The little caravan that helped a community

Caravan Owners  Andy Hoffman and Jess Davidson helping their community recover one coffee at a time.

When rains that seemed as if they'd never give up inundated Port Macquarie a little caravan played a small role in the town's recovery. From that little caravan, one couple gave a little respite to volunteers that help to draw their community together.

In 2018,  Andy Hoffman and Jess Davidson discovered Port Macquarie had the right blend – opportunities to build their coffee business and Andy’s graphic design business, a welcoming community and the crème on top – a warm climate in which to enjoy their life or perhaps plan a family. As for their caravan – well – it’s a vintage-looking little coffee caravan. The story of that van is central to their life in Port Macquarie.

Jess says, while the 2021 flood had left their house and caravan unscathed, the couple felt they needed to help those less fortunate. She explained, “We felt like we had to do something to help. So, we started providing free coffee to the hard-working SES and mud army that were working so hard in the clean-up.”

Jess says the community they’d come to love also bought coffees for clean-up volunteers – paying forward small yet heart-felt thanks – one cup at a time.

Andy and Jess created the caravan in 2017, when they found they were tired of the trudge and toil of city life in Melbourne. The lure of sunshine and warmth, adventure and the hearty welcome of rural folk called them to plan a trip of a lifetime.

 Brewing Adventure

For them, answering the travel bug meant taking with them one of their most cherished aspects of Melbourne life – access to first class, speciality coffee. The solution offered the chance to earn some pocket money selling boutique, interesting Melbourne-style coffee from a tailor-made coffee caravan towed in the wake of the Toyota Hilux campervan. And so start Round and Round Coffee Caravan.

As for the van, Jess explained that while it looks vintage, it’s actually clad with a high-tech lightweight, strong aluminium composite called Alucobond that she believes is the reason it fairs so well surviving the elements. It was an interesting choice given Alucobond panels were initially designed for commercial applications such as exterior signage and building fascias.

The couple planned for about 9 months, working out the logistics of securing a continuous supply of the quality, specialist blend that they adored in Melbourne. That started a lengthy trek that saw them take on a meandering route between Melbourne and Darwin.

Jess remembers the best of their trip were things like, skies crammed with stars, the wide-open spaces of the Australian Outback cattle station camps, and the wide-eyed, warm hearted welcome of folk right along their trek.

After one rickety run along an outback round near the historical town of Mary Kathleen in Queensland’s north west, Jess recalls they pulled up for the evening to find that their professional grade coffee machine was precariously balanced on its bench. The bench having fallen from the wall, provided a timely lesson that even experienced travellers need to be mindful of the rigours of travelling outback.

While the cattle camps of western Queensland and the hot summer sizzle of Darwin or trekking along backroads are now pleasant memories, the tiny oval coffee caravan is still at work for the couple in Port Macquarie.

When not making coffee for flood recovery volunteers, you'll find it at its usual home by the front door of the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

Back to the future

Jess and Andy smile when thinking of the memories their little coffee caravan brewed for them.

Jess says that as they move towards building a family together, that little caravan will eventually start moving again, but home will always be Port Macquarie.

Ask Jess for advice on setting up your own coffee caravan in the hope of making your fortune and she will sigh and smile saying, “you won’t make any money, but you will gather a treasure trove of wonderful memories.”

But for the moment, Jess says there’s still around 50 more speciality coffees to make from their little caravan. They are the remaining coffees that towns folk paid forward to serve to the volunteer army that are cleaning the town.