Finally taking delivery of the Winnebago Diversion - our Silvery Nomad

The Silvery Nomad (the one on the left)

So we've finally taken delivery of our Mercedes-Benz Diversion and it's taken over eight months!

Selling houses is not as easy as we thought, even in Leura in the beautiful Blue Mountains - a place where we have many friends and plan to visit often.

Many thanks to Sydney RV Centre Penrith and the team there. Nothing was too much trouble and we got quite a few nice upgrades.

Upsizing the TV

While the house is sold, with settlement at the end of the month, we haven't ventured far yet.

Two small hitches.  Roy has a pair of hernias to be patched and it's about to happen on Monday.  He'll be entering a world of pain for a while, so we're thinking of heading for the coast afterwards on our first run for some recuperation and depressurization.

From a 5 bedroom home to a van

Packing the van is a science. It's a massive downsize we're doing from a five bedroom house to a van.

Our lives have shrunk down to 3 boxes - a PO Box address, a small Storage Lock-up for seasonal switchovers and storing a few special things - and of course our Diversion Motorhome, the third box, although it's anything but a box on wheels.

The Mercedes Benz Sprinter van is a joy to drive and not like driving a box at all.

All very luxurious and comfortable.

Roy has already written some advertising freelance in the van, using our iphones as Wi-Fi hotspots.

But a downsizing move is not downsizing the labour involved and we both need a good rest.

Will keep you posted on The Journeys of The Silvery Nomad.

A surprising joy to drive

At the "Caravan, Camping RV & Holiday" Supershow

Went in search of ideas...

... but once we saw our Winnebago Diversion featured in the show the only idea we had was "let's go, let's go!"

Some interest regarding buyers for the house now, so maybe soon.
 

Roy's instant 'man cave' - an add-on day tent for our campervan

Some preparation ideas for the road.

We've bought a lightweight anti-fly and mosquito "Cube", made by Wild Country, a small, spring loaded pop-up tent. Then we found some parachute silk on-line for $7 and a good friend made us a tailored throw-over to go on top and create an instant day tent. Opens in seconds. Keeps out gatecrashing insects - and even prying eyes!

While the new Diversion campervan is roomy, it's nice to have an escape, without having to drag along a heavy tent and poles. 

As you can see, there's plenty of room for a table, chairs, two people and our little dog, Seti.

While still open, the tent should also tuck in nicely under the van's large, wind-out awning for shelter when rainy, but it only takes minutes to put away.

I can see Roy happily authoring in there, especially when I've got the van's TV playing - and I look forward to us both enjoying a glass of wine or a barbecue dinner under shelter, without those biting mossies and flies that always seem to target me.

Sizing-up and ordering our new Diversion Winnebago

Here we are ordering and sizing up the new Silvery Nomad. It’s compact, but has everything, even a shower and loo. We think of it as i-Pad living (compared with a massive desktop). We’re tech savvy and into Macs, i-Phones etc. Speaking of which, we’ve learnt to tether our i-Phones as internet hot spots so we can stay connected on the road.  Roy can write his novels and do his freelance advertising writing from the dark side of the moon – well, at least from the Back of Bourke!

 A comfy day bed and lounge that becomes the lower bed (the top one comes down from the roof)

 Ordering essential extras - nudge bar, flyscreens, Sat nav, Blue tooth, reversing camera. Already feeling at home, barefoot and relaxed

We call this compact "i-Pad living". Small, cleverly designed, user friendly