Caravaner’s are a friendly lot. You just have to wander around a caravan park where everyone you pass will greet you with a “hello” or “Good Morning”. Life on the road is a great way to live and you will meet a lot of temporary mates, or short term best friends and neighbours.
In all my travels I don’t think I have ever met a nasty caravaner. Everyone is always happy for a chat or to share their travels with you. Doesn’t matter if you are just walking through the park or using the shared BBQ’s. Most conversations begin with “where are you from?”. Amazing on this trip just how many fellow Victorians we have met! The conversation then leads into “Where are you headed?” at which stage if they realise you are going where they have been you get an instant itinerary of where you should and shouldn’t go next!
Most people are so nice they would give you their right arm if they could! Mark met one nice fellow in Yeppoon who was on his final leg home to Mackay. While giving his instant itinerary and the “must do” free camps, he asked if Mark had the Camps Australia book. When Mark indicated he had left his copy at home, the guy instantly said “Well you can have mine, it is only Camps 5, but we are going to buy Camps 7 when we get home and this one is full of notes!” His pride and joy and he handed it over without blinking an eye!!!
That’s all part of the Caravaner’s code. Be happy, have fun and share your experiences with fellow Caravaner’s.
It doesn’t stop when you hit the road either. Every Caravaner you pass is given a wave and a smile, acknowledgment of the secret Caravaner’s Code that you can’t really understand until you experience it. A lot can be told by the wave you receive as you pass by at high speed and I’ll try to explain the different options below….
First of all we will start with the No wave. These people are funny as they look straight ahead, two hands on the wheel and no acknowledgment to the passing caravan. These are the people who don’t know the code, often found in the more metropolitan areas and while they have a van in tow, they are not your travelling caravanner. No wavers are often young guys, or women… not being sexist, but very few women will give a wave while driving!
So then we start with the “One finger” wavers. No it is not a rude middle finger… Caravaner’s are a friendly bunch remember!! These are the beginners, those who have just started to discover the Caravan code, but are still confused as to whet it all means. For these people, they know something is going on and think they want to be part of it, so they lift one finger off the wheel to acknowledge another caravan.
From a one finger waver, most progress to become a “hooked thumb” waver. Thumb stays securely wrapped around the steering wheel leaving all other fingers to lift and greet a fellow caravaner. This is still a favourite of mine, and some will add a little twist of the wrist or sideways flick of the fingers as they become a little more seasoned.
Now we get to the true seasoned Caravaner’s. These are the ones who have been on the road a long time. They have long since discovered the code and have made it part of their life having spent not just weeks, but months and years on the road. You can always pick them because they will give a “full hand lift” wave. Now this is where true personality comes into the wave. For some it is simply a “stationary hovering” of the hand in the air, but others will wave it either “up and down” or “side to side”. I’ve even seen a “twister”… hovering hand but adding a spinning forearm to the mix.
Sometimes you will get an “other hander”, main hand remains on the steering wheel and the other hand, often the left, is raised in vigorous greeting. One that makes me smile is the “Couples” waver. Generally older and having spent a long time living the code together, the drivers partner (guess in this day and age I can’t assume it is their wife) will also raise her hand in greeting and you get double the hello from one encounter!!
The most dangerous I have seen though is the “full arm” waver. Man these guys are going to do damage. You can often pick these before the arm moves as it is the facial expression you see first. Genuine excitement at meeting a fellow Caravaner. The big smile, the wide open eyes, the raised eyebrows… then the arm comes up flopping around and around. These guys have drunk from the Caravaner’s code holy grail. They are giddy with the excitement, this is their life… this is living… this is the only religion… the meaning of life… the true existence…. then…. whoosh…. in a blink of an eye they are gone… new destinations await, more temporary best friends to meet and experiences to share… this is living to the Caravaner’s code.
Anyway, slow news day today. Left Yeppoon yesterday and drove to Airlie Beach. Man is it hot here!!
Enjoy 😉
