The Victorian couple who spent social isolation in a vintage caravan

Victorian couple Gabi and Zio Holdinghausen spent much of social isolation in a vintage caravan they’ve turned into a home.

The only problem was they couldn’t take it out of their front yard. COVID-19-related travel restrictions came into effect just weeks before the Holdinghausens were due to take the caravan for a lap around Australia with their three rescue dogs, Evie, Sushi and Roo.

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Now the little family is playing the waiting game until interstate travel is allowed, staying with Zio’s grandmother in the coastal town of Airey’s Inlet, with the van sitting in the driveway.

“It has been quite disheartening given we had packed up our lives and were ready to hit the road,” Gabi says. “But we’re certainly not alone, and will probably be joined by many more people once we’re given the all-clear to hit the road.”

Like many other young couples, the Holdinghausens want to get some travelling under their belt before having kids. The bond with their three fur kids was what prompted the choice of a van lifestyle.

“Travelling overseas is pretty tricky for us because we don’t want to leave [the dogs],” Gabi says. “They’re part of our family, so we looked at what we could do. For us, that was travelling Australia.”

The pair has updated the interior of the 1970s Viscount caravan – originally called “Belle” but renamed “Frankie” – adding a new floor, timber-lined ceiling, and painting it throughout, plus installing a new kitchen and bed.

Their three dogs were, of course, considered when designing the layout. Evie, Sushi and Roo love sleeping under the bed, so Gabi and Zio left an open space for them under the van bed, too.

While this is their first van renovation, it helped that they’re not total reno rookies – Zio is a carpenter, and the couple restored a Melbourne property together before moving to their current coastal base.

However, flipping a house isn’t the same as fixing up a van, and Zio had to get his head around the electrics and plumbing.

“There’s a bit of YouTube – quite a lot of YouTube,” he says. “There’s trial and error.”

Gabi adds the “welcoming and kind” vanlife social media community has been their biggest support and source of information.

“The community on Instagram has been amazing. Everyone is so willing to answer your questions … I’ve had people send me a full tutorial just on how to sort out the plumbing.”

That plumbing is for the kitchen; the van has no bathroom so on their trip they’ll need to be parked near public facilities.

To shower they’ll use a “sort-of shower curtain situation on the outside of the van, with a gas hot and cold water system,” a tip from the vanlife community. “A lot of people have said that the biggest regret they have in their build is that they’ve added a shower, because you just don’t use it,” Gabi says.

And, after investigating the toilets on the market, the pair decided it was better for their marriage just to go without.

“The thing is someone has to clean out the toilet,” Gabi says. “And to me, I think that would probably be the end of our relationship. I don’t want to do that, and I don’t want Zio to do that.”

“It will be tricky, but I would find it trickier to empty a toilet every four days,” Zio adds.

Trickier still is trying to make any plans without knowing when state borders might open up again. For now, they’re taking any travel opportunities as they come.

“Basically we’re still really unsure about what our plans are, given not all of the borders are open. At this stage we are thinking about potentially doing some smaller trips throughout Victoria and NSW and then maybe a bigger trip over Christmas to SA and WA,” Gabi says. “If the borders open up, that is.”