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The great thing about having a caravan is that you can just pick up and go, whenever you want, according to couple Kylie and Daniel Paskin.
“You can get away on the weekends and you don’t have to worry about trying to book accommodation. You can just go home on a Friday afternoon and go, ‘let’s hook it up’. Everything’s already in there, it’s all ready to go,” Kylie said.
The Ormeau-based couple have owned their On The Move Traxx caravan for about five years, with the seasoned campers deciding to make the leap after owning a pop-top camper trailer.
“The pop-top just took too long to set up and pack away every time we went out,” Daniel said.
“That’s why we went for On The Move, because everything is so easy.”
“Just rock up, park it, roll the awning out, get out the chairs and you’re done. You can just relax, take it easy and do whatever you want to do.”
The couple, who have three children, are very much nature people, preferring staying outdoors to spending the night in a hotel.
They both work full-time, with “pretty full on” jobs, working massive hours per week. Kylie is an online manager at Coles and Daniel builds lifts.
“We both never stop, so to actually have to stop is one hundred percent why we get away to spend time with each other, just relax and enjoy ourselves and not worry about our phones or work ringing or anything like that,” Kylie said.
“You can just get away from people and do your own thing, somewhere new and different. Our kids grew up meeting different people they’d never meet otherwise, like I did when I was a kid.”
While they’re away, Kylie said they like to get out into nature, with bushwalking and fishing taking the top spot for their favourite things to do.
They try to get away at least once a month, mostly just going away for weekend trips to places close by like Canungra, which is one of their favourite locations to explore.
One such weekend away was the 2024 On The Move Owners Retreat, this year held at a Northern Rivers campground in Kyogle.
Kylie said they enjoyed some of the activities organised for the weekend, as well as doing what they do best – bushwalking – and meeting other On The Move owners.
“I like how it’s been open. There’s lots to do, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. If you want to go to the markets, go down to the markets. Or if you just want to stay here and relax, it’s up to you,” she said.
“And you can meet other people and see the way they have their vans, it’s good. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, whoever you are, you still have something in common to talk about. You can share your ideas about what you’ve done to your van to make it better or talk about problems you’re having.”
Their most memorable trip away was one that broke their weekend-only rule and their biggest to date – a 5000 km round trip from home to Birdsville for Queensland’s biggest party – the Big Red Bash.
It turned out taking the caravan was the right decision, because the normally dry desert copped a deluge on the eve of the iconic festival, causing widespread road closures and organisers had to make drastic changes to the event schedule.
But the couple navigated the muddy campgrounds successfully with no problems.
“The weather was so horrible, so we had to move quickly and drive through some conditions that were interesting, but we made it back with not one car or caravan issue,” Kylie said.
“We were so good inside the van. Our son had a swag and we had the caravan. I think we were there for the whole nine days; warm, comfortable, loving life!”
When it comes to their van, they’d purchased a standard Traxx, choosing not to opt for any “extra special stuff”.
They designed the inside of their van to include a L-shape lounge they could convert into a bed and popped the main bed at the back of the van to ensure more privacy.
“It’s just perfect for us and we’ve designed it exactly how we want it. We’ve had it for five years and have no intention of changing it or upgrading it because it’s perfect. Exactly what we want, so no need,” she said.
