Salty van adventures
We are Jade and Jake from Salty Van Life. Two years ago, we packed up our lives and moved into our van full-time. It blows our minds that since 2020, we’ve traveled around Australia, wandering the country wherever the Salty Van took us!
(First published in Issue 6, September 2022) Our love for chasing the sun and living a more minimalistic lifestyle is what sparked the idea of traveling around in a van. We wanted to experience a new way of life and, in particular, easily escape the winters. We have both traveled overseas in the past and explored many places in Australia together. Initially, we grew up camping along the coast with our families, where we met many years ago! Both of our parents are very much sun lovers too! Little did we know one day we would be camping full-time, traveling around in our own self-converted van.
We can now definitely say there is nothing like knowing your own backyard inside and out. This is something we wanted to achieve before exploring the rest of the world.
We also loved the idea of waking up by the sea, having everything you need by your side and ensuring no serious plans each day! Freedom, all right!
Originally, we set off to travel for at least six months to a year. However, we had no time limit, which allowed us to take each day as it came. We were both working full-time before we set off on the road. Jade as a teacher and Jake as an electrician. We worked hard for at least a year to save up for our trip of a lifetime.
Six months had passed, and we were still exploring Queensland, which was the first state we entered. We realized just how big our country was, and at this point, there was no going home. We had created our own new reality! There was so much we were yet to explore. We had adjusted so easily to this lifestyle. We are both pretty low-maintenance and easygoing, therefore, it really wasn’t much of an adjustment for us. When we first set out to explore Australia, we were so excited, as it was the first time we had both left home, and our destination was unknown! Two years later, we don’t have any regrets and can confidently say that starting van life was the best decision we had ever made.
The amount of money each individual spends on the road really does vary. It is important not to compare yourself to others. It really depends on your priorities and what you want to see along the way. You can truly spend as little or as much money as you want while living van life! We made a pact that we wouldn’t hold back, we wanted to take on any opportunities that crossed our path. Some of our favorite things to do while traveling are exploring islands, visiting tourist attractions, and eating out every now and then.
We weren’t sure how much money this meant we would need to save, and we didn’t know of anyone personally that had lived this kind of life before. We set ourselves some goals and winged it from there. All we knew was we wanted to ensure we had enough to fulfill our needs. We have learned so much along the way, from our own experiences and meeting other travelers.
The best thing to do is just to get out there and try it out for yourself.
When the time and destination aligned, we decided to work on the road. It is very easy to find work on the road as long as you are open to trying out new things and giving anything a go. We had been traveling for almost a year, driving clockwise around the country. We made it to the northwest; it was time to gain some new life experience and top up the funds. As appreciative as we were of the life we were living, we knew that once we started working again, we would be reminded of the incredible journey we were on. This was also a driving force to work hard while the opportunity was there for our next stint of van life. Starting a new job in a new town with new people is truly a rewarding experience.
Van life itself
For those of you that want to know a little bit about the van life itself, read on!
Our biggest expenses, which I’m sure you could guess, are food and petrol. Our idea of van life was to live a more simple life, and in saying so, deciding to convert a van into our home meant that we had everything with us at all times. Therefore, free camping became a norm for us, this is just something we adjusted to and realized how necessary and easy it was.
Being outdoorsy people, we spend every minute of the day outside. We literally just sleep in the van. Our setup was designed for following the sun.
We do everything outside and it’s just how we like it. When you’re exploring new places and traveling around in the good weather, there is just no other way you’d want to do it!
There are always challenges when traveling, as things don’t always go as planned. Whether it may be finding somewhere to sleep, feeling exhausted after big days of driving, or washing the dishes, which isn’t so fun when you don’t have unlimited running water! However, you learn to adapt, as these experiences definitely do not outweigh the better ones.
When building our van, our priorities were having a comfy bed, a fridge/freezer, water, and storage. Pretty simple, right? Oh, and comfy camp chairs, of course. If you haven’t seen ours, then you need to!
We converted our van while we were working, so it took us a good four months. We spent each weekend, and Jake even worked on weeknights to get as much done as possible. The conversion was completed while we were living at home and was finished by the time we left for our trip. However, we made many adaptations while traveling after seeing great ideas from fellow van lifers.
We lined the van and decked it out to make it as homey as possible. It really turned out a vibe. Since Jake is an electrician, it definitely made it easier having a background in a trade. However, YouTube is pretty handy too! We have two 120Ah batteries that are charged from our alternator and our 110-watt fixed solar panel on our roof. This runs our LED lights, our fan, and we also have an inverter. Our inverter allows us to charge all things that need 240 volts. The main things we use it for are our laptop, drone/camera, blender, and milk frother. We love to start our day with a smoothie and a coffee. We have a 75L fridge/freezer, which enables us to store lots of frozen and fresh food. We store 60 liters of water and have a storage box on top that acts as our garage. Slowly watching our van build come to life was the most thrilling experience, symbolizing the beginning of many adventures.
After completing a lap of Australia, we can say there were very few places that we couldn’t see along the way. This is something we questioned before starting our trip. As we live in a 2WD van, you may be very surprised that the Salty Van didn’t hold us back! It has taken us anywhere we have ever wanted to go. You just have to look at our Instagram to believe it! Our favorite thing to do was to park up on the beach for the day! There is nothing like driving your home on wheels on the beach!
Traveling in a van is definitely a conversation starter. There are many people doing the same today, whether they are traveling solo or with a partner. Everyone is so friendly and happy, I mean, why wouldn’t you be!
One thing we didn’t anticipate before we started our life on the road was the number of like-minded people we would meet. Every town we went to, we got chatting away to someone new, sharing tips, giving advice — we learned so much from each other! The people you meet on the road really do make your experience one to remember. We have found ourselves remembering places by thinking back to the memories and people we were there with. While traveling the country and creating many amazing memories, we have also created friends for life. This is something we will cherish forever.
We are truly blown away by the natural beauty of our country and so grateful that we get to call this part of the world home. It is impossible to choose one favorite place we have visited, as Australia really does have the best of everything. However, we want to share with you three of the most incredible places that struck us, which we had not visited before.
Incredible places in Western Australia
Esperance
The bright blue water and white sand of the beaches in Esperance and its surrounds blew our minds. It felt as if we were on an island in another country. Before the days of social media, we had no idea this place existed, as it is very remote and there is not much there. However, if you are a beach lover like us and get the season right when visiting, you will be blown away. These crystal-clear beaches run for miles along the southwest coast.
Karijini
The second place that strikes us was even more remote. Karijini in the northwest is full of freshwater gorges and ancient red rock. The natural beauty of this place is insane. There is no other place like it. Karijini is amazing for swimming, hiking, and its history.
The Ningaloo Coast
The Ningaloo Coast is one of the only places in the world where you are able to walk from the beach straight onto a coral reef! Here we experienced some of the best snorkeling we had ever done. The coral is so alive, and there is an abundance of sea life. You can also swim with Whale Sharks between March and July, which we highly recommend.
Our Salty Van is our little home on wheels, and we just love it to bits. We are so grateful for the life it has created for us and to be able to share this experience along the way through our socials.
Thinking back on our journey, we have learned the true meaning of freedom, what it means to us, how it refreshes the soul, and the importance of creating new realities. Our whole life perspective has changed in the most positive way, and we are continually making new goals. (Stay tuned!) We have both grown, learned so much, taken on new opportunities, and just let life show us the way! It's true when they say travel gives you the freedom to be yourself!
If you're reading this and it resonates with you, maybe it's time to take a new path in your journey of life. You will find yourself a whole new world of opportunities to be free, happy, and healthy.
