On our second date, Kev asked me to travel Australia full time in a
Life happens, grandchildren are born, there were deaths in our family, and we sold businesses and bought businesses along with real estate.
Finally, in June 2023, we left to travel Australia full-time in our caravan. I regularly update this website about where we have travelled and the things to do in different towns as we travel around Australia.
Our thoughts seriously turned to travel around Australia full-time in 2020. I think that was the year many people had a good look at their lives and decided something had to change.
We had planned to travel and live in Bali for a year and then wander through other Southeast Asian countries and up into Europe. We thought we’d travel for five years and then come back to Australia, buy a caravan and tow vehicle, and travel fulltime around Australia.
Since 2020 we were busy planning researching and working out how we would achieve this. A question that we often get asked, though, is why we want to travel to Australia.
There are lots of reasons why we want to travel Australia full-time, so I thought I would share some of them with you. Maybe you will decide that the travelling life is for you, too.
1. We Want To See Australia
This would be our number one reason. We all know that Australia is a stunning country and a country of many contrasts and we want to see it all.
But we don’t just want to see what’s on the Coast or in the tourist magazines, we want to get off the beaten track and see the small towns and communities that form the heart and soul of this country.
So many small country towns are struggling to survive, but if all us travellers keep visiting them they will have a better chance of thriving.
2. Travel Australia Full Time Slowly
We have already seen a large part of NSW and Queensland, but it has always been in short, fast blocks—usually two weeks or a month at a time.
When you are on a schedule or time limit, there are always going to be things that you miss out on seeing. By choosing to travel full-time, we will create more time to stop and explore an area more thoroughly.
It’s also a great way to take the road less travelled. You never know what you might find.
3. A Simple Life
We have both been working since we were in our teens. Kev was in upper management early in his career and then owned businesses where he worked long hours, sometimes seven days a week. He missed a lot of family time and important events such as Birthdays, Christmases and Easters.
I left school at sixteen and, apart from raising my sons until they were primary school age, have worked all my life.
Kev and I met when our five kids were adults and starting to make their own way in the world, so it was time for us to put businesses and work aside.
The turning point for Kev was when our first patrol caught fire. As he watched the Patrol go up in smoke, he thought to himself, “What the f@#! am I doing?” Six months later, he retired.
We didn’t want to wait until retirement age for this experience. We looked forward to not having the responsibility of maintaining a home and we aren’t interested in living in suburbia anymore. We are looking for a quieter way of life.
While we will still need to pay some regular bills, such as rent and insurance, the rent we receive will cover all the bills associated with our apartment on the Gold Coast.
4. New Experiences
Travel is the ideal way to experience new things. Some days may be the same, but most days we are expecting to see and do things that we haven’t before.
We believe that travel has many health benefits too. It is a great way to keep our bodies fit and our minds stimulated. We are also looking forward to meeting like minded people along the way and making lots of new friends.
5. Finding Our Forever Place
When we decide that we no longer wish to travel full-time, we know that we don’t want to return to the Gold Coast to live. But we also have no idea where we would like to live.
Fortunately we do have a home base in Hervey Bay. We moved there in February 2023.
So, while we are travelling, we hope that we might come across that special spot where we could see ourselves living. We are open to all possibilities, so who knows where we might end up!
It might be in Hervey Bay or we might find that special spot in a warm climate that we both love.
What are your reasons for wanting to travel Australia full time?
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Listen in to their podcast episode https://allaroundoz.com.au/podcasts/travelling-and-working-around-australia/
hey really awesome site and posts
thanks for sharing
Thank you….we are looking forward to heading up your way again soon!
Travelling Australia slowly is a dream of ours also. I’m so excited for you. Won’t be long now.
Glad to have found your blog!
My husband and I are off at the end of February.
We are both 56 and are working on the road as portrait photographers.
Very blessed to have this opportunity to live our dream.
Hope to meet you out there!
How exciting Jenny…..we won’t be far behind you. Hopefully we will meet somewhere along the way.
What awesome plans you have Melissa! I hear what you’re saying about wanting a simpler life. I think I’d want a base to return to as well. Our kids are in high school, so we won’t be going anywhere for a while… but I can daydream 🙂 #TeamLovinLife
before you know it they’ll be all finished. It passes in the blink of an eye!
We’ve just made a sea-change to the Sunshine Coast from Sydney. I feel that finally we’ve found our forever place. I’d still like to do a series of road trips – see Aus slowly & absorb it all. I’m excited for you & look forward to reading about it as it happens.
Thanks Jo…there is no doubting that the Sunshine Coast is a gorgeous part of Australia. I like that life there seems to move at a much slower pace.
That’s so cool. I love that you’re travelling full time. I personally would prefer to have a home back to come back to from time to time, but I do like the idea of just meandering along at your own pace without deadlines or restrictions.
Not travelling full time yet but it won’t be long! We can’t wait!
These are all very good reasons for wanting to travel Australia full-time and I can identify with them. As you know we travelled for 7 months around Australia and while it was the best days of our lives it was also sometimes challenging. I think the biggest challenge was missing my kids, family and friends. Plus you do eventually miss having space because you are living in the small confines of a caravan. However in saying all this we will certainly be heading off on more big trips but maybe not for 7 months next time. 🙂 #TeamLovinLife
How exciting that you might end up living in a new place! I am always dreaming of living in the country but Dixie will not move because of his work.
Maybe one day when he’s ready to ‘slow down’ you will be able to live your dream too Anne.