When I think of fellow travellers “Somewhere in a Van,” I immediately chuckle. We’ve shared countless belly laughs — not to mention the dramatic 3am boat rescue destined for the big screen, a Hollywood blockbuster, set on the one and only, Ningaloo Reef!
The people you meet make the trip, and we’ve undoubtedly landed ourselves stellar mates in the Joneses — Josh, Hayley and Lilah — the “Cool Cats”, and these guys are all that!
The Joneses are the first family we met on the road just a mere month into our trip when quite frankly we were in shock, still working out our setup, with all the gear and no idea. We were overwhelmed — fish out of water — questioning our sudden plunge into life with two toddlers 24-7, in a very small space.
Our husbands soon discovered they have a mutual mate, and as they say, “the rest is history.”
It’s funny how you keep running into the same travellers months apart, and often in different states. After our initial meeting in South Australia (SA), we ran into the Joneses several more times before heading in opposite directions. They headed up the centre of Australia, whilst we headed to WA and followed the west coast to the Ningaloo Reef — both ending up at North Lefroy (WA) at the same time. Let’s just say a new benchmark for “first night fever” has been set, happy days!
I use to scoff when people said they’ve met “friends for life” travelling. Really? In such a short time?! Now I get it. There’s an openness to people you meet on the road.
“I use to scoff when people said they’ve met friends for life whilst travelling. Really? In such a short time?! Now I get it. There’s an openness to people you meet on the road.”
There’s something about sharing your first witching hour together — that moment of desperation when you catch a warm glance from your new comrades — pure understanding like a comforting arm around your shoulder saying “you’ve got this.”
When it comes to men, trust needs to be unequivocal upfront, or the bromance is over before it begins. The initiation is straightforward, the men clamber into a boat, spearguns a ready, and vanish into the horizon.
It’s secret men’s business, and us women are happy to leave them to it – so long as they return triumphant, in one piece, and most importantly, they bring home the bacon, fish or crays!
Having left Sydney city life and hitting the road over a year ago, Hayley Jones has serious know-how when it comes to snacks for kids. Oh did I mention she is the Craft Queen? Best we save that for another post…
“I love this recipe as it’s a great way to get Lilah involved and keep her occupied, it’s a great activity for kids,” she said.
When it comes to the dreaded long drives, Hayley said she makes the Apricot Balls for the car and mainly platter style snacks or banana bread.
“I find this recipe a lot easier than some other similar recipes as it doesn’t have too many ingredients.”
Hayley is one of many travelling families who have their trusty Thermomix on board. Here I was thinking my Multi-cooker (slow cooker, pressure cooker etc all in one), may have been a bit of an overkill to bring in the van, but apparently not.
It seems that when it comes to our main appliances what works at home can also work a treat in the van.
“I find it harder to cook on the road due to our limited pots/pans but simple good food is the key,” she said.
“We have our Thermomix which we use quite a bit to make our stock and curry pastes which are amazing.”
Welcome to the latest guest recipe in the ‘Fellow Foodie – Traveller’ series – a collection of recipes from travellers we’ve met on the road.
Guest Recipe – Apricot Balls
From Hayley & Lilah Jones
Ingredients
- 1 cup of dried apricots
- 1 cup of desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 4 tablespoons of apricot jam
- Extra coconut for rolling
Method
- Place apricots, coconut, and nuts in a blender and blitz to combine.
- With the machine running, add the jam and zest to bring together.
- Roll mixture into balls, then roll in extra coconut, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Store in air right container in the fridge.
I use a Thermomix but you could use any sort of food processor.
Enjoy 😊
Hayley Jones
Do you have a recipe you’d like to feature in the ‘Fellow Foodie – Traveller’ series?
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