Wollongong’s Hannah Macleanan and Sam Bailey are travelling the countryside and sharing their experiences as part of their new role as Jayco’s RV official correspondents. They are pictured checking out the southern Riverina’s Morgan’s Lookout at Walla Walla. Photo: Vanessa Hayden.
Sam Bailey and Hannah Macleanan are literally ”living the dream” after being given the keys to a $180,000 Mercedes-Benz motorhome and told to go and travel Australia.
The Wollongong couple has just been announced as the winners of Jayco’s “World’s Greatest Job” competition, in which they beat 561 other applicants to land a gig that gives them a home on wheels for 12 months, a salary, a travel allowance and camera gear.
The trade-off? They have to film, post, blog, write, talk and vlog about their Australia-wide travels as Jayco’s official RV correspondents.
While intrepid travel is not foreign to the pair, taking a 25-foot (7.5-metre) motorhome up hill and down dale is an entirely new experience for the 30-year-olds, who are also about half the age of the demographic normally found gadding about in these roving rigs.
“It’s incredible; it’s the first time I’ve driven something this big,” said Sam.
“We picked it up in Melbourne and I felt pretty comfortable after the first day.
“It was a case of being thrown in the deep end, but after navigating our way out of the city on six-lane freeways, it gave me the confidence I probably needed.
“It’s also got cameras all around it, which makes it a lot easier parking or reversing into tight spaces.”
So far, they’ve visited places such as Shepparton, Lake Boga, Echuca-Moama, Albury-Wodonga and parts of the southern Riverina. They are about to head for the hills and drive over the Great Dividing Range to Omeo and Lakes Entrance before making their way up the coast in time to be back home in Wollongong for Christmas.
Sam and Hannah’s home away from home is the $180,000 Mercedes-Benz Destiny motorhome, the perfect perch from which to take in a sunset or two. It is pictured here at Kurrajong Lookout near Lake Hume. Photo: Sam Bailey.
After that, it’s northward bound. Queensland, the outback, the Sturt Highway in the NT and back to South Australia and Tasmania.
Undaunted by the prospect of heading north during the height of summer, the pair is well accustomed to tropical conditions, having previously travelled during the ”wet season”.
“We are used to that sort of weather. We have visited northern Australia before during the warmer months and besides, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, so you take it and run with it!” Hannah said.
Their strong teamwork might stem from a lifelong bond that began when they were just two years old.
“We lived next door to each other in Essex in the UK,” Hannah said. “When my family emigrated to Australia, I was five, but both of our parents stayed in touch and there were visits over the years.”
The pair got together through their mutual love of travel and their relationship ignited during a holiday together in Vietnam two years ago.
With her career in professional dancing and modelling, Hannah is not afraid to be in front of a camera, and with Sam’s background in videography and digital creations, he’s more than comfortable behind one.
The roving couple is getting off the beaten track as part of their storytelling responsibilities and discovering hidden gems like the Jindera Pioneer Museum, just north of Albury. Photo: Vanessa Hayden.
Together they run a creative agency and marketing business named Point Footage Creative Studios, which has already seen them work with travel-related clients, both in Australia and overseas.
It seems they were destined for this role, with their itinerary planned for them and stays booked for them along the way in G’Day-branded caravan parks, where they feel right at home with their grey nomad counterparts.
“Actually, it has been really sweet,” Hannah said.
“We have received so much help and advice already and if we arrive at a park and there’s something we are struggling with, our neighbours are quick to come over and ask if we need a hand.
“At one point, we were missing a part to a hose and one of the other park guests went to Bunnings and came and knocked on our door and said, ‘Here you go, I picked these up for you.’
“They have all been really interested in our role as Jayco correspondents and are keen to follow our adventures online. It’s been a really great start.”
Hannah and Sam expect to rack up around 10,000 kilometres on their journey, which kicked off on 10 October.
“We are into activity. We love mountain biking and hiking and we love jumping in the water and having a swim,” Hannah said.
”We picked ourselves up some bikes when we were in Albury so we could do the rail trail to Tallangatta, so they’ll become part of our adventures too.”
You can follow Sam and Hannah’s journey at Jayco Australia on Facebook and Instagram or via Sam and Hannah’s Point Footage pages.
