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kizakuza-blog1 · 6 years ago

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DKs Van Life Take 1: The test

Last year, two weeks before Drew, my partner, and I were ready to set off on our first official overseas trip together, I was admitted to hospital for a week and then told I couldn’t fly.

That feeling of being trapped set in about a month later, when my condition was being managed and I realised I had been told I couldn’t do the one thing I live for – exploring the world.

So what does one do when they are grounded from flying? Camper Van it!! Drew was in love with the idea instantly and we started planning. Wondering whether buy a van straight up or should we hire first? We decided to do a test trip before we buy and here we are.

The Test. 10 Days going South of Sydney heading to the Great Ocean Road and back through the Barossa Valley. 3,548kms will be travelled in total.

Our hot tips for a van life. Season vanlifers, I’m sure already know these, though for any newbies out there we highly recommend making note:

1. Baby wipe baths. When you have no idea where you’ll be setting up camp or where the next shower is, baby wipe baths is one way to stay fresh.

2. Head torches. Even when you have light in the van, it’s never quite enough. When you’re parked in a remote area or if you want to go for some night exploring. These babies are your best friends.

3. Bucket Toilet. Now when this was first suggested to me I was like, umm really!! But ladies I assure you, in the middle of the night when you’ve parked your van in the most beautiful spot you can find, but there are no facilities, the bucket toilet is your saviour. Whether you make your own or do what we did and invest in one from your local camping store. I promise you’ll be most grateful you did.

Day 1: Heading to our first stay. We chose Tumut, a cute little place with a free camp site, nestled between the mountains and a trout filled river. It was a little in-land as day two takes us to the Milawa Cheese Company before heading down to the Mornington Peninsular.

Here we are, head touches on, setting up the van for the first time. It’s about 8pm, the roof is popped and I start transferring our things up in the top storage section in preparation to make up the bed. Drew starts prepping to cook up a storm on our little Webber......Then it hit me..….we forgot the doona/quilt/duvet!! Basically we had sheets and a blanket to keep us warm on our first night….Snuggle time!!

For anyone vanning down the east coast of OZ looking for a free camp site. No facilities, however plenty of wood to make a little camp fire, simply put ‘The Tumut Wetlands’ into your GPS. It’ll take you approx. 4hrs 25 mins South of Sydney.

Day 2: After a chilli night, we wake up to a crisp morning and the sounds of the running river. We pack up and head into town for a coffee and to buy a doona. Next stop The Milawa Cheese Company, approx. 3hrs away. We highly recommend stopping in and tasting their cheese. They do sampling between 9am and 4pm and I promise, you won’t be disappointed. Our Favourite, the King River Gold.

From there we start our hardcore drive to Barwon Heads to meet up for a few drinks with. Just over 6hrs drive away.

We had planned to get an unpowered site at the caravan park situated right on the water, but we arrived to late, they were already closed. Good news though, there is a long car park that runs behind it, better view and another score for a free place to set up. As an added bonus it’s a 2 minute stroll to the local pub.

If you’re heading down that way the street name is Ewing Blyth Drive, Barwon Heads.

Day 3: Bells Beach Australia!! Even if you’re not a surfer, everyone has seen the movie and knows about the Classic Bells Beach and the 50 year storm – even though the movie wasn’t filmed at the real Bells Beach, it’s still a destination to visit. Just a short 8 minute drive out of Torquay’s town center.

This beautiful beach hosts the Rip Curl Pro surf comp every Easter bringing professional surfers from all over the world. Unfortunately, it’s not a Van friendly town, so you need to be strategic when selecting where you set up for the night. There are many breath-taking places, you’ll be right.

Day 4: We consider this our real first day on our little trip, as neither of us have been past this point. We decided to have no real plan, to just take each moment as it comes. For me who is a massive planner, this was the first time ever I was just going with it. And I am loving every minute.

Drew is a massive coffee drinker, can’t start his day without one and recommends popping into the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery before heading on to your next destination.

Heading down the Great Ocean Road we were both craving a hot shower. Baby wipe baths are great and all, however as we all know, nothing beats a nice hot shower. If you’re driving through Lorne Victoria. Lorne Sea Baths. $10.50 entry, if you have some extra time you can have fun in their pool, relax in the spa and steam room. Although if you’re like us and just in need of a hot shower, this is the place to stop.

Although Lorne provided a great spot to stop for a shower, we decided to move on to Apollo Bay.

The road to Apollo Bay is striking. Winding up and down on the side of the high cliffs, before making your way down to the humble little town on the other side.

Another town that isn’t camper van friendly, however we were lucky to get a hot tip from a local that told us about a little spot, right next to the beach, where we could set up for the night. And we’re going to share the secret... As you’re driving into the town, with Lorne behind you, take the first left into a little tree covered car park, just before the Big4 Caravan park up on the right.

We love Apollo Bay, it reminds us of the North Shore in Hawaii with stunning mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, the perfect balance of earth and water living side by side.

Day 5: There are many sites to see around Apollo Bay. If you’re into Hiking and seeing the ancient trees and waterfalls, make sure you give yourself time to explore. We took a little 30 minute forest walk through Maits Rest, getting a shameless tourist picture in the famous tree belly, before heading off down the Great Ocean Road to see the remaining 12 Apostles.

It’s wondrous how some eroded rocks being shaped by the battering sea, can attract so many people to see them. As we turn into the first look out, at Castle Cove, we are marvelled, just as the others before us. Mesmerised, watching the sea crash into the bottom of the rocks we start to understand why these awe-inspiring natural structures draw such big crowds every day.

Stopping at every look out to take photos we finished the day at the little community town Port Campbell. We are delighted to hear they had a bush style camping ground for both powered and unpowered sites. Full outside kitchen and hot showers. Unpowered sites are only $10pp. Powered sites $20pp with all proceeds going towards the community. You can also hire fire barrels for $20 deposit and $25 for a bag of wood. Just punch in Port Campbell Recreation Reserve into your GPS. It’s close to town so if you want to eat out, it’s just a 5 minute, easy walk in. After you’ve showered and picked your camp spot for the night.

Don’t forget your head torches. Although the sky is filled with stars, it’s a dark walk back.

Day 6: As we make our way to the Coonawarra down the remaining Great Ocean Road, we are breath-taken by the structures on the other side of the 12 Apostles. It’s strange no one talks as much about this side of the Great Ocean Road, we think this spectacular coastline, with more sea battered structures are equally, if not better than the reaming 12 Apostles. We highly recommend stopping at every look out to take a peak and many photos. All except the Grotto, you won’t miss anything if you skip that one.

Another place you can skip is ‘Cheese World’. Don’t get excited. It is the smallest world of cheese we’ve ever come across, and really not worth the stop, unless you’re busting for the bathroom.

We pull into the Coonawarra, the town is actually called Penola, punch this into your GPS, not the Coonawarra wine region. We arrived a few minutes before the information center closed and was please to be told there is another bush style camping ground just up the road. This one was nestled amongst the vineyards. It has tepee style tents and one of those igloo ones. $10pp for unpowered sites. $25pp for powered/glamping sites.

Day 7: To the Barossa, after doing a little wine tasting along the Coonawarra strip. More Drew tasting, but a tiny sip was had by myself and with great delight I discovered my new favorite winery. Penley Estate. They have the most exquisite glasses, which are available for purchase. We bought four. Best impulse stop ever.

We decided to stay at the Murray Bridge, before the Barossa. We had set off later than expected and we were in no rush.

Day 8: The Barossa is about 3 hours from the Coonawarra and there’s not too much along the way. So crank that stereo and sing your way through it.

The town was full of people. There was some festival on, it was crazy. We find a side street to park in and walk through the streets towards the sounds of an auction. They were auctioning weird stuff, like a sacks of potatoes at the bargain price of $50. Anyway!! We made our way to find were we had booked a delightful degustation dinner at Appellation. I was so excited, this would be our first degustation. Drew’s more into the hardy meaty meals so the moment he suggested finding a great place for dinner, I was onto it.

Little did I know, he had a plan. I can’t believe I had no idea.

We found where we were going to set up for the night, close the restaurant. We discovered one of my favorite mid week wines ‘The running with the Bulls’, was made by Yalumba so we headed out to their vineyard to see if we could snap a good cellar door price. Unfortunately, no, the price was pretty much the same as I can get at home. Lets go to lunch and find a hot shower. We found a hot shower and got ready for our amazing dinner.

The Restaurant had a bar which overlooked the thousands of grape vines scattered amongst the small hills below. As we sipped out first drink, Drew noticed they had a life size chess set. He loves a competition and we had some time to kill before our reservation. As the sun started to set Drew says he needs his sunnies and went out to the car. I stood there sipping beautiful wine out of a gorgeous Ridel stemless glass, freezing my ass off. Drew comes make, makes a move and then goes in to get more drinks. By this time I was wondering why he wasn’t concentrating on the game and trying to win.

He urged me to abandon the game and come for a walk in the vines to watch the sun set. And the next thing I know Drew pulls a ring box from his pocket and is down on one knee. I said yes.

Wearing my sparkly new ring I couldn’t stop staring at it as we were seated for dinner. The waitress picked up on it and congratulated us with a glass of Champagne. We choose the 4 course degustation menu and were delighted to know that you don’t have to have all four sections. This was perfect for us as we don’t eat dessert. So we worked out how we could try most of the menu in the four courses. The flavour combinations and presentation was spectacular and the absolute perfect place to celebrate our engagement.

Day 9: The trek back home begins. There’s not a lot to see today. There’s a whole lot of nothing over the dry plains except for sheep, the odd emu and kangaroo. After 7 hrs of solid driving, we decided to stay at another bush style camp ground at Hay. $10pp, nice hot showers and our last dinner in the van.

Day 10: It’s time to hand Johnno back. Up bright and early to detail him then back to Sydney we go. We had stopped into Robertson to have dinner with Drew’s mom and celebrate our engagement with his sister and cute little niece and nephew. What an amazing journey. The test score was in…..we will be buying a van.

Thanks for coming on the ride with us on our first van life adventure. Follow our other travel adventures @kizakuza on Instagram.

#dksvanlife

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weditchthemap · 6 years ago

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The Ultimate Guide for Hiking Torres del Paine’s W, O, and Q Treks

What is Torres del Paine?

Torres del Paine is a national park in southern Chile. You can take day trips into the park sleep within the park hiking well-defined treks. The park has ice fields, various types of glaciers, lakes, expansive landscapes, and craggy mountains. Please read our popular post about hiking the W-Trek by clicking here (this post has been featured in international magazines):

Extensive Hiking Information

Every day at 3:00pm a hostel and gear rental shop called Erratic Rock puts on a free lecture about hiking the W. It is short and very informative with a Q&A session at the end.

Getting to the Park

Puerto Natales is the gateway city into the park. You can arrange all your lodging, transport, gear rental, tours, etc. once you get to Puerto Natales. However you may want to reserve your campsites/refugios several months in advance as popular spaces tend to book up.

Getting to Puerto Natales: The two closest airports are Calafate, Argentina and Punta Arenas, Chile. Flying into Punta Arenas from Santiago is a cheap option if you are already in Chile but for those traveling from Argentina Calafate is your best bet. Although google maps will state the bus from Calafate to Puerto Natales is 3.5 hours, agencies will plan for 6 hours due to road conditions and a border crossing. Busses from Punta Arenas are only a few hours and don’t involve any border crossings. If flying into Punta Arenas a nice place to stay is Hotel Carpa Manzano. You can also take a day trip to see the King Penguins with Patagonia Tours. Punta Arenas also has a tax free area none as Zona Franca, which is just north of the city. You can buy some travel equipment here at reduced prices.

Busses into Torres del Paine leave daily at 7:00am and 7:15am from the bus terminal and arrive in the park around 9am. Busses will drop you off where you can buy entrance tickets (21,000 pesos but USD are also accepted—cash only). Please bring your passports and all other reservations you have. You can take a shuttle to central which is where most people start their journey. You can also remain on the bus and get dropped off at the catamaran which will take you to Paine Grande (one-way/return tickets cost 20,000/30,000 pesos but USD are also excepted-cash only).

Comparing Various Hikes within the Park:

You can do day trips in the park but you’ll miss most of the park’s splendor and this should only be reserved for elderly or those unfit for hiking/trekking.

W-Trek: This is by far the most common and most people you meet in the park will be undertaking this 3 to 5 night trek within the park. You’ll stay at Paine Grande and/or Refugio Grey, Cuernos or Frances, and Central or Chileano. By completing the W-trek you will be able to see the three largest attractions in the park (glacier grey, mirador Britanico, and The Torres). The hike will be a bit crowded so come prepared to share nature with hundreds of others. The mess halls along this hike will be cramped, loud, and full of conversations about excited tourists and their plans for their time in the park

O-Trek: The O-trek adds 4 additional nights to the W-Trek and takes you in a complete circle. The campsites of Seron, Dickson, los Perros, and el Paso are much more remote and only a fraction of the size of those found on the W. The amenities are fewer, options to buy food are limited, and the ability to access power is restricted. However during my last trip into the park (in 2015) the O was even more rustic. Only a few years back you had to carry your own food and camping supplies with you but now you can rent gear and buy warm meals along the way. You’ll be hiking with a cohort of people that will all set up camp at the same campsites each night. The 20 or so people that you will hike with will become your family for the next several days. Although the hikes are long the overall pace seems to move more slowly. Conversations are less about accomplishments and more geared towards experiences during the day. If you’re looking for a backcountry type camping experience and more personal connections this hike is for you.

Q-Trek: This is the O-Trek with one additional day added—an extra 17km hike from the CONAF Administration building takes you to Paine Grande. Although we started our hike from the CONAF Admin. Building please note they require you only hike south. If you plan to break the rules and hike north, as we did, you will need to hitch a ride (or walk) to the starting point. You will be able to do this from the catamaran stop.

Trail Maps Along the Hike: Some are more accurate than other so don’t rely on them too much. Keep track of your own progress to estimate your hiking time and ETA and you’ll be better off. I’ve heard some people complaining that the posted estimated time was way too short while other commented on them being way too long.

Types of Lodging in the Park

Our first time in the park we reserved our spots almost a year in advance. This time around we were able to book only a couple weeks prior. We did need to delay our arrival several weeks to make things work out—also we were among the last 50 people hiking the O before the back circuit closed for the year (the O portion of the park closes April 1st).

Camping (gear carried with you): This includes your personal gear and/or any rented gear you arranged before arriving in the park. This is your cheapest option and will cost you $8 to $20 USD per person per night (there are several free camp sites you can book through the CONAF website). You will need to carry your gear with you from site to site. You still need to reserve all campsites in advance. Until recently this was the only way to hike the O circuit.

Camping (rented at campsite): You can rent full gear at every camp site. You will get a 4-season tent, sleeping mattress, sleeping bag, and pillow. You will pay between $40 to $60 USD per person per night. You will not have to set up or take down any of the gear and everything will already be prepared for you upon your arrival at the campsite.

Shared Rooms/Domes: Only a few years ago this type of accommodation was unheard of outside the larger refugios along the main W circuit. Now almost all sites offer this option. You will be provided a bed in a dorm with 5 to 7 other people. You’ll have everything you need to sleep comfortably. You’ll pay between $55 and $110 per person per night.

Private Room: The only place to rent a private room is at the Torres Hotel and most people staying here are probably not doing the W trek. You’ll pay hundreds of dollars a night for a room.

Getting Supplies in Puerto Natales

Do yourself a favor and spend at least 1 or 2 nights in Puerto Natales before you plan to head into the park, especially if you plan to hike the complete O circuit. Getting everything prepared, packed, rented, and organized takes more time than you think. We stayed at a lovely hotel called Hostal Los Pinos in the center of town which provided us quick access to the several grocery stores around town.

This time around we took with us most of our gear. We picked up some loose ends at the duty free shops in Punta Arenas and only had to rent a camping stove. Check out our ultralight camping gear in this short time-lapse video where we set up camp during our recent trip in the park.

I will not go into too much detail about the type of gear you should bring as you can read this advice elsewhere or hear it at the info session at Erratic Rock. Take your time and shop around since prices can differ by magnitudes of 2 depending on where you buy/rent your gear/food. There are places that sell only dried fruit and nuts and offer prices half of what you’ll find in other stores. With the W it makes sense to rent gear but when you have to rent for almost 10 days it may start to make sense to buy gear and then try to resale after your travels. Gear will also be cheaper in your home country (especially true in the US).

Packing Advice (Food)

We didn’t spend too much time worrying about the weight of our food when we hiked the W but this time around we were much more concerned. We spent 10 days in the park and carrying that much food adds up. In fact the majority of our weight on our backs at the start of our hike was food weight. We found the following method to be immensely helpful. We calculated how many calories we needed to consumer each day and counted out nuts, cookies, dried fruit, etc. into zip lock backs—1 for breakfast, 1 for snacks throughout the day, and 1 for dinner. We also has a few extra snacks in our bags for good measure. Counting calories is essential for 2 important reasons. You need to eat enough when hiking and if you don’t bring enough food you will be spending hordes of cash at the refugios to keep your appetite at bay. Conversely, if you bring too much food you will be carrying more weight than you need and you’ll quickly learn how heavy carrying 20 kilos 8 hours a day really is. Consider this, if you brought only 4 ounces of extra food for each meal you would end up carrying and extra 7 kilos between 2 people.

Having food individually packaged also makes it easy to handle as you’ll want to hang your food up in the trees at most sites to keep the mice away. At least 4 people had their bags and/or tents eaten through by enterprising mice.

Food Ideas To Pack:

Cured meats and hard cheeses – these work great and will remain good your entire trip. We ate our last bit of meat and cheese on day 9 and it tasted just as fresh as day 1. The temperatures are low and you will not need to worry about spoilage.

Fresh fruit - should be avoided because of their low energy to weight ratio. If you bring make sure to eat early on.

A liter of wine – I brought this to share with my table the first night of the hike. This helped to form some lasting bonds that weren’t soon forgotten.

Peanut butter, jam, Nutella – spreads work great as they are basically pure energy and can make an unsavory cracker more delectable.

Dried fruit and nuts - will provide you with most of the nutrients you need and will help you in the much lacking fiber department when it comes to camping food.

Cookies, chocolates, and treats – this is your time to indulge. Normally you want to avoid such calorie-rich foods, but when weight is your enemy make sure you stock up.

Teas and coffees – Drinking cold glacier water has its appeal but there is nothing like sitting down with a warm beverage after a day of hiking.

Powdered soups – these taste relatively good and cook up quickly. I added rice noodles and whole wheat pasta to mine to add calories. Make sure to drink plenty of water as these are incredibly salty.

Dehydrated foods – you can buy these in town but you’ll pay a pretty penny for them. We met a couple of people on the trail that prepared their own. If you want trail cred (like street cred but way cooler) whip out your own dehydrated fettuccini Alfredo.

Packing Advice (Gear)

Pack in a way that makes sense to you. Nothing sucks more than having to riffle though your entire bag in search of a spare battery. Keep like things together and think about when you will need things from your bag. Does your teddy bear really need to be readily accessible? Maybe that ourside pocket is better saved for a granola bar or toilet paper. Bring extra garbage bags to keep everything organized and dry. Sleep with your phone, camera, and spare batteries at the foot of your sleeping bag to keep them warm (operating batteries at low temperatures shorten their life). For this reason many hikers keep extra camera batteries in their pockets during the day. As the park continues to modernize warm showers are becoming available almost everywhere so pack a quick-drying travel towel and single use soaps/shampoos to avoid having to buy them at the refugios. A drop sheet under your tent will help keep you dry and compression bags will reduce the overall bulk of your gear.

Other Advice

Thanks to the thin ozone (aka hole in ozone) you’ll want to load up on sun lotion, hats, and glasses. With very few acceptations you will not go more than an hour without a fresh water source so please leave your large water bladders/bottles behind. Charging at refugios is now easier than ever so leave behind your power bricks. Internet is available at most campsites along the W for those who still want to remain connected. Most importantly, try to enjoy the best scenery that Patagonia has to offer while you visit Torres del Paine National Park.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions about your trip to Torres del Paine.

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