03/03/2024
I’ve just been reading back over some of our very first posts and it got me a little choked up! It was such a fraught and stressful time. There was a cocktail of emotions. We spent years planning, researching and saving, months getting our house ready for sale and then in the end we had only weeks to set the van up and leave due to delays upon delays and a catalogue of errors beyond our control.
When our van finally made it off the production line, after months of delays, it was then delayed getting onto the ship in Melbourne, then again getting off the ship in freo. In that time the swift gas cooker issue reared its head and we would have faced even more delays which would have put us up s**t creek had the van gone to the dealer as arranged so we had to think quick and divert the van directly to us. This meant we had an unregistered van with a non compliant gas appliance on the drive and 2 weeks until settlement of our home and we had to ship out…
We got a mobile RV gas plumber to come and cap off the gas to the cooker so we could get a WA compliant, gas safety cert, meaning we could then put it over the pits and get it registered. We started our trip with a brand new cooker that couldn’t be used.
We had planned on receiving the van in April and heading north for winter. We didn’t end up leaving until 1st of July and ended up heading south to get our solar system fitted and do our shakedown lap. We moved into our van on the driveway a week before we left so we could set up the van and also clear out the house for the new owners. We all got Covid the day we moved into the van. The kids and Trent got over it pretty quickly but for me it lingered on for weeks and I ended up having a check up in Albany hospital about 4 weeks later.
So we finally set off feeling excited and exhausted and nervous and scared. We had this brand new home on wheels that we didn’t know how to use yet let alone fix if anything went wrong and by gee did they go wrong and quickly too. After 6 weeks in the south west we had a list as long as our arm of things that needed fixing at the first service by the dealer. You can watch our van tour vid on YouTube for the run down on what went wrong.
So we’re trying to enjoy ourselves in the freezing, windy, rainy winter weather down south with a brand new van and everything that could go wrong did, trying to navigate home schooling the kids, getting used to living in close quarters, stressing about the budget and no income, it was tax time and we were still trying to tie up loose ends with wrapping up the business and stuff too, learning how to tow and park the van with out fu***ng killing each other and feeling like s**t from a nasty virus. I realized half the gear I’d bought was wrong and the other stuff we needed we didn’t have and couldn’t get in the rural areas. Our shakedown was literally a baptism of fire and all the while we just wanted to be chilling on a beach somewhere north of the tropic but we couldn’t because we had to get these things fixed and sorted and that would have been impossible in north WA!
Our van had to go in to the dealer for 2 weeks which we had not planned for. An Airbnb for that time hit us in the hip pocket real hard as well as all the gear we didn’t realize we needed. We felt like we were spewing money after saving so hard for so long and it wasn’t on the fun things we wanted to spend it on either.
All that being said, I look back on our time down there and we had some really nice times and visited some cracking places. We loved exploring Denmark and the little hidden gem of a park at molloy river was a highlight that the kids to this day still talk about. We loved going on bush walks amongst the trees and finding incredible fungi. And ofcourse margs is always a pleasure. It’s a shame that it was overshadowed at the time by some much stress and exhaustion.
I am so glad we persevered and came out the other side. I get emotional when I stop and take stock of the things we have done, seen and achieved in the last couple of years. We have all learned SO much and seen so much. However, for us and I imagine a lot of others, the lead up to hitting the road and early transition period was hectic and once your on the road it’s like someone pressed fast forward on life. You’re always on the go and doing and seeing new things. Days and weeks merge together and you lose track of time. You’ll talk about something you did and struggle to put any kind of timeline together about when it was. You rarely know what day it is and some days wake up and can’t remember where you are.
It’s mostly a crazy chaotic mess but we love it. Like most things in life the biggest rewards require the biggest risks and a lot of hard work. This lifestyle is not for everyone and it’s definitely not all rainbows and sunshine, but if you have wanderlust in your heart plus a bit of grit and determination then maybe it might be for you too.
I am so incredibly proud of us for getting here!
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I’ve been wanting this for so long. we made the decision to travel a bit over 2 years ago and have been planning, saving, preparing and researching for that whole time. At first it was exciting then it felt like it would never happen. But this has been something that’s been on my radar for much longer than that.
I’ve always had wanderlust, I met my husband when I was backpacking in Australia, we then travelled together for a further 3 years. After settling down and having children the thought of traveling again cropped up many times but it seemed impossible. Then we came across and realized it absolutely was possible to travel long term with 3 little ones.
So last night while have celebratory pina coladas I was totally taken by surprise when I was overcome with emotion at the thought of someone else living in our house. The house that we built 11 years ago, my husband literally layed the bricks with his own hands. The house that I birthed my middle child in and brought 2 others home to, the house that has been our sanctuary and safe haven for the last 10 years. We’ve celebrated a lot of firsts here and whilst Im super excited for the next chapter in our lives, signing on the dotted line yesterday felt like a very final full stop on a big chapter in our lives and I shed a few happy sad tears. It was totally unexpected but it felt like a huge release.
So here’s to new beginnings and the next chapter for our family. I have a good idea of what I don’t want and I have a few ideas of what I do want it to include but other than that it’s a totally blank canvas, I have no idea how it will all come together and what it will look like but I’m sure it will be a beautifully, messy and unique creation.
