FLOODING ON THE STUART HIGHWAY

Starting Our Motorhome Travel Journey in Mackay

On 29 April 2021, my partner and I left our home in Mackay, north Queensland, with the plan to spend up to five years on the road exploring Australia to find a new place to live once we had finished our wandering.

Our one-year-old Explorer Spirit Motorhome (Tilly Too) had been trialled over a year of little trips and local camping forays, but we knew that living in a motorhome was going to be a different experience. Also, leaving a full-time permanent job for a life without work at a pre-retirement age was another adjustment to be made.

Embracing Life on the Road in a Motorhome

Travelling here and there on a whim became our life; with my partner, The Master of The Maps (TMOTM), doing the big picture planning using his trusty large paper map book.

My job was using the various indispensable apps on my phone to find the best places to camp, the best-priced fuel and gas, and places of interest. The CMCA Traveller app came in handy when we were unsure as to which RV stops or facilities were nearby. We moved on most days – but if we found a spot we loved, we might spend three days there.

Searching for a Forever Home in South Australia

Always at the back of our minds when we visited any town was our criteria for a forever home. Visiting South Australia in February 2024 for the second time we travelled the York and Eyre Peninsulas and found our way into Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. We conveniently travelled with Spencer Gulf Searoad, where we were able to apply for a discount thanks to our CMCA membership. 

We've become bakery aficionados and experts over the years on the road and we loved this little local bakery. The many beautiful murals around the town pointed to a community that valued and supported the arts and TMOTM was happy to find a local SES and RSL and a jetty for fishing.

MURALS PAINTED ON TUMBY BAY GRAIN SILOS

Motorhome Travel 'Up the Guts' to Darwin

Meandering around Australia took us around the coastline, as well as many inland routes. One of our most memorable trips taken was 'up the guts'. One trip took us from Port Lincoln at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula SA, heading north up to Port Augusta and then onto the Stuart Highway, right up to Darwin. A distance of 3,058 kilometres.

Leaving Port Lincoln at the end of March, we travelled past the brown and silver paddocks of past grain crops, waiting for autumn plantings. We had a wedding date at the end of April in Darwin, so we allowed ourselves three to four weeks of travel.

Road Trip Highlights: Woomera to Uluru

There are so many points of interest along the way. Woomera is a defence force town supporting the Woomera Rocket Range. Once, 7,000 people lived here supporting top secret military business; but it's now home to 150 people only.

Coober Pedy, opals and people living underground were our next point of interest. Need an additional room in your house in Coober Pedy? No problem, just keep digging into the hill to create more space.

A must-detour off the Stuart Highway is the 570-kilometre round trip to see the majestic sight that is Uluru. A very late wet season saw this mighty rock surrounded by lush green grass. This late wet season saw us travelling alongside vast inland seas and rivers, with deep watercourses on each side of the road. Loads of little billabongs were in abundance at Karlu Karlu, The Devils Marbles.

The Final Stretch: From Darwin Back to Tumby Bay

Increasing temperatures accompanied us as we ventured north, with a stop-off at Bitter Springs highly anticipated. Thwarted! The late wet season meant the hot springs were not yet crocodile safe and a swim in the van park pool had to suffice.

Onwards north we travelled, and evidence of the past military use of this area became more apparent. Another must-stop is the Adelaide River War Cemetery. When Darwin was being bombed in 1942, people were evacuated to Adelaide River. The cemetery here is a peaceful green oasis reminding us of Australia's involvement in WWII on home soil.

The outlying towns near Darwin soon greeted us, along with the ever-present heat and humidity.

Back on the road, we chatted about the long stretches of travel and decided Tumby Bay might just fit the bill. Darwin's heat and humidity told us we'd outgrown the tropics. Both of us grew up with a colder climate and four seasons, and we yearned for that type of climate again.

Settling After Years of Retiring with a Motorhome Lifestyle

A flurry of activity followed as we travelled back to Mackay and sort of settled back into, renovated and sold our home. Five days on the market from live advertising to a signed contract, phew! Tilly Too was taken to her favourite local camping spots as a final farewell; and we left Mackay for good in August.

Wasting no time in heading south, we arrived in Tumby Bay to a vista of green and yellow grain fields. With the colour contrasts of white sand, turquoise waters and the grain fields, we thought we couldn't have found a prettier spot.

Finding a Forever Home in Tumby Bay

Now to find a house. Our first home inspections were a disaster; loads of places in this area are shack dwellings that have been boarded up and left. We wanted compact and renovated. And amazingly, one place was available that met our needs and it was within our price range.

The six-week contract flew by, and a house sit in nearby Port Lincoln enabled us to familiarise ourselves with this town. We would be using the facilities here for things that our little local town didn't have. Move-in day was 23 October 2024, three-and-a-half years on the roads drawn to a close.

A New Chapter

Has it been a good move? Absolutely yes! The locals are lovely, the weather is mostly mild so far, there are activities and groups galore and everything is so close by and handy.

The car barely gets used. Push-biking everywhere locally is so easy. Tilly Too has been parked up except for two trips. And settling back into a home-based life has been another adjustment adventure.

Category: Features
Written: Thu 01 May 2025
Printed: May, 2025
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