Guest Post: Caravan Correspondent

Posted on by Miriam

“Seek those who fan your flames”. Rumi.

That’s what I was told when I asked fellow adventurer and my third guest blogger Gleynys Gelzinis what her favourite quote was recently.

I couldn’t agree more. Life is too short to not spend it with those who are positive and uplifting and in this series my aim is to bring Australia (and the world) a bit closer together as we all share in our collective and inspiring travel stories.

Glenys is a fellow freelance magazine writer and adventurer and a photographer of life. Last year I enjoyed reading about her adventures as she and her other half set off on a lap of Australia. Like so many others here on WP, she embraces life with a gusto that I adore.

So, settle back and enjoy her post as she takes us on a virtual tour of Australia highlighting why she loves this lifestyle so much..

I’m Glenys Gelzinis and I’ve been lucky enough to have seen a lot of Australia by road, camping in a camper trailer with our kids in the early days and then moving on to caravans over the years. Now, together with my husband, I love the freedom of caravanning at any opportunity, having short breaks in South Australia where I live and taking longer holidays when time permits.  We aren’t retired yet but can’t wait for a time soon to travel at our leisure, staying in places for as long as we feel and chasing the sun.

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Driving throughout Australia always leaves me awestruck. We are blessed with such diverse landscapes. I’ve always loved slow holidays, they are so good for the soul and are a great way to spend time with family.

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Since 2015 I’ve combined my loves of road tripping in Australia, writing and capturing the beauty of this country in photos and started freelance writing for magazines.

Since then I have put everything into realizing this dream of travel writing and I’m loving every minute of it.  I like to follow the social media of other travellers, writers, caravanners and campers and try to surround myself (in daily life and online life) with good, kind people and kindred spirits such as the inspiring Miriam who approached me to do a guest blog. I was thrilled and honoured and thought I would share from my experiences:

My Top 5 Tips for road trip holidays in Australia

1. Holiday out of Peak Time

If you want a peaceful and relaxing holiday try to avoid the peak times. Go out of school holiday times, go before or after the usual time for holiday makers and avoid festivals or major events in the region you are looking at.  By going out of the most popular times you’ll find caravan parks are cheaper, everything from tourist destinations to restaurants and shops will be less crowded and people will have more time to spend chatting and answering any questions you have.  It’s also easier to find uncrowded free camps and have your pick of the best sites. We’ve had caravan parks tell us we could spread ourselves over a few sites if we wanted.

2. Get Advice from the Locals

If you’re visiting somewhere new, go to the tourist information centre and gather maps, guide books, find out about local road conditions etc… but we’ve found you can get some of the best information when eating or drinking at the local pub, winery or brewery and asking the staff and locals where they would go if they have a weekend away or asking what they would take friends and family to see if they were visiting.

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3. Be brave

Nobody knows you here! Have a go at something you may not normally do. I tried stand up paddle boarding for the first time last year and loved it!  Throwing caution (and embarrassment) to the wind and having only one spectacular stack, I survived, found out I could actually do it, and now want to do it more.

Say yes to new experiences, I never thought I would be touching a wild stingray but it was one of the most incredible and emotional days of my life.

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Be brave in trying free camps too. There are some real hidden gems out there, just trust your gut feeling and if it doesn’t feel like a comfortable place to you, just up sticks and move on – hey we’re caravanners, that’s the point.

4. Always expect the unexpected

You expect if you’re travelling early morning or dusk that there is a chance of wildlife on the road but we’ve had encounters at all times of the day.  Keep alert, especially when you see road kill around.  In northern parts of Australia in particular, stock can be unfenced and roam around so watch for signs and drive with care.

I always have my camera at the ready too to capture some absolutely unique Aussie encounters.

5. Take the Scenic Route

You are missing out on so much if you stick to the highways.  Take the scenic route and dirt roads now and again and you can be rewarded with some of the greatest landscapes and experiences this beautiful country has to offer.

So many small towns can be bypassed these days on highways and major roads but there are some great communities if you detour slightly and spending time (and money) at shops, bakeries and petrol stations may keep these towns thriving. Some nice quiet rest stops can be found and you might just find somewhere you want to spend more time in.

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Thank you Miriam for the opportunity to share your space.

Happy travels everyone.
Glenys

Doesn’t that make you just want to go out and hit the road?  Thanks Glenys for giving us some great tips on road tripping around Australia.

For more Aussie adventures go and check out her blog at Caravan Correspondence.

You can also follow her on Instagram.

Stay tuned next month for a bit of a twist as we venture into slightly different territory.

In the meantime keep enjoying the journey.

Stay in touch and connect with me on Facebook.

Come check out my new group for like minded travelers
Outanabout YOLO “You only live once”

53 thoughts on “Guest Post: Caravan Correspondent”

  2. Hi Glenys, I like your five tips they are great. Love that you tried the stand up paddle boarding – true not your beach, so none around that you know. Where are the stingrays? The landscapes are gorgeous. Being a South Aussie myself I’m a bit partial to salt bush country, red soil and quiet beaches. Thanks for sharing Miriam. Louise

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  3. Great tips here Glenys. Love the way you write and your photos are just spectacular!
    Thank you Miriam, I have been following Glenys Instagram and blogs for a while and have really enjoyed reading this post.

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  4. I enjoyed this post, Miriam. Thanks for introducing me to Glenys. Lots of memories rekindled reading this post with great advice and photography!. We are seriously thinking of circumnavigating Australia, even though we have done a couple of motorhome ventures covering more than 15,000 km it would be fun to do the “circuit” 🙂

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  6. Thanks you for sharing Miriam and to all the people who have commented. Happy to have you along on my travels and inspire everyone to see Australia when they can. I look forward to following some new blogs too. Happy travels.

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  10. I love the guest blogger idea. The photos are beautiful and capture again your gorgeous country. Thanks for sharing the beauty. We love road trips and prefer to take back roads when we can. Another tip may be to make SURE there is a spare tire (I know folks who don’t). Great post. ❤

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    2. Hi Karenlee, absolutely agree with carrying a spare and we always have lots of drinking water on board too in case you get stranded somewhere. When we’ve done long or remote drives we have a CB radio too, this can be more reliable than mobile phone reception!

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  12. Thanks for sharing this post, Miriam! She offers excellent advice on vacationing (which applies to traveling just about anywhere), and I especially loved the photos. Australia is just gorgeous!

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  14. Wonderful! I especially like the ‘be brave’ advice because I’m a bit of a cowardy custard. 🙂 🙂 I always try to get Mick to take the less traveled route- pure nosiness on my part, but he doesn’t always buy it. Nice to meet you, Glenys, and thanks for hosting, Miriam. 🙂

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  17. Hello Glenys wonderful reading of your time on the road. Wishing you well on your next adventure and how exciting to be freelance writing. May it continue well into your future. And Miriam, what a kind share, and clearly you have a kindred spirit in Glenys and her husband.
    Thank you for a lovely post 🙋🏻💐💐

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  19. Great tips!! The one thing I’m looking forward too when all the teens head off is being able to travel at non-peak times. I love the part about being brave. It reminds me of another post I recently read. I pushed my comfort zones in Aruba to try things I might not normally be brave enough to try. We own a paddle board, but I don’t get to get out on it near enough!! 🙂

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  20. Pingback: In the Media | Caravan Correspondent

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