Trent's Travels: Warmer weather sought over winter

By Tyler Maher

Jun 9, 2022

Having plenty of fun: Trent Doyle and Rio Maghinay.

Shepparton couple Trent Doyle and Rio Maghinay continue to wind their way around the country.

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Trent packed his belongings into the back of a van earlier this year and hit the open road — and Rio recently joined him on his travels.

The duo is documenting their trek for News readers to follow along.

“We had planned on settling in the Blue Mountains for the winter, but the unpleasant weather forced us to change our plans,” Trent said.

“We are seeking warmer weather over the winter — being in a van 24/7 you really experience the full realities of whatever type of weather you are exposed to that day or night.

“A low-wind, sunny day means your day is beautiful, and when it's cold, wet and windy the wind can be taken out of your sails quite quickly!”

Trent has steered the van back towards the Goulburn Valley a couple of times, but is currently heading west — following as much sun as he can.

“The best thing about living in a van is you can go where you want when you want — in most cases,” Trent said.

“We came back home to Shepparton twice, for Easter, and then for my partner’s graduation.

“Then we headed west. We hit Port Augusta and crossed the Nullarbor, visited Perth and now we are to settle somewhere around the Margaret River region.

“The van is holding up. There is always something to improve like more storage or an upgrade in equipment or system, our next move is to build some external storage around the external rear door.

“We are on a tight budget so we need to carefully plot our every move.

“Another upcoming project is adding in a plumbing system, and a kitchen table — at the minute we eat in the front cabin, the drivers’ seats, and we wash our dishes from a 20-litre water container in a plastic tub.

“We are enjoying the beautiful scenery Australia has to offer, the people we are meeting and memories we are making together.”

Trent and Rio have also been taking in the sporting scenery of the country on their travels.

This included stopping in to watch fellow Kialla product Alex Keath play at Marvel Stadium, filling in for a local tennis side in Adelaide and capturing the one and only WAFL game Fremantle champion Nat Fyfe is likely to play in his career.