It’s been on their bucket list for years; travel around Australia and explore the beaches, forests and adventures right in our backyard. But we’ve all heard that before, right?
Our very own Karinda and her family of 5 are making their dream a reality by setting off this week in their caravan for an ‘undetermined’ amount of time driving around the country. This isn’t just a short-lived planned holiday, or a set one year adventure – Karinda and her partner Brendan have years planning, making choices, and setting things in motion to give them the freedom to work on the road for as long, or little as they like.
“COVID-19 was the push we needed to do it. We wanted to take the risk and give us a work-family balance that will allow us to spend time with our three kids before they turn 18.
18 is still a fair way off, but the new lifestyle will give Reef, 11, Aston-Jack (AJ), 3, and Ky, 1 some incredible memories, not to mention endless sand, sun, and ice-cream with their mum and dad.
Karinda and Brendan spent the better part of six months planning the start of their trip, preparing their car and caravan, selling most of what they owned and putting the precious things in storage. To start, they will be heading north for the first six to twelve months, stopping by to visit friends and family and staying in Noosa for a minimum of eight weeks.
So how are they going to balance work and school? It all came down to making smart choices up to this point. Karinda says “we worked so hard to give ourselves this flexibility and chose paths that meant we could work remotely”. Brendan owns small business The Medal Man which he can operate on the go, and Karinda has worked remotely with SF since March 2020. Their eight weeks in Noosa means Ky and AJ are enrolled in childcare three days a week locally, and Reef is enrolled in distance education, having started this year in preparation for the trip.
Their 22ft long caravan is completely self-sufficient with good wifi, clean computer setups, and internal bathroom, meaning they can take advantage of free campsites, off-road camping, and caravan parks on the way. But they’ll mix things up with a planned stay in an AirBNB over Easter.
This mix of available sites means a huge difference to their budget. With a family of five we all want to know whether a trip like this is even affordable. Karinda spelled it out, “we were spending $45,000 a year in rent where we were. We saved and paid for our caravan outright so there is no debt on it. Even if we stayed at paid caravan sites for an entire year, the maximum cost would be $10,000. That’s $30,000 towards our house deposit, let alone the reduced outgoings.”
That leads to the second purpose for the trip – to find their new home. Not sure where best to buy, Karinda and Brendan decided to use the journey to explore parts of Australia they never would have imagined living in. “We might find our dream property in Tasmania a year from now, but we want to see what’s out there.”
Everyone they tell about their plans says ‘that’s what I’ve always wanted to do!’ and Karinda says literally anyone can make it happen. It just comes back to that planning – if you own a home, rent it out and hit the road, cut back on what you own, and weigh up the benefits of not feeling like you have to constantly work to keep your head above water. She says they removed five trailer loads worth of junk for the tip which was a lesson in learning just how much stuff they accumulate. Now they can focus on time with each other rather than time with things.
So is she anxious? Nervous? Will there be things she’ll miss? “I might miss the space but I love that I can clean the caravan in ten minutes” she laughs. The positives outweigh the negatives every time; their space will be the warm outdoors up north, they’ll connect as a family rather than feeling like ships passing in the night, and if they need some stability, they just have to pick a spot, pull over and stay as long as they like.
“No matter what your situation is, it is possible. If this is your dream, do it. Just put the effort in around planning.”
We wish Karinda and her gorgeous family all the best on their adventure. You can keep up with them by following @smiths_ontheroad on Instagram, and follow the SF blog for regular updates.
Stay tuned!
Great trip you will have, my family envy’s yours. We too have lots of memories like this. I’m Henk and my wife is Teresa, we have 2 kids who are 35 and 37 now and I’m 63 and Teresa is 61. When my kids were young Anita and Daniel between ages 2 and 20 we traveled with 18 and 20 ft caravans about 8 times. We traveled from Melbourne to Cairns several times and from Melbourne to Perth a couple of times. We have had about 6 Caravans in total over the almost 20 years. We did shorter periods as in 4 to 8 weeks at a time and so so enjoyed it.
We hope your family have a experience of a lifetime.
All the best from the Van Der Pluym Family
Thanks for your well wishes Henk & Teresa!! Nearly 3 weeks on the road now and we are having a wonderful time.. Enjoying the warmer days up north & settling into “Van” life. We are looking forward to getting up to Cairns where we will stay a little longer to explore.
Kalina and Brendan and boys, write a journal if you can find the time. Our friends have come home for awhile but have travelled for three years now. They come home to the beach. Beautiful walks everywhere in Qld.
We have an amazing state and country.
Our friends did not leave until 10.09am each day unless a tour so kept everything calm and May only travel for a couple of hours. Maybe Reef can research the next town/ s you are coming too.
Make it a “what are we doing today” exercise. He will feel much more apart of the trip.
Say Bundaberg- Turtle Session, Reef Tour, Bundy Rum, Bundy Barrel, nice beaches, great Strawberry Farms and strawberry ice-cream, lots of produce on the roads, and so much more.
We have just bought our caravan and using restraint as to what we put in it.
Have fun and safe travels.
Thanks for the great tips Julie! We’ll be sure to pass these onto Karinda and fam 🙂