Mid-life gap year Tanya and Craig

How to take a Van-life gap year You don’t just wake up one day, book tickets, fly to Europe and pick up the first campervan you see.  There is a lot of planning and organizing to make it happen. For us, it was a concept that we worked towards over two years and got serious about in the last 6-8 months.  Van purchase In researching vans, we learned that we could buy one, but couldn't insure or register it without being either European residents (read: address, bank account and utility bills in the country we wished to buy the van in) or set up a company to own, insure and register the van. Now this is not straight-forward as one needs to be able to navigate the system from the other side of the world and in another language (as vans in the UK / Ireland were considerably more expensive than on the continent). There are a number of companies who provide services in this space.  We chose EuroCampingCars, because they are based in France and deal in late model v

Our gap year planning began in earnest about 6-8 months before departure, we knew we wanted to travel Europe and knew we wanted a self-contained vehicle to do this in. First we needed to decide the type of vehicle. Roads in parts of Europe are not like those in Australia, they can be much narrower and tunnels much lower. Friends had rented a van in France a few years ago and found that reversing 2 km down a one way road when their van did not fit through a tunnel was no fun at all. So we knew the van had to be reasonably compact. We visited campervan sales yards in Australia to get some idea of what a compact van offered and found that a small pop-top van while okay for a weekend was not going to be suitable for a long trip. The idea of setting up a bed each night and packing it away when we wanted to use a table was not inviting. Having a bed set up at all times would give us effectively two living spaces, one at the table and one in the bedroom.   This configuration would

What do you do on a wet day when you live in a van?  1. First answer, look for a nearby museum or art gallery.  We are in Lochgilphead in Argyle, Scotland, so fortunately the Museum of Ancient Monuments, just 8km up the road in Kilmartin is a good option. When the museum is done, you head to their cafe for a coffee and charge up the camera and computer.  2. Put your wet weather gear on and venture out. As we drove out of Kilmartin there were a number of standing stones and other monuments to visit. So we rain-coated up and ventured through sheep paddocks to look at the 6th century standing stones.  3. Drive on to a scenic destination where you can kick back with a view and read a book or do a crossword. Choose a destination that offers some activity if there is a break in the weather. The village of Crinan, overlooking the Isle of Jura, with not much more than a sea lock for the canal, a dock, some fishing boats, a small hotel with an art exhibition and a few houses;

We’ve been asked what van life is like. Our first response, is that it is great. We are loving it.   We have tried to answer some of the more common questions we’ve received. If you have any particular questions please ask. What is van life like? We largely wild camp ie legally parked; not in a paid camping area. We do this for a few reasons. It enables us to reallocate about 1/3 of our daily budget, to eating out, etc.   It is more enjoyable camping by the beach listening to seagulls; a river watching ducks, etc. We are largely self-sufficient with a 140L water tank, a 2 burner gas stove, gas heating, a solar panel on the roof which runs our electric fridge, lights and powers up our devices (but not our camera or computer, which are largely sponsored by McDonalds as we have a coffee and use their wifi about once a week). Our bathroom is tight in size, so hair washing is difficult. For this reason we seek out a proper shower every 3-4 days and need to do laundry

After Rome we enjoyed two nights in Paris before catching the train to Sens where we met Phil and Hanna from Euro Camping Cars. After completing some paperwork, we took possession of our campervan. The small wheels and the side graphics reminded us of a matchbox car so the van became known as Hotwheels. Hotwheels is based on a Fiat Ducatto with a turbo diesel engine and a 6 speed manual gear box. The gearing allows for the steepest hills as well as relaxed motorway cruising.   The size and configuration has proven to be perfect for us. The van is small enough to squeeze through most country villages and low enough not to get jammed in tunnels. Roads in Europe are very different to roads in Australia. The bed remains permanently set up at the back and has storage under it.  The dining table remains set up in the middle and the front seats swivel around as extra seating. Between the table and the bed is the bath/toilet area and the kitchenette that inc

Gap years are for those under 25 right? Traditionally yes, but gap years were not really a thing when I was that age and trying really hard not to sound like my grandparents, we did not have the money and things were different back then. After months of planning and careful consideration we took a deep breath and jumped into our gap year.  Who are we?   We are an Australian couple who call Melbourne home. We were working in corporate jobs, and like most others our age, we have a mortgage. We have a network of great friends and a comfortable life-style. Tanya worked for the state government as a communications advisor and Craig as a retail specialist in the fuel industry. Our interests are in food, wine and the great outdoors. Four years ago our plan of working hard towards retirement was shaken when Tanya was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. This shocked us both and made us reconsider what is important to us; and what we wanted to do while both still healthy and active.