakey products somuch.
We have so many of the Nakeyproducts and they are all
awesome.
Look, if you want to get yourhands on some Nakey products,
jump on over to our website andtake advantage of the awesome
15% feel-good discount code thatour good friends at Nike have
(32:16):
provided for our awesomefeel-good family audience.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Thank you, team Nike, gee.
We love you guys All.
Right Now the takeaway for thisweek.
I love Take away for this week.
I love collecting moments, notthings, because the best
souvenirs are stories.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So true, it's so true .
And look, we've been guilty ofbeing collectors.
In fact, we were awesomecollectors once upon a time.
You know you, particularly Paul, with your little antique wares
that you loved the time youknow you, particularly Paul,
with your little antique waresthat you loved and we had some
incredible pieces that wecherished you know so much.
And then really deciding, whenwe, you know we made that
(33:00):
decision to throw it all in andbuy a caravan and travel for a
couple of years we made somehard decisions on what are we
going to box up and keep as ourabsolute precious items.
And we still have about sixboxes in a storage shed that has
God knows what in it.
I really can't remember what wesaved and what was important to
us at the time.
(33:21):
That'll actually be aninteresting exercise, you know,
to unbox those boxes and reallyget a grasp on who we were back
then, because we've changed aspeople and as a family and in
our relationship so much andwhat matters to us.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
I'm sure has changed.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yeah, I reckon we'll be like why on earth did we keep
this?
It'll be interesting.
You know it will be interesting, but really living this
lifestyle, you know, reminds usevery day of what really is
important when you break lifedown, and it is the time that
you get with the people that youlove and the memories that you
(33:59):
get to make with each other.
And look, we had an experiencerecently with our little man
where we went to a funeral of afamily member and the outpouring
of love at this particularevent and then the discussion
(34:21):
that ensued afterwards withJasper, at only eight years old,
was the perfect reminder for us, paul, that nothing really
matters other than theconnections that you make with
the people that you love and theexperiences that are going to
(34:43):
live on with you.
You know past all of this andwe can't help ourselves.
We get woo-woo every podcastand this is probably going that
way, but we really.
This takeaway is so awesome andso poignant at this time.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
And again, as far as funerals go, it was a very
moving and beautiful experience.
That was an incredibly sad timefor our family.
However, it reminded me when wewere in the chapel that it's
not what is left on yourheadstone at your grave that
(35:25):
matters.
It's the impression that youleave on people's hearts, and it
wasn't that evident in thatmoment.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Incredibly so, incredibly so, and something for
us all to aspire to as well.
I think you know when we thinkabout our own legacies and our
own journeys and the impact thatwe're making on other people's
lives, and you know that's whatdrives us, and we love sharing
our journey with you as well,because we wholeheartedly
believe that if you know, thesetwo absolute novices from the
(35:58):
Gold Coast, who didn't knowanything about this lifestyle
can make an incredible changefor their lives and their family
, then you know, if we can do it, anybody can.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
All right, katie.
Now we are speaking down thereat the Melbourne Super Show from
the 19th to the 23rd ofFebruary, and I call it the two
for one.
But basically, how to get afree ticket to this huge event?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Oh, and this is.
This is the biggest event onthe Caravan and Camping calendar
across the year.
It is on from the 19th to the23rd of February 2025, and we
will be there.
We are so excited.
We've never been at this eventbefore.
We'll be guest speaking twicedaily on the RV Master Stage and
(36:46):
also at the let's Start Caravanand Camping Area.
We're so excited about that.
We've got meet and greets andplenty of other things planned
during the days while we are atthe show and we want to see you
there.
So if you are in Melbourne,geelong, victoria or interstate
and you are headed that way,international Katie.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
International.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Come on down.
You know we should have prizesfor who's come the furthest, but
look, the event organizers havegiven us a discount code to
share with you guys, which isfantastic.
It's not an affiliate code, itis a genuine discount for you.
They understand that budgetscan be tight and so this is
honestly the best value ticketyou can get to one of these
(37:30):
events.
It is a buy one, get one, soadults are $20 tickets If you
use our code.
Okay, you've got this.
Listen, clearly it's a big one.
All capital letters CARAVANSHOW.
One word underscore FEELGOODone word.
We'll put it in the descriptionof the podcast with a direct
(37:51):
link.
Go in there, order yourself oneticket and, boom, like magic,
you'll have another one added toyour cart.
Two adult tickets for $20.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Not an affiliate link .
Genuine discount for you outthere if you're coming to the
show.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Absolutely.
And look if you've got kids,kids under 15 are free or 15 and
under are free.
So you know, aren't they all 15?
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Yes, you know, growing up with seven kids in my
family, my mum and dad wouldtake us to the drive-in and
they'd put four of us under ablanket and then the three older
ones I was the third.
We would all sit with our feetthen on top of all the other
kids and dad would roll up tothe window and go three kids,
mate.
Yeah, and two of them are under, you know, six.
Yeah, so you're paying for oneExactly.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
That's seven.
I don't know why some of youryounger siblings maybe have a
few family issues going on, youknow, having feet on their backs
the entire you know growing upperiod.
But anyway, no, look, seriously, guys, we'd love to see you
there.
So please do make use of thatawesome discount code and get
yourself along to this fantasticshow.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Can't wait to see you there Now next week.
We share two of the best beachlocations in Australia.
In fact, it's Queensland versusNew South Wales, both bordering
each other, one just there atBurley Beach, the other there at
Kingscliff.
We can't wait to share thatwith you Beach.
(39:12):
The other day at Kingscliff, wecan't wait to share that with
you.
Plus, we have a special guestfrom Getting Lost Down Under.
Can't wait to be inspired bythese guys.
For now we'll say dream big,look after yourself and look
after your family and happytrails.
Oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
(39:37):
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh.
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