At 15yrs of age most 'young male adults' are either itching to leave home, start work or buy a new X-box or equivalent. Not young Josh! He's passionate about & studying all kinds of things like spiders, tarantulas, scorpions & carnivorous plants! - It's this last one that had us fascinated.

And we bet you too will probably find it hard to pronounce many of the plants he mentions in this short chat we had with him at the Cool Waters Caravan Park in Cairns FNQ

There's been plenty spoken & written about caravanners & 'nomads' generally not being able to go anywhere during the COVID-19 lockdowns, but what about the people who manage caravan parks? How are they coping?

We wondered what life is like right now for Wendy & Vaughn Smith, managers of the beautiful Toowoomba Motor Village QLD (where we've been 'locked down for the past 2 months!). We also managed to get a bit of an update on the park and what it offers once the gates are open again.

We’re on a 'zig-zag' tour of Australia keeping a very close eye out for the smaller, less commonly mentioned locations… like Miriam Vale, a very pretty little Queensland town located roughly halfway between Bundaberg & Gladstone.

WikiCamps and various Facebook groups recommended Miriam Vale’s local pub would be a great place to stay overnight – taking advantage of the fact it’s a free-camp AND there is a bit of an implied hint we could return the favour by purchasing a drink or two and even a meal. :-)

Turns out that was a great decision because not only were the meals we ordered typically huge and 'country style yummy' but we also learnt a lot about the town and its history from locals with our special guest & pub owner, Mitch Brennan.

*** CARAVAN EDUCATION POLL RESULTS REVEALED! ***
The Truck Friendly Program recently created their first 'Caravan Education Poll' with some amazing results. In this 'Podcast with Pictures', Ken Wilson - passionate safety advocate and founder of the Truck Friendly Education Program - explains and comments on the results of the six questions posed in the poll.

+++ SHORT ON TIME? +++
Listen to the whole podcast or skip to a question that interests you... Use the dots on the timeline as a reference...

01:17 - Q1 - Should anyone towing anything
that weighs more than 750kg require
a Towing Licence? - This usually
means caravans, larger boats, horse
floats etc

04:36 - Q2 - Would Towing Courses help
improve road safety awareness?

07:06 - Q3 - Should there be an Australia
wide maximum towing speed of
100km/h.

08:47 - Q4 - Annual weighbridge certicate
to be produced on demand by police
Australia wide

11:47 - Q5 - Would you like to see FREE
caravan road safety workshops in
caravan parks?

13:00 - Q6 - Free internet based caravan
education

Feel free to add you comments below...

Have you ever watched the news and noticed a caravan rollover or an accident involving a truck and caravan?

Sadly they’re more common than you’d think – which is why we’re keen to promote a new FREE site and service which will help both newbies and long-time travellers to check their weights plus learn more about how to help make the highways easier for the hard-working truckies who’re delivering the stuff we need to survive.

Someone who’s passionate about this is Ken Wilson who you‘re going to hear a lot more about because he ‘s set up a free service to encourage people to be more aware of all the other vehicles on the road called the Truck Friendly Program.

Brian caught up with Ken to find out more...

Whether you are travelling with pets or just 'at home' the loss of any much loved K9 (or feline or feathered friend!) is devastating. But what was amazing is that we were doing an overnight 'free camp' at the very popular Babinda (FNQ) Rotary Park when Kaye spotted some excitement in the car park. It was obvious 'someone' was VERY happy to see this dog again... but why?

*** WHAT'S NEW AGE TRIBE HENTY 2020 ALL ABOUT? ***
Back in 2018 Bryan & Lyndel Crow organised a major get together called 'Henty 2018' for the New Age Tribe - a 'club' for owners of the New Age Caravan brand.

Lots of great educational stuff, discounted products and plenty of social catchups plus learning all about 'off-grid' camping.

This year Henty 2020 promises to be bigger and better as Bryan Crow explains in this short 'Podcast With Pictures' thanks to www.FoodWinePetsTravel.com

To book your spot for Henty 2020 just go to https://www.newagetribe.org/henty-2020
All New Age Caravan owners are welcome!

NOT A NEW AGE OWNER?...
Let us know what your club or group does on a regular basis to support your favourite caravan brand!

Most of us have seen the dances and heard the songs of aboriginal people around Australia complete with didgeridoos, clapsticks and fire.

But what does it all mean?

Well recently Brian was out riding his bike in a local park and managed to bump into Carl Fourmile - literally! - Carl is a Yidinji man from the land of Gimuy. Gimuy in case you didn't know is Cairns in Far North QLD :-)

Carl's passion is for his people and their history and through regular performances of indigenous dance and story telling in Cairns he's creating a greater connection and understanding of Aboriginal culture for all Australians and international tourists alike.

Last Friday Brian caught up with Carl again after one of the Minjil Dance Group's regular performances at the Hilton Hotel to see and hear first hand what the does.

After finally selling their house in Bendigo VIC, Robyn & Pete Robinson hit the road running with their much loved pooch Paddy. Both do occasional work on the road to help the budget but recently Robyn was offered an opportunity in a very remote part of Australia - Aurukun - a mostly indigenous town just a short 13.5hr drive from Cairns FNQ or 44hrs from Melbourne! Robyn is a qualified teacher and Art Therapist and is no stranger to working with indigenous people. She also has a great website called Kajeet - www.kajeet.com.au - where you can find out more about Art Therapy and its healing qualities.

In this short podcast we managed to have a quick chat with Robyn to discover more about how they got on the road and WHY she is now off to Aurukun and what she'll be doing there with the local indigenous population - something she is very passionate about.

Ever wondered what doing 'The Big Lap' is like? So many people - young & not so young - are on the road these days and with social media you can almost join someone on their journey with plenty of photos & videos. But how many really share their thoughts via a podcast?

Today we're chatting with Graeme Morris who - with his wife Sue have been documenting their multi thousand kilometre journey online with hundreds of great photos and plenty of selfies.

Graeme also talks about the good bits and the not so good bits especially in some of our dying drought stricken regional areas. So sit back, relax (or if you're driving stay focussed on that road) as we share 'Living The Dream' with Graeme Morris.

PLUS: Check out Graeme's amazing Facebook Photo Album here:
http://bit.ly/LivingTheDream-2019