Things We’ve Learned After 12 Months on the Road – Part One!

Jess and Andy of Round & Round Coffee share what they’ve learned after 12 months of travelling! This is Part 1.

A Year Later

We are coming up to one whole year on the road travelling Australia with our coffee business “Round & Round”. I thought I’d reflect and share with you, what we’ve learnt, things we’d do differently and tips for anyone about to pack up and do the same. It’s been a whirlwind adventure with a lot of highs and a few lows but we’ve had an absolute ball!

So in no particular order here they are:

Look after your body and your health.

I’m writing this blog currently out of action due to severe back pain. Probably caused by the constant lifting and repetitive movements of life on the road. Living in a campervan can be quite cramped and takes its toll on the body. I wish we had done more stretching/yoga and fitness in the early stages to prevent both of us now feeling like we are nearing 80 years old!

• Get Australia wide ambulance cover and learn some basic first aid. You never know when you might need to use it.
• Eat healthy. That’s sometimes hard on the road, especially when that bain-marie of dim sims are staring at you at the servo when you go in to pay for fuel.
• Drink lots of water and wear sunscreen!

You don’t need to be rich to travel Australia.

The best things in life are free: hugs, parks, nature, time spent with family/loved ones. Do as much of these as possible.

Be kind and help out others.

Camper Karma is real! We’ve pulled over to help others on the side of the road, and others have done the same for us. There’s more kindness in the world than you think. This blew us away; the generosity of people on our trip has been amazing, but you do have to give a little, to get back in return.

You can’t please everyone, but try and state your opinion and stick to your guns.

We have come across a lot of people with different opinions to us about certain topics and that’s fine, however it can be hard to hear things we don’t agree with. Especially when we are trying to run a business and these people are potential customers it can be tricky and awkward, but majority of the time we’ve been surrounded by amazing people.

Keep in touch with friends and family; make time to call.

This is one thing I wish I was better at! I’ve never been great on the phone and regret not calling my loved ones more. I suppose with the use of social media these days you feel you don’t need to call as you’ve posted your whole journey online, but that’s not the case. Keep it personal and stay in touch, or better yet invite them to visit at one of your locations! It’s one way to prevent getting home sick.

Pack light, you don’t need as much as you think.

You’ll learn what possessions you really need. For us, life is better with fewer possessions and this will be how we live our life from now on. Free yourself from attachment to material things. Before you buy, ask yourself “do I really need this?” I’ve done 3 drop offs to charity bins and now fit all of my clothes into 3 small tubs from IKEA. My rule is if I buy an item of clothing, something has to go.

Go to bed early, wake up early!

Get a good sleep and wake up with nature’s curtain. It’s amazing how much more you get done and how much zest for life you will have. Early morning on the road is definitely the best time of day and we’ve seen some epic sunrises!

Stay tuned for the second half of this blog coming soon!

–Jess and Andy

What’s Next?

Get more tips and inspiration for life on the road on our website.