By Margaret Maccoll
They go where a whim or a job takes them and have done for the past 10 years but John and Inez Muller insist they are not grey nomads – it’s a lifestyle choice.
It’s a lifestyle shared by more than a few caravan users as Noosa Today discovered when they visited Pomona Showgrounds last Sunday.
When John Muller retired from his Queensland building business he and Inez invested in a caravan and haven’t looked back.
Over the years the self-confessed “free spirits“ have raked up countless kilometres and wonderful memories.
In the Kimberlies in WA while farm-sitting they cared for 60 horses and 1000 goats while the property-owners took a break, leaving them with the warning that if the rains came they could be flooded in for 3-4 months. “Don’t worry. There are guns there, just knock off an old steer,“ they told them. Luckily the rains stayed away but the outback attitude of making do has become familiar to them.In Arnhem Land they learnt about living on the land from the Indigenous people.
“They were quite unique people,“ John said. “It was the best period of my life.“
John said their way of life involved sharing everything, with no concerns for dates and time.
Over the years John’s workmanship has secured him a growing reputation in memorial restoration.
While passing through the town of Hynam in South Australia John was spotted by a member of the Hynam Heritage Group Alan Schinckel who was looking for a restorer for his great grandparent’s granite monument that marked the graves of his wool pioneer ancestor Adam Smith and wife Jane who had died in the 1870s.
John’s painstaking and exacting work restored the monument to new and his services have been in high demand in the area ever since.
As well as working the couple like to give back to the community wherever they go. Last year they volunteered to work with BlazeAId in New South Wales to assist farmers affected by fires until COVID19 suspended their efforts.
The pandemic has impacted their travels across the country, but not to the extent it has affected their park neighbours.
British-born Australians the Prentice and Lane families decided in 2019 to give up their normal lives and travel Australia but a series of tragedies, illness and COVID restrictions derailed their plans until now.
Ian Lane and his wife Sandra had planed in 2019 to team up with daughter Emma and husband Daniel Prentice and their three children Chloe, Oscar and Bryannie to hitch up their caravans and see the country.
When Ian’s father fell ill in England, he and Sandra travelled to England. Tragically his dad passed away. Soon after Sandra’s father had a massive heart attack and also passed away.
Their daughter, having just lost both her grandfathers decided their family would also return to England where they would mark Christmas together.
Ian and Sandra booked a flight back to Australia to leave on March 24 but on March 21 the UK shut down all flights due to COVID 19.
It wasn’t until July that they managed to obtain a flight back with Qantas. The Prentices flew back later, only to discover during quarantine that someone on their flight had the virus. Emma and Daniel both tested positive consequently but were cleared after 36 days quarantine.
Two years on the family have been able to continue their dream lifestyle. Ian, a painter and decorator and Daniel, a builder, have picked up work along the way in addition to farm-sitting.At a recent farm-sit at Traveston the owners returned to find their renovations completed and have invited back. “You’re the best house-sitters we’ve ever had,“ they told them.
“As long as we’ve got our health we’ll do it,“ Ian said of their new lifestyle. “We love going to places people don’t get to.
“It’s surprising how little you need. As long as you have somewhere to put your head down at night that’s all that matters.“
Emma and Daniel are home schooling their children along the way and sharing their journey through travel blog, Free to Range Oz, and the children say they love seeing different places and getting through their school work much faster than they would in school.
Artist Wayne Bibby has lived in Noosa Shire for about 30 years but only recently discovered caravan living. “I’m a guy who lives in sheds,“ he said.
But after five years living in a shed in Cooran the owners decided to sell the property so Wayne bought a caravan.Without a car Wayne will rely on “hitching a ride“ if he wants to shift but Pomona Showgrounds suits him just fine at present. Hitching a ride is no problem for Wayne who relies on it as his usual form of transport. In his trademark Drizabone jacket that protects him from cold and heat when Wayne is not hitching a ride he is whittling his beautifully carved wooden staffs made from camphor laurel wood, which are in high demand.
Wayne followed in his father’s footsteps in NSW to become a builder then after moving to Noosa turned his hand to whittling and creating bespoke artificial ponds.
Roy Leslie worked as a exploratory driller for mining companies for the past 20 years but decided he’d “had enough of it“.
With their kids grown up and having left home Roy and his wife and dog, Paleo, took to the road in a converted bus and for the past six months has been travelling Queensland.
“We pick up work here and there along the way,“ Roy said. “Lots of people have larger properties and have animals that want to be fed. They’re happy to put you up if you have your own accommodation. They’ll supply living expenses and you feed the animals while they’re away.
“We try to go to lovely places and enjoy life on the road.“
