Cost Summary - Break Down of What it Costs to be on the Road Traveling Australia

                                       
       14/3/2013 - Hitting the Road - Brian, Noelle, James, The Beast, The Van and The Boat

Given that we are now staying put for a couple of months, free camping in the bush on the banks of the Murray at Yarrawonga, I have summarized our journey since leaving Melbourne on March 14th this year to "Travel Oz".

Every morning of our travels I have kept a detailed journal of where we've been and what we've done (usually summarized in my weekly Blog Post), a record of all our expenditure and how it was spent and, of course kilometers covered. The Nomads Notes program I use makes this process really easy.

Here is a summary of our trip:

Up until we arrived back on the Murray River on Wednesday, November 6th. we were on the road for a total of 233 days, camping at 67 different locations for an average stay of 3.48 nights in each spot. Our shortest stay was one day, our longest stays were at Bingara NSW - 12 nights, Daly River NT - 11 nights, Yeppoon Qld - 11 nights (first time), 10 nights (second time), Stanage Qld - 10 nights,  Isisford Qld - 9 nights and Inskip Point Qld - 9 nights. Our furthest-most points of travel were Darwin NT, El Questro WA, King Ash Bay Qld and Port Douglas Qld.

Our total accommodation cost was $4226, averaging out at $18.14 per night over the 233 days. 124 nights were spent in caravan parks at an average of $31.08. The most we paid for a night in a caravan park was $45 at Bucacia Beach Caravan Park, Mackay and The Lakes Caravan Park, Townsville. Most of our camping was free or cost only a few dollars. Lots of towns provide safe, attractive, camping options in parks, on river banks or beach-side. It is used extensively by Nomads and can be quite social, though there are usually private areas as well. The main consideration is timing. We always planned to arrive early afternoon at the latest to secure a good spot, then do a recce of the area before deciding where to set up. Camps 7 was our best guide to free camp options and the facilities (if any) available. Many Nomads only free camp and often stay weeks or months in the one place (like we are now - on the banks of the Murray at Yarrawonga as it's the BEST spot in Australia).

We traveled a total of 27,958 kilometers in The Beast - our 2012 Mazda BT-50, without a hitch, consuming 4742 litres of diesel costing $7758.59. That works out at 28 cents/km or 16.96 litres per 100 km. The average price we paid for fuel was $1.64 per litre, with the most expensive re-fill costing $2.30/ltr at El Questro. The Beast was serviced twice at a total cost of $950.

Our other costs were as follows:
                                               Groceries - $5471
                                               Dining out (mostly daily cappuccino's) - $2507.80
                                               Wine and Beer (consumed at the van) - $3170.41
                                               Drinks at pubs, clubs etc (not food) -  $1407
                                               Sightseeing/admissions - $1224
                                               Chemist (not scripts) - $194.85
                                               Purchases of hardware/bits and pieces for car, van etc - $1789.63
                                               Gas bottle swap/refill - $483.79
                                               Laundromat (washing machines only) - $165
                                               Fishing (licenses, bait, lures etc) - $359.60
                                               Boat fuel - $291.30
                                               Generator fuel - $98.89
                                               Repairs - $489
                                               Golf - $233
                                               Internet access - $33
                                               Reading material (downloads for kindles, audio books) - $74
                                               Firewood - $27
                                               Car wash - $43.50
                                               Caravan service - $357.25

All up we spent $31344.91 over 233 days, which averages out to $134.52 per day. That would extrapolate out to $49,100 PA to live on the road. Clearly others would do it cheaper if they drank less coffee and alcohol!

Logistically, living the life of a Grey Nomad is a breeze. The apprehensions I held before departure were mostly around the bad "what ifs" -  illness, invasion, breakdown, accident, loneliness, expense, boredom, missing family, friends and home, traveling with a dog - the list goes on. Now I have no real concerns. We haven't had any problems that were insurmountable and we both really love the life. There are so many people, single women included, who are on the road and largely living from free camp to free camp with no safety and security issues - and many clearly on a much tighter budget than ours. They all love it.

Our time so far on the road has surpassed my expectations. It is dangerously addictive. If there's one thing I would say to any of my Blog readers it is - Just do it - you are a bloody long time dead! The hardest part is actually making the decision to live your dream.

We're now staying put for a couple of months at our favorite spot, so I'll be a bit short on material to blog about. I'll start posting again in February when we get back on the road and share more of our experiences Traveling Oz. 

Thanks for reading.