by Loreena Walsh | Featured Posts, Thoughts & Ideas
Walking away from a life that provides a fair amount of security and familiarity so you can travel Australia seems crazy to so many people that we meet. Heck, it seems crazy to us, and we’re the ones who have done it!
But, what is really crazy is waiting around for happiness.
Our big plan: To have no plan. We’ve been very successful in not planning, but not so successful at being quite where we wanted to be.
You see, we’ve still been waiting for the right time to create our happy life, when instead, we should be living by our own mantra of just doing it anyway. Your goals don’t need to be realised perfectly, they just need to be realised.
We promised you this site would be all about not only family holidays, but the truth about what it’s like to embark on long term travel around Australia with kids too, and so, it’s time we share with you a bit about what’s happened since the day we drove out of our home town.
If you take a look at the photo below, you’ll notice that our trailer full of stuff that was supposed to drive off into the sunset towed behind our vehicle as we did a final lap of our home town is actually propped onto another trailer with broken leaf springs. Because we didn’t realise the springs were broken until it was fully loaded, and the real estate had just finished doing our outgoing inspection for the new tennants to arrive that afternoon, we had no choice but to hire another trailer to carry our broken trailer and excess gear all the way on our seven hour trip.
This issue ended up costing us over a thousand dollars in extra diesel and trailer hire fees, not to mention 2 days of almost straight driving that left us very worn out in order to get our stuff there, then turn around and drive back to return the hire trailer as they didn’t have one way drop off points.
Prior to all this trailer excitement, our business sale had caused a lot of stress, and indeed all the loose ends have still not been tied up, six months later, it wasn’t something we were prepared for, or happy about. In short, we let it get to us and take the shine off leaving for our big adventure.
For the last few months, we’ve struggled a bit to take stock of what we’ve been through and how we came out the other side of it.
- We were left financially worse off than we had anticipated, exhausted from the humungous task of packing, selling and moving what was left by ourselves with three children in tow.
- We had no more than a tent and the few belongings and the camp gear we’d kept.
- We felt we’d failed somehow as things hadn’t gone to plan.
- We’ve stayed with family longer than we anticipated as Matt was able to get work and re-skill at my brother’s workshop (this is both a great thing, and a frustrating thing as it’s helped us re-group, but it means we’ve been restricted due to his work hours).
Then this happened:
Matt got sick.
There’s nothing like illness to make you re-assess what you’re doing and how effectively you’ve been working toward your goals.
The universe has given us a bit of a kick up the backside and we’ve had to make some important and tough decisions.
He’s undergoing a huge range of tests at the moment, and we’re keeping everything crossed that it all comes back clear, or at least as something minor that will be easily fixed.
It made us remember:
- We didn’t set off on this adventure to do it in a new caravan, with every gadget and device known to mankind.
- We didn’t sell everything off just to sit dormant waiting for the perfect moment to leave.
- We didn’t do this for anyone else but ourselves and our children and that is all that matters.
- Life is too short and any of us could be taken at any time, the best moment to achieve our dreams is now, because there’s no promise of any moment other than that.
The Secret to Happiness NOW:
- Be brave and trust that everything is as it should be – We’ve been brave to get to this point, but we’re at the point now that we just need to jump into the deep water and trust in ourselves to stay afloat.
- Acknowledge that perfection isn’t important – So what that we don’t have the van we wanted, nor do we have some of the gear we’d aimed for, none of htat is important. What is important is that we utilise what we do have and we keep working towards our goals anyway. We’re blessed to be in the position that we are, and it would be such a waste to sacrifice everything we have until this point only to back off just at the edge of success.
- Love each other and be crazy – If you aren’t just a little bit (or a lot) crazy, selling up everyting to travel Australia maybe isn’t for you. It really helps to be a bit bonkers when undertaking this journey. The most important thing to remember though, is that it is a journey, getting there takes time, plans are bound to fail, and the best reason to do it is to bond and strengthen your family. So, in light of that, love is the most important thing, and as long as you have each other, all will be fine. I know it sounds cliche, but it works for us.
Just get out there and live your dream. You only live once, and Matt’s illness has reminded us of why we’re doing this in the first place. There’s no time like now, and you’ll never get this moment of your life back once it’s past.
Hope to see you on the road.
by Loreena Walsh | Featured Posts, Thoughts & Ideas
A little while ago I wrote a guest post for Cassie over at The Flying Drunken Monkey about how I was feeling with the de-cluttering, selling and major changes that were facing us with our decision to embrace family travel full time around Australia.
I’m reposting the blog post over here, as it’s an important reflection of my thoughts at the time we seriously started to sort through our things and boxes that had been stored away for some time. You can find Cassie’s blog by following the link of her blog name above. Loreena x
Re-published Guest Blog Post:
You know that moment where the biggest dream you dared to dream becomes reality? It’s at that moment that the enormity of what you’ve been dreaming about strikes you hard and fast and takes your breath away. That’s what this moment in our lives feels like. Breathtaking. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, but definitely breathtaking.
You see, about four years ago we did a three week camping trip from Darwin to Adelaide. We visited icons like Uluru and Kakadu, and when we returned home the itchy feet had set in. Matt tried to convince me the itch would stop, but there was no hope, the urge to travel and explore wasn’t going away no matter how hard we tried. Even the hard work of starting a business, and succeeding, did little to fulfill us, and as I went about my every day life, it was the wide open spaces of Australia that captured my imagination and heart.
So a year or so ago we decided it would be a great idea to pack up everything we owned into a shipping container and head off to travel Australia with our 3 kids.
Then, as our dreams got closer within reach, we figured why pack everything up, let’s just sell it all and be totally free of “stuff”.
It sounds like a fun proposition when you first talk about it. Removing all the stuff from your life. Thoughts ran through my mind of how liberating and freeing it would be to be rid of all the things we’d hoarded and collected over the years. Of the junk we’d moved from house to house in boxes that had never really been unpacked properly. To be free of the toys that scatter from one end of the house to the other, and the old university texts that will never be opened by me again and yet I can’t bring myself to part with, and a “Men’s Shed” full of things Matt might use one day.
So what does it really feel like to pack up your life for permanent family travel?
We were talking about this in the car tonight on the way home. Selling your life feels permanent. It feels like we’re breaking up with our old selves. As you de-clutter and sort through the entire contents of your life, not only do you question your life journey to this very moment in time, you revive old scars and heal them all over again. Revisit your old self and follow your journey to now, you question exactly where your life has been, and where it may be going.
Every photograph, every old highschool report, every memory of childhood friends. Envelopes containing the first haircut for each child, we didn’t even know we had kept, discovered in boxes. Old cards, love letters, sorry letters, kids artwork, holiday mementos, funeral booklets of loved ones, clothing we once loved that no longer fits. The sum of who we are, tucked away in boxes, in cupboards, sorted through and brought to life to remind us of our journey to now.
It took three days of straight sorting just to get through the boxes in our shed. Almost an entire ute load of rubbish has found it’s way to the tip, and what’s left behind are treasures that will be packed away into plastic tubs, one for each of us, that will hold the irreplaceable memories and pieces that define us each, to be kept safe with family.
For those things that aren’t photos, or home videos or important irreplacable mementos, to those things, we say goodbye. Goodbye to our furniture, to the kids swing set and trampoline, to the decorative knick knacks, to the kitchen gadgets, to the excessive amounts of linen and crockery we seem to have collected. Goodbye to everything that isn’t essential to live a simple life, on the road, in our caravan.
Does de-cluttering and selling up our entire lives feel overwhelming? Yes, it does, without a doubt! Do I think that having very little stuff will make our lives much more fulfilling than they ever have been before? Yes, I do.
Whether we live on the road for one year or five, I have no doubt if we are to settle back down we’ll accumulate stuff once again, but this process, has been enlightening to really understand myself, my choices, and to give me the confidence to know that being me, and being us as a family is enough. That our happiness and our bliss is not in the things that surround us, but in our journey together as a family. That the treasures we’ll have stored away in our own boxes of memories are more than enough to know that we were here, we lived, and we were happy.
by Loreena Walsh | Featured Posts, WIN
Since starting our blog, we’ve been blessed to meet both wonderful travellers and wonderful business owners, and the gang at Van Cruiser Caravans, Camping and Leisure are definitely wonderful! They have teamed up with us to give you the chance to win 2 of their large moon camp chairs. How comfy do these look!!!
TO ENTER:
1 – Like the Little Aussie Travellers Facebook Page
2 – Like the Van Cruiser Facebook Page (We’d love it if you’d say hi to the Van Cruiser team on their facebook page while you’re there to thank them for being so awesome) š
3 – In 25 words or less tell us the first place you’ll use your new moon chairs in the form below!
TERMS:
1. This competition is a game of skill. To qualify, entrants must:
a) be likers of the Little Aussie Travellers Facebook page,
b) be likers of the Van Cruiser Facebook page.
c) Entrants must answer in 25 words or less āthe first place you’ll use your new moon chairsā using the form provided, or via email at hello@littleaussietravellers.com.au
2. The prize consists of 2 Large Moon Chairs as supplied to the winner via Van Cruiser Caravans Camping & Leisure.
3. By entering the competition, entrants will be subscribed to the Little Aussie Travellers Newsletter, which is used to send information relating to competitions, travel offers and latest travel stories. All newsletters provide an unsubscribe option of users wish to unsubscribe.
4. Entrants information will only be collected for the sole purposes of use by Little Aussie Travellers in order to run the competition and send newsletters, information will not be passed on to third parties.
5. The competition start date is 6th September 2012, and close date is Midnight 13th September. Winners will be notified via email.
by Loreena Walsh | Featured Posts, WIN
We were really excited a little while ago when we hit 1000 Facebook likers!
We are now super excited that our Facebook community is getting bigger and bigger and we’re connecting with wonderful people who are as enthusiastic as we are about travelling and Australia!
So in celebration of that, we’re holding a major giveaway event across our blog and facebook page and we can’t wait to give away some amazing travel and camping prizes.
We truly want to say thank you to our readers for making this wonderful journey with us. It’s a roller coaster we’re facing now, in the lead up to our official “set off” date, and having so many people to share with is really inspiring and encouraging.
So if you’re not part of our amazing Facebook community yet, then head over now to join our Facebook Page to take part in the competitions.
We’ll be announcing each of our competitions over the month of September on Facebok.
We have magazine subscriptions, camping gear, books, travel products, DVD’s and more to give away!
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter on the right hand side of our website, as we have an exclusive newsletter giveaway!
by Loreena Walsh | Featured Posts, NSW Accommodation
You’ve been longing to escape the hustle and bustle that everyday life demands, to spend some peaceful, quality time with the kids. So imagine waking to the sound of sweet rainforest birds, whistling outside, perched on the balustrade of your own private verandah. You slowly roll over, remembering where you are. You look around your luxurious apartment, nestled amongst stunning rainforest as the morning sun glistens through the leaves, and into the window.
Ok, so in reality, this precious moment is possibly about to be invaded by little feet echoing through the fabulous living area, but when surrounded by the best that Byron Bay accommodation has to offer, then nothing can break the magic.
By now, if you’re a regular reader of our blog, you possibly realise that we love camping, and it’s what we mostly do. However, when we’re looking to treat ourselves to a gorgeous place to stay, then places like Byron at Byron Resort are great for families. It may not be somewhere you’d expect to find a family, but never fear, it really is a fabulous place to stay, kids and all!
The rooms here offer all you need along with gorgeous textiles, comfortable beds and a spa!
Eco Credentials
One of the most amazing parts of this resort is it’s eco credentials.
Sitting on 45 acres of lush rainforest and wetlands, it truly feels like you’re secluded from society all together.
The accommodation is nestled right within the rainforest with the buildings occupying less than 10% of the site, leaving lots of natural habitat so there’s plenty of wildlife around, and a superbly relaxing boardwalk that winds through the foliage leading out to a wetland habitat.
Byron at Byron has an active rainforest restoration and regeneration initiative in place, as well as carbon offset programs and Eco friendly operational systems.
What’s On Offer For Families?
You’re not going to find kids clubs and activities at a resort like this, so if that’s what you’re looking forward to for your holiday then there’sĀ lots of great resorts catering for that market.
The Byron at Byron is for families looking to really escape from the hustle and bustle of the every day and treat themselves to a splash of luxury while they’re at it.
The boardwalk winds through the resort giving children the opportunity to identify bird-life, reptiles, insects and other wildlife that is active.
There is daily yoga on offer (who says kids can’t do yoga), and one of the great things about staying here is the close vicinity of Byron Bay itself. You’re literally only minutes away from some of the most stunning beaches in the world.
Consider It.
While it’s easy to strike spa resorts off your list when looking for family holiday destinations, if you’re wanting a bit of a treat, then I do recommend considering it. We had a great time. You can see from the photos it was a couple of years ago now that we stayed, as the kids were much younger, but we’d go back for sure!
by Loreena Walsh | Featured Posts, Finances & Obligations
You don’t have to be a millionaire to live the life that you dream of. To succeed and fulfill our goals just takes passion, love, courage, vision and some hard work, it’s with that recipe anything becomes possible.
As life seems to flow by ever so fast, as another year comes to an end, it’s time for me to reflect on what got us to this point and what we plan to achieve for 2012. Our plan is simple really, to save money. To save so we can explore Australia with our children. As we move into our 30’s this decade, where we really get to know our children, where we really get to spend some amazing moments with them before they move on to live independently, I think it’s a decade we will cherish in our lives. I know one thing for certain, it’s a decade I’m not willing to let pass by in a blur of fitting in with social standards.
It occurs to me that for many years we’ve wanted to travel and explore, but while many Ā things stopped us, the overwhelming reason was affordability. I mean, who can afford just to leave everything behind and travel right? WRONG! I’ve learned a lot about both myself and my little family, and the world at large over the past few months: Unless you are truly ready for something, it’s not going to happen. Unless you TRULY want to achieve something, then you’ll always find an excuse!
I honestly believe that ANYONE can achieve their dreams, but you have to be willing and ready for hard work and sacrifice to get there, and that’s the point we are at right now!
How We’re Saving to Travel Australia
When you have a goal and you’ve thought about it for long enough, if you really want it, there comes a time when you realise there’s no way it will happen if you don’t make it. That’s where we’re at. So in order to travel Australia we need to save money. We need to be smart with our lives, we need to remain focused. We need to cut spending. In order to do that we are:
- Moving House – Cheaper rent in an old house close to work means saving an estimated $8000 a year on rent and petrol bills!
- Cutting off Pay TV – Saving ourselves a grand total of $1350
- Selling off all our “things” we don’t need
- Menu planning to reduce food wastage and allocate for packed lunches instead of buying them during the week
- Not buying by impulse – There’s lots we’ll want but truly little we will need!
Ā Where we’ve come from:
It’s amazing how we change and grow as people. Not just myself and Matt, but everyone, generally. If you talk to most people, their ideals and goals in life are a continually changing and evolving. Different passions come and go, and are replaced by new passions, new vision and new exciting forecasts for the future. It’s what makes life so interesting and what keeps things exciting.
I’m not sure if we’ve changed as people, or we’ve become more confident, allowing ourselves to be true to who we really are regardless of how different that may be to what society accepts. We’ve spent the last decade of our lives trying to break away from our past, carve new destinies and try and figure out how best to raise a young family and provide our children with a wonderful childhood, and opportunities that we perhaps didn’t have due to financial constraints.
We’ve spent the last decade faced with the mortality of close family members, left behind holding onto nothing more than memories of those we loved dearly. It was those losses that led us to an appreciation of cherishing moments over material posessions.
We’ve started and grown businesses, successful ones! Made and lost friends, had great parenting successes and many failures too! Been tortured from lack of sleep, but most of all we’ve taken as much time as we could to explore nature, explore this amazing country and allow our children to wallow in mud and experience amazing sunsets and everything in between.
How We’re Looking Forward for 2012
We’ve realised what we want. It’s that simple. We want to spend as much time as we can experiencing Australia with our kids. We want others to know that they can achieve their goals too, and we’re going to prove that anything is possible! Succeeding with our dreams is something that’s going to take both sacrifice, hard work and passion, but we’re signing on whole hearted for the journey and we’re looking forward to sharing the ride with everyone we know and all the amazing people we’ve been busy meeting online too.
How have you made your goals come true? Any tips to bring dreams into reality?
