From tents to motorhomes, Rosemary Shanks and Martin Crouther have found their perfect way to travel, embracing life on the road from the comfort of their home on wheels.
A tent, swags and camp stretchers – once our gold-star setup for camping – began to wear thin as we got older. So much time was spent setting up and then more time packing down and putting away. A hired campervan trip in New Zealand and a loathing for towing convinced us that we needed our own motorhome to get out and about easily.
FINDING TILLY
A voluntary redundancy gave us a little bit of extra cash, so the search began in earnest for our ideal setup. Any local campervan with a “for sale” sign parked up on the roadside was eagerly inspected and each one just wasn't ‘it’. We were seriously looking at going off to the big capital cities when I decided on a final measure – Gumtree. And there it was, just six kilometres from our home in Mackay. A Matilda Clancy Deluxe, with only 99,000 kilometres on the clock and compact enough to park in any commercial carpark. An oldie but a goodie, purpose-built in North Queensland on a four-wheel-drive Toyota HiLux base.
After one very quick test drive, she was parked up in our driveway within a week, complete with all the possessions of the old owners including their toothbrushes. The old owner had her CMCA sticker on the back and urged us to ring and join and get the best deal in insurance once we were members. And we did! We christened her Tilly – a utility in Queensland is a ‘tilly’ – and, as this was a Matilda motorhome, the name just seemed right.
FALLING FOR THE RV LIFESTYLE
From 2018 to 2021, many a happy weekend and extended trip were spent going to beaches, rivers and lakes and touring the countryside in comfort – and style. Arriving at a spot we would be set up and sitting with a beer in hand outside the van within 15 minutes. We were convinced this was the lifestyle we could easily get used to.
With retirement looming, a plan began to form of doing the ‘big lap’ in our beloved Tilly, who, despite her ageing years, was holding up well, albeit with a few niggles and problems which needed a little bit of cash spent.
THE SEARCH FOR TILLY TWO
Along with CMCA membership came the lovely magazine The Wanderer, which we pored over for hints and tips on all things RV travel. After one particularly difficult day at work, I had the magazine eagerly thrust into my face and was shown what could be the new Tilly.
With a trip planned to Sydney and another to Brisbane for concerts and family catch ups, we decided to visit the factories of a potential new Tilly and tour what could be our new RV. We were looking for a Tilly clone, so it had to be four-wheel drive, high clearance, have cooking inside and out, a fridge and freezer, a comfy bed and onboard bathroom facilities. And that's how we ended up, in 2019, all signed up and deposit down for an Explorer Spirt Motorhome made in the Clontarf factory near Brisbane.
A COVID TWIST
All good stories have a twist, and COVID was ours but in a good way. We had a build time of approximately nine to 12 months, but due to Queensland and international borders closing, overseas and interstate buyers could no longer pick up and drive their vans away. Our build was pushed forward and with the state travel radius extended just two weeks before pick up to allow travel across the whole state, we had a date to pick up and drive away.
FAREWELLING THE ORIGINAL TILLY
What has happened to Tilly our first motorhome, I hear you ask? Sadly, we put her up for sale. It was a tough gig trying to sell a motorhome during COVID lockdowns and, despite a social media advertisement overload, nothing was happening. Gumtree gave us Tilly, could we use it to resell her too? Of course we could! A Gold Coast buyer was interested but unable to view the van. He sent around a distant relative who lived in Mackay who I worked with, and with that viewing a sale was made.
Tilly made her last trip down the coast the day before we picked up our new Explorer Spirit Motorhome, with the handover done with the new owner by torchlight. The next morning, we arrived at the Explorer factory and picked up Tilly Too. Yes, another Tilly of course. Oh, we loved Tilly Too. A new feature was the north-south double bed – sheer luxury after old Tilly which had us climbing all over each other for nighttime toilet use in our old east-west bed setup.
THE BIG LAP BEGINS
On 29 April 2021 we set off in Tilly Too – destination unknown, course not plotted, timeframe indefinite – on our big lap. Three-and-a-half years later, with 18 house-sits, many kilometres travelled, and after selling our house in Mackay, we have bought and settled in a new house in Tumby Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. Tilly Too has her own carport now, purpose-built to protect her from the weather. Camping is back on the agenda – in style, of course. Trips away to relatives and friends become a little easier where we supply our own bedroom; and the convenience of having our own place to stay, no matter where we travel, never grows old.
Starry nights with a campfire, the waves crashing on the beach, and a warm and comfy bed to come back to sold us the RV lifestyle. We are convinced that this is the only way to go camping.
A HAPPY ENDING
This story has a happy ending. Our beloved first motorhome Tilly is still alive and well! While fishing in Broome, a person nearby saw the name “Tilly Too” on our motorhome and asked: “Was there another Tilly?” It turns out that his daughter had bought our old van from the owner we sold it to. She had given her a well-deserved facelift and was enjoying life travelling Australia in her motorhome.
