Want to know how a couple of 20 year olds travel Australia? Read below to find out how Celeste and Callum saved up to explore the beautiful country that we live in. If you're thinking of doing the same thing, they may have some handy tips for you.
Tell us a bit about yourselves:
We are Callum and Celeste, two 20 year old Aussies travelling around Australia in our self converted van, with a passion for adventure and exploring new places. Living on the road allows us the freedom to live a simple and adventurous life, it brings us the most happiness when we are outdoors amongst the elements with each other.
Why did you choose to travel Australia?
After doing some overseas travel it made us feel like we were living in a country that we didn't know all that much about. There was so many unknowns and so much to explore on our own turf. We felt an urge to get to know our own country, it 's something we have both always wanted to do and the timing felt right, so we just went for it! And wow are we glad we did!
What made you choose your van to travel in?
First off we knew it had to be a Toyota as it's arguably the most reliable brand and easiest to find parts for in Australia. This led us to a Toyota Hiace Commuter, as travelling in a van has always been our vision, it's what we have always been drawn to. We loved the idea of having enough space to feel like its a small house, while still being practical to park in normal parking spaces and stealth camp. We also love that it has windows that open, for that sweet arvo breeze.
How did you convert it so beautifully? Any tips for people?
We knew the style that we wanted to have, wood and white with warm golden tones and lots of plants (even if they are fake). With no prior experience from either of us, it was a big guessing game to figure out how to do everything from insulation to building and plumbing. In the end, it was a LOT of research and trial and error to bring it all together.
Tips:
1. The biggest tip would be to have fun! I think that that's the most important part. And to go with the flow, as things are always bound to go wrong.
2. Youtube is the most valuable tool. If you ever don't know how to do something, Youtube almost always has the answer.
3. Solar! Our best decision was to invest in a good solar set up. It may be a bit pricey to get it going, but it allows us to stay off grid for as long as we want!
4. BUY MORE SCREWS! I don't know how many times we went back to the hardware store just to get screws as we were always a few short.
How much money do you recommend someone saving before starting their trip?
We had around $15,000 saved before we hit the road and now after 7 months of travelling we have picked up a month's work to top up the funds. Honestly, It all depends on how you want to travel. Whether you want to mostly stay at free camps, or pay for nice caravan parks, live off tuna and rice or eat out every night.
Do you have a budget?
We don't have a budget but we try and stick to around $500 a week on average. Some weeks it'll be up to $800 if we are are driving loads or getting the car serviced and some weeks it'll be like $100 if we are just parked up eating freshly caught fish all week (those weeks are the best).
What are your go to meals?
For the most part we try to stick to whole nutritious foods as it's what makes us feel our best while travelling. Each week our food will vary slightly depending on where we are ect.
These are some of our favourite meals and probably the ones we eat the most often.
- Rice bowls
- Smoothie bowls
- Big salads
- Curries
- Pasta
If you did the trip again, would you choose the same vehicle?
If we were to do the trip over again we would choose either the same van or something slightly bigger as we would love to be able to fully stand up. However, we absolutely love travelling in the van and have no regrets choosing the vehicle that we did. If we were to do a second lap we would probably change vehicles to a 4WD (most likely a Toyota Troopy) to allow us to explore further off track and go on more sandy beaches! Plus a little extra clearance would be a massive bonus as we've already damaged the underneath of the van twice haha!
How long do you recommend travelling Australia for?
Ideally we would say at least one year to be able to really see the country without being too rushed. In saying that, you could easily travel Aus for 5 years and still have plenty more to explore. At the end of the day you want to feel like you have experienced each place without rushing on to the next, there's really nothing worse! It's a personal thing based on how fast you want to travel and how much you want to see, but for us one to one and a half years is perfect!
Follow their journey on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/celestecameron/ and
https://www.instagram.com/curlycally/
Celeste and Cally use the Sunrise Rug & Leila Rug on their travels.
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