This story is written by a family with two young children who have been travelling Australia by caravan for over six months.
In this inspiring story, you will learn why they left their jobs to travel Australia full-time and what it’s like travelling with two young children...
If you had told us four years ago that we would have 2 kids, be “unemployed” and “homeless,” we would have laughed and called you stupid. We’d just bought our dream home in a quiet, little, beachside village, we’d started renovations, we were expecting our first baby and we both had secure well-paying jobs.
But fast forward to today and that’s exactly our life! We have two kids, we’re “unemployed,” we’re homeless and we love it!
We’re a full-time travelling family. We live in our caravan and, so far, we’ve been on the road for 6 months.
What Inspired The Decision To Travel Full-Time
So many people ask why we decided to pack up our lives and travel Australia. For us, it was quite a profound moment. When baby number one came along, our priorities quickly changed!
This was even more emphasised when baby number two arrived 16 months later. We no longer wanted to spend our spare time renovating, maintaining a massive backyard and working silly hours just to be able to pay off our mortgage.
We didn’t want a big, flash, fancy home, nice cars and all the latest technologies. The thought of sending our kids to daycare just so we could have all of those things, was the complete opposite of the life we were trying to achieve.
Instead, we wanted to spend time with our kids. We wanted time together as a family. So, we started looking at our options. We’ve always been a bit partial to travelling and adventure, so when one of the options we came up with was selling everything and buying a caravan, it was a no-brainer; we knew that this was the option for us.
And we honestly, to this day, have never second-guessed that decision!
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The Journey So Far
In our six months of travelling, we’ve travelled from the South Coast of New South Wales, following the coast line up all the way to Cape York.
We then headed inland and are currently exploring outback Queensland (and trying to plan our next steps – easier said than done with Covid!). We’ve seen some pretty amazing places – some that we didn’t even know existed!
It’s hard to narrow it down, but so far our top three favourites would have to be Lawn Hill National Park, Rainbow Beach and 1770. All such different places and we’ve loved them for different reasons, but all incredible in their own way.
Related Reading: 5 Top Spots To Take Your Caravan In Queensland
Choosing A Caravan For A Family With Two Kids
“Home” for us is a semi off-road Crusader Excalibur Castle. We didn’t know too much about caravans when we first started looking at buying one, but after lots of research, we had a list of things we thought we wanted. We were pretty lucky that we started looking for a van before the crazy covid prices (and wait times!) started and we happened to find this van relatively close to home.
Not only that, but it was only 6 months old! Our “Castle” is 22ft with double bunks, a north-south, island bed and full ensuite. With young kids, we wanted as little set-up as possible. We wanted to be able to stop and make dinner or stop and have a toilet at the ready. It also has independent suspension which has made a huge difference on some of the roads we’ve taken it.
After living in our van for 6 months, there are definitely things we would change (we may have started exploring other options!), but it’s definitely done the job so far and we love our little home on wheels!
Travelling with kids, especially young kids, definitely has its challenges. Every travelling family will tell you that the first 4-6 weeks are hell; there’s definitely an adjustment period! But since then, our kids have actually been pretty amazing. They’ve adapted so well to everything; the amount of time we spend in the car, sleeping on top of one another, us walking around the caravan and talking once they’re asleep. They have surprised us in so many ways!
Related Article: Buying A New vs Used Caravan
Advice For Other Families Taking Up The Caravan Lifestyle
We are by no means experts, but if there’s any advice we could give to other families thinking about living on the road full time, or even doing “a lap” it’s…do it!
There is, and never will be, a “right” time. You just find a way to make it work. Also, don’t worry about your kids. Kids are amazing. They will adapt and they learn so many incredible things on the road.
It’s such an amazing lifestyle and the opportunity to do it as a family is something you won’t regret! Don’t get us wrong, there are definitely bad days. Van life isn’t all sunshine and waterfalls, but the way we see it is that even if we lived in a house and had a “normal” life, we’d still have those days. So why not be on the road seeing and exploring the amazing places Australia has to offer?!
Want To Learn More About Their Journey? Follow their Facebook page – Just Another Van Fam to see photos and videos from their travels.
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