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The Road Mess-Travelled > The trip of a lifetime? Or just another trip? Who cares…just do it.
By Jill Thaivarayan
July 7, 2011
Jill and her beautiful kids

Once upon a time, in a land far,far away; my husband and I met a travelling man who had spent a year exploring a vast island continent that he called home. While he could be called a nomad, he certainly wasn’t grey, and he had done what we hadn’t, been a tourist in his own country before seeing the world. From that moment on, a dream was born in our minds, to travel Australia before we were grey, but while we were still nomads.

Nine years on, and far away from Turkey, we had ‘settled down’ with the house, two kids and the dog. Our feet never lost their itchiness, but we had curbed some of our adventures to suit family life. All of a sudden, our four year old was only a couple of years away from school, our three year old not far behind; and we could feel the shackles about to tighten.

Since dropping our backpacks five years ago, we had picked up our tent pegs instead, then progressed to a camper trailer when our 4WD boot was starting to overflow. So, we had the kit, we had the itch, the next step was simply the decision. We calculated the costs, worked out a budget and found that it was very ‘do-able’. Longer term travelling in general is cheaper than living at home, at least in our experience.

But, to do the trip with two little kids? For 15 years, my husband and I have lived together, often worked together, and explored a chunk of the world together; so I had no doubts about doing this trip with him. It was the two new additions to our travelling team that concerned me. How did I know I could live and travel with my two little darlings in such close proximity for 15 months or 35,000km, whichever came first?

I have realised it is sometimes better not to think too much about such things. You could say we’ve dragged them along for the ride. We have become a true family unit, a team in the most important sense of the word. We rely on each other for everything; there are no friends, extended family, or extra-curricular activities to break this dependence. We’ve also got lots of great big open space in which to vent!

We are only two months in, but already we are on an exponential learning curve; about each other, this vast country of ours, and the others who populate it. We have our perfect idyllic family moments, and we have our bust-ups; but either way it is proving to be a deeply impacting journey for us all.

People say, will the kids even remember it? I say, probably not. Personally, I can’t remember a lot of what I did five weeks ago, let alone when I was five. What I hope (and expect) is that the impressions they form, the moments they experience, and the differences they appreciate on this trip will shape their future outlook and perspective; perhaps even help carve their own paths through life. Of course I don’t know yet; but so far, so good!

 

Jill Thaivarayan is an adventurous spirit, Mum of 2 gorgeous kids and currently travelling around Australia with a camper trailer. Travel has always been an important part of Jill's (and her husbands) life ... they are now inspiring their children and other families to take long term travel adventures with small children! If you feel an itch to travel around Australia check out ExploreOz

 

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