trailer park

We have just returned from our first outing in our caravan staying at Big 4 Holiday park in Ballarat.

We recently bought this caravan and had it towed to a nearby storage place. As it was a long weekend we thought it was a good chance to pick up the caravan and take it to a nearby caravan park to test out living in it before we commit to spending the whole winter doing it full-time.

We left on Friday evening after picking the kids up from school. The idea was that we would get the the storage place whilst it was still light so we could give ourselves the best chance to successfully learn how to attach, manoeuvre and tow a caravan for the first time. We stopped at McDonalds on the way (another family first). In the photo above on the left, Richard is intently googling 'how to tow a caravan', in the next photo he is taking out caravan insurance! It was dark and raining and we were feeling very very very NERVOUS about the whole hair-brained idea.

This is us with 3 tired cranky kids in the car, out in the middle of no-where working out how to attach a caravan in the rain (we had had no instructions!). There was no lights (and no staff we had a code to get in) and all was done by torchlight. Unfortunately getting the caravan attached was the least of our problems. The biggest scariest craziest plan was the towing bit. Luckily the break & indicator lights all worked (we laughed that there were lights down the side of the caravan too as it is so long). The Discovery easily took the weight and with me on the outside we began manoeuvring the beast out of Storage King. It should be emphasised at this point that the size of this caravan is awe inspiring, 32 ft, 10 meters long (it is the biggest caravan the caravan park has ever had book in! ). All was going well till we got to the exit. After keying in the code and keen to get out before the gate shut we somehow managed to hit the keypad pole with a side window. We had underestimated how much wider than the car the beast was. Glass shattered and suddenly we were in for a avery chilly night assuming we could even safely get the caravan to the park in one piece. We felt quite unsettled and upset. Following another 15 mins of reversing and tricky manoeuvring, with our hearts in our mouths we got the van out of the storage center. The caravan park was only a short drive away but following our first mishap we drove extremely slowly and carefully all the way, literally developing grey hairs in the process. The car handled it beautifully and Rich demonstrated nerves of steel. I had to get out a couple of times to reassure ourselves of angles etc and we finally made it to our destination.

Luckily the staff at the park were very helpful. They lent us bin bags and gaffa tape for the window, power adaptors and an extra heater that enabled us to get set up and sleep in the thing. We felt like such city-slickers! In the pic above Rich is teaching the boys how to use a sleeping bag.

There was plenty of late night high jinks as we tested out the confines of our new nest. Please note that I am having serious trouble coping with the fabric on the banquette (Rich has challenged me to live with it and focus on slightly more important things but I'm not sure I can!). Also note that all these jumpers stayed on overnight as temperatures dropped close to freezing and cold air poured in through our broken window.

The next morning we got up bright and early to ring around glaziers and enjoy the delights of caravan-park living. Outside our window above you can see how close we were to the giant jumping pillow.

The boys spent hours entertained here, action mum joined in occasionally.

The facilities were fantastic with lovely hydronic blazing away in all the bathrooms (even a hairdryer) making heading out in the cold for showers etc worthwhile. Rich above is testing the caravan's coffee making facilities.

Rich and I entertained ourselves taking carni-folk pictures of each other!

More caravan in action shots, night-time stories on the double bed above and lego department down the other end in pic below.

Overall it was a successful mission. After the window was repaired it was cosy, the space felt adequate, the acoustics were better than at home, the triple bunks worked, there were plenty of cupboards, we delivered it back safely. The size of it caused a stir with everyone commenting, jaws dropping when people walked past and offers to buy it. It has to be big though if we are going to live in it! We are now looking for someone to tow it to Melbourne for us!