Dates: April 23-April 25, 2021

Location: Werri Beach Caravan Park
Town: Gerringong

Preparation. This was the key focus and learning from this trip. We finally made the time and committed to taking our first trip in the new van, and set about doing all the necessary preparations. In reality this was a process that spanned weeks, not days.

Even before the van was picked up, we started purchasing the necessary items for life on the road. Wheel levelers and chocks, power cords, crockery and cutlery (this was gifts from mum and dad, thanks!), towels, sheets, blankets.

After we took delivery of the van, we continued with glasses and cups, tools, mats, power adaptors, sullage hoses, Savvylevel (awesome bit of kit by the way), toilet chemicals. I think I have listed most things, but guaranteed I haven’t such was the exhaustive length of the list.

Once we decided where we wanted to go, it was now time to ring and book a site, well 2 actually because our daughter Emily and her fiancee Tim were also coming and taking their camper trailer on it’s maiden journey. After ringing the park to book, we then needed to select a back up because they were full. TIP: book with plenty of time, not days before. Werri Beach Park was our second and available option, which we gladly took. 2 nights, 2 adults per site for $90 each site seemed a reasonable start.

The days (or more accurately nights) leading up to the Friday were frantic. Packing things in the van, making sure they were stable and won’t move in transit. Placing the heavy items down low and toward the middle, making sure not to pack the pantry too much, making sure the fridge was working. It was laborious but also quite exciting at the same time.

On the Friday afternoon of departure, I worked through the list making sure everything was packed and proceeded to hook it up to the car. This process took me a little longer than expected, but the old mantra of check it twice and check it again was at the fore of my thinking. I was confident everything was in order, threw the dog in the car and headed off.

The trip was surprisingly uneventful. Heading down Mt Ousley was my greatest concern leading up to the drive. How much brake on the van do I set, make sure I don’t use too much car brake, keep in low gear. All these things running through my head. At one stage I did shit myself thinking I had lost brakes, but then realised I didn’t have enough brake on the trailer. Once I solved that, it got a little easier. Towing downhill does involve an element of “science” but also as much feel as well. It is quite easy to feel what is happening and adjust which was a great learning from this.

Arriving on site and setting up, was also treated as a learning process. Establishing a routine will take a few trips, but we set about trying to do things in an order that made sense to us. Whilst it probably took us a little longer than expected, it still wasn’t a long time, and something we will only get better and quicker at. TIP: Make room in the fridge for beer prior to leaving home.

As far as how the weekend went? It could not have been a better start to our caravanning life. The weather was perfect. Beautiful sunny and warm days with clear cool nights. On night 2 we ran the air con for about an hour to warm up the van and after that, the warmth was captured and made for a comfortable nights sleep. Finn was probably a bit warm but he was still settled. He adapted very quickly to life in the van and it gave us confidence that we will have many wonderful trips with the van and the dog. The park itself was very comfortable. large sites and the amenities were not too far away. I have seen people complain about the distance to rubbish bins, which makes me shake my head. We had to walk at least 2 minutes to get there. Overall it was a wonderful relaxing inaugural weekend away.

Highlights of Werri Beach

• Great off leash dog beach within walking distance
• Traditional fish and chip shop within walking distance
• Large sites
• Clean amenities
• Bowling club within walking distance
• Close to Gerringong town centre
• Only a short trip from Sydney