March Reflections of our Australian Travels

March Reflections of our Australian Travels

March saw us deep within the beauty that is Tasmania. Wrapped in her glorious green forest, and calmed by her turquoise blue waters. The worst thing about acknowledging another month has passed is facing the reality that we are closer to leaving this stunning, soul inspiring island.

There’s a backlog of posts to publish, both from our journey to get here, and our explorations while we are here, so we are currently sitting for a few days at a powered campsite to relax, and catch up.

I figured the easiest way to stay up to date of what we’re doing and where we’ve been is to write a monthly reflection of our travels, so, this being the first one I’m going to focus right back from the start of our full-time travel journey and then follow on each month from now on:

bay of fires australian travel with dogs

Adventures Travelling Australia With Kids:

What it feels like to finally hit the road on our big Australian family holiday at last.

Week one on the road free camping at Bulahdelah NSW.

Heading toward Melbourne – Bulahdelah to Gunning free camping.

Staying at Jugiong free camping on the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne.

Sailing the Spirit of Tasmania with Kids (& the dog).

We tried the beautiful local produce at Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm & Anvers Chocolates.

We stayed in beautiful Stanley Accommodation, and at the Country Club near Launceston.

We explored the intensely inspiring Port Arthur, and the kids did great activities.

We also were brave enough to face the Port Arthur ghost tour.

Guess what's for dinner! #yum!!

 What’s coming up for April?

Well, we’ve really got the whole of Tasmania to uncover for you. From the breathtaking Cataract Gorge in Launceston, to the postcard worthy Bay of Fires, the most southern tip of Australia and everything in between. Over the next month, or two we’ll be uncovering the beauty of Tasmania and the best things to head out and explore with kids when you visit. One of my favourite experiences this month was the “Her Story” tour at the Cascades Female Factory in Hobart, so I’ll be sharing that with you soon too.

If I had to describe Tasmania in one word, as cliche as it might sound, then AMAZING is that word. I can’t wait to bring you more of our travel stories.

Where have you been in March?

Family Accommodation Tasmania: Stanley Seaview Inn

Family Accommodation Tasmania: Stanley Seaview Inn

Who knew it would only take a couple of hours for us to become smitten with Tasmania!

After an extremely exciting and busy day, we took the picturesque drive to Stanley to relax in the serene setting of the Stanley Seaview Inn. Wow, what a treat! Our first day on the island saw us waking at 5am to depart Spirit of Tasmania, detouring to Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm, stopping to explore Anvers Chocolate, and finally complete the tremendous day relaxing in an apartment complete with what could arguably offer one of the best views in Australia.

Austrlaia's best Accommodation views tasmania

stanley apartment accommodation tasmania

We checked in, and headed off to our apartment which offered us enough room to park the van, and unhitch so we could head off to grab a bite to eat without the hassle of towing. We’d planned to unpack our gear and head straight off to explore, but we soon realised that would be impossible. The view captivated us, and so we took the time to have a bit of a breather and recover from our busy day.

View of the Nut Stanley Seaview Inn

The apartment was beautifully designed, with a fresh, modern interior, free wi-fi, and offered a lovely in-room breakfast delivered that evening, ready for us to rise when we pleased and enjoy the stunning view over The Nut and the ocean from the balcony.

family accommodation tasmania

Amahli is our resident foodie and was excited to find our breakfast tucked away in the breakfast hatch. There was lots of variety to choose from, so everyone in the family was well catered for!breakfast delivered in accommodation

Breakfast in Stanley accommodation tasmania

The kids kicked back to soak up some television, as it had been weeks since we’d watch any and they were pretty happy to be up to date with some of their favourite cartoons. Before too long though, they were keen to explore the sites and surrounds and we took a walk around the grounds to track down the playground they’d spotted on the way in.

australias best playgrounds tasmania

I daresay there are very few family accommodation options that snuggle you in amongst gorgeous farmland with a view out to the ocean and one of Tasmania’s true icons. I’m not sure the kids realised it, but they probably uncovered Australia’s most scenic playground, get a load of the view! I really wish they’d share some of their energy with us because after a busy day they still found energy to play!

stanley seaview inn view

The village of Stanley is situated in the North West of Tasmania, and offers a unique history into the fishing industry and settlement within the region. There is a self-guided history tour with a booklet available to assist your walk through town, and lots of gorgeous historic buildings all maintained beautifully that make the effort more than worth it.  We grabbed a bite to eat at the Stanley Hotel, where such an active day took the toll on a certain someone.

Stanley Pub Tasmania

After dark, the fun didn’t stop! A quick addition of jackets and warm clothes and we were off to spot some penguins which grace the shores of Stanley. We were waiting with other tourists in a spot dedicated to watching them arrive on shore, and almost gave ourselves pneumonia in the hope of seeing the illusive birds. Finally giving up to head back to the warmth of our apartment, we did a turn in the car park only to find a single Little Penguin waiting there! Talk about exciting! A drive through town uncovered lots of gorgeous penguins hanging out under cars and crossing the road in front of us, we even managed to get a little bit of video footage we’ll put up soon.

spotting penguins, stanley tasmania

Please be mindful if you’re watching penguins to use ONLY a red torch, or cover your torch with red cellophane. White light disturbs the penguins, and it was sad to see people not following such a simple rule to try to keep disturbance to these little wonders to a minimum.

Of all places to visit in Tasmania as a first stop, I would definitely recommend Stanley. We were absolutely sad to leave Stanley Seaview Inn the next day, they have a couple of accommodation options available for families, and regularly have deals on their website so be sure to take a look. We said goodbye to the comfort of the apartment and hit the road with van in tow once more, but we didn’t leave straight away, we have lots to share about our day spent exploring the town still to come, we’ll be sharing soon.

*Disclaimer – We stayed as complimentary guests of Stanley Seaview Inn but all opinions and information here is, as usual our own honest opinion, tested out for the benefit of our readers.
Must See Tasmania: The House of Anvers

Must See Tasmania: The House of Anvers

There are moments in life when things just fall spectacularly into place, and you feel all parts of the universe aligning, our visit to The House of Anvers was one of those times. One of the goals of our Australian travels is to uncover the hidden gems of the country, and our visit to Anvers is truly one I don’t think I’ll forget. The people, the atmosphere, the story and the must-taste product produced with so much love, by hand, on premises, all combine to form a magical world of chocolate.

House of Anvers Chocolate Tasmania

Todd, the National Marketing Manager is one of the people who help to make Anvers the company that it is, and is one of the most lovely people I think I’ve met! When we arrived, Todd was accompanied by 2 lovely ladies, Margaret and Virginia, customers of Anvers who had won the opportunity to make their own chocolate! It turned out that Margaret and Virginia were also some of the most lovely people you could possibly meet, and we chatted for quite a while about Anvers, and the world of home education for children, as both ladies had educated their own children via homeschool. It’s always nice to meet others who understand that real world education on the road can be a wonderful experience for travelling families.

Customers at House of Anvers Chocolates

Chatting aside, there was an entire world of chocolate awaiting us, and the kids tested a variety of fudges on offer, before Todd took us for a tour of the facility and explained the history of Anvers to us. After hearing the journey of Igor Van Gerwen, the founder of Anvers we realised that with the love and passion he has for his product, he may just be Australia’s most passionate chocolatier.

Anvers Chocolate Store

Igor developed a passion for chocolate as a young man in Belguim, training initially for six years, and then further continuing his education, Igor trained under some of the world’s greatest chocolatiers giving him a wonderful foundation for creating his very own Australian chocolate factory, which began in 1989. Today, the factory sits amidst 1.2 hectares of luscious vegetation, and boasts a small museum, viewing deck to watch the chocolate production, store complete with free tastings, and a spectacular cafe full of delicious local inspired cuisine.

House of Anvers Museum

The amazing thing about the chocolate making process at Anvers is truly with it’s hand-made focus and philosophies. Igor’s passion for chocolate, and traditional methods mean that the chocolate making process remains in balance with traditional techniques, with everything from the creation of the chocolate to the packaging being done on site, by locally employed people, using a majority of local produce. Having been in small business ourselves, I always love it when I hear success stories of people creating sustainable businesses that enhance the local region. You can hear Igor and see some of the processes in this great video:

As someone who is very fair-trade and environmentally concious, I was really excited to discover that Igor holds the Australian distribution rights to the worlds rarest chocolate, that was brought back from extinction! Fortunato No.4 chocolate is made from Nacional Cacao a plant that was thought to have disappeared 100 years ago, until it was found by chance in Peru. Through management and planning a crop has been developed into a commercial size that gives farmers and workers an opportunity at ethical pay rates and work conditions, while providing a premium, one-of-a-kind, pure chocolate to a growing number of customers worldwide through special licensing.

Worlds rarest chocolate

 Of course, the most fun part of visiting House of Anvers is the taste testing, and buying up lots of goodies while there. We grabbed a few gifts for friends and family back home, the main problem being we’ve already eaten half of them! Come along if you’re in Tassie and taste some of the mouth watering chocolate treats, superb truffles, or grab a bite to eat from the cafe, you definitely won’t be disappointed. The kids will enjoy roaming the gorgeous, tree-filled spaces too.

Family fun tasmania Anvers chocolates

 The most single, outstanding thing about this wonderful business is the love and passion behind the product. The chocolate here is amazing, and while the taste and quality speak for themselves, it’s the family and story behind the chocolate that truly make it something special. You can order House of Anvers Chocolates Online, and we can definitely guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

The day it finally happened….

The day it finally happened….

Even now, as I write this to you all, it seems surreal.

Years of discussion, hard work, hard decisions, uncertainty, guilt and struggles both mentally and financially have taken their toll.

I truthfully can’t remember the first moment we decided we were really going to go on the biggest ever holiday with kids and tour Australia full time, it was something we’d always said we wanted to do. What we didn’t realise is just how difficult the journey to get to this point would be.

What we did realise though, was that we were on the way to finding our happiness, and yet didn’t feel happy. Things felt hard, and difficult, we were waiting for things to be right, and easy, and that just wasn’t going to happen.

Then, when Matt got sick, we realised the waiting had to be over, and we needed to be present in the moment and force our dreams to come true. Our dream of travelling full time has been a tough one to achieve, but, it taught us the most important lesson we’ve ever learned:

Dreams are hard to achieve, but it makes achieving them feel even more amazing

 

 

 

So, instead of waiting until we had the perfect gear, and the perfect finances in the bank, and the perfect work done to the car, we put all our effort into doing what we could with the time and money we had, to be prepared enough. “Perfection” is the killer of dreams, “enough” is a word that will set you free. So we have been quiet, we haven’t been blogging much, or on social media pretty much at all, but we’ve been busier than we’ve ever been in our lives, and here’s why:

A few “all nighters” and we stopped procrastinating, got done what we needed to, and here it is… the only picture I have of us driving off to our new lives, snapped by my sister in law.

travel australia set up

At 11pm on January 20, 2014, we rolled out of my brother and sister in law’s driveway near Dubbo. Waved them goodbye, along with my 2 nieces and nephew, and drove off into the wilderness to live our new nomadic lives. I would be lying if I said I was tear free, I couldn’t help but let a few tears flow, we’d been living with them for around 8 months while Matt was working and as chaotic as it was having 2 families living on top of each other, we’d all survived it pretty well and had a rhythm, even if it was a chaotic one. We’ll be forever grateful to them for everything they’ve done to help us achieve our dream.

We arrived at Mendooran, to the free campsite there, which is a beautiful camp ground with flush toilets and cold showers with lots of space and beautiful open skies, set up our van for the first “official” night on the road, and settled in to take in everything that we’d experienced on the path to that moment. Seeing as we arrived so late, we were happy to figure out that the Swan is able to be put up while still hitched to the car, and it doesn’t take long to set up either. Check out the picture below, it took my tears away and brought a smile to my face.

FirstNight2

So there you have it, we’re one the road. We’re full time nomads. No more short or medium trips, no more real home base to return to, this is it, we’ve got everything with us we need to get by. We feel excited, vulnerable, and no matter what happens throughout our journey, we all feel proud of sticking to our dreams and getting this far.

Look out Tasmania, we’re on our way……..

Discount Tickets for Theme Parks & Attractions For Families

Discount Tickets for Theme Parks & Attractions For Families

Our passion is Australian family travel, and our goal is to help you get out on the road exploring with the kids, so it’s really exciting for us that we are now able to offer our readers direct access to
discount theme park tickets,
and the best thing is there is absolutely no booking fee & you skip the ticket queues.

We’ve been able to team up with the guys and girls at Experience Oz, to offer you great prices on things such as:

  • Theme Park Tickets
  • Day Tours
  • Whale Watching
  • Animal Encounters
  • Hot Air Balloon Rides
  • Sky Diving
  • Aquariums & Zoos

latexoz

Car Modifcations for Travelling Australia – Rear Drawer System Install

Car Modifcations for Travelling Australia – Rear Drawer System Install

The planning stage for a trip around Australia requires a whole lot of decisions to be made. We’ve written before about how to choose the best car to travel Australia and we wrote this basic guide to planning a big lap of Australia for those who weren’t sure where to start, so now, we thought it was time to share with you some of the choices and modifications we’ve done, starting with our vehicle.

We chose to travel in a Nissan Patrol. A big reason for this was the space and the off road ability, as well as the dual fuel tanks and tow capacity. We knew before we purchased our car, that one of our ideal modifications was to fit a rear drawer system.

There are many options on the market for rear drawers, with everything for just fitting a basic fridge slide, to systems that contain water tanks, fridge slides and drawers. We went with the latter.

Things to consider when choosing a drawer and slide system for your vehicle:

Weight is a really important factor: Regardless of the specific weight specifications of your vehicle, the more weight you add, the bigger you can expect your fuel bill to be, and fuel is one of the biggest expenses of touring the country, so anything that keeps the cost down is a bonus. Aluminium units are ideal, some use wood, and that’s ok too, you just need to think about what it is you’re purchasing.

Self install vs professional install: Some brands give you the option to deliver the product flat packed and you then do all the assembly and fit out yourself. If you’re handy with the tools this can be a good way to go, and save you some money. Keep in mind the extra time and your skillset and weigh up these options.

Your vehicle type: Depending on your vehicle, you’ll have a range of options available to you. We had several options for the Patrol, although some less popular models may have less options available. For a basic fridge slide, most cars will be able to have this feature installed.

Second Hand Purchasing: We scored a bargain when we purchased our fit out. We have a triple drawer system with fridge slide, and a 60 litre water tank with 12 volt pump, and a half cargo barrier so we can load it up and things won’t go flying into the front of the car. I believe it would have cost close to $3000 installed. We picked it up for $1900 from ebay and it was in perfect condition. $80 delivery fee from QLD to our door, and a few hours install and it’s one of the best choices we’ve made.

Here’s our guide to the Nissan Patrol, rear drawer system and water tank install. Our rear drawer and water tank system – It arrived wrapped in plastic complete with instructions. Rain was approaching and it was afternoon when it arrived, but we figured it wouldn’t take too long so we layed it all out with a tarp on hand just in case and went about installing it.

nissan patrol rear drawer system

First Step: Remove the rear seats for the Patrol, then install the half cargo barrier.

before the nissan patrol drawer system is installedSecond Step: Was to install the water tank which is the silver you’ll see in the next photo after this one. Then install the bottom plate and attach to the floor of the car where the seats normally anchor. The drawers are then built up on top of this.

installing nissan patrol rear fridge slide system

Up Next: Install the sides and the fridge slide components.

nissan patrol fridge slide install

In go the drawers, and the shelf for the top:

rear drawer installation nissan patrol travel australia

And we’re done! By this time we’d put a gazebo up to protect us from a few showers, and it was super dark and we were working by torch light, but even though we underestimated the time it would take, it was a relatively easy job and the finished product looks great.

fitting a rear car drawer system