Yesterday Caz wrote about her travel fears and why we have delayed following our travel dream for too long.
Six weeks ago I wrote about the secret to our success and how it has taken us five years of tears, hard work and persistence to get to this point.
But today is all about JOY.
We’ve been writing about travel on this blog since 2010: three years of sharing all our wisdom and stories from 15 years of travel – we don’t want any other life.
We’ve tried and it didn’t work for us. All we got was a gigantic kick up the arse in order to follow our true passion: a life of travel.
Some people have a travel bucket list. Some don’t. But almost everyone has a DREAM.
Today we are are excited to announce that we are finally moving forward with a long-time dream of ours. We’ve spent 15 years exploring the world and very little time getting to know our own country.
It’s time for a change.
This September we are packing up the kids, the car, and few possessions and road tripping around Australia – for at least one year!
I don’t think we’ve ever been as EXCITED about a trip as this one.
It’s been a long time between drinks for a big trip, and there have been many moments in recent years when we thought it would never happen.
This is probably the biggest travel adventure we have ever taken on. We’ve backpacked Africa, campervanned around Europe and road tripped across the USA. Huge adventures that involved just Caz and I.
Now we have two little cherubs joining us and this journey will undoubtedly go for longer than any other. PLUS, we are doing it in one of the BIGGEST and MOST expensive countries in the world.
But we are up for the challenge.
Why Australia?
Because it’s our homeland.
It’s unique, it’s diverse, it’s full of larrikins and from the little bit we have seen it’s bloody beautiful. It’s an island, a country, a continent – yep, she’s a BIG one!
With a coastline stretching 50,000 kilometres and linked by over 10,000 beaches, we can’t wait to dig our toes into the sand and see sunrises and sunsets over some of the most magnificent beaches in the world.
In the centre there’s the iconic Outback. We have never been to this remote, vast area that symbolises Australia. Experiencing the open spaces and camping out under the stars is going to be incredible.
Let us show YOU our island home.
Our country is known for its world class wine regions, World Heritage National Parks, ancient rainforests, unique wildlife, spectacular reefs, vibrant cities, the Aussie sense of humour and the fascinating aboriginal culture.
We want to see and feel it all. It’s time for us to get lost again and take on an Australian adventure.
And what an experience for our girls – to show them their amazing homeland – the memories are going to be priceless.
Why a Road Trip?
Road trips provide a perfect opportunity to connect with your family, a sense of nostalgia, educational value and an environment for bonding as a family unit.
One of my fondest childhood memories are the annual road trips with my family to Port Macquarie in NSW – ever since I’ve been hooked.
Road trips are just so practical and cost effective. And as a travelling family we can’t rate them highly enough as a memorable travel experience.
Our number one tip for traveling with kids is SLOW travel, and road trips allow for that.
You can set your own travel hours and destinations, and the journey becomes just as memorable as the destination.
I’m so excited about hitting the wide open road with the kids and having the flexibility to do what we want, when we want.
It’s the best way for us to travel and run our business.
We plan to act as your virtual tour guide and story tellers as we discover Australia one blog post, tweet, Facebook status, instagram, pin, and video at a time.
Where are we going?
Everywhere and anywhere.
Starting from Sydney, we’re heading south for the summer months and then north for the winter. By hitting the Top End in the winter months we’ll escape the humidity and the wet season. You gotta plan your seasons in Oz.
At this stage we are planning for a year, but to be honest, the more we research, the more we find out there is to do, so don’t be surprised if that stretches out to 2 years.
We’re excited for our family to come and join us at certain points along the journey, and we are going to go with the flow as much as possible.
We have a rough itinerary in place for where we will be each month, but this could change as we stumble on new destinations and get new recommendations.
Here are our must sees on the bucket list for each state heading south from Sydney:
October – NSW
South Coast and Canberra.
Jervis Bay, NSW credit: Yegor Korzh
November – Victoria
The Yarra Valley, The Grampians, Melbourne, Phillip Island, The Mornington Peninsula, The Great Ocean Road.
Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road credit: edwin.11
December – Tasmania
Hobart, Launceston, Port Arthur, Cradle Mountain, Tamar Valley, Freycinet National Park, Wineglass Bay,
Wineglass Bay, Tasmania credit: coolhunter
January – South Australia
Adelaide, The Barossa Valley, Kangaroo Island, The Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedey
Barossa Valley credit: Kyle Taylor
February, March and April – Western Australia
Perth, Margaret River, The Southwest, Cape Le Grande National Park, Ningaloo Reef, Broome, The Kimberleys, Karijini National Park.
Mitchell Falls, The Kimberley credit: Devar
May, June – Northern Territory
Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Litchfield National Park, Arnhem Land, Uluru, Katherine, Kings Canyon.
Arnhem Land
July, August and September – Queensland
Tropical North Queensland, Great Barrier Reef, Whitsunday Islands, Fraser Island, The Sunshine and Gold Coasts, Brisbane.
Heart Reef, Great Barrier Reef credit: traveling greener
October 2014 – NSW
North Coast, Byron Bay, Port Macquarie, and everywhere along the Legendary Pacific Coast Highway.
We’ll be travelling SLOW (just like our manifesto says). We have to, we have two children, plus we will be working a business.
Our Mission
This trip is NOT just about us. We want to show you that family travel can be done, road trips are great fun, and Australia is worth exploring.
We are very excited about sharing our stories, tips, photos and videos from around Australia with the 155,000 people visiting our site each month.
As always, our goal is to inform and inspire you to go travel, and travel more often.
We want your help.
For us, the best travel tips always come from other traveller’s who have been there and done that, and the locals on the ground.
We’ll be reaching out to our online communities on the blog and social media for all your insider tips. Plus, we’ll be chatting with the locals in every town and other travelers on the road.
As we arrive in each place, we’ll be asking the locals (and you) to help us discover:
- the best beach?
- who makes the best coffee?
- best place for a beer?
- best place for a sunrise and sunset?
- the best fish and chips?
- best vegetarian cafe
- the best family activities?
- best walks?
We’re excited to hear your suggestions and to also share new things with you.
Types of Experiences
It’s no secret Australia can be an expensive place to travel. But we are up for the challenge of showing you how to make it affordable.
We’ll be seeking out free and unique activities along the way and sharing out tips for saving money on the road.
In our blog posts and social media updates we will share tips like:
- where to stay
- where to eat
- things to see and do
- planning
- logistics of travel in Oz
Suggested Itineraries
Although our trip is for at least a year, we know and understand a lot of you will probably only ever get to do shorter trips in Oz. So our idea is to break up our content into more practical posts.
We plan to publish posts and write eBook guides for each city and region. For example:
- 3 days in Sydney
- 3 weeks in Tasmania
- 2 weeks in the Outback
- 3 weeks in North Queensland
- 1 month in Western Australia etc.
We also plan to mix up our accommodation options as we know you all have different budgets and tastes. For example:
- camping / caravanning
- hostels
- hotels
- apartments / vacation rentals
- some luxury
- possibly some house sitting.
What Do We Want to Experience
Lots of things. Australia beyond the icons.
We love nature, food and wine, wildlife experiences, island life, sports and festivals, vibrant cities, National Parks, aboriginal culture, endless summers, family adventure, hidden gems, and BEER.
On our agenda will be classic road trips such as:
- The Gibb River Road in Western Australia
- The Great Ocean Road in Victoria
- Nature’s Way and Red Centre Way in Northern Territory
- Kangaroo Island and Wine Regions of South Australia
- Perth to the Southwest in WA
- The Legendary Pacific Coast Drive
- The Great Tropical Drive in North Queensland
- A lap of Tasmania
Follow Our Journey
On the blog we’ll be sharing everything about our journey around Australia.
- the budget tips
- the ups and downs
- the travel planning
- the reality of travelling on the road as family
- how to be a digital nomad
- travel life through our children’s eyes
- the weird and the wacky!
If you don’t want to miss any of our updates, plus all of our pre-planning posts over the next three months before we leave, then subscribe via email.
The Hashtag
#yTraveloz will be our official hashtag for the whole trip so you can follow our live updates via Instagram and Twitter.
We’ve had a love / hate affair with instagram since it launched on android, but we get it now and is probably the best place to follow our journey LIVE!
Our Pinterest boards are going to be a BIG focus and where we share our best photos and content with our 4 million followers.
As well as pinning stuff to our travel tips, family travel, food travel, Australia and bucket list boards, we’ll also create State boards you can follow to get your inspiration and information. Join us here.
Look out for our live updates on our facebook page. We’ll be sharing tips and pics from the places we see, where we eat, and where we stay.
And this is where we’ll be asking for your suggestions on things to see and do.
Food eBook
As food is such a big part of any trip, we plan to write an eBook on 30 simple, healthy dishes to cook on the road.
We’ll be seeking out local farmers markets and on the hunt for the best value in supermarkets.
Home Schooling Kalyra
Kalyra turns six in September, and one of our new challengers will be looking after her educational needs.
Are we worried? Nope. Luckily for us Caz is a qualified Primary School teacher and has been teaching around the world and in Australia since 1997.
We know that travel offers so much to our kids as far as education goes, and opens their eyes to a whole new world. Most recently we witnessed this when Savannah met Alida in Vanuatu.
There are life lessons to be learned that cannot be taught in any classroom, text book or movie. History, Science, Language, Math and the Arts can all be studied hands-on through travel.
We certainly don’t plan on home schooling our kids full-time, but for now traveling together as a family, and creating lifelong memories as a family is very important to us.
Meet Ups
In every major city we plan on having reader meet ups over a few drinks and a travel chat. We’d love to meet as many of you as possible and hear about your travel stories too.
To learn more about this and get email updates click here.
Partnerships
We will be partnering with a few select brands on this trip, but only those that are relevant and offer value to us, you and them.
For us it’s always important we create win-win-win relationships, and we are very conscious of our own brand and only aligning with companies who are a natural fit and we believe in.
Life is too short
It is ticking by, faster with every year.
Believe it or not I turn 40 in September and what a great way to kick off the rest of my life with this HUGE adventure.
Australia has given us so much. It is time for us to give back to our own country by showcasing it as much as we can.
We want to show you why there really is no place like Australia and how travel can be affordable here. It ain’t going to be like south east Asia, we certainly aren’t delusional, but we want to show how it can be done in a way that is cheaper than you expected.
So that’s it. It’s really happening, and this post is our official announcement. There’s no turning back now.
In just over three months time we’ll pack up the kids, jump in our car and hit the open road.
It’s going to be EPIC!
Where should we go?
What must we see?
SO exciting! And so happy you are coming to Victoria!!
Yeah better believe it Caroline!!! 🙂
Very jealous. I completely feel the same way. I’m 21 and have visited more places overseas then I have here. Definitely something I’ll get around to one day.
As for coffee & Brisbane…I just wrote an article on this very subject for uni a few weeks ago.
You can find it at this site if you need a bit of inspiration – http://bethlouisemackenzie.wordpress.com/other-work/brisbanes-bean-scene/
Hi Beth, a lot of traveller’s are like this, always leaving our own backyards until later. But I’d rather do it now while I’m willing and able. Looking forward to all the coffee stops 🙂
Yay! This all sounds fantastic and really well thought out. It’s cool that you can do a loop and make the seasons work like that. This makes me think about doing a long road trip around New Zealand. I’d never thought of that.
Hi Kate,
New Zealand would also make a fantastic road trip destination. You should definitely do it.
You little ripper you. Looking forward to this. Great idea, fantastic country, a whole world of content to share. The very best of luck guys. See you soon 🙂
G’day Russell,
Absolutely. Beyond excited.
What a great adventure. It’s all too easy to forget your own backyard sometimes…
and it’s a very big backyard Paul. Super excited to check it all out.
Well… yes… I don’t you’ll be bored, let’s put it that way! 🙂
Amazing! Can’t wait to read your stories… And give you tips on Northern Aus! Great work & best of luck!!
Hey Leisa,
Really looking forward to the Northern states, but the south will be incredible too 🙂
I’m looking forward to hearing about all your travels and tips on places to go and see as next year my partner and I are packing in our jobs, heading to Australia and travelling for a year. It will be great to hear your advice. Especially budget tips!
That’s awesome to hear Abi. Maybe we will run into each other somewhere?!
Keep following for all our tips!
this is a GREAT move!! So excited for you!! 🙂 EPIC adventure indeed!!
Cheers Audrey!
Oh wow, you’re going to have such an incredible journey. We spent 11 months travelling Australia in a motor home last year and followed pretty much the same route.
If you’re planning to camp/caravan then you must invest in a Camps book. I think they’ve just launched Camps 7. It’s basically a free and low cost camp site directory with country wide road maps.
I can’t wait to relive our adventures through your updates!
Great Charli, will have to get that book. Thanks for the heads up!
Where were your favourite places around Oz?
Jeepers, this could take some time!
QLD
Glass House Mtns
Seaforth – council camp ground
Blackdown Tablelands NP
Gem fossicking in Emerald and Ruby
Cairns – Mike Ball 7 Day Coral Sea Safari
NSW
Broken Hill
South West Rocks – scuba dive
Dorrigo NP
Bellingen – small arty town
WA
Cape le Grand NP
Quagi Beach Camp – swam with wild dolphins here
Agusta / Margaret River
Super Pit in kalgoorlie
Sadly we didn’t get to North WA
You should def drive the Nullarbor Plain
SA
Port Lincoln
Port Germein – catch crabs off the long wooden jetty
NT
I know you’ve driven through Arnhemland already, one of our fav parts. We drove Gove to Darwin.
We sailed the NT coast so don’t have a lot of land based recommendations!
Katherine Gorge was stunning.
Wow, awesome! Thanks for sharing Charli. Great list to refer to 🙂
So exciting! I can’t wait to read about your year around Oz! I loved road tripping on my last trip there (Adelaide to Sydney), but it was too short – would have loved to spend a year exploring. 🙂
Thanks Amy,
Yeah thinking we will need an endless amount of time. So much to see and do – a good problem to have I suppose 🙂
Guys I’m in Sydney. If you cross over here let me know, it’d be great to meet you this side of the pond!!
Hi Nataliet, we live 1 hour north of Sydney. Not in NZ 🙂
I’m so excited for you all. This sounds like an amazing trip and you have everything so well thought out, I’m impressed. I will be eagerly following along 🙂
Let’s see how all this planning goes. Will be expecting adjustments along the way. Trial and error 🙂
Congratulations to you! How extremely exciting! We’ll be following along for sure!
-Heather & Alex
You bet. Thanks Heather & Alex
Awesome plans!!! I can’t wait to read about your travels! Enjoy them!!
We will Stef thank you!
Wow so exciting! Sounds like so much fun 🙂
Cheers Michelle. We plan on creating some awesome memories!
Good move, guys. This is much more your style.
Before I specialised in cruising, I did a 6-month motorhome trip around Oz and it was incredible. It’s also when I started a travel website called Mad Nomads (now offline) – this was in 2003 – little did I know I was blogging before it became a thing! Wish I’d kept it up! So who knows where you two (four) will take it….
Top 3 places I’d recommend:
1. Uluru – lives up to expectations.
2. Coober Pedy – f*cking crazy.
3. Any hot spring in NT – good relaxing for “car arse”.
Hi Louise,
We agree with you, definitely MORE our style! And thanks for the tips, really excited for the Northern Territory!!
How excited!!! I can’t wait to follow along with your journey. I have to admit that I don’t follow blogs as much as I did in the past. With kids and work, it’s hard to comment or even read the blog. But your blog has always provided great information as well as inspiration. Keep up the good work and enjoy your EPIC road trip.
Thanks for the nice words Amy! We surely will 🙂
How exciting!! Having spent 5 months this year exploring Oz, and 2 months in 2010, I just know you’re going to have an amazing time.
Australia is big, beautiful, amazing, and has some spots you will never want to leave… even if you know the next stop will be just as great!
Some favourites, by state:
NSW: Sydney, Narooma, Byron Bay
Victoria: Sorrento (Mornington Peninsula), all the food in Melbourne, Great Ocean Road
SA: Kangaroo Island, Barossa Valley, Port Elliot (Fleurieu Peninsula) – Coober Pedy is a weird, weird place that’s def. worth a visit
NT: sunset at Uluru.
Tasmania: Hobart, Recherche Bay, the Edge of the World
WA: Esperance, Wave Rock
ENJOY! 🙂
OH – forgot QLD: Whitsunday sailing, Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation!
Hey Beatrice,
Yeah, kinda thinking it’s going to be really hard to leave certain places whilst looking ahead to new destinations.
Someone mentioned Narooma yesterday. And definitely going to Esperance. Appreciate all the suggestions!
Incredible!! Can’t wait to read it all. Love this idea so much!
Well, it might be a while until to we see you again??? 🙂
This sounds absolutely incredible! I took exactly the same route back in 2010-2011. It took me 18 months of very slow travel and it was honestly the best 18 months of my life.
I’m looking forward to reading more about your trip!
Will have to check out your posts Monica. Feel free to leave any links.
Yeah, thinking 18 months is more realistic, but time will tell 🙂
Australia and New Zealand are next on my list, but I can only make it for a month, tops! Can’t wait to hear all about your adventure, and the inspiration for my trip!
You can still have an amazing time in 1 month, just don’t try and see the whole country.
We spent six weeks with our 3 teens and 7 year old in 2011 traveling the S half of Oz… West Australia, Nullibor to South Australia, Victoria and then flew to Brisbane area. Wicked weather kept us on our toes! With teens, we found FAST travel was best to avoid boredom, and we were tripping RTW in limited time. It’s all about what works best for your family. And it was REALLY hot at the Ningaloo Reef in January 🙂 We captured our story in an ebook, link on our website. Happy travels to you, and we’d love to do it again!
That’s great Lisa. I hear you on the speed of travel with teens, I guess we won’t have that issue with our kiddies but they definitely play a role in HOW we move!
Ningaloo will be amazing. Yeah, I guess WA is hot period in the summer.
WOW! Great plans indeed. Love that you guys are doing this, hope it inspires more Australians to explore our own backyard. I look forward to following your roadtrip adventures!
We hope it does too Jean. That’s a big part of what we do!
Woo Hoo! You’ve done it! Well done! So excited for you 🙂 And you’ve picked a fabulous time for South West Australia – looking forward to catching up for a wine or beer or two or three!
Absolutely Johanna, will be spending quite a bit of time in your backyard (southwest WA) and we have to have wines/beers!
Already one of my fave regions of Oz and have only scratched the surface!!
This is amazing!!! All the best for the great road trip. It will be a great experience for the kids. Looking forward to your posts and FB updates 🙂
Thanks Dee. The kids are going to grow so much in more ways than one!
This is amazing! I’m currently roadtripping across Canada, my home country which I’d never seen much of or explored. My boyfriend and I bought a Ford Explorer, and have been camping in the back of it for the past 6 weeks! We’re not travelling quite as slow as I’d like (we ended up racing across the Prairies and going to TBEX) but it’s pretty amazing experiencing the diversity of the country I am so proud to be from.
I am (well, used to be since I quit to travel…) a primary school teacher too, and totally agree that these kind of hands-on learning experiences will be completely more valuable and memorable than anything in a classroom!
Good on you guys, can’t wait to see read along!
Cheers Kate. That’s awesome you’re loving Canada. Another road trip destination for the future.
And yes our kids will get more out of this trip than sitting in a classroom at 6 years old.
Please don’t make the normal mistake and stick to the coast and the tar seal. Get a 4WD and a tent and get off road. We drove 35000km in 6 months, and the best of Australia is a long way from the east coast . My favourite spots, which hardly anyone goes to include: Birdsville, Winton, Broken Hill, Mungo NP, Oodindnatta Track inc Williams Creek, Kings Canyon (leaves Uluru for dead), Milaprinka, Cape Le Grande NP, Green Pools WA, Karajini NP, Exmourth and swimming with whale sharks.
Best sunset – Broome – by quite a long way .
Best drive – the Savannah Way.
Best oasis – Lawn Hill, Qlds.
Most underrated and stunningly beautfiful area – Ord River WA
Also worth the detour Thursday Island. Oh and the Lost City in NT
I regret not getting north of the GBR – htere are some very remote roads north to the coast, but you need anothe 4WD for safetly.
I assume you are taking a satellite phone, you won’t be logging in regularly if you don.t We did the trip in 07 – but from what I’ve read the cell coverage hasn’t improved much. I don’t think we got a signal on the Savannah between Athertorn Tablelands and Milparinka – we were travelling fairly fast and that was still about 10 days. With kids I’d probably want a satellite phone for safety.
But really get off road, it’s very easy, buy an old Toyota Landcruiser or Nisasn Patrol – old because you want any bush mechanic to be able to work on it, and have the parts. Don’t tow because it really limits where you can go unless you are really experience. There are some cruiser converted to camper will easily take your size family.
Hi Liz,
Definitely going to get off the east coast, and the coastline in general, especially in the NT and WA.
And going up north of the Great Barrier Reef seems very appealing. Love tropical North Queensland.
Hadn’t even crossed my mind about a satellite phone, but we will tick all of those boxes when it gets closer to departure. And will be changing from Optus to Telstra that’s for sure as far as our smartphones go!
We already have a Nissan X-Trail we’ll be using, and seriously considering a camper trailer as want to do the caravanning/camping lifestyle as much as possible.
Thanks for your tips!
You should be able to get the xtrail up to Cape York, just be sure to take the bypass around gunshot creek!
Here’s a pic of when I crossed it in a Patrol back in ’06
http://www.mosey.id.au/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=260&g2_serialNumber=2
Also be very careful to abide by the restricted alcohol areas. We found the signs quite confusing, and after getting caught at a roadblock I had to fly back to go to court in Cooktown! Managed to get it moved to Brisbane, but still an expensive VB..
Cool pic. Looks intense. And yeah, I wouldn’t drink VB for free 🙂
Wow! Super exciting! I love that you’re travelling slow, too (like you said, you have to with kids), and it’ll be cool to see what kinds of things you’ll uncover about your own country taking your time to do so.
SLOW is the best way for us Sam with young kiddies, and running a business. And it’s the best way regardless 🙂
An epic adventure ahead, congratulations, what a fantastic experience for the family! Hope to meet you all and show you some good bits of the Mornington Peninsula!
Would love some advice on the Mornington Peninsula Erica. Have heard it’s beautiful but don’t know anything else.
Yep, going to be a memorable family experience!
This will be such an amazing journey. It’s wonderful to see such seasoned travellers dive into their own country. So many of us keep travelling the world saying “oh it will always be there”.
As a Taswegian I’m super excited for you to discover my home. I’ll be in touch with some suggestions when you get closer to crossing the water.
Enjoy and I can’t wait to read all about it.
That’s what we have always said too, Australia will always be there. But, we may not always be willing and able, so why not do it now when the timing is perfect, well as perfect as it gets!! 🙂
Woo hoo! A brilliant dream now a reality! You will love it and do so well with it! Look forward to catching up with you somewhere on the road….
Cheers Val. See you on the road, or in Queensland!!
This is so awesome and we’re both so excited for you! Can’t wait to follow along with this adventure x
And we must get all your best tips Christina!! Thanks, can’t wait for this next chapter.
This is so inspiring guys – absolutely love it. Love how well it is planned with plenty of room for flexibility.
Look forward to you guys coming to Melbourne and please let me know if I can help out with the Vic part of the trip at all.
Nic
Thanks Nicole, we must do a catch up in Melbourne. Have only ever seen Melbourne through the eyes of a ProBlogger conference 🙂 Looking forward to spending a good amount of time in the area!
Fantastic news guys, I would love to do something similar but we can’t really manage it at the moment…now I get to live through your travels instead 🙂
We will do our best to bombard you with photos 🙂
Thanks Carli.
Awesome you guys!! Really looking forward to read more about Tasmania! 😀
and we are really looking forward to at least a month in Tassie. Thanks Sofia.
oooh have fun! I’ve always wanted to do something like this in my home country, USA. can’t wait to read all the updates!
Go for it Sally 🙂
I am so excited for you guys and for me getting to witness it all through the blog and social media:) How on Earth will you manage Internet though? We were there a week and couldn;t get it the whole time.
Ha ha, welcome to Australia and our communications challenges! Yeah, gonna be an issue in some parts, but we’ll schedule stuff ahead of time. Where were you based?
Telstra has the best coverage next time you’re downunder!
How exciting! I look forward to following your adventures as we embark on our new life in Milan, Italy. I’m sure we’ll be tempted home to follow in your footsteps around Oz. Two must sees – Esperance WA for the most beautiful beaches in the world AND Lake Mungo National Park for inspirational stories about our millions of years of history.
Thanks for the tips Jenny. Yeah Esperance looks AMAZING! And you’re the second person to mention Mungo. Will have to look into it.
Enjoy Milan.
Awesome news, you’re going to have a ball. So many cool places to go… be sure to pack a mask / fins and spend some time snorkelling Ningaloo reef – imho it’s as good as GBR but shore based!
Everyone who visits Ningaloo says that. Got the fins ready. We’ll have to catch up over beers in Sydney and swap notes before we leave!!
Woohoo!!! How exciting for you guys!!! It sounds like an epic adventure for your family.
Thank you Bethaney – as long as the kids behave themselves 🙂
But yeah, gonna be EPIC!
Now that is an itinerary! Excited to read about your adventures over the next year.
Looking forward to sharing it with you!
Super exciting! What great memories to create with your family.
Can’t wait to read all about it (and learn more about Oz)!
It’s all about the memories Beth. They never lose value!
Your road trip plan sounds very exciting! I have travelled Oz several times for 2-3 months every time and have been to most of your destinations. You are going to have a fantastic year! 🙂
We are getting more excited by the day Michela. What was your favourite place in Oz?
You’re going to have such an amazing time! We’re dying to do a road trip around the USA but have some things we need to accomplish first…road trips are awesome!!
Road trips ARE awesome. The open road, blasting the tunes, exploring, ahhh 🙂
Looking great guys! Can’t wait to read all about it Would love to meet up when you are in Adelaide.
You will love the Flinders – We were just up there, beautiful place 🙂
Sure thing Sam!
I have never been to South Australia. Looking forward to Flinders, Kangaroo Island, Barossa, Adelaide plus much more!
Brilliant 🙂
The Flinders is amazing!!! Make sure to go Hot Air Ballooning if you can (better than a scenic flight)
Awesome guys. This will be an amazing adventure. There is just much to see in Australia it is not funny. I took five weeks to drive from Brisbane to Perth and I had to miss so much. Enjoy and take it nice and slow 🙂
SLOW will be the theme of the trip, that’s for sure!! Glad you got to do a nice road trip Dean. What was your favourite part??
Wow! Congrats on your decision. Hope your journey is everything your family dreamed.
Cheers Jackie!
This sounds perfect for you guys! I’m looking forward to seeing more of Australia through your posts. One of these days I’ll have to do a USA trip like this.
Totally perfect Christy. The countdown is on!
Road trips are the best – and around Oz you can’t get much better –
Super excited you’re heading off on the ‘big lap’ –
Looking forward to following all the highlights of your holiday adventure 🙂
Thanks Linda!
Always wanted to do the “big lap” 🙂
Perfect!! You described exactly why we chose to tour the USA for our year of travel – it’s our home! What good is it to know the world if you don’t know the place that birthed you?
So excited for you!!!
Thanks Britt,
Exactly, really excited to show the kiddies the best of Australia and beyond! Can’t wait.
Game on!!! Could not be more thrilled for you guys. x
Cheers. Got my game face ready that’s for sure!!
What an adventure! I went on a road trip several years back to trace the footsteps of my ancestors who came to Australia to work in the copper mine in Burra, SA. It’s a fascinating town that allows you to explore the old mine, brewery, jail, etc. on your own time by following a heritage passport. So not only was it a fascinating lesson about history but my personal history too as I visited the graves, old house and stomping ground of various ancestors including my great-great-great grandfather. Have you thought about incorporating some of this type of exploration in your travels?
Hey Veronica,
That’s fantastic you traced your family footsteps. It hasn’t crossed our mind, and we would have to do some research, but never say never.
What a fantastic adventure you all have ahead of you. Brilliant news. Will you guys be camping, taking a trailer, using a caravan?
Thanks Michelle,
We are planning to tow a camper trailer and really get amongst the camping / caravanning lifestyle. However, we are also planning on our fair share of hostels stays, apartment stays, and some hotels in major cities. Plus, potentially some house-sitting.
What an amazing choice of adventures. If you can take in multiple indigenous Australians as they are very diverse! Hopefully you will get to paint your own didgeridoo!
Look out country towns – the blonde nomads are on their way! Such an awesome adventure you’re embarking on.
So many stunning places – better than anywhere else in the world, this country of ours.
Ok, i’d best plan where i come and visit!
Xx
Lynny I love that term– the Blonde Nomads!! Nice one. You better come visit us lovely! Every good road trip needs a Lyndal Josephine!
Well done for taking the leap and making the decision. So exciting. I hope we catch up when you’re in Victoria!
Plan on it Laney! We’ll probably cross the border in Late Oct/ Nov
What a year of adventure you have in front of you. I think becoming an expert in your own country is brilliant – and should open the door for lots of other opportunities. Lucky kids with parents like you too charging around the country. I spent almost 3 months in Australia a long time ago and would now like to see the Adelaide area, western Australia and take a train trip across the country. One day.
Yes, our kids are very fortunate Leigh, they don’t quite no it yet but they’ll learn, and they have no choice but to travel, they chose us haha.
That’s great you’ve had 3 months downunder and YES you must come back!
Cool. Let me know when you are in Brisbane for beer o’clock!
Won’t be for probably at least a year Anthony, but maybe we’ll see you in another state?!
It’s an incredible adventure – I’m so very happy for you.
We’re still reeling after our 15 month trip around Oz – even that wasn’t long enough to see this huge backyard of ours. Our kids were 3 and 4 when we left, they are now 5 and 6.
It’s shaped our family life…possibly forever. I wish you the very best for your trip – you will love it!
Hey Jill,
I just checked out your website and bookmarked it for our trip. Great tips. That’s very inspiring what you guys did. We can’t wait. Thanks for dropping by and maybe we’ll see you on the road?? 🙂
Would love to see you guys as you swing by Brisbane…you are going to love the trip!
Great new Caz and Craig. You will absolutely love it. When our kids travelled during school term their teacher just asked that they keep a diary (come to think of it, that is sort of like an off-line Blog:)). Can we expect some on-line photos or posts from Kalrya?
Thanks Jan.
Yeah, Kalyra is already doing little Vlogs. I’m sure by the time we get settled into our trip she’ll be getting right into it and creating all kinds of stuff. Can’t wait.
Sounds like an amazing trip Criag! Did half of Australia in a camper a few years back and loved it so will keep up to date with your blog to hear about your adventures and what we missed on the other half. Would be great to meet you, Caz and the kids when you come to Cairns, I’m a local here so happy to help with local knowledge, the Great Barrier Reef and finding some of the hidden gems. Happy travels!
Thanks Phil,
Yep Cairns is definitely on the itinerary, but not sure when. So thanks for the offer, we love insider tips! 🙂
Good on you guys! It’s all too easy to lose sight of the dream, but reigning that vision back in and going for it feels amazing… and spending a whole year exploring one country is pretty epic. I am hopefully visiting Oz for the first time this year so am looking forward to your updates!
Cheers Becki, hope you make it down here. We’ll do our best to keep inspiring you!!
Seriously so excited for you guys! This sounds like it will be an incredible experience!
Thanks Ali. Really looking forward to this adventure!
Thank you Ali. It is going to be awesome. I can’t wait to be a nomad again
What an amazing journey you have planned out for the year ahead or as you mentioned, possibly longer. I’m excited to follow along. We have not visited Australia yet but it is defiantly on our bucket list!
Cheers Barbara,
Glad Oz is on your list, and we look forward to sharing our stories and tips with you as we go 🙂
Definitely Aus is my next travel destination after Macau and HK. I am really inspired by this article.
Happy to hear that Jeremy!
You should check out Nimbin (inland from Byron Bay). It is the heart of Northern NSW and really the heart of Australia’s alternative scene.
It’s quite an extreme place so you might have to leave the kids in Byron (I’m sure you’ll hear heaps about it on your adventures).
Thanks Tim. Have actually passed through Nimbin many years ago for a sticky beak pre-kids. Definitely an eye opener 🙂
That’s amazingly exciting guys! I’m so happy for you and what a great itinerary you have put together! 😀
Thanks Lorraine,
We are beyond excited for this trip. Bring. It. On 🙂
This blog is so exciting. I love the photography and the posts. Keep up the good work and hoping to read more of your adventure and road trip.
Cheers Guys!!
Awesome news guys! We plan to do the same thing in a couple years… but in North America. We want to visit every National Park in Canada and the US.
Thanks Cam,
Yep, National Parks in Oz will be a BIG focus. Love em. And you must do the same trip!!
I believe it will be one of the best experiences ever. Good luck guys! The photos are awesome and it seems it will be very busy year.
Thanks Guys, it’s getting closer by the day!!
Looks like you had a great time. My dad visited Australia a few months back and got to see a lot. Quite a bit of road though 🙂
so jealous, i miss australia!
Master Plan!!
Very eager To Know About Your Travel Stories.
Best Of Luck.
Thanks. Looking forward to sharing our stories and tips!
Looks really exciting. I want to see Mitchell falls and the Heart Reef too!
Yep, those two places will be AMAZING no doubt. Thanks Andy!
Exciting! What an amazing road trip you’ve got coming up. Can’t wait to follow along and see your island home through your photos and stories. Just reading this and looking at your photos has me itching for a trip to Australia (have never been)!
Thanks Cathy,
I’ve no doubt you would love it down here! Looking forward to sharing our pics and tips!
Fantastic! Have an amazing trip!
Cheers Kate. Will do.
Good choice !
I just started traveling Australia myself for 1 year last May. And still enjoy every minute of it. Big country indeed and lot of things to do. Have fun down under !
Albert,
Awesome Albert. Great to hear. Yep, she’s a big one! See you on the road maybe??
I can’t wait to follow your trip. I just finished the Gibb River Road and will be heading back to do it again. When you are going to Mitchell Falls via Kalumburu Road drive with care! This is seriously the worst road I have ever been on. It is worse than any road I have travel in Africa and South America. We meet so many couples and families that had been “spanked” by this road. Rolled caravans, twisted axles, shattered bearings, cracked petrol tanks…this road means business!
The Gibb River Road is in very good condition and many portions are paved now – which is disappointing.
Can’t wait to watch your great Aussie Roadtrip.
Thanks for the heads up Angela. We’ve done some of the Gibb River Road before, but that was 10 years ago. Really looking forward to getting back to the Kimberley region and Mitchell Falls.
Safe travels.
Wow, what a great adventure. Look forward to all your upcoming posts and pics! My wife and I are traveling to Australia for the first time in Feb. 2014.
Cheers Robert. What are your plans for Oz? Let us know if we can help with anything!?
Wow guys. What an inspiration. We are 1/2 through our first RTW trip and often talk about what it would be like to do it w/ kids. Best of luck. I’m sure it will be a blast. We will be following.
It’s going to be a challenge with the kiddies no doubt, but so is staying at home 🙂
And happy travels to you. Have you got Oz in your itinerary?
Hi Caz and Craig !!
Greetings from Costa Rica !!!
We wish you the best for your trip, it souds so fun … be safe and please post a lot of pictures and keep us update !!!
Greetings!! And thank you! If it’s pictures you want, it’s pictures we will provide 🙂
Late to the party but just wanted to say yay, you guys! This sounds like the trip of a lifetime, and I do think you are from one of the prettiest countries on the planet, so what better way to explore it?
Thanks Kristin. Sure is beautiful down here.
Sounds great I live in the US and grew up in Huntington Beach Ca, moved to Las Vegas 20 years ago. I have never seen much of the US always travel over seas. Australia looks great always wanted to go but where do you start.I’m starting in Cairns next week.
Welcome to Oz Ken. Cairns and Tropical North Queensland is a great place to start. Enjoy your time, and you come from a great country also!
This is going to be an EPIC road trip! Cant wait to see the pictures!
Cheers Mike. Thanks for following along.
You can even WALK around the continent in one year… 🙂
Will you?
Of course, it is not a good idea with small kids.
I think we’ll pass on that. This time 🙂
First time to the site and all I can say is WOW. First congrats on following the dream and making it happen! Secondly I cant wait to see how this goes. Having a family of five the wifey and I have concerns about just dropping everything and traveling. Since we have two boys in high school pulling them out right now seems unfair. After they finish we would love to do more traveling with the younger one. I guess planning is a must especially when something so simple as location during a certain period can make a big difference. Congrats again and safe journeys!
G’day Thomas,
Thanks for dropping by. Yeah, our eldest is only 5. It would be different if she was 15. So the outdoors is going to be their classroom for the next year or two.
We have a rough plan, but will be taking it as slow as possible. Keep the dream alive also and definitely hit the road when the time is right for you!
Thanks for the encouraging words Craig!
Sounds like you will have many great stories to update us all on soon! Enjoy the journey!
Thanks Jackie. Going to create some precious lifetime memories!
Hi Caz and Craig, I am so looking forward to following you in your year-long journey. My husband and I spent a year travelling around North America and quickly became snowbirds spending our summers at home in Canada and winters travelling in the USA. We have thought about doing a similar journey in Australia one day. One thing I wanted to suggest to you is RVing. We love living in our RV. There’s nothing like seeing new places and doing new things and still having your own bed, shower and kitchen.
Hey Anne,
So glad you will be following along. Yes we plan on towing a camper trailer so we are as self sufficient as possible, and it makes it so much more affordable to stay at caravan parks in Oz.
Yes, you must do a similar trip down here. That’s awesome you have done the US already. Once we’ve finished Oz we have similar plans for the US and Europe 🙂
This sounds like the trip of a lifetime. I just arrived in Sydney on a working holiday visa. It’s a shame I have to do the work part! I’d love to meet up when you’re here and share Aussie travel ideas!
Hi Arianwen,
Welcome to Sydney! We actually live 1 hour north and are here until end of September. Let us know if you need help with anything? Here is our detailed guide on the working holiday visa if it helps: https://www.ytravelblog.com/working-holiday-australia-visa-2/
And be sure to jump on our Facebook page and say hi.
Cheers Craig!
Thank you! I’ve liked your FB page and will follow your plans! I’ve signed up for Travel Massive in Sydney so perhaps I’ll see you there? All the best!
Wow, what a great trip! This is something I would love to do at some point in my life. I once drove from Melbourne to Cairns, and when I got to Cairns I felt like I could have kept driving so I know I could easily do the rest.
I’m back in Melbourne in December so that is too bad I will miss you guys.
Cheers James. Actually, we should be back in Victoria from Tasmania mid-late December. Would be great to meet up!
Oh my! I’m excited for you as well. I know traveling with kids for one whole year is not the easiest thing in the world but I’m pretty sure you can prove that it’s doable. I look forward to your travel posts. Enjoy!
Thank you. The kids are very excited (but have no idea what they’re in for 🙂
What a great adventure these place are awesome. I am really inspired by your photos and the captions. Keep up the great work. I like traveling and trying new thins as well.
thanks
Happy to hear that Saurabh. Happy travels to you!
I want to make Trip Around Australia. Your road trip plan sounds very exciting. I just arrived in Sydney 😀
Hey Johathan. Have an awesome time in Sydney!
I always found it funny that people want to explore the world and haven’t even explored there home country which has so much to offer. I’m guilty of that too though =P
That’s all about to change!
This (and Caz’s travel fears posts) are just awesome. Love what you’re doing for yourselves 🙂
Thank you Marianne! Very grateful for our lives.
Welcome to Australia. Hope you will enjoy our place as well. I am a fan of your blog. Totally the best.
Thanks Joshua. We are from Australia though, just choosing to explore it more!
Sounds like it will be an amazing trip! Enjoy it! Looking forward to read about your travels!
Looks like its going to be another great travel trip. Australia is one beautiful country with lots of natural beauty. Hope to follow you on this road trip.
Thanks for following along Shalu. Looking forward to seeing all that beauty!
Sounds like a phenomenal trip. Some of my favorite lesser known spots are Cape Tribulation and the surf musem in Coff’s Harbor. Have a blast
Cape Trib is amazing Noah. Definitely revisiting!!!
That sounds incredible. I’m from the northern beaches of Sydney myself and have always wanted to explore Australia too. If you guys happen to swing by the Northern Beaches, hit me up I’ll show you some of the awesome spots around here and we can exchange stories!
Sounds good Nick. We are actually from the Central Coast. Your backyard is a great part of Sydney.
Hi Caz and Craig, I too have a dream to slow travel around my home country one day. Nothing like waking up to the sounds of the birds along a lake or river somewhere with the gum trees in the background 🙂
Don’t forget to look me up when you get to Adelaide. Would love to catch up with you guys if you get a chance 🙂
Hey Jacqui, we will have a meetup in Adelaide. Hope to see you there.
You will have the absolute BEST time! We did it in 2001 for six months when our kids were 7 & 4. Best thing we ever did! You can see some of my pics here: http://bit.ly/14Kr4mV
That’s great Janet. Happy to hear that.
Hello there, i am working in the Middle East for a Year or so. I am from Ireland and i would live to see OZ before i go home. Am planning on going there at the end of Next Year before going home for Christmas.. From Spet – Dec… Am just wondering where to go and what to see!!
Regards
Michael Murphy..
It’s a big place Michael. Depends on your travel interests and how long you have? Either it’s hard to go wrong in Oz. Hope you make it.
Caz & Craig!! I am so excited for both of you. Your trip sounds AMAZING, I’m hoping to do a good ole Aussie roadtrip in a couple of years time so in the mean time I will follow your journey around oz. I will be eagerly waiting for you to reach Uluru so I can meet your family (waay to shy to say hi at the PBEvent).
Cheers,
Grace
Grace. You should have come and said hi. I don’t bite. Seriously. Would be great to hang out in Uluru.
You simply MUST go to the Bay of Fires when you are in Tasmania! It’s on the northeastern coast near St Helens, it has beautiful beaches with firey red rocks.
Check it out on wikipedia if you like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Fires
Have a great trip!
Yes Mali, we surely will. Thanks for the reminder!
Caz &Craig, I’m so glad I got to meet you, but I’m sorry that I couldn’t come up to visit more often while I was in Sydney. You live in a beautiful (and I imagine underrated) part of New South Wales. 🙂 I enjoyed our conversations and I learned a lot from you. I hope this year is all for which you’ve hoped and MORE. Best wishes from “this” side of the Pacific!
Cheers Henry. Pleasure was all ours! We’ll be seeing ya again no doubt 🙂
Congrats! You guys deserve this!! I am moving to Oz on a work visa and January. I want to do something similar. Can’t wait to here how it goes.
Hey Stephen, check out this post on the working holiday Australia visa: https://www.ytravelblog.com/working-holiday-australia-visa-2/
Hope it helps?
This is October now so you must be doing NSW? Hope you’re having fun. We’ve had clients do big trips using our caravans ex Byron, but you guys are going all the way it seems. Good luck!
Wow. Great shots in Australia! 🙂
Looking forward to following this trip, we’ve lived in Aus for four years and don’t think we’ll ever get bored of places to visit. We’re also planning a road trip in a few years, with our kids. Wish I had some places to recommend, all I can say is enjoy and make the most of it! From a personal perspective we’d be very interested in learning about what you packed, what you used most, what you never opened! Thank you.
Australia, amazing amazing place!
Amazing, wish you all the best in this adventure
Hi Craig!
I am Viet Anh, from Vietnam. My best friend living at Sydney, Australia, he usually tell me about Australia, beauty Australia, people and anything … I really want go there, but i can’t have a Australia’s visa – very hard to have a Aus’ visa at Vietnam. Do you have anyway easy go to Australia?
Thanks for your shared!
The beauty about living in this world is that its so diverse and unique in every single way that traveling in your own home country you will always find and learn about new things. Heck, even being a tourist in your own city can be surprising and wonderful!!
Comprehensive and beatiful. I come again and againto your blog.
A friend and I were thinking of doing one in a camper any budget ideas?
I’m a total novice so i will need all the advice i can get so i will be following your trip very closely.
Great post, the listed destinations and reasons behind that is completely approachable. Whenever I travel in Australia, I discover something new in the same place. Australia is a complete package for holidays with kids, family and for all age people. I love to follow off-road trip to RED CENTER and THE GREAT BARRIER REEF.
Where would be a good place for a family of 7 to stay? We are planning to visit Sydney on December for 3 days but the hotel were too expensive to be considered. Any place that might be affordable and also can easily access to tourist area?
Really envious of people who can have a well-planned trip, great blog!
I hope your adventure was great. 🙂
Yes. It was life changing!
Hi, I’m doing a year 12 project about travelling among youth and how it broadens a young persons outlook on life, I was wondering if I could get in contact with your family and get some more information about your trip away?
Hi Jess. Send us an email at: [email protected]
Hi,
Thank you so much for posting such valuable information! You are amazing and deserve much success.
Hi,
Good blog post. I’ve got a question. As a blog owner, just how long did it require for your blog to become productive? Likewise what do you enjoy most about blogging?
countrywide austral
thanks.
Very good block where gladly read reviews and questions to the people. Thank you found an interesting site.
This post should be named ‘The Ultimate Guide to Road Tripping Australia’ 🙂
The best thing about Australia is there isn’t one or two places to visit, you can pretty much go anywhere. Each area or city is great for its own unique reason. Stay on the coast for amazing beaches or go in land and see some amazing hidden gems.
Thanks for sharing your journey guys, I can’t wait to see more of our great land!
wow it is a beautiful country, i always travel around my country it is adventurous
Australia is really a fantastic place. Many people report major travel experiences to the East. New Zealand must be very beautiful too! Brazilian dream. Come to Brazil! 🙂
Hey Caz & Craig,
I am going to Australia this week, and have been researching where to go as I have never been and will be there for 1 year. Do you have a more specific itinerary, or travel ideas?
Hi Veronica,
Awesome. You can read all our best content with tips and suggestions at this page: https://www.ytravelblog.com/travel-destinations/australia/
Enjoy Australia!
Yay! This all sounds fantastic and really well thought out. It’s cool that you can do a loop and make the seasons work like that. This makes me think about doing a long road trip around New Zealand. I’d never thought of that.
I am kind of late to this article, but what an amazing thing to go traveling with kids for a whole year. How was the road trip? How much did it cost? I want to do something similar next year in the UK.