Our family of 5 is embarking on a 3 month trip around a decent part of Australia in 2023, and we hope to share some of this amazing adventure here as we go. We’re pretty excited about what lies ahead, and it’s been a few years in the making. As is usual for our family holidays over the years, Debbie writes in a physical journal throughout our travels and keeps a really wonderful, personal account of things… while I (James)…
We’ve been asked a bit about whether we are getting house-sitters to look after our place while we’re away for the 3+ months – we definitely are. Working out who those housesitter/s might be, how to find them, how to prepare, etc. was quite a daunting task. So I wanted to share a few thoughts on that process in case it’s helpful to others. Firstly some context – we have a cat, and she’s now 12 years old. Generally, when…
I finished up work last Friday (31st March). This was all set to be the week of relaxed preparation – a few jobs to do around the house, a couple of things to get from the shops, pack some things away, catch up with a couple of friends before we head off… let me tell you, getting the flu was not in those plans. Eliza started feeling off over the weekend, and had a Dr visit on Sunday, which included…
It’s the night before we leave; now only a handful of hours until we reverse out the driveway – after at least 2 years of planning, we’ll be on the road for 3 months! The last few days have been a combination of anxiety and excitement. There’s just been so many little things to get done – obviously starting to get the packing underway and organised, but also getting the house ready for someone else coming and living in it…
The 1st of 92 days is done! We’re all trying to keep cosy in a comfy little unit in Jindabyne – it’s a chilly 2º outside this evening at 8pm. We would like to acknowledge the Ngarigo people, who are the traditional owners of the lands around Jindabyne. We recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters, and acknowledge their elders past, present and emerging. (Edit: I neglected to include an acknowledgement of country in my first version of this…
Life achievement unlocked: we climbed to the highest point in Australia today! There’s only a short drive from Jindabyne into Thredbo, and thankfully at this time of year it isn’t busy at all. We got into Thredbo a bit after 9am, picked up our lift passes, and made our way straight to the top of the Kosciuszko Chairlift. It was about a 15 minute ride to the top. As we crept further up the mountain, we started to see tiny…
I had been wanting to start each post by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands that we visit – unfortunately, in the excitement of getting going, I completely forgot to do that in Jindabyne! I’ve gone back and edited those posts to include that now. Tonight we’ve arrived in Eden, and we’d like to acknowledge the Thaua people of the Yuin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land here in Eden. We acknowledge their elders past, present…
Today started with a visit to the Killer Whale Museum in Eden. We learnt so much about the history of whaling; but more impressively, the partnership between the orcas (killer whales) and mankind. The orcas would strategically trap blue or southern right whales in Twofold Bay in Eden before alerting the Whalers, who would then kill the whale. The carcass would then essentially be shared between the Orcas and humans. While none of us love the history of whaling all…
Today was a fairly long drive, roughly following the coast around the south-eastern corner of Australia, to arrive at Phillip Island! We want to acknowledge that the traditional owners of this land are the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, and to them, this island is known as Millowl. We pay our respects to the elders of the Kulin Nation; past, present and emerging. We got going close to 8:30 this morning, and headed for the Victorian border, which was…
For everyone’s birthday presents this year, they’re getting experiences while we’re on our trip. And today was my turn to get my birthday present from the fam (from last December) – go karting at the Phillip Island GP Circuit! Phillip Island GP Circuit has built a smaller sized replica just beside the race tracks for go karts. They have the normal single karts, but also tandem karts for an adult to take a child in. None of our kids were…