Somewhat Gypsea

We are Julz (French Gal), Dan (Kiwi Lad) & Nala AKA the Somewhat Gypsea Family

Julz

I’m Julie, but most of you call me Julz or even Joujoute for some of you !

& I am a the co-founder of Somewhat Gypsea

Originally, I’m from Europe (South of France), but at 19 years old I decided to do a solo travel to Australia for a year to perfect my English.

Well, guess what ?!

My solo travel ended up as a 12 years stay. I have also gotten myself a fantastic hubby, a cat, a home on wheels & a new passport!

Dan

I’m Daniel, Dan or even Danou

& I am also a co-founder of Somewhat Gypsea

I am originally from an awesome country on the other side of the world from Julz’s home country, New Zealand !

I moved to Australia to further my Cheffing career & the day I started my new job I got introduced to a Badass French Girl ! On that very first day I knew she was gonna be my Wife & I was right as we got married within the year !

What I didn’t know though is that she was gonna make us sell everything we owned, renovate an old school bus & do our lap of Australia with our cat a few years later.

So learn from me & be careful who you flirt with at work haha !

Nala

Hey guys, I’m Nala, but some of you refer to me as “Your Majesty” ; )

In case you didn’t catch that, I am the Star of this show, so let me tell you my story.

In 2019 I found myself at a shelter in Perth ( Australia) where I saw Mum for the first time & as soon as Mum opened my pen I was ALL over her, purring like a maniac & giving her the biggest head bumps ever … It was love at first sight !

My pawrents quickly realised that even though I wanted to love them I had some trauma & was terrified of most things …

I actually spent my time driving them nuts thinking I had gone as was so good at finding crazy places to hide !

So, to help me understand that I was safe around them & come out of my shell they had the great idea to create “bed igloos”

Let me explain, every morning they would arrange the pillows as an “igloo” on the bed to make me feel safe &

get used to their smell, they did this for months & it actually worked !

Van Life with a Cat

Fast forwarding to a year later my arrival all the sudden I started to hear my Pawrents talking about something called Vanlife …

I thought they were mad when they told me it meant we were all gonna live within 12 m2 & that they were gonna “harness train me” !

They had created such a cushy life for me at home, why did they want me to go on adventures ?!

but they reminded me that with them by my sides I was safe anywhere & could accomplished anything !

My Pawrents invested a lot of time making sure “Pumbaa” (our Schoolie ) was adapted for me, they made me a cabby hole that’s extra insulated & sound proof, they turned their table foot into a scratcher which they actually call my “stripper pool” coz when I clawed my front paws on top of it

I would wiggle my bottom like someone named “Candy” !

But the best thing is that they never pressured me into doing anything I didn’t want to do !

We have now been on the road for 2 years & have had the best time going on scooter rides, boat rides, paddle boarding,

chasing waterfalls, island hopping, seen so much wildlife & country !

Pumbaa - School Bus

Pumbaa is a 1983 Mazda T3000 Old Australian School Bus &

this beautiful beast was our home for over two years!

And Oh Boyyyyy, what an adventure that was !

We ran out water crossing the Nullarbor, got stuck between a sandstorm & a bushfire on the Plenty Highway (not a highway by the way, but a 4 days dirty track right in the middle of Australia), had to re-do a full Bus Build after taking on more 4WD tracks than we could count (before you ask, nope our bus was definitely not 4WD), crossed so many many rivers, one was even inhabited with crocodiles & of course we eventually ended up stuck in one of them !

The joys & tears of this adventure with Pumbaa will always be sweet memories to look back on.

So here is a little appreciation post for Pumbaa !

Stella - Newest Van

Stella is our newest van, a 2018 Citroën Jumper L4H3. So needless to say it truly feels like luxury compared to Pumbaa!

This newest van build is almost finished now & we can not wait to road-trip all over Europe. It is going to be an amazing experience wich will contrast with our experience in Australia, so we are truly excited ! Of course we are taking Nala for this road-trip !

So follow us for our adventures !