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April 2019
 

 


The Austin family's rig

The Austin family's rig

Austin family 'lapping it up' on road trip

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TWO teachers from Newcastle in NSW and their young family say they are "lapping it up" after setting off in their caravan for a mammoth road trip round Australia. Trent and Jessica Austin and their three children set off on their open-ended odssey shortly before Christmas and are already around 7000 kilometres into the journey. And, they admit, it's not without its challenges, the biggest being adjusting from living in a four-bedroom house to a 22ft caravan. "Whilst it's daunting, we have a real sense of optimism and excitement for what the future holds," they told Caravanning News. "And we feel incredibly blessed to be in a position to make this investment in our family. We may be away for 12 months, 24 months or never return home." The couple said their "insatiable appetite for a life of freedom" followed a five-week holiday. Below is a personal account of their adventure.


The Austin family: new life on the road

The Austin family: new life on the road

 By Trent Austin

"Let's make it a year or more!" were the words that passed my lips that night


I returned home from my first day back at work after a five-week camping expedition to North Queensland.

I'm Trent (39), assistant principal of a primary school in suburban Newcastle. My wife Jessica (38) is also a primary school teacher.

Stella (9) is in Year 4, Tommy (8) in Year 3 and Sage (5) at Kinder.

It was October 2017. Just five weeks on the road was enough to create an insatiable appetite for a life of freedom exploring our beautiful, massive continent ... 12-month ‘lap'.

But how would we afford it? What would we do with our house? Rent? Sell? What about our careers? How would the children be affected being out of school for a year? Could we survive life together 24/7?

All rational questions, but the yearning desire to make invaluable memories with our children won out.

We've always heard people say 'Make the most of it. The children grow up so fast and before you know it, they’re gone!'

I don't think until you're a parent and you experience this happening right before your very eyes that it does ring true.

2018 would be the year of sacrifice ... planning, preparing and saving.

Tommy and Stella with an example of their 'homework'

Tommy and Stella with an example of their 'homework'

Being teachers, we live by the adage 'fail to plan, plan to fail'.

So we back mapped a plan, dividing each month up with our names in the top columns and jobs in the rows.

As we achieved the jobs, we'd tick them off, which added to the excitement and sense of accomplishment.

We sold most of our furniture, built a wall down the middle of the garage for storage quotes for storage were $5000 p/a ... a rip off and rented the house out late December 2018.

We saved around $55,000 and the rent from the house would be a handy income stream to top up funds.

Being a stickler for spreadsheets, I created a budget sheet so we could track daily spending on our iPhones.

We spent months trying to conjure up a blog name to record and share our memories and tips to inspire others to join us and the other 100, 000 families travelling Australia.

We wanted something that encapsulated Australia in a single word or phrase.

Then one day in October it came: the classic Australiana song from 80s group Men at Work. Down Under adapted nicely into Livin' in a Van Down Under.

We registered Facebook and Instagram accounts, bought a drone, laptop and started upskilling on 'the technology interweb thingy that all the young kids are on'.

No getting away from schoolwork for these kids

No getting away from schoolwork
for these kids

December 21 was here before we knew it.

We drove out of Newcastle bound for destination 1: Shoal Haven Heads Holiday Park - South Coast, NSW.

Because of weather restrictions, we're heading south and then west.

Both being educators, our children's school has granted us a Travel Exemption, meaning we are not bound by the guidelines Distance Education and Home Schooling require.

We plan to use that freedom to its full advantage.

Our blog updates will focus on the ways we educate our three children throughout the 'lap'.

We will also feature any interesting stories and characters we encounter along the way.

The journey is not without its challenges.

The biggest adjusts are going from a four-bedroom house to a 22ft caravan (we're constantly dancing around to avoid bumping into each other) and of course, spending 24/7 together.

We can’t do much about the lack of space but to ensure we stay married, we've had to put things in place so that we get personal time alone.

Mum goes for evening bike rides while dad puts the kids to bed, and dad goes for an early morning run or swim while the kids are asleep.

We may be away for 12 months, 24 months or maybe never return home.

Whilst it’s daunting, we have a real sense of optimism and excitement for what the future holds and feel incredibly blessed to be in a position to make this investment in our family ... an investment that the caravanning and camping lifestyle can make possible.

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