On the Coast – Families Issue 96 I October/November 2019 | Page 30

Love our Lap
by Charity Blackadder
W
e’re a family of four from
Terrigal, who decided to pack
up and hit the road for a year
travelling around Australia. Life’s
too short and kids grow way too
fast. We want to make the most of
our time with our kids, while they’re
young and they want to be with us.
It all came about when we brought
ourselves a little vintage caravan and
started to do regular weekend trips to
our local caravan parks on the coast. We
got a taste for the caravanning lifestyle
and it got us thinking we could do this
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KI DZ O N T H E C OA S T
full time. So after talking about it for
so long, we just had to do it. As scary
as it may seem, to pack up your lives,
shut down a business, leave family and
friends and take the kids out of school, it
all seemed to fall into place. The schools
were so supportive and told us it’s the
best thing we could do for our kids. They
have learnt so much on the road and
as a family we have created a lifetime
of memories together and learnt more
about each other than we ever thought.
It blows us away how many families
are out here doing the same thing.
Everyone has different reasons and
are from all walks of life with different
budgets. Some on long service leave,
some doing half a lap or an indefinite
trip. But the biggest reason they all say, is
to spend more time with family.
Our country is amazing and while
we have fallen in love with many parts
of Australia, we look forward to coming
home to the Central Coast, it’s a great
place to live and raise a family plus the
kids wouldn’t live anywhere else. We
plan to do smaller trips when we return
and explore more of NSW.
We hope to inspire other families to
do the same.