Next Adventure

Thanks Mike - oh for that lotto win!

Hi Baz, thanks for your view, however it's not a blog, its a forum thread, more of a plan and invite than recounting in detail a trip or journey log.

Decided not to go down to the south east. In the month we had there were more spectacular places to visit. Tassie on the whole was disappointing this trip (aside from the snow on Boxing Day).

I've travelled there quite a bit on my motorbike and for work, and it now seems to be in full tourist mode, more aiming at the fly-in, hire a Barina, stay in chalet type visitor than a true four wheel drive bush camper. Lotsa caravans of course but not really catering for the true far offroad, stay away from the crowds type camper like us...don't misunderstand us, we did find some locations like that, the odd boat ramp here or there, but nothing like the Red Centre or the Kimberleys where you can pull over and not see anyone for days...

It sure was crowed, and full of Victorians! I remember walking through the Big 4 at Cradle Mountain - every Victorian we walked past, looked away or didn't respond to our g'days...every Queenslander called us over for a beer!

Didn't see any Tasmanians.. I think they have gone the way of the Tiger and are now extinct ;-)

Hi Amy and Jarrad (and the Narnia family)! Awesome website and blog and many kudos to you all! What a challenge and and adventure. Your Toyota must be huffing and puffing, I think I can..I think I can....with all that weight! I cringed when I read about the wet Oodnadatta Track - we got caught in heavy rain on it with our rig and we had troubles, sliding and jack-knifing at 5kph in first low range!!
We have thought long and hard about the education thing and you're right (and wrong) as there are advantages and disadvantages...Our Education Department tries very hard to discourage you when the kiddies are getting to High School age.. there is distance ed of course, however the travelling lifestyle would have to change dramatically to accommodate regular formal education sessions, which could start to take the fun out of it (IMHO). There are also issues with the hard sciences, mathematics, phys ed and regular social interaction. We run a consultancy here in Perth and whilst we can work on the road I have to regularly fly to other locations for short periods. This would mean leaving the family stuck in our small camper-trailer or god-forbid..... caravan ;-). So you are right, there are lotsa plus's and lots potential minus's - everyone must choose what's right for them.. as you have. We'll enjoy our four months of pure travel and then back to the desk and worksites..;-(
Good luck with your journey and I'm sure you'll all be richer for it and the inevitable challenges that come with it.. did I say - great website and blog!

Hi Mike and Amanda,
So pleased you got the Narnia reference, the kids love that series so when we started the blog they chose their pseudonyms from it. We're really pleased to that you like the blog, we put a bit of effort in to it, so it is always so rewarding when someone enjoys it!

The landcruiser definitely has it's days ... we had really strong winds a few weeks ago and it really struggled. We just had to pull over in a rest area and wait. You're experience on the Oodnadatta Track sounds pretty much like ours - just not the place you want to be driving when it starts raining.

I don't think the full time travel is the life-style everyone would want to choose - and we actually enjoy the short periods where we stop to work. It's a bit different. We are registered home-schoolers (and have been home-schooling for a long time now) so we don't really have much to do with the Department of Education.

The point you raise about social interaction is a huge issue. Funnily enough, no one ever seems to raise it with us now but it used to get raised all the time when we home-schooled in Melbourne. Our kids do go for long periods without seeing any other kids, and it is a problem.

My degrees are science based, so I enjoy teaching the sciences, but everyone has their particular area that they struggle to teach - mine is the LOTE that they're learning. I guess I just see it as getting easier because having home-schooled for a while I see the teaching kids how to read well as the hard part. It is seeming to get easier and easier once they can read well. In that respect, I think it is so much harder earlier on when they are still learning how to read.

Anywho, to your original comment about travel companions, we are heading over towards WA so if you are travelling in your home state at all over the next year we would be interested. It'd be great for the kids to have a couple of other kids around.

Kind regards, and all the best with your trip,

Amy and Jarrad

Thanks Amy! Our degrees are all science oriented as well, however I'd struggle to remember and teach some of the physical science and maths stuff - I was never any good at that and Amanda is worse! My current degree relates to organisational psychology, but I don't think I could apply it in the Camper Trailer or that the kids will be interested ;-).

Love to catch up if it is possible - we leave March 31 and will only be in WA for 2-3 days before hitting the Gunbarrel. We'll re-emerge in the Kimberleys sometime around early-mid July dependent on what happens and the whole plan is of course dependent on what the wet does this year. If it is a bad one and late like last year we'll probably go in the opposite direction...we'll see.. as a 'planner' I usually like to know 'what' and 'where', however for this trip I'm working very hard on the 'here and now' and who cares about tomorrow...

Take care and we'll keep an eye on your web site and blogs..hopefully we'll meet..

I think I may struggle to be interested in organisational psychology too :) I use the cheat meethod of purchasing a home-school curriculum and tailoring it to our needs ... between the guide that someone else has written for me and my own knowledge it's generally OK for me!

We'll be heading across the Nullabour within the month to WA, and based on how slowly we travel we'll be in the state for at least the next year. We've moved completely into the "here and now" phase, which makes it harder to arrange things in advance because we keep going off on tangents. :)

We'll have to keep in touch though and see where we are both up to by March...we've not had the opportunity to have a travel companion so far, and would like to do so.

Thanks Captain! Nice rig! AORC make great units don't they!