So much experience but this newbie is struggling?

ebbhanson · Member

So much experience but this newbie is struggling?

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I use Google Calender to list where I stay every night. I also have a word document that I keep daily notes in for every day. I do it for a full year then file it in a folder on the lap top and start a new one for the next year. I don't list fuel or expenses though.

I also do a monthly update with pics for the forum and email to other friends and family not on the GN.

Tony Bev · Guru

I do not keep a record of every place I go to, but I do keep a record of my vehicle mileage

A part of my record is where I fuelled up, how much fuel I used, and the mileage between

Perhaps I should start to keep a list of where I have been

One thing to remember is that because we are all different, one traveller may think that a certain place is Utopia, while another traveller may think that the same place is Pittsville

ebbhanson · Member

Thanks guys, I guess its a get on with it situation then?

the rocket · Guru

Hello ebbhanson, hello n welcome. Do not keep track but highlight the roads we travel n expenses. regards rocket

Yaketty · Veteran Member

If you take a laptop (or similar device) with you on your travels you can use a spreadsheet such as this one which is free to download from this link:
www.expeditionaustralia.com.au/free-big-lap-budget-spreadsheet/

Copy & paste into a web browser if the above link is not live. Lots of other useful stuff on that site too.
There's also a sub forum here on the Grey Nomads forum 'Travel Blogs by Members' which may be useful to you.
A Google search of 'grey nomad blog Australia' or 'RV blog Australia' will also give you results of people's blogs who are travelling the Big Lap or who have done various trips with details of places they stayed, places to eat, sightseeing etc.

I have no affiliation with the above mentioned sites, we just find them useful for finding out in advance about places we may want to go see. Another useful site is Exploroz and there are various 4WD forums too if you're into going off-road.
Good luck! Don't plan TOO much!
cheers, Kay

Dckydoo · Newbie

I take photos each day, transfer them to my lap-top in a file for that stay and when I have internet access write a blog. I used a free site WIX last year and found it to be very friendly. My fmily and friends were able to follow my travels each few days if they wanted. When I came home I did a photo book (Momento) which was easy as all photos were filed. As I travel alone this filled my time after dark. Hope this helps. Cheers.

meetoo · Guru

ebbhanson, not sure exactly what you are after, but what I often do is to go to a particular area, and just have a real good look around, then move on to the next area of interest and do the same. I generally have an idea where the next area will be, but more often than not, that changes. I have no idea tonight where I will be tomorrow night, if in fact I even move on from here.

Cheers, John.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

We have written all over the camps 7 book . The good part is we have them on each map so we have a reference . Then back home we have copied them with some editing onto file on pc etc . It hasnt really limited the use of camps 7 either . At least we know the other places of go back to better ones .

wendyv · Guru

I have always kept a daily diary of our travels, including what we do, eat, see, fuel costs, caravan park fees etc. In spells at home, wrote those up in Word, then PDF format, and keep them as a printed record - have visitors and family who like to read them. I suspect that, the way things are trending, such travel will become a rarity in another generation or two, so there may be historical interest!! In more recent times have made travel blog based on these, and am currently putting the older ones into blog format too.
I know that, when we were starting out, I'd have gained a lot of value from access to such material - back then, relied heavily on magazine articles, which were often not all that accurate.

As well as my written up notes, the driver kept an ongoing spreadsheet of every fuel stop - place, price, kms per litre etc. And I have a notebook that is a record of every place we stayed - place, cost etc.

villatranquilla · Guru

Collins have a good diary called Collins Diary 56 "ANY YEAR DIARY" . One page for each day of the month without the year. On this page I write the year, where we were and other details - usually just one line. Can be hard to come by as not all newsagents stock it. But makes a great travel diary.
It is good to look back on as I can see where we were on the same day for any given year.
You add your own year. An example is the page from June 14th. I have written: 2013 Pardoo Station WA
2014 Renmark Caravan Park - $38 - nice park on a lake - caught up with friends Val and Barry
2017 Glendon Station QLD - showers overnight
2016 Golden Grove Glenmorgan QLD - 14 mls rain today