Has it really been 2 years since we left home to travel Aus?
2 years ago we were excited yet anxious. We were jumping in whole heartedly, not quite sure how it would all work out yet hoping our preparations would pay off. We had no savings, we still have a mortgage, and we had two young adult sons with special needs, not really independent yet.
On the other hand we had Glenns work situation which was doing him more harm than good. When we left 2 years ago, we were hoping that travel would mend the wounds caused by intense work pressure.
We have been amazed in so many ways.
Cobald Gorge, Queensland. Infinity pool.
Morgan’s Lookout. Walla Walla, NSW.
We have been amazed at how well our boys are coping. They have matured immensely and they now manage day to day chores in our family home, they have improved their independent living skills with a combination of regular grandmothers coaching and help from their NDIS supports. One of our boys has gained his drivers licence and the other is now happily taking driving lessons after years of anxiety about it. At 24 and 22, this is a huge help for their independence. Both their grandmothers live close by and have been a wonderful help, although, because they are both over 70, Covid has reduced their physical contact of late. It is nice to see that our son who drives, now visits his grandmothers to check up on them during Coronavirus. It makes me very proud to know his caring nature is still there as an adult.
As for having no savings, we still “live on love” as I say. For the last 2 years we have not worked (except for helping out for a short time at my old pharmacy workplace during Covid lockdown) We have traveled Australia as tourists. This has been the absolute best for Glenns mental health, and I am pretty happy too!
Glenn has gone from “playing” with photography to creating some absolutely amazing award winning photographs!
Below are some of his favourites.
The fact that we still have a mortgage has worked in our favour. We have redrawn from our equity to travel. This option scares so many people, but with an option of redraw, or declining mental health, we took the gamble and it has paid off, even if we do have a larger mortgage than we did 2 years ago!
We are now at the point where we have gained some work on the road starting next week. We will be working on the grain harvest for a few months. Looking forward, we are hoping to be able to work for a few months on the road, then travel for a few months, visiting home in between. That would be ideal as neither of us like the idea of working a regular 9-5 job ever again! Lets see what happens from here ……
Our 2 years traveling has been jam packed, we have not done a typical loop, instead we have zig zagged the country including many central roads and desert tracks.
Some statistics from our 2 years on the road are listed below:
We have traveled 72 599 KM’s, Spending $19669.22 in fuel
Accomodation: We have spent just under $7000, an average of $10.98 per night.
Free camping 326 nights.
Low cost, under $20, 148 nights.
Even when we have no choice for low cost (our under $20 bracket) we choose to camp unpowered to lower the cost. We have found in some locations there is no choice but to pay over $20, sometimes up to $50 for an unpowered site in a tourist area.
We have had just 85 powered nights in 2 years. We do not carry a generator.
Groceries: $14967 ($142 per week)
Grog: $3731 ($35 per week)
Tours: $7345 ($69 per week)
Our most expensive tour – Horizontal Falls $1924! And worth every cent!
We could give you a total dollars spent, but you would freak out!
But, i would ask you, how much would you have spent in the last 2 years at home? And I bet the majority of you would have spent more 🤔
We have taken Almost 25 thousand photos. …… how many rolls of film is that 😅
There has been 1 major car accident and 1 brand new tow vehicle.
4x hospital emergency departments and 2x ambulance trips.
1x serious bog, requiring a tractor to pull us out.
Amazing opportunities and experiences are in abundance. There is something new every day. A lifestyle of living together 24/7 in a small box is not for everyone, some people can’t understand our passion, but we have adjusted perfectly to this life and it works for us. We are very Happy Campers!
A Great read & glad we have caught up a few times in this 2 years & I am sure we will again. Keep up the great work enjoy the working bit just to get more travels in
Thanks Guys. We have enjoyed our meetings too. We consider you both good friends and look forward to catching up again one day 😍
Well done guys. You are absolutely living the dream.
Thanks Melissa. We are loving this life.
What an inspirational read. We are just about to set off and I have been doing the budget, so your facts and figures where helpful and I am now a little more confident.
So pleased for you and your family that this adventure has rewarded you in so many ways.
Thanks for your feedback. You must be so excited! We post a monthly blog of our expenses, giving an overall weekly spend. If you follow our FB page, you will see them. You can travel on any budget really, if you travel slowly, you spend less. Good luck with it all.
Wow, this is such an amazing adventure!!!! Life now motto at its best!!!
Thanks Scott. Live for today in case tomorrow doesn’t come 😊
Hello thankyou for your share , We are taking off in feb better to travel now then later,we just bought Ute and Van . Your info is helpful to us thankyou so much.
Glad we could be helpful. Enjoy your adventure!
We too are in the process of planning our trip. Probably two years or so. We are 58 and 62 so fare way from a pension. Thank you for sharing your trip and costings it make a huge difference when we can follow others doing similar trips and see what you need to budget. Thanks and keep enjoying your adventures.
We are younger than you, so retirement is out of the question, and even access to Super is out! But, it has still been the best decision for us. Wishing you lots of happiness and fun adventures
Have taken on board your washing machine ideas, would love toknow about your solar setup.
Our solar is nothing out of the ordinary. We have 320W on caravan roof, 240 amp batteries. We also have an additional battery in the car to run the extra fridge and a solar panel on the car roof. We have a solar blanket if needed, but rarely use it. We don’t carry a generator. We have a 3 way caravan fridge, compressor fridges use much more power. This set up suits our power needs for long term.
Would love to hear of your travels.
We post most days on our Facebook and Instagram pages. 😊
I am so happy I stumbled across your post and knew I just had to read your blog.
We are a little older then you but it is still a leap of faith to leave everything and everyone that you know behind and jump into full time travel, but we know the timing is right.
I have also made the decision to not do the lap as a whole but to set up loops some longer some shorter. Our Family is everything to us, so be it as part of a loop or a fly back from a destination to far to drive home will happen every few months. We will still have to budget but we are hoping the $1000 per week will cover us. I am trying to get some money saved into an account to cover some of those big ticket tourist attractions like Horizontal Falls etc, otherwise I know we will get there and not want to take the money out of the travel account lol.
We will continue to follow you and enjoy your blogs and just maybe catch up somewhere in this beautiful country of ours.
Thanks for your story. We also budgeted on $1000 per week, with additional funds for Horizontal Falls. (Its worth every cent) Thankfully we have been able to keep our expenses much lower than $1000, which helped to extend our trip, with a bit of work in between. We visit home now. We are lucky to be able to say we are at home around 4 weeks a year, similar to other peoples annual leave, and we travel the rest while others are working! Its a great lifestyle.