Originally we were planning to have a shake down trip for the caravan before Easter 2020 and before the school holidays. With COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown we had decided that we should delay the trip so that we were not consuming the resources of small regional towns and we would also be closer to medical services should we need them.

Our Site Setup.

Once COVID-19 restrictions started to lift in Queensland, we had Bimble’s maiden shake down trip to Tin Can Bay from Monday, 8th June until Saturday, 13th June.

We used the time to visit Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach and to try things out on the caravan. Ian got around to baking a loaf of bread and a couple of bread roles using the gas over in the caravan. We cooked in the caravan and on the BBQ. Kippers were cooked on the BBQ of course to keep any of the smell out of the caravan.

When talking to our neighbours we found some innovative and inexpensive ideas to accomplishing some tasks. We had a trip into Bunnings in Gympie to locate some of the things we wanted.

  • Use Velcro straps to attach the guy ropes
  • Attaching a clothes line on the awning is a good use of space.

Even though a lot of the time was wet, we did have some drier weather to allow us to get out and about.

Things we learned

  • Caravan Park WiFi is insufficient and not always reliable.
  • The awning needs guy ropes as it moves in the wind at night making noise in the caravan when we are trying to sleep.
  • Taking the Coffee Machine was a great decision.
  • The oven makes good bread.
  • The BBQ is great for cooking smelly foods.
  • We can shower two people on about 25% of one water tank.
  • One water tank is required for one washing machine load.
  • The toilet cartridge tablets made Chris sneeze, lots.
  • We need a shade cloth wall for one end of the awning.
  • We need a tarp to cover the wheels and underneath of the caravan.
  • We need a double water filter to filter the chlorine out of the water we use or put in the tanks.