G'day Tigga,
We are new to the forum too, but there's heaps of great info on here.
We have just picked up our brand new 2011 Outback Swan after having an Outback Eagle for a few years. You'll love it.
For shorter stays we just use a shade sail on the outer edge of the awning and don't worry about an annex (in fact we only ever used the annex once on the Eagle and that was so we could say we had set it up!).
We are also aiming to lower the average age of grey nomads!
The Driver is Navy too, but not a skimmer...
Safe travels!
from The Nav