It ended on November 9th 2015… But I’m already feeling nostalgic about this trip around Australia. The two of us, one van, 365 days, 37 000 km… It was amazing! Since we got back a lot of people have been asking us if it was hard to live in Alfred and honestly… I was an unforgettable experience and really not so restraining. We lived outside a lot visiting, enjoying Australia so the time spent in the van was mostly for driving and sleeping (and oh my god our bed was SO comfortable!!). Now that Damien and I are living on 2 seperate continents for the next few months… we realize how lucky we are to have shared a whole year together and to have had (almost) 365 mornings just enjoying being together.
We found this van thanks to a mechanic called David (i think it’s him here) who helped us find this van in a Garage. We nought with a new motor but nothing “furnished” (which was the best part !!) and we were off !
We spent several days goign to bunnings, k mart, target, ikea and even the streets to make our DIY van perfect!
Practical information for people thinking of doing the same
- Van bought in Sydney in November (summer in Australia is a bad time to buy… few vans on sale, many people looking to buy… but good period to sell)
- paid 7000 $ AUD
- We chose to change the REGO (NSW) to WA when we got there
- Why?
- REGO NWS : 1500 $ (rego + 3rd party insurance), WA : 600 $ (rego avec 3rd party insurance included) –> we got the 6 months unused NSW rego when we changed
- Resell easier with WA (as no need for roadworthy certificate etc)
- We had a little accident (video here) that left some purely aesthetic damage on the vehicle. Well these damages would have sent Alfred to the wreckers because it would have failed the roadworthy certificate (or paid 2000/3000 $ to have it repaired)
- Why?
- We spent about 500 $ and 4 days to convert the van to it’s DIY self
- We spent about 2000 $ on minor reparations throughout the year (change of rego WA = stabilizer, change of tires, brakes, etc)
- Sold in Sydney at the Travellers car market in 24h
