Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

On this special day of remembrance, we send thoughts and love to all those soldiers who passed away so bravely defending our freedoms, to the families who lost their dearly beloved, and to the men and women serving our country today. Thank you all! Lest We Forget.

A Family Travel Lifestyle is More Than Just Luck

A Family Travel Lifestyle is More Than Just Luck

As our goals  to see more of Australia as a family fall into place, we’ve been getting more and more comments about how lucky we are to see so many things and get to go so many places.

People truly would like to know how we get so “lucky” and how we can afford to travel with our kids. The most common remark we get is “wow, I wish we were lucky enough to be able to afford that!”.

The goal of our blog is to inspire other families to get out and see Australia. So it’s important for me to say this:

ANYONE, ANY family can get out and explore Australia! YES that means YOUR FAMILY!!

I know right now some of you are thinking, “but we can’t afford to travel”, or “but I can’t take the time off work” or even “I can’t cope with the kids” or possibly “but the kids won’t like it if we don’t go to theme parks, they don’t really like the bush and stuff!”.

I’m here to tell you to forget everything you’ve been telling yourself right up to this point.

YOUR FAMILY CAN TRAVEL AUSTRALIA! In fact, your family can travel the world if you want to. I’m about to tell you how!

Here’s the secret at how we get so Lucky!……………………………

You just have to want it bad enough.

That’s it, that’s all there is to it, YOU have to want it enough to make it happen. If that sounds over simplistic, well it is, because generally in life we make our own lives much more complex than they truly need to be. So yes, it’s simplistic, but if you REALLY, truly with all your soul want to experience more travel with your kids, then stop fooling yourself and let’s have a look at how to make it happen!

How Much do you Want it?

The real, hard, honest truth about affording family travel is that you just have to want it. I wish I could tell you that you will magically be able to afford a travel lifestyle without any sacrifice, but that’s not the truth. The truth is, that having an ache inside you to see Australia, having an ache inside you to share this amazing country (or any other country) with your children, having an ache inside you to live a life full of joy instead of stress is the true ingredient that most people are missing.

  • If you think you want it and you still aren’t doing it, then you don’t want it enough…. yet……
  • If you think you want it, but you’re not getting any closer to making it happen, then you don’t want it enough…. yet….
  • If you think you want it and you start to put plans in place, sacrifice things to bring your dream closer, then you’re on your way.
  • If you truly want to travel, then travel becomes your priority and you MUST push other wants aside in order to make your dream come true
Going Against the Grain.

Like everything in life, there are choices to be made. Too many times we hear about people wanting to “take off and travel”, but they can’t or just won’t. You know what? That OK!! In order for us to travel, we haven’t purchased a house, we homeschool our kids, and we definitely don’t own a big flatscreen tv, or a flashy car. Is there anything WRONG with having those things? GOSH NO! Part of us would love those things, but for us, the need to explore Australia, far outweighs the need to settle down into the norms of society.

Part of living a fulfilling life is about being conscious of your goals, your dreams and your needs. You need to be conscious of your personal goals, you won’t hear me whinging about not owning a house, because I know we’ve sacrificed that in order to travel. So if you REALLY, truly want to travel, you’ll need to look at what you may need to sacrifice. The reality is, many people think they want to travel long term, but they feel much more comfortable owning a home and paying a mortgage than they do out living on the road.It takes a lot of self reflection and maybe a bit of craziness to go after your true “bliss” is this your year to just do it?

Just know this: If you want it, you CAN make it happen, you just need to let go of the things you THINK keep you secure, and dare to live your dream instead!

How Are We Achieving Our Dreams?

Probably being just a little bit crazy helps! We are not rich, I will truthfully and honestly reveal to you right now that we earn less than almost everyone we know. Our circle of friends mostly earn average middle class salaries, and for the most part we earn less than any of them. We earn less because we choose to. We choose to be a one income family, we choose to homeschool our kids, and we choose not to have debt. I do work from home part time, but I need to balance that with being a mum, teacher, wife and book keeper for Matt’s business, so my business is limited to a small, much appreciated group of clients that are great to work with. Matt owns a small business and he works HARD, but we put measures in place that still allow us to live our dreams.

In order to share this amazing experience of exploring Australia with our kids, there’s a few things we’ve chosen to do:

  • We have stayed debt free.
  • We don’t align material possessions with security or success.
  • We accept that life is short, and we truly want the best experience, not just the one that’s “socially acceptable”
  • We’re not afraid to go against the grain. (You only get one life, why waste it being the same as everyone else!)
  • We SAVE our money for what we want, and make sure we know what it is we want.
 What Can YOU DO?

Take some time to think about what you really want. Then read the posts from some AMAZING families below. These guys are all travelling the world with their kids, don’t take my word for it, take a sneak peek into the lives of some amazing families and you’ll soon be blown away by what you really CAN DO if you want it bad enough!

Read These Stories by Inspiring Families Travelling the World

Only the Very Special, Lucky, Rich, and Perfect (Like Me) Can Travel by Gabi ‘

Anyone can travel by Mary at Bohemian Travelers

Diet shouldn’t stop you from travelling by Amy at livin’ on the road

If Anyone Can Travel Why Don’t You? – Keryn at Walkingon Travels

Not Everyone Can Travel – by Living Outside of the Box

You Have to Be Special Like Us if You Want an Awesome Life – Discover Share Inspire

 True Story: Single mother from Bushwick, Brooklyn, funds long-term trip without having to sell a kidney – Melissa at Break Out of Bushwick

 Anyone Can Travel, Just Let Go by Diya at a minor diversion

 Don’t Be Jealous of Our Travels! Be Happy for Us and Know That You Can Make it Happen Too ! – Susan V. and family

Anyone Can Travel…Just Find Your Way by Kate at Experiential Family

Pity, Envy, and why anyone can travel — Clark Vandeventer of FamilyTrek.org

Travel – Possible? Wandering Photographer

Even Solo Mamas on Government Handouts Can Travel (by Jody):

Anyone Can Travel Can’t They – New Life on the Road

Our Path to becoming Lucky enough to Travel A King’s Life

You Could Win $10,000 in Travel by Helping Us!

You Could Win $10,000 in Travel by Helping Us!

EDIT to say THANK YOU! We won and were officially voted Australia’s Most Adventurous Family!

 
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Click on the link above (natgeotv.com.au ^^) Vote for Us by clicking the yellow vote button on the Right Hand Side of the video

You go in the draw for the chance to win $10,000 in Flight Centre Travel vouchers! There’s unlimited Voting/Entry.

Yes you read that right!!

The time has come for our National Geographic trip details to be revealed and for the battle to be crowned Australia’s Most Adventurous Family to begin!

It feels like forever since we took our spectacular holiday along the Great Ocean Road, down to Kangaroo Island, and we’re finally allowed to share with you all the amazing details of our Nat Geo, Nissan X-trail trip.

We would be forever appreciative to anyone reading this to vote for the Walsh Family

 

I truly hope that someone we know, or who is kind enough to support us in this are the winners.

We feel so absolutely blessed that we’ve been able to share this experience with our children, and we can’t wait over the coming months to blog all the amazing details about the Great Ocean Road and Kangaroo Island with you all!

When you head over to that website, you will be able to read our diary of our trip, as well as see the promo video that was made using our footage.

Please let us know what you think 🙂

Thank you so much in advance for helping us with votes, it means the world and we’re truly grateful.National Geographic Adventurers

Family Holiday 12 Apostles

 

Please VOTE NOW, but clicking the yellow Vote button on the right hand side and entering your details. You could win $10,000 in travel too! http://natgeotv.com.au/nissanxtrail/Profile.aspx?id=165

Deciding our Dream Destinations for a Nat Geo Documentary Shoot

Deciding our Dream Destinations for a Nat Geo Documentary Shoot

As you may or may not know we’ve been given the amazing opportunity to try our hand at shooting a documentary for Nat Geo TV as Nissan X-trail Adventurers. On top of getting the chance to experience this, we also get to decide our destination, Where would we like to take our next family adventure?

For us, this decision was actually made over 3 years ago.

When we travelled the Stuart Highway in 2008 from Darwin to Adelaide, we really had no idea what we’d discover. I mean, we’d seen images of Uluru on TV, we knew we’d take a detour into Kakadu, and we had to visit Coober Pedy for sure, I mean people seriously live underground there! Little did we know that the true  spirit of Australia would capture our souls. We not only experienced things beyond our wildest dreams, but we discovered there were so many more hidden treasures out there we just knew we had to hit the road again to explore.

It’s taken3 years for the opportunity to discover a new region of Australia to appear. We’ve done plenty of short trips and camping trips, but nothing that isn’t easily accessible from home.

So, given this amazing chance to not only show other Aussie families the fun and adventure you can experience together on a road trip, but also choose our destination, we knew before we entered just where we’d go….

Adelaide Coastline pictures

Adelaide Coast Line

 

Kangaroo Island was the place on the top of our list, followed Closely by returning to Melbourne (we fell in love with Melbourne the first time we visited) and driving the Great Ocean Road…. How blessed are we that we get to do BOTH those things while capturing the adventure for other families to watch on Nat Geo TV!

Our obsession with Kangaroo Island was almost instant from the moment we read about it. I remember arriving in Adelaide and reading the local paper (we always like to read local papers on our travels to get a feel for a place) and in that paper was an advertisement for a Wildlife Park for sale on Kangaroo Island. We read all we could about Kangaroo Island, and discovered that Australia had our very own “Aussie Galapagos” Island, full of amazing animals, untouched and gorgeous nature. We’re Wildlife lovers, so we dreamt about what it would be like to own a Wildlife park in such an amazing place. We knew that one day we’d return to explore this amazing paradise ourselves.

As for the Great Ocean Road, well that’s just a MUST DO for any Australian. It’s such a long way from our home base, we just weren’t sure when we would ever get the opportunity to do this stretch. Well, now we know I guess! At the end of February, flying into Melbourne and hitting the road in our Nat Geo Nissan X-trail to capture the amazing, amazing places and spaces all along the Great Ocean Road and beyond!

So there you have it, at the end of February, just a couple of weeks away, we’ll be flying into Melbourne, taking a road trip down the Great Ocean Road right through to Kangaroo Island, to show you all how amazing this part of the country is.

Do you have a dream destination? Do you have anything you’d like us to stop and see on the way? Let us know!
Australia’s Shameful Secret & Why Australia Day is Important

Australia’s Shameful Secret & Why Australia Day is Important

Each decade of our lives brings with it new perspective, new insight, new ideals.

As each decade passes, and I reflect on the me of years gone by, I realise just how different my perceptions of the world have become. If you’d asked me in the past what Australia Day meant to me, I’d have given a wide range of answers.

Some of those answers would possibly have included:

  • A day to celebrate our history.
  • A day to spend with friends and family.
  • A public holiday off work.
  • Being proud to be Aussie.

I’m guessing that for most people, Australia Day does mean something like one of the above, or very similar. But I’ve also come to know in recent years, that for some people, Australia Day has become a stark reminder that their lands were invaded and their culture stripped away slowly and painfully. Their culture is still clinging to a fragile existence in a country that doesn’t seem to care.

When I was Growing Up….

I was raised by a hard working “Aussie” Tradie, and the values he spouted over my childhood are pretty far removed from the values I hold as an adult. I grew up in the 80’s, a time of work hard for little, spread your money around as best you could, and raise your family in the Aussie, beer drinking, BBQ cooking kind of way. Where “Greenies” were ruining people’s jobs, and unless you were “white” you weren’t really all that important, and god forbid you questioned your own sexuality, that sort of foolery was intolerable!

In all fairness, my dad has either mellowed or become so tired of me ranting about equality and the environment he’s chosen to agree with me for the sake of peace! He’s a good man, but I’m so glad that our generation seems to question what we are “fed” rather than just go along mindlessly.

When I Discovered Australia’s Secret Shame!

Yep, you read it right, Australia hides secrets, ones that need to be blown into the limelight! Until my mid 20’s I’d never really left the safe surrounds of the coast, tourism areas or main country towns. I was blissfully unaware of what I didn’t know, and then a few years ago we set off on a camping trip from Darwin to Adelaide. So excited to see things like Kakadu and Uluru, we were looking forward to discovering the “real Australia”.

What we found was not only that there are places in this country more beautiful than you can ever imagine, but sadly that there are people in this country that are forgotten about, used for political leverage, and left to live in squalor in shameful slums that most of the country don’t even know exist.

We discovered that Indigenous Australians are suffering. They are being tucked away, their needs dragged out and spoken about only when a political party needs to gain a vote, or the government wants some of the land they occupy to grant mining leases and rake in cash. There are real people, real families, real stories and there is real sadness spread across the heart of our country. There is a real culture that is dying, much of which has been lost forever and this will continue to happen unfortunately unless change is made quickly. The reality is, so few of us realise just how bad it truly is.

Why Australia Day is Important.
  • Australia Day is truly important, because EACH AND EVERY PERSON IN AUSTRALIA IS IMPORTANT.
  • Australia Day needs to be a day to celebrate our growth as a country.
  • It needs to be a day to celebrate progression toward equality on all levels.
  • It needs to be a day that cultures blend and share, merge and combine for good.
  • It needs to be a day that we hold our government accountable to be sure they are truly leading our country in a way we can all be proud of.
  • It is a day where history must be acknowledged and a path to move forward TOGETHER is celebrated.
The truth is that you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it. I didn’t know, but I want you to just consider for a moment, the pain at having everything you have known ripped away from you, ripped away from your family just a couple of generations ago.
I want you to understand that raw emotion and raw pain, causes a huge amount of sensitivity around this issue. I want you to be brave to learn about the possibilities of acknowledging our past as a country and then standing together to move forward.
I am really very, very passionate about indigenous issues, and it saddens me that sometimes Australia Day brings about debate, name calling and sometimes even violence. I truly believe that we can find solutions, that the more people who understand just how “hidden” the realities of Indigenous issues in Australia really are, the more people who learn to discover for themselves, beyond what the media or the government report, but to really learn, embrace and understand.
It is then we have a chance to make a change, so that ALL Australians can be proud, so that we can all walk together as one, and so that indigenous poverty in remote Australia is put to an end!
I hope you all had a great Australia Day, it’s a wonderful day and we should all be proud of our wonderful country, just as we should be using our voices to ensure our country only gets better, stronger and becomes the safe haven for all those who live here!