A young couple travelling around Australia in a ‘Troop carrier’ has revealed what it’s like living on the road.
Chelsea Grech, 23, used to work as an outdoor education instructor at school camps while her partner James Dickson, also 23, was a diesel mechanic in the mining industry.
They quit their jobs to begin their “van life” after James bought a Toyota Landcruiser Troop carrier, which they affectionately call the “troopy”.
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The fortuitous purchase — combined with a love of the outdoors and of surfing — sparked the travel bug for them both.
“We’ve probably clocked around 50,000km driving around Australia with plenty more to come,” says Chelsea, who spent much of her childhood travelling around the country.
Leading up to their adventures, Chelsea and James worked as many hours as they could to save money to help fund their new lifestyle.
They now earn their income through making content for their Instagram page, sandtosnow.
“Our biggest expense is our fuel, as we usually free camp,” James tells 7Life.
“It’s definitely more of a sustainable lifestyle and can be a lot cheaper than renting.
“You do have to take into consideration (things like) that your car isn’t always going to be perfect, you’re always going to have to outlay money to fix things.”
The couple says being on the road has “changed their lives like crazy”, and they now cherish the simple things.
“We really value the time we spend with loved ones. We appreciate the little things in life, down to eating at a table and having a hot shower,” Chelsea says.
“We’ve found that we don’t need much to be happy and healthy.
“We also found that, through travelling, you meet so many amazing people and, from meeting people, come opportunities.”
When it comes to planning the use of their money, Chelsea and James concede they’re “not ones to budget”.
“We are careful with our money but if we want a pub feed and a beer we don’t hold back,” Chelsea says.
“We spend about $150 on groceries a week.
“We never stay at caravan parks — free camping has saved us thousands of dollars.”
The amount they spend constantly changes, depending how much driving they are doing and what maintenance might be required.
“It also depends how much fishing gear James is buying,” Chelsea laughs, as James adds: “We roughly would spend anywhere between $300-1000 a week.”
The couple recommends a few “random but super handy items” for the road.
“Magnetic fly screens, card games, a really good water filter for drinking and a Weber (portable BBQ),” James says.
“We use our Weber so much for cooking, everything from bacon and eggs to cooking a pizza and making brownies for dessert.”
Chelsea and James say that if it wasn’t for social media, they wouldn’t be living on the road — and they are very grateful they haven’t had to go back to 9-5 jobs.
“The ability to make money through travelling and doing what you love is an absolute dream and we are so thankful for everyone that has followed along on our adventures,” Chelsea says.
During their travels, they’ve encountered their fair share of challenges.
“Not knowing where you’re going to sleep every night is probably a big one, as is sleeping in the heat,” Chelsea says.
“We once had a night at Lake Argyle in The Kimberley where it was 32 degrees Celsius overnight with no breeze, and we were that hot sleeping in the troopy we had to sleep with soaking wet towels to cool off.
“Living in a car, the weather controls your whole day.
“If it’s pouring with rain, you’re confined to the back of the troopy and this can get hard.”
James adds: “Especially when it’s constant rain over multiple days, and the same goes with wind.”
As for living in such a confined space?
“We love being together 24/7,” James says.
“Sometimes we can annoy each other but being in a small space you have to learn to get over things quickly and resolve issues quickly.”
Typical day
A typical day involves waking to see the sunrise and going for a swim, before heading back to the car for a coffee and to cook up some breakfast.
Then they clean up the back of the car, pack down the bed and “check the surf”.
“If James is in the surf and I don’t get in the water, I’m usually on my laptop editing content and going through emails to get on top of everything for the day,” Chelsea says.
“Then we might go for a cruise in the troopy down the beach to find an epic spot to make some lunch (our go-to lunch is usually pizzas or freshly caught fish wraps).
“We go for a few more swims to cool down and then, if the water is nice and calm, we might even chuck the boat in and either go for a fish or go for a surf off the back (of the boat).”
The adventurous couple ends the day with an early dinner, so they aren’t “cooking and washing up in the dark”.
“After dinner, we will either go for a swim or have a fresh water shower from the back of the troopy,” James says.
“To finish off our day, we set up our bed, have a cuppa and a cheeky choccy and then brush our teeth and go to bed!”
Their vista is constantly changing.
“We always like to say we get to have a million-dollar view without the million-dollar price tags,” James says.
“Although not every place we wake up to is beautiful — sometimes we wake up on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
“Other times we wake up in a truck stop and get woken up at 4am as the truck drivers leave.”
Lifestyle of freedom
In terms of their travel plans, the pair can’t see themselves stopping anytime soon.
“We love the freedom that this lifestyle gives us and the opportunities that come from it,” Chelsea says.
“Sometimes we potentially might stop in a town we really love and work to save up for a few months — we are definitely not opposed to that idea.
“We don’t like to plan too far ahead as everything always changes and we hate having to rush around to meet deadlines.”
Right now, they are slowly cruising up the east coast, with plans to make their way around Cape York in May.
“We are hoping to fit in doing Arnhem land and the Kimberley and make our way back to our favourite place in WA,” James adds.
‘Just do it’
Their advice for other Aussies looking to travel, but who don’t know where to start, is to “just do it”.
“Don’t be scared to make big decisions — find a set up that works for you,” James says.
Chelsea suggests aspiring travellers not compare their set ups to those of other people.
“Keep it simple and don’t plan too far in advance,” she adds.
“Life’s too short to say, ‘What if’ or ‘I wish.’
“If there’s something you want to do, just do it.”
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