After the initial shock of discovering we will be travelling indefinitely, the next question we get asked is why so long???? Generally if I answer them properly we end up having an hour long discussion about the how and why of today’s life, so I have started using the KISS method and simply reply

‘Because we can………’

Now if you are happy with that answer and are in a rush, stop reading now, otherwise grab a cuppa, while we delve into my head for a while. In order to not ramble on I have decided to cap our reasons to the top 5, in no particular order!!!

1. Life is too short.
2. To nuture and raise our girls the way we want.
3. There is more to life than this….
4. To slow down.
5. I HATE winter!!!

1. Life is too short.

You always hear people saying life is too short, generally they are older or are people that have lost people close to them. I used to nod and agree, but never really gave it much thought as I was young, invincible and had never even lost a pet let alone a loved one. But after Dad passed away we decided to buy a camper trailer and go on a road trip to Perth the following Christmas to spend some time with Mum’s family. Since then we have noticed there is a constant stream of sad stories from friends and acquaintances.  As far as we are now concerned it’s what is here now that matters and we are going to cherish our time together, hell it only feels like yesterday that we had our first baby, Bec.

2. To nuture and raise our girls the way we want.

OK, this one maybe a tough one as girls will be girls and teenage girls will be, well, hormonal to say the least. BUT…….we aim and would like to teach them independence, responsibility, individuality, empathy, passion, a sense of adventure and most importantly ‘street smarts’. We don’t want them growing up thinking they have to do the ‘norm’, go to uni, find a boyfriend, get a degree, get a job, get engaged, get married, buy a house, have kids, etc, etc, etc, the list goes on. We don’t want them to feel the pressure of having to ‘BE’ something, we just want them to ‘BE HAPPY’. To not have regrets, to make mistakes and learn from them and to not take this life for granted. We want to show them a different ‘norm’, a different way. They will learn how to cope and be resilient in everyday life and therefore give them the confidence to take on the world. We will give it our best bloody shot!!!

3. There is more to life than this.

The ‘great Australian dream’ for us has shifted from buying a house to simply being able to spend time with each other. We found we were so busy working and making ends meet that we were simply going through the motions, paying for a house that we didn’t get to use and enjoy because we were so busy and exhausted at the end of the day. We didn’t and couldn’t find that happy medium, that place with the perfect balance. Kudos to people out there who have found it and are living it, you deserve a medal. Put simply at the moment this life is simply not for our young family and we have decided to get out of that vicious circle and instead zig zag, somersault and backflip our way through the next couple of years. Who’s to say how and where we will land, only time will tell………..

4. To slow down

Following on from number 3, we have found ourselves living a far too hectic, busy and structured life. It is our own fault though as we try and give our girls the best opportunities to have a go at an interest that they enjoy, we don’t like to say no, but this has us now doing activities twice a day, seven days a week. In turn we are left with little relaxation and time together. Our major interests for each family member seem to revolve around sport and outdoors, so we figure why not incorporate that into everyday life but on a more recreational level than a training level. By cleverly structuring our day we can include school work and fun/ sports in a more balanced way. Also I like the idea of supervising school work outside overlooking white sand and turquoise water!!!!! I think that is a pretty good incentive for getting the school work done early!!!!!

5. I HATE Winter

Really I don’t feel the need to explain myself here…… but I will. I have and always will despise Winter, for the cold, the lack of sun and vitamin D, for the winter blues, for the sniffles and viruses and for the cold. Yes I know I put that down twice!! I’m not asking for everyday to have to be above 30 degrees, all I simply want is for everyday to be at least 24, that, I have decided is my magic number. There is something uplifting, inspiring and just plain lovely about sunshine and the smell of a balmy day first thing in the morning, a bit like the smell of freshly mowed grass on a Saturday morning.

 

Each of also have our own other little reasons or things we want to do on our trip. Nik wants catch his first ‘barra’, I would like to compare coffees from state to state……., Bec wants to go for a remote hike, Zoe wants to go to the Great Barrier Reef , Abby wants to go to the theme parks and Jess wants to play at all the skate parks around Australia. Nik and I also want to travel to the most North, South, East,West and highest point of Australia. Already we have all hiked a 14km round trip to get to the most southern point in Tassie and the eldest 2 girls, Nik and I have walked the 12km to the summit of Mt Kosciusko, so we are on our way.

We have had many different reactions from family, friends and strangers when we tell them we have sold up and are heading off around Australia indefinitely. The majority of reactions are positive, with the comment, ‘really with four girls………..gee your game’. Many people initially think it’s great until we tell them how long we are going for.

Schooling

Many people have concerns about how we are schooling and socialising the girls, especially our 13 year old. We have decided to school via Distance Education, a school in Thornbury that specialises in teaching kids who are travelling for pleasure, business or sport. We will pay them a visit in December to enrol and collect next years work.

Confined spaces and killing each other

Another concern for people is that we will all kill each other after spending time together in such a small living space. This may very well be the case at times, at many times to be truthful, but perhaps once we all learn to live with each other again instead of alongside each other we will all learn to cope.  There are no stresses, time frames or places to be because we are simply there enjoying it. It may take a bit of getting used to but I think we all enjoy each other’s company enough to persevere through the tough times.

Jobs

Other concerns are about our jobs. We have decided that we will both semi retire for the moment, how long that moment is, well who has a crystal ball. We are both prepared to ‘work’ doing whatever comes our way, knowing that there are jobs out there as long as you go out there and try to get them.

Not being in the housing market

Selling our house gave us a chance to travel without the stress of responsibilities back home. Plus we felt we have been in Somerville long enough (17 years) and weren’t too sure where we wanted to resettle, in short we felt like we needed a sea or tree change. Therefore we decided to sell up and ship out. If and when we resettle we will rent for a while to see where we like.

After much thought and research we have decided to upgrade to a Jayco Outback Swan. A trip to the Camping and Outdoors show in Melbourne, and a few phone calls backwards and forwards between 3 different Jayco dealers had us sign on the dotted line in early April, 2014. The estimated time for our camper to be on the production line and completed was 12 weeks………. happily though in the meantime we were able to sell our Tru Blu soft floor camper.

Well finally after what felt like a very long 12 weeks we picked up our Jayco Swan Outback from Page Bros Jayco in Seaford, Melbourne on Monday July 7th 2014. We were very excited and happy to finally have our new “house”. We have slowly started to get it ready for the trip, purchasing plates, bowls, cutlery and of course new matching linen.

Currently it is set up in our backyard and as we are in the depths of winter here in Melbourne it is often pouring with rain, absolutely freezing and the wind chill is ridiculous so it is getting a thorough water proofing.

As it was school holidays, as soon as we had set the van up on the Monday night, the girls all dragged their doonas out there and have slept in it for the remainder of the freezing holidays. They must love it because it is soooooo cold.

So the next thing I guess is that we must start thinking of a name for Silverfox’s new partner………………………..

 

SOLD!!! It is a very exciting time at the moment for the “Smiths”.

Approx 3 weeks ago we accepted an offer and sold our house which is another big tick in our list of getting prepared for our epic journey. Whilst we still have 10 months until we leave, we had always planned and wanted to sell about 12 months prior and rent over in Mornington, where Bec is going to high school and where we spend a lot of time with the Life saving Club and  Club swimming.

We have a couple of friends travelling between April and Oct so we are doing 2 stints of house sitting and in between we are “borrowing” my brother holiday town house, which we are extremely grateful for. So we should be able to save a bit of coin in that time.