Having only done shortish trips, we've never stayed in any one place more than 8 days, and have always been busy tourists and done lotsa bushwalking. Now with the prospect of longer trips, I was wondering how people spend their days? Fishing? Reading? Tv watching? (Surely not!) Board Games? Knitting/ tapestry? Woodcarving? Happy hour lasting all day?

Ideas everybody???

Have not really found any idle time as yet , always plenty to see & places to go . 

Skip the knitting & tapestry & woodcarving, & it's all of the above(although collecting shells & making wind chimes with them can pass some time), also add computers, odd jobs to do with the van, unhiching & exploring the countryside takes up a fair bit of time, meeting people in the places you camp and.....heaven forbid...just sitting chatting to my partner

-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Friday 15th of January 2010 01:43:39 PM

Hey Rosey, hell I dont know where the hours go, by the time we go fishing, home for a snack, yabbying, back for a cuppa and lunch, bushwalking back for a drink then gossiping with a cuppa, then it's beer o'clock it gets real late real quick and we go nap nap but we tend to stay up pretty late when we are out, sometimes we stay up till 9 o'clock

Rosey one of the hard things in life is learning to "Pay yourself First".Learn how to put your mind into free wheel,sit down,listen to the sounds you havent heard for years,smell the grass,the trees.Walk,just meander.Be a kid again,go on jump in the puddle,play in the mud.Best of all go to bed early with a good book,or someone who has read one,lol.Cheers.Ibbo.

It's no sin to occasionally do nothing. It is not necessarily time wasted and sometimes it is time well spent.

I sometimes set out to do nothing but I don't seem to be able to get it finished

I'm currently up here in the glass castle working 20 hour days, the thought of just "sitting" really apeals to me right now I will get home at around 4 am tomorrow, have a shower grab a bite and a nap nap then up at around 6 to do it all again! give me a chair under a gum tree next to a babbling brook and I'm one happy little vegemite

Rosey - We've been on the road for 10 months now, with no end date for at least another 18. Apart from the tourist type things you do when you get to a new place, we find that given this is now our home we tend to do the same sort of things as we do when we are at home. We are both keen golfers, so spend quite a while in towns that have a good golf course and not so long in places that don't. Playing 3 or 4 games of golf a week fills in quite a bit of time! Apart from the golf and seeing new and exciting things, a lot of the time is spent pretty well as we spend it in a house - housework and maintenance still has to be done, although it is quicker. One of us reads a lot, and the other faffs about on the PC.

Whatever you usually do at home is what you will end up doing in the down time while travelling, whether that is a particular hobby, writing to/calling grandkids or producing the great Australian novel.

I know its fashionable to express horror at the thought of anyone watching tv in a van, however I wonder how many people who do express their horror spend any time at home watching? If your home is in a caravan, why should it be any different?

Rosey , This is one way to fill in time when you run out of some thing else to do !

Ditto to the Nicholstones. When I'm on the road, as opposed to being parked up in a town for a longer time, I do the sightseeing thing, check out the community I'm in, maybe do the museum and some cemeteries where the history is. I also cook when the supply runs down. That means food and supply shopping. If I want to muck up a "holiday" I go clothes shopping. I hate it! Just essentials and hat pins, which I collect to trace my travels. Then I write and do computer stuff, as well as watching or listening to TV or music, just like home. The washing and dishes still have to be done. Maintenance of van and vehicle have to be kept up. There's always something which needs attention. And the housework needs to be done as well. Remember, we who do this full time are on a lifestyle, not on "holidays".

I can do nothing and enjoy it for a while. Until I'm not tired anymore.

One of the things we have enjoyed most on travels up to date is to get up with the dawn, and watch the birds. Have a long list of bird species spotted. And that leads to staying up as late as 8pm some nights!

It looks like I'm going to have to learn to slow down a tad. Or maybe I could take up a new hobby, like fishing?

My comment about TV was "tongue in cheek", sorry if I offended! We're putting a telly in the new van for sure!
 

 We havent started out trip yet, but it seems to me that if you are going to travel for an extended period and stay in one place for a long time, wouldn't it be reasonable to get some type of employment, either paid or voluntary on a part time basis, the benifit here is as well as keeping your mind and body active, you also meet new friends.

I would hate to end up looking like the two geezers on justcruisins reply!!

Just sittin wears you out I recon!!


-- Edited by goinsoon on Friday 15th of January 2010 09:54:55 PM

-- Edited by goinsoon on Saturday 16th of January 2010 12:31:02 PM

goinsoon wrote:

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I would hate to end up looking at the two geezers on justcruisins reply!!

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That's why we're Grey Nomads, even part-time GNs such as myself.

 

looks damn good from where I'm sitting, I'm gonna nick it and blow it up in photoshop and frame it!

sorry, please note my amended post above

Finding a job on long stays is a great idea, and it tops up the fuel fund. Unfortnately I have been declared disabled, so I'm on the benefits. A seriously crook back is my greatest handicap, and a couple of other health issues are being treated, and I should be rid of them by the end of March. They were initially diagnosed as "chronic" in Broome, but medical science has generated further investigation and it has determined surgery will fix them. I'm a lucky girl I reckon. I'd certainly get a job if I thought I could manage one, and if I was a reliable employee. Most seasonal work is hard work - been there, done that when I was younger and fitter. I spend my time writing and doing something constructive to fill my days while I work hard to get published. When I am actually travelling, I usually park up in a town for a week or 2 and do "tourist" stuff. Seasonal or temp work is the most reasonable if your are travelling full time with long stops. Many travellers put their travel plans on hold when they get "stuck" by a good job they enjoy in a place they like, and it pays reasonably well. Many Broome residents started their time like that. Cairns is looking similar. It's all up to the individual whose options are open. Good luck.

I am glad you see my point Gran!! hope your back improves to be able to do at least  a little part time paid or voluntary toil, maybe we will catch up somewhere on the track after July
Cheers
Bri

-- Edited by goinsoon on Saturday 16th of January 2010 02:04:40 PM

-- Edited by goinsoon on Saturday 16th of January 2010 02:06:40 PM

No chance of a better back I'm afraid Bri. I wish. I had surgery in 06 to put a spacer between 2 vertebrae and take the pressure off the sciatic nerve. More surgery may be required some time in the future. Arthritis is also having its way with me, but I resist as much as possible with exercise and care. For such short stays I don't know where I could commit to volunteer or work eg 2 weeks. Most organisations prefer a longer commitment. My time is actually taken up seeking agents and publishers for my books. Not very rewarding in the short term, but in the long term it could be. I am a member of Sing Australia and we do gigs around the community for free eg. nursing homes, festivals, special events around town. I also work fairly hard at keeping up my strength and flexibility. Cardio-vascular fitness is not as achievable, but I do work out most days. Swimming and hydro-therapy in the park pool, some stretch, flexibility and weights as well. When the park is full during the season I get to chat to the visitors, and in the quiet times I chat to the remaining tenants. I also study the curlews and their family which are residents of the park. Two new chicks yesterday morning. They had 2 babies about 3 months ago, and they have now "left the nest". It's all go here.

goinsoon wrote:

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I would hate to end up looking like the two geezers on justcruisins reply!!

Just sittin wears you out I recon!!


-- Edited by goinsoon on Friday 15th of January 2010 09:54:55 PM

-- Edited by goinsoon on Saturday 16th of January 2010 12:31:02 PM

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Looks like you guys are still running on that work related adrenaline ,
be interisting to hear your thoughts in a couple of years time .

 

Well when away i do the chores like eating, fishing,more eating ,napping more fishing,no tv talk to any one near by then dinner time then sleep time and do it all again tomorrow. It`s a hard life. Roamin.

ROAMIN wrote:

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Well when away i do the chores like eating, fishing,more eating ,napping more fishing,no tv talk to any one near by then dinner time then sleep time and do it all again tomorrow.
It`s a hard life.


Roamin.

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To be sure, to be sure, but someone has to do it so it may as well be us.  We were raised on hard work, (oops!!!!!! sorry for swearing)

 

-- Edited by JRH on Sunday 17th of January 2010 05:30:51 PM

There is no room for those four letter words on this forum JRH,  Behave yourself please......

Ma wrote:

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There is no room for those four letter words on this forum JRH,  Behave yourself please......

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I do so humbly apologise Ma, under the rock is it???????????????????

 

JRH.Is Ducky your best mate?lol.ha bloody ha.I do wish he would be nicer to you.Only a query ,trying for harmonious and full of the milk of human kindness...................ok smarty pants only half full..Oh no Sister Lash is on duty again,better go and get my bonds ready.Cheers.Ibbo.

You forgot to add "and dying at an early age"

In my book dying at an early age is not an option.   I intend to stay around long enough to be a nuisance to my kids..............pay back time............      

If the rock fits JRH...............lol

There ya are then if you do a little work occasionly we can keep our bodies and mind active and live a longer healthier life

goinsoon wrote:

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There ya are then if you do a little WORK occasionly we can keep our bodies and mind active and live a longer healthier life

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Ma he swore using a four letter word.............................LOL

 

ibbo wrote:

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JRH.Is Ducky your best mate?lol.ha bloody ha.I do wish he would be nicer to you.Only a query ,trying for harmonious and full of the milk of human kindness...................ok smarty pants only half full..Oh no Sister Lash is on duty again,better go and get my bonds ready.Cheers.Ibbo.

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ibbo Ducky is OK just have to know when to ignore him, when Sister Lash has finished flaying you alive could you give her directions to Ducky's house he could do with a bit of discipline..............................LOL

 

YEH!! I know but we can use that caus it is a good one God gave us to keep us healthy

-- Edited by goinsoon on Sunday 17th of January 2010 09:20:30 PM