Meet the Nicholas family, who have packed it all in and have decided to take a 12-month trip around Australia
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We’ve done it! Done what, you ask? We’ve done what everyone wants to do, but for one reason or another cannot bring themselves to do.
Ever since my parents started dragging my sisters and I around south-east Australia in a caravan in the early ’80s, it has been my dream to take 12 months off and explore this magnificent country in which we live.
However, like many other people, this desire was pushed to the back of the ‘to do’ list, replaced by much more important things, like getting an education, a job, a promotion and a mortgage. I knew eventually we would get to travel the country, but it was most likely to be in my retirement.
I am now 31 and studying full-time, married, have two children aged four and 18 months, and a mortgage.
Financially, we probably could not have chosen to travel at a worse time! But recently we’ve come to realise that there are far more important things in life than money.
In my time studying medicine, I have seen one-too-many 30-year-olds with life-threatening illnesses or the old guy struck down by cancer two months before retiring to enjoy the fruits of his life-long labour.
The bottom line is that you don’t know how long you have, so get out and make the most of it today!
Even with these thoughts going through my mind, it was the old handbrake that tipped us over the edge. She came home from work one day and said, “Let’s go. Let’s do it. Let’s take the kids and hit the road.” You only have to ask once! She will be known as ‘The Accelerator’ from this day on.
So that was it, decision made. That was the easy part, actually deciding to go. Now we need to sort out the practicalities of the whole thing. When do we go? Is the trusty Pathfinder up to the task? Do we take a tent, camper trailer or caravan? And the big one, can we afford it?
We would like to invite you to join us on our trip. We will take you through our decision-making process, supply you with all the facts and figures, the whys, wheres and hows, and bring some great destinations to you along the way.
For those of you thinking of doing the same thing, the information should be invaluable, and for those not able to drag themselves away from their daily lives, we hope to provide you with a monthly escape from reality. |
THE VEHICLE
We have had a ’97 Nissan Pathfinder for 18 months, and my first concern was whether it was up to the task of an extended trip through the outback. We are going to be travelling alone but still want to get to as many out-of-the way places as possible.
Our Pathy is pretty stock, with the only real mods being a nudge bar, driving lights, side steps, UHF radio, towbar and a 2in lift using Lovells springs and Rancho RSX shocks and struts.
A big concern I have is fuel capacity, as the vehicle only has an 80L tank and drinks heavily.
For the Pathy to come along for the ride, I believe we need the following as a minimum:
1. Cargo barrier: for safety if nothing else
2. Roof basket: to carry extra fuel (around 60L)
3. Air compressor: for airing
up, obviously
4. Tyres: Coopers or BFGs immediately came to mind
Option two is to upgrade to a bigger beast, either a Patrol or ’Cruiser. Now, to be honest, I am a bit of a swinger when it comes to 4WD makes. I would be happy in either, so it is more about the budget than the badge. I made a comparison of all three vehicles of a similar age using www.redbook.com.au. Privately selling my Pathy should get me $14–17K. A GU auto of similar vintage will set me back $19–23K, and the ’Cruiser GXL around $20–24. This seems to equate to a $5K step-up, plus stamp duty and the rest.
Now, while this may not seem a big expense to some, for us it is really pushing the budget. Besides, we know our vehicle is mechanically sound, and with our luck we would probably upgrade directly into a lemon! Also, the extra cash can be spent on mods to the Pathy.
It is at this point that you wonder what the Camel ’Cruiser is up to these days and whether it would enjoy stretching its legs on an extended trip... Oh well, dreaming can’t hurt anyone!
DIESEL VS PETROL
Another thought that crossed my mind was upgrading to a diesel. Given the large amount of kilometres we plan on covering, could we upgrade to a diesel 4WD and make the money back on fuel savings?
These days, with increases in technology, modern diesels have a very similar service cost to their petrol counterparts, but at the vintage that my budget would allow, diesels are required to be serviced twice as frequently, seriously denting any potential fuel savings.
On top of this, the
diesel is generally a more expensive option up front – around $1K (see the table for service cost comparisons).
At this point, after balancing all of the pros and cons of changing vehicles, we have decided that it is better the devil you know, and the Pathy is coming along for the ride. I just hope it is still there when the ride is over…
ACCOMMODATION
As a youngster, I w my fair share of camping in the trusty tent. Twelve months ago, we traded the tent in on a soft-floored camper trailer. We have really enjoyed this addition to our touring family and initially thought it would be perfect for our trek.
After sitting down and thinking through the day-to-day practicalities of moving camp (with two small children), we decided to look around for something a bit more substantial and easier to set up for the overnight stay.
The first thing that sprang to mind was a hard-floored camper. We looked at a few but were scared away by the price tag, as well as the limited amount of room once you add a couple of kids to the mix. Eventually we settled on a Jayco Outback Dove camper trailer.
Now, I know there is a differing of opinion on these, but we decided that it was the closest fit to our needs. I plan to throw a four-man dome tent in as well to allow us to get to places that the Dove won’t.
For us, the advantage of the Dove is that the cooking and eating facilities are internal, so if the weather is bad, we can lock the kids inside and survive. I just hope it makes it through the corrugations, but I suppose that there’s only one way to find out!
We financed this by selling our original camper and will sell our second car. From what we have seen, the Jayco trailers hold their value well, so we hope to sell it on our return to get another car.
BUDGET
Now for the scary part – the weekly budget. A big factor in the ability to travel for an extended period of time is coping with the expense. This will be the difference between long-term bliss and coming home after two weeks with our tails between our collective legs.
We have looked at our projected income over the next 12 months and are expecting around $650 per week. From this, we need to cover all expenses and would also like to have a little left over at the end of each week to put away. I have found it a little difficult to sit down and work out an exact budget, but I will run you through my scratchy attempt.
After asking around, it seems that 12 months on the road could equate to anywhere between 20–50,000km. For budget purposes, I have worked on 35,000, or around 700km a week.
To over-budget, I have assumed we will use 20L/100km at an average price of $1.30/L (who knows how accurate that will be!). This gives us a weekly fuel cost of approximately $180 – one very scary figure.
The next big expense to consider is food. For our family of four, we have allowed ourselves $150 per week based on our current food costs. We may have to tighten the belts a little, but that is probably just what I need. Accommodation is the other major expense that we need to deal with. After discussing the type of experience we are after, we’ve decided to steer clear of extensive stays in major tourist parks in favour of free camping areas and national parks.
Even given this, I think it’s necessary to budget $15–20 a night just to be safe. This equates to a weekly cost of $140, though I am hopeful we will be able to do it at half that figure a lot of the time. Therefore, with the three major expenses covered, we have an outlay of $470 per week. This leaves us around $180 per week to cover things like mechanical repairs, washing machines, dryers and the odd guided tour or the like.
Over the following months, we will be finalising our vehicle requirements and getting the necessary mods completed, and will bring you the results next time. We will also start planning our itinerary and run you through what we packed and how we will fit it all in.
Now that you have met us, I hope you enjoy following our adventures as we live out our dream and bring you our experience of this awesome country. Maybe this article is all you need to make you pack it in and join us in the outback. Until next time... |
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Diesel versus Petrol Compared
To look into the viability of upgrading vehicles, I contacted my local Nissan dealer and asked about servicing a 98 GU Patrol in both the 4.2L turbo-diesel and 4.5L petrol guises. I was after the frequency and cost of each service.
I worked on buying each with 150K on the clock and servicing it according to Nissan’s recommendations until the 200K mark.
Km on Clock |
Patrol 4.2L Diesel |
Patrol 4.5L Petrol |
150 |
$257.50 |
$205.00 |
155 |
$130.00 |
|
160 |
$892.50 |
$907.00 |
165 |
$130.00 |
|
170 |
$257.50 |
$205.00 |
175 |
$130.00 |
|
180 |
$397.50 |
$207.50 |
185 |
$130.00 |
|
190 |
$257.50 |
$205.00 |
195 |
$130.00 |
|
200 |
$892.50 |
$1207.50 |
Total |
$3605.00 |
$2936.50 |
It is possible to pick up either of these two cars for around the same price, so the diesel would have to be around $650 cheaper in fuel expenses to make it viable.
Over 50,000km, the diesel would have to be 1.3L/100km more efficient than a petrol vehicle, which most would be. Of course, this is purely an economic comparison and doesn’t consider things like power and handling.
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