RACQ member May B. Wild is sharing tips from her lap of Australia with husband Chris and dog Watson aboard a 2002 Toyota Coaster.
The idea of my husband Chris and I going around Australia in a motorhome with our dog Watson was not taken lightly.
Many factors led to the decision to rent our Brisbane home and explore our vast land.
Both our careers came to an abrupt stop in 2021, via unanticipated early retirements. This caused us to rethink our priorities.
Like so many during COVID-19, we asked ourselves, ‘What is important to us?’
We decided to explore our big, beautiful country.
However, we had no clue what we were doing and underestimated the logistics of preparation.
First, we had to decide what sort of rig to get. We visited camping and caravanning shows and spent countless hours on the internet looking at options.
Camping in a tent was out. There was no way I was going to crawl in and out as those days were long gone; my knees would never forgive me.
We also knew that we did not want to tow anything, so we settled on a 2002 Toyota Coaster motorhome we named the Golden Goose.
It ticked all our boxes for a comfortable ride, good ground clearance, a legendary engine with parts available anywhere in Australia and all the mod cons, especially a full-length north-south double bed.
We set off in July 2022 and drove 33,280km over 326 days.
The trip’s biggest challenge was for the three of us to live in a 14sq.m ‘sardine can’.
Amazingly, we did learn to squeeze into that tight living space and got quite used to it. Our house seems gigantic to us now, although it is relatively small. It shows that we don’t need much room to function, live, and be happy.
There were many teething problems, partly because we never got to do a proper shake-down excursion before our departure.
We only managed one night away and that is when the air suspension broke down – one of many delays.
Once on the road, the feeling of freedom took over – we had no plan beyond the first three days. We had embarked on a magic carpet ride, with every day a surprise.
I thought I knew Australia because I had visited all the states and lived in three. I was fooling myself!
I soon found out that I hardly knew anything at all. That road trip taught us so much about our country and its many facets.
We learned even more about ourselves and each other, and yes, we are still married.
May gets friendly with a quokka at Rottnest Island.
The natural beauty of our land Down Under is unarguable.
We saw the most jaw-dropping sights of mountains, coastlines, beaches and forests. We chased waterfalls, watched shooting stars, explored underground caves, swam with a whale shark, and flew in a vintage plane over vineyards.
We toured a haunted pub at night, tasted great wines and cheeses, and soaked our tired bodies in warm thermal pools.
We camped overnight on the Bunda Cliffs, visited museums and saw way too much rusty old agricultural machinery.
We followed the roads of the bushrangers and stopped at historical cemeteries, including a dog cemetery.
I took more than 10,000 photos and when I look at them now, my heart still skips a beat.
We met many interesting people, incredible Australian characters (and tourists) either doing a lap of their own or just doing their thing in the most unusual settings.
There are some fine people living in this place and we gained some new friends.
We saw the most jaw-dropping sights of mountains, coastlines, beaches and forests. We chased waterfalls, watched shooting stars, explored underground caves, swam with a whale shark, and flew in a vintage plane over vineyards.
We toured a haunted pub at night, tasted great wines and cheeses, and soaked our tired bodies in warm thermal pools.
We camped overnight on the Bunda Cliffs, visited museums and saw way too much rusty old agricultural machinery.
We followed the roads of the bushrangers and stopped at historical cemeteries, including a dog cemetery.
I took more than 10,000 photos and when I look at them now, my heart still skips a beat.
We met many interesting people, incredible Australian characters (and tourists) either doing a lap of their own or just doing their thing in the most unusual settings.
There are some fine people living in this place and we gained some new friends.
We learned a mountain of facts on history, geology, flora and fauna, mining, farming, early pioneers, explorers, pearling, shipwrecks, war memorials and so much more.
It all came to an end in June 2023 when we returned home.
It was surreal to drive up our street and come back to earth.
It felt like we had been teleported away for 326 days and suddenly materialised back home.
May's husband Chris with Watson at Murphy's Haystacks in South Australia.
On our return, my mind kept reviewing the trip.
It was not easy to come back to suburbia after such an adventure.
I have written a book about it, A Lap of Australia for Beginners, to share the knowledge and cement the learning.
It was also a response to the many questions we have been asked about how we did it and what advice we would give to others considering doing ‘the lap’.
If you feel in your bones that you need to do it, then go for it. Listen to your itchy feet. (Unless it’s athlete’s foot, then see your doctor).
Prepare as much as you can, but eventually you just have to get into your vehicle and cast yourselves adrift on the seas of adventure.
You may feel out of your comfort zone, but it is worth it.
A Lap of Australia for Beginners is available at maybwild.com.au
Top image: Author May B. Wild nominated Millstream Chichester National Park in Western Australia as her favourite place to stop for lunch.