Some might consider travelling full-time around Australia for 18 months in a compact motorhome with your partner to be perfect bliss and others may consider that this is their idea of living hell.

Well, I can confirm that for my partner and myself that these are both correct, and everything in between has also been experienced. Living full-time in our Explorer Spirit is fantastic. Compact equals less to clean, easy to park, camps anywhere – but the downside is the very nature of having to live on top of each other 24/7.

What has worked for us, and our long-term sanity and relationship, is availing ourselves of opportunities to do some house-sitting which breaks up the monotony of the four walls of our Explorer, gives us space and allows us to press pause on the mundane aspects of travelling such as “where is the dump point” or “what are people saying about that camp spot”. There are numerous websites and social media pages where you can find housesits. What is working for us is a Facebook page that allows us to directly comment and message people who put up an ad seeking house-sitters.

We’re currently doing our sixth house-sit, choosing places that suit us and our lifestyle, and in a general vague direction of where we are travelling.

House/farm sitting offers plenty of new adventures and the chance to escape the four walls of our motorhome

FARM-SITTING IN WA’S WHEATBELT

Following a stinking hot summer in Perth, WA, in 2021 we saw a house/farm-sit in the wheatbelt area north of Perth offering air conditioning, a pool, huge TV to watch the cricket, a post-Christmas fridge to clean out, a summer vegetable garden to raid and laying chooks. There was a menagerie of domestic and farm animals, but we felt like we had the necessary skills to handle it all, so we headed north for what turned into a blissful two weeks of life on a grain farm. Our Explorer motorhome ‘Tilly Too’ got parked up while we lived in an airconditioned granny flat, and we had the run of a huge farmhouse with a kitchen which was bigger than our motorhome.

Omelettes, eggs on toast, quiches, boiled eggs – anything eggs became our staple diet utilising the bounty from the 30 plus chooks, ducks, and turkeys. The sheep and horses quickly imprinted on us, as did the dog and cat, with their feeding taking half an hour twice a day.

The summer vegetable garden had an absolute glut of cucumbers, the huge farm kitchen had heaps of empty jars, and I enjoy making pickles and chutneys. It didn’t take long  to add few jars of cucumber pickles to our pantry in the van, leaving one behind for the house owners. Various neighbours and their family called in on us to check we were okay, and we quietly toasted our success to house-sitting and our first foray into this aspect of our travelling life.

Emboldened with first time success I kept a close eye on the Facebook page and lined up another farm/house-sit, and with diesel prices getting expensive we hope to slow this cost down somewhat by travelling less, but still getting to experience new areas.

We’ve made many furry friends during our house/farm sitting adventures

MAKING NEW FURRY FRIENDS

Our next house sit involved a five-night stay on a grain and sheep farm where we slept in our van, had the run of the house, and looked after four working dogs, a few chooks and  two cats. When I say we looked after the dogs, we really only kept an eye on them, letting them out of their area in the morning and locking them up at night. During the day they did their own thing around the property with self-feeding and watering set up, we were just eyes and ears on the place. A huge old country homestead was enjoyed, a massive stove top utilised in the kitchen and the piano in their lounge also got a workout.

Western Australia seemed full of house/farm sitting opportunities and we were wanting to stay around the south-west corner until it got cooler for us to move north. The Facebook page had a two-week sit advertised nearby in a small timber town. This was our first house-only sit, no farm animals this time but the biggest vegetable garden to raid as we wanted, and any eggs could be collected and eaten from the laying chooks. Millie was the darling dog that came with this house-sit, plus two slightly neurotic cats. Millie loved daily walks and the house being on the edge of town was within easy walking distance of shops and the important barista made coffee. Little farms surrounded the house, and farm gate sales close by offered fresh fruit and vegetables from honesty boxes which we passed on our walks.

A surplus of end of season tomatoes, and another stash of empty jars produced some excellent tomato relish, again leaving one behind for the house owner and adding two to our pantry.

We very reluctantly said goodbye to Millie at the end of the two weeks, half-wishing she could join us on our next adventure. Our fridge was  stuffed with freshly picked vegetables from the owners’ abundant garden which kept us going for a week.

House-sitting offers the opportunity to truly appreciate the destination and nearby towns

SAYING FAREWELL TO WA

Our final house sit in WA was another five-day sheep farm-sit where we lived and cooked in our van, utilising their laundry and bathroom in the shed they were living in while their home was being built. Our job was to look after the two dogs and two cats plus another beautiful vegetable garden, with the sheep being looked after by the owners’ parents who lived nearby on the property. Multi-generational farms are very common in WA with the farmhouses being passed down each generation, added to and modernised as needed. An invitation to afternoon tea with the parents next door also came with a freezer bag of lamb chops; sampling the farm goodies is always a bonus.

Many of the farms included chickens – and eggs became part of our staple diet

A CHANGE OF SCENERY

House sit number five was in the beautiful beachside town of Bowen in Queensland. This was our first suburban house sit with no property to look after, just a beautiful old Labrador dog who needed company for the week. Within one street of the front beach, views of the beach from the house, walking distance to the shops and the important barista coffee, we felt very spoilt. Again, we had full use of the house and yard which included eating any of its tropical fruit, but we slept in our van. A week passed easily with daily beach walks, and visits from friends and family who live in the area. Being within walking distance of the town and shops made it easy to socialise and get out and about, with our motorhome being parked up and plugged in permanently.

House sit number six is coming to a reluctant end. This is our longest sit so far, but the three weeks have flown by in the hills of Holwell, which is in the top area of the Tamar Valley on the central north coast of Tasmania. The house is set on a small timbered acreage with magnificent views out to the River Tamar and Bass Strait, has a cottage garden to admire,  herbs to utilise, rhubarb to eat and a dog and a cat to spoil. The added bonus is a heated spa on the outside deck which we have loved. With November daytime temperatures of 15°C and the nights getting down to 2-3°C, this has been such a welcome and luxurious addition. Again, we have had the full use of the house and kitchen, but we have slept in our van.

Heading off the beaten track and experiencing a different side of travelling around Australia

WHERE TO NEXT?

Will we continue house sitting?

Absolutely yes, for many reasons. Being parked up in one  area allows us to really enjoy the benefits of the nearby towns and really experience them, almost living like the locals rather than just experiencing the towns from a tourist viewpoint.

Having access to the houses gives us the bonuses of huge television screens, a normal kitchen that is often bigger than the total size of our motorhome, and bathrooms and toilets that you can stretch your arms out in.

The four-legged companions are also a welcome addition, with both of us having had dogs and cats in our past lives we do miss the companionship and unconditional love that they bring.

And of course, bountiful vegetable and fruit gardens, laying chooks, heated spas and getting to know the neighbours are delightful additions. Neither of us has a farming background, so experiencing the different types of farm life has brought us new insights into life on the land.

Number seven is out there somewhere waiting for us!

Another furry friend who kept us company during our stay

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Written: Sun 01 Jan 2023
Printed: January, 2023
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