Wrap Up

It wasn't a holiday at all (way too busy for that....still had to cook, clean, pack up, food shop, plan ahead, etc), but it was an adventure. We saw some really beautiful places but my favourites weren’t the places but the experiences. It was also good to share time with family along the way and it was great to meet other families on the road, ones that we are still in contact with. Of course we couldn’t see everything we wanted in the time frame, but we saw plenty and one day will plan to see the things we missed. Sometimes it is just nice for a while not to plan ahead, just live for the day and not have any responsibilities that come in normal living environment.

It was colder than I expected and wasn’t prepared for it. In places that it was warm, the wind chill factor just counteracted it. Even Victoria surprised me being the middle of November and I still had to wear jeans and a jacket to stay warm. The other downside is some of the most beautiful beaches are in the southern regions of Australia but the water or wind was too cold even on a sunny day for me to really enjoy.

Next time I would bring a full length wet suit and travel the southern end in warm months and top end during wet season to see a different side of it.

I was pretty pleased with our budget only going over by a $2 500. Fuel was surprisingly cheap in most places and we found many small towns cheaper than our hometown which was unexpected. The areas which got me are the eating out/takeway and miscellaneous items we spent money on. The part that bothers me is the amount spent on repairs. Now I know this is to be expected but we had a lot more problems than average and spent over $7000 fixing things. This is on top of all the preventative things we did before leaving home, replacing parts and upgrading things. We have had non-stop overheating issues so Matt doesn’t relax much whilst driving. After much research and replacing parts, in the end it is due to bad engine design with the thermostat being at the bottom instead of the top so we manage it the best we can. Unfortunately because of overheating we missed out on the Grampians and because we lost 4wd for a while there, we also missed out driving on some beaches.

My thoughts on travelling with young kids. There are pros and cons to all age groups. For our 2 and 4 year old, they were free just about everywhere we went making the trip a lot cheaper. They won’t remember a lot but then I did it for myself not my kids. Hopefully there is the opportunity for that later. Our 4 year old occupied himself, while our 2 year old needs more attention or help when playing. Our young kids take more of our free time as they aren’t self sufficient in most things yet so that part would be a bonus of older kids allowing more down time for the parents.

A lot of families with older children struggled to keep up with home schooling as there is so much to see and do if you are on a timeframe. And if the kids get too old, I guess some wouldn’t appreciate the experience and would rather be with friends.

There were many beautiful towns but after travelling around Australia there is still no place I would rather live than the Gold Coast. It was a trip worth doing and will be cherished.