Vanlife
I can remember the moment exactly. My husband and I driving back from a long weekend camping trip in the prettiest of coastal towns. We had said it many times over the weekend. “Fuck this tent situation, how cool would it be to own a camper van?”
We both had the same annoyance at putting up and taking down our tent. The tedious task of folding, drying (rinse and repeat), and the mystery surrounding how our tent seemed to double in size whenever it came time to pack away.
Back to that moment: me in the drivers seat following the white lines and charcoal bitumen through the country towns. Past the Chinese restaurants and dirty motels that litter the scenery as we made our way back to the city.
Up over the horizon a white van came tearing down the highway, a bright light surrounding this god like beast. Two smiling faces appeared from the front seat, both tanned with beach blonde hair. And as they drove past we caught a glimpse through the side window into what we’d been dreaming of — Vanlife!
Okay it didn’t actually happen like that, I am sure you are not surprised! But on that drive home we began to visualise ourselves owning a van, converting it to a camper and dying our hair blonde, to match out fellow vanners of course.
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We researched the most reliable van on the market, knowing full well that neither of us were going to discover a new found love of mechanics. The answer.. a Toyota Hiace. Known for it’s reliability, longevity, cheap and plentiful parts, and best of all anyone who even resembles a mechanic can fix them. So with this van in mind we went to doctor google.
We found campers owned by international travellers, those who had finished their travels and with heavy hearts and forever lasting memories were headed home. Then the other side of the coin were used trades vans with iron shelving, grease spots and weathered owners. Vans kept in great mechanical condition as they were their owners lifeline.
With much hesitation in spending a shit load of money on something we weren’t even sure we liked, we put our grown up hats on and bought a van!
We bought Heston! A 2005 shiny blue Toyota Hiace. We smiled a lot, we ate pho, and we repeated over and over “did we just buy a blue van?”
We quickly got to work to convert our bad boy ex-Foxtel installers van into a camper. Doctor Instagram came to aid with hundreds of ideas for beds, curtains, kitchens, insulation, what to do, what not to do. How to reduce condensation, free-camping vs paid camping: it was exhilarating and overwhelming.
We both love the internet but converting a van was intimidating. Van lifers are an intense, albeit interesting bunch of people whom I do feel an affinity with. But we kept to our minimalist ways and produced a semi converted van.
One 6x4 foot bed, with loads of storage room underneath. One wire set of drawers for our clothes and random stuff. Two his and hers plastic containers for our shoes. Two camp chairs folded under the bed. One gas cylinder stove. One bluetooth speaker. One rechargeable lantern, and one Esky, or chilly bin as you Kiwis say.
This is our van, and we love him.
