On the Coast – Families Issue 105 I April/May 2020 | Page 27

Our whole values were not
matching our lifestyle anymore
and it was time to re align
our lives to what was really
important. If you are reading
this, relating and thinking
about doing it...just do it, you’ll
never look back!
So here we are, 2 months
into the Lap of Australia...
and well into Term 1 of home
schooling and loving life!
Home schooling can be challenging
however with the right systems, patience
and the love of spending time together as
a family. Love conquers all even on the
days when kids will be kids.
We mostly spend the mornings doing
school and the afternoons exploring,
either chasing waterfalls, finding
beautiful new beaches, hiking, visiting
museums and historical sites, learning
through experiences over things.
We started this journey and year with
3 main values for 2020
Love, Connection and Adventure
Aligning your life to your values are
critical to living a fulfilled life. If you are
thinking about doing a lap of Australia
or home schooling through Distance
Education, here are some things you
need to know -
As the Supervisor of my children’s
school work, well actually teachers as my
husband and I are so very hands on and
have taken on the different subjects to
manage the workload.
The first 6 weeks are the toughest
as you settle into a new lifestyle on the
road. Considering it takes 60 days to
create a new habit, I think it’s pretty
amazing how this has unfolded and
everyone has embraced the change of
lifestyle. Perhaps it happened quicker
because we are doing something that we
all love.
Living in a confined space
It’s all about systems! Everything needs a
home and you only take what you need
and will use. This was the first big light
bulb moment of how I had filled a 2 story
home with pointless stuff.
We only have what we need now,
only keep what we use and couldn’t
be happier. There is something very
liberating about living the nomadic
lifestyle. If we feel we need living space,
we just go outdoors for a walk, bike ride
days can have challenges. The life skill of
building resilience day by day with the
kids is something I wouldn’t change!
or sit in
our alfresco living
room under the stars.
A holiday vs a new
way of life
Once the holiday bubbles wears
off you have to remember it’s a way
of life. There are still school routines,
structure to sightseeing and where to
next. One of the biggest surprises about
living a nomadic lifestyle is that we are
much busier than we first thought. A
good busy of course, as we are seeing so
much of our beautiful country, learning
so much about each other and we get to
be with our little humans every day...It’s
interesting how I’ve heard comments of
how this would be some people’s worst
nightmare. We are all very different but
from where we stand, our kids will only
be kids for such a short chapter. I’ll take
every minute of every day and cherish
these memories forever.
The adventures of a nomadic lifestyle
The adventure of finding somewhere
new to stay. This is one of the best parts
of our trip. Pre kids, we had a passion
for travel so this ignites the soul to live
our day to day lives with adventure
exploring new places. We have our roles
on the road and it makes everything
run fairly smooth. My husband drives
most of the time whilst I map out the
itinerary and search on wikicamps to
find our next camp. It’s amazing how
many free camps are in Australia and
in many ways are way better than the
caravan parks. Caravan parks are good
for washing and a pool but apart from
that, the great outdoors and the free
camps have so much more character and
the kids have way more fun! Once you
get the set up and pack up sorted that is!
This is part of the 6 week settling period
and remember, there will always be days
that are best forgotten. Some days it’s
great fun and full of laughter and some
The friendly community and
new like-minded friends
There is something very special
about life on the road and the people
you meet. There is such a sense
of community where everyone is
friendly and looking out for each
other. A general consensus of how the
current busyness of life had affected
the equilibrium of their lives and stories
shared by camp fires with a drink or two.
There are a lot of families travelling on
the road and escaping the grind to be
with their families and finding new ways
to support themselves whilst on the road.
Thinking outside the box and aligning
their values with creating a healthy
lifestyle for their family too.
Get your kids involved!
Give them jobs to do with set up and pack
up, involve them in the weekly budget
and choosing what activities to do. This
is one of the unique opportunities for
growth with kids living the nomadic
lifestyle. Travelling full time is a
marathon not a race and the selection
process of what we visit is different to
when holidaying as we have to choose
what’s best in that destination instead
of trying to do it all. It makes it fun
for everyone choosing where to next.
Also, we have our kids complete a daily
journal with a daily gratitude so they can
remember the experiences and also not
take this amazing lifestyle for granted.
Distance Education
What didn’t come as a surprise – the
people who choose to be teachers are
remarkable human beings.
Their dedication to shaping our
children and managing a classroom
every day for 40 weeks a year, is such a
selfless act every day.
No doubt with full classrooms, it’s fair
to say it would be hard to keep everyone
at the same level academically and
socially.
Kids just like adults keep things in
and don’t like to fail, struggle at times
and don’t always know how to express
their emotions. One thing that has been
highlighted for us teaching our kids, we
have found the gaps and now have a
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