The Final Update - and yes I had to keep the tradition alive of it being later rather sooner.
We departed Coffs harbour and made for Byron Bay which will be our final destination before home. A very strange feeling of mixed emotions from sadness to excitement. Sue & Ryan came down and joined us for the last 3 days of the trip, We had one final destination to tick off the travel bucket list and that was the most Easterly point of Australia at the Byron Bay lighthouse. This ticked off, we have covered all points except the most northern at the Cape - that will be our next trip later this year. In total we spent 3 hours in QLD for the entire trip, many of you think that we have missed so much, well in previous years we have travelled all of QLD, the Gulf, the outback, the coast and everything in between. The last place to conquer is Cape York ( and the Simpson Desert) so bring on 2016 ;)
On the final day we packed up as per the previous 92 campsites around OZ and started the drive North over the border into QLD for the first time in 11 months. The kids unplugged their faces from the IPods & iPads as they began to recognise landmarks and places they remembered from the previous years, Lots of “ Ive been here & I remember that “ moments. As we left NSW and entered QLD we wound back the clock and saw the last of daylight savings :( another downside was that we are now in peak hour suburban traffic towing 9 metres of van and very tired. This part of the travelling I DO NOT MISS. With a new house I, Luke & Jarred were very excited to see it and to have all the creature comforts of home again. On approaching the house I simply had to drive up the street and reverse Jeff into the driveway (apparently), but all of the cars parked in the narrow street didn't allow for this to occur, so I dropped the kids off and high tailed back over to Grandmas house to unhitch and return without Jeff to the house and leave our rolling home there until the street was clear enough to get the van into the driveway some 3 days later !!
The first day in a house I have never seen or lived in had me walking around like a Deer staring at headlights, I was disorientated and walking in circles. I just moved out of the safety of our caravan into this huge house where I don't know which light switch turns what on, where anything is in cupboards, where my clothes are stored and also where the walls are in the dark ( I found them the hard way ).
This all eased after a few days of adjustment and fumbling my way around the place, The street finally cleared and I was able to get Jeff into the driveway and start unpacking our lives from the cupboards. Several weeks of emptying and cleaning and cleaning and cleaning saw Jeff the Jayco polished from tow ball to the bumper bar and looking better than the day we departed. Then it was time to list him up for sale and let him free to explore more of Australia. Within the first week or so many had come to inspect and then along came the “Edwards Family” we spent hours talking and going over the van whilst their kids went upstairs and played with our kids like they were long lost friends. With all the inspections, paperwork and roadworthy reports ticked off and done, Jeff has a new family to take him on another lap of OZ. Some would think it as a sad day to let something go that has been your whole life for a year, however the feeling was more of satisfaction that we had done it and now another wonderfull family gets to do it. We will follow their journey with joy and reminiscence as they post up pictures of places we've been to as well new places yet to be discovered. Travel safe Jeff and enjoy.
Now some reflections and all the statistics of my take on the Loopy Lap.
Firstly, was it worth all ? HELL YES more than any of us could imagine and in so many ways.
Why was it worth it ? Apart from the destinations and the sheer beauty of our backyard it was about connecting as a family of 5, maturing of children in age and in experiences. In the final months I sat back and observed our 3 boys and reflected on the ways they have changed. They have all grown and become more understanding of themselves and each other. Their confidence and ability to meet new people and adapt to so much change, to walk into a shop and see them in a conversation with staff or customers recalling what they've seen and where they've been etc, and to be constantly told that we have such polite, pleasant and engaging children was refreshing and humbling to both Sue & I. We realised that what we set out to do has payed off in more ways than we could ever of expected.
The statistics and some reflections ( kind of )
We travelled just shy of 43,000kms in 297 days
Set up 92 times giving us an average stay of 3.25 days per stop.
We spent a lot of time looking for fuel, food, dump points and water.
We spent a lot of money on Fuel, food, accomodation and attractions.
We spent a lot of time finding car parks in towns that we could park the van just to go shopping
We averaged around $1200 + per week in total costs, including things such as phones, bills from home, rego, insurance along with all of the living costs of being on the road.
We took Jeff the Jayco to places many people said you just cant go in a van that big. But we did :)
I waved at over 10,000 on coming caravans, campers and anyone else that raised a finger from the steering wheel to say Gday.
We only spent 3 hours in QLD and 1 hr of that was in traffic jams
I sat and had conversations with people of every age, race, wealth, religion, and I never left a conversation or a quick G’day thinking I wish I hadn't spoken to them.
Australia is MASSSIVE yet the connection with people you meet who know someone you've met before or know of you etc really does put into perspective how small OZ can be.
We met and have made some long term friends that also shared in our journey and allowed us to share with theirs.
I did not get a flat tyre at all on the entire trip !!!
You can get beer in almost every town around OZ, maybe not your preferred brand from back at home but its beer.
I did pack too much stuff thinking we would need it, but I also didn't have to go and get much on the trip either and was able to help many others out who had forgotten something or just need that specific tool.
I am now a very good caravan repair and service mechanic, electrician, and reverser of vans !!
You can keep connected with the world standing on one leg with your phone raised as high as you can reach to obtain that 1 bar of 3g service.
You can TURN OFF THE PHONE for days and days.
I can sit and read a book.
Anything can be happening in the world, be it tragic or triumphant but switching off and not hearing is peaceful, it doesn't change it happening but it allows you to be just you.
Luke did finally get a haircut after 13 months.
Everyone, and I mean everyone over the age of 50 will tell you that your kids will learn more on the road than any day spent in a classroom.I tend to think they learn more about themselves and others, how to be resilient, how to deal with constant change and environments, how to make a friend in an hour and then leave them the next day knowing you will probably never see them again but to be thankful you met them in the first place. School happened along they way as it had to, but the classroom had the best views in the world.
I could ramble on with heaps of other quotations etc etc etc but you've either heard it all before OR you need to get out there and experience it your way.
My final advice is that yes you can do it, in whatever way suits your budget, in whatever vehicle and van, tent, swag, cabin or camper suits your needs. You can do it in weeks, months, years or perpetually. But if you have that dream of doing it, don't wait, don't sit and procrastinate, make a plan and make it happen. You will either Love it or hate it, but at least you went out and gave it a go.
PS you will love it .
We did it and we did.
Thank you to all of the people we met, the people who followed our journey via our website or Facebook page. Thank you to all the locals out there that made us feel part of their families and welcomed into their towns. Thank you to my wonderful wife Sue for making this happen and coming along on the journey and thank you to my boys Luke, Jarred and Ryan. You all made this the most epic journey of a lifetime and made the rest of our lives an epic journey to continue.
Cheers
Blake
The Stricklands Loopy Lap of OZ
We departed Coffs harbour and made for Byron Bay which will be our final destination before home. A very strange feeling of mixed emotions from sadness to excitement. Sue & Ryan came down and joined us for the last 3 days of the trip, We had one final destination to tick off the travel bucket list and that was the most Easterly point of Australia at the Byron Bay lighthouse. This ticked off, we have covered all points except the most northern at the Cape - that will be our next trip later this year. In total we spent 3 hours in QLD for the entire trip, many of you think that we have missed so much, well in previous years we have travelled all of QLD, the Gulf, the outback, the coast and everything in between. The last place to conquer is Cape York ( and the Simpson Desert) so bring on 2016 ;)
On the final day we packed up as per the previous 92 campsites around OZ and started the drive North over the border into QLD for the first time in 11 months. The kids unplugged their faces from the IPods & iPads as they began to recognise landmarks and places they remembered from the previous years, Lots of “ Ive been here & I remember that “ moments. As we left NSW and entered QLD we wound back the clock and saw the last of daylight savings :( another downside was that we are now in peak hour suburban traffic towing 9 metres of van and very tired. This part of the travelling I DO NOT MISS. With a new house I, Luke & Jarred were very excited to see it and to have all the creature comforts of home again. On approaching the house I simply had to drive up the street and reverse Jeff into the driveway (apparently), but all of the cars parked in the narrow street didn't allow for this to occur, so I dropped the kids off and high tailed back over to Grandmas house to unhitch and return without Jeff to the house and leave our rolling home there until the street was clear enough to get the van into the driveway some 3 days later !!
The first day in a house I have never seen or lived in had me walking around like a Deer staring at headlights, I was disorientated and walking in circles. I just moved out of the safety of our caravan into this huge house where I don't know which light switch turns what on, where anything is in cupboards, where my clothes are stored and also where the walls are in the dark ( I found them the hard way ).
This all eased after a few days of adjustment and fumbling my way around the place, The street finally cleared and I was able to get Jeff into the driveway and start unpacking our lives from the cupboards. Several weeks of emptying and cleaning and cleaning and cleaning saw Jeff the Jayco polished from tow ball to the bumper bar and looking better than the day we departed. Then it was time to list him up for sale and let him free to explore more of Australia. Within the first week or so many had come to inspect and then along came the “Edwards Family” we spent hours talking and going over the van whilst their kids went upstairs and played with our kids like they were long lost friends. With all the inspections, paperwork and roadworthy reports ticked off and done, Jeff has a new family to take him on another lap of OZ. Some would think it as a sad day to let something go that has been your whole life for a year, however the feeling was more of satisfaction that we had done it and now another wonderfull family gets to do it. We will follow their journey with joy and reminiscence as they post up pictures of places we've been to as well new places yet to be discovered. Travel safe Jeff and enjoy.
Now some reflections and all the statistics of my take on the Loopy Lap.
Firstly, was it worth all ? HELL YES more than any of us could imagine and in so many ways.
Why was it worth it ? Apart from the destinations and the sheer beauty of our backyard it was about connecting as a family of 5, maturing of children in age and in experiences. In the final months I sat back and observed our 3 boys and reflected on the ways they have changed. They have all grown and become more understanding of themselves and each other. Their confidence and ability to meet new people and adapt to so much change, to walk into a shop and see them in a conversation with staff or customers recalling what they've seen and where they've been etc, and to be constantly told that we have such polite, pleasant and engaging children was refreshing and humbling to both Sue & I. We realised that what we set out to do has payed off in more ways than we could ever of expected.
The statistics and some reflections ( kind of )
We travelled just shy of 43,000kms in 297 days
Set up 92 times giving us an average stay of 3.25 days per stop.
We spent a lot of time looking for fuel, food, dump points and water.
We spent a lot of money on Fuel, food, accomodation and attractions.
We spent a lot of time finding car parks in towns that we could park the van just to go shopping
We averaged around $1200 + per week in total costs, including things such as phones, bills from home, rego, insurance along with all of the living costs of being on the road.
We took Jeff the Jayco to places many people said you just cant go in a van that big. But we did :)
I waved at over 10,000 on coming caravans, campers and anyone else that raised a finger from the steering wheel to say Gday.
We only spent 3 hours in QLD and 1 hr of that was in traffic jams
I sat and had conversations with people of every age, race, wealth, religion, and I never left a conversation or a quick G’day thinking I wish I hadn't spoken to them.
Australia is MASSSIVE yet the connection with people you meet who know someone you've met before or know of you etc really does put into perspective how small OZ can be.
We met and have made some long term friends that also shared in our journey and allowed us to share with theirs.
I did not get a flat tyre at all on the entire trip !!!
You can get beer in almost every town around OZ, maybe not your preferred brand from back at home but its beer.
I did pack too much stuff thinking we would need it, but I also didn't have to go and get much on the trip either and was able to help many others out who had forgotten something or just need that specific tool.
I am now a very good caravan repair and service mechanic, electrician, and reverser of vans !!
You can keep connected with the world standing on one leg with your phone raised as high as you can reach to obtain that 1 bar of 3g service.
You can TURN OFF THE PHONE for days and days.
I can sit and read a book.
Anything can be happening in the world, be it tragic or triumphant but switching off and not hearing is peaceful, it doesn't change it happening but it allows you to be just you.
Luke did finally get a haircut after 13 months.
Everyone, and I mean everyone over the age of 50 will tell you that your kids will learn more on the road than any day spent in a classroom.I tend to think they learn more about themselves and others, how to be resilient, how to deal with constant change and environments, how to make a friend in an hour and then leave them the next day knowing you will probably never see them again but to be thankful you met them in the first place. School happened along they way as it had to, but the classroom had the best views in the world.
I could ramble on with heaps of other quotations etc etc etc but you've either heard it all before OR you need to get out there and experience it your way.
My final advice is that yes you can do it, in whatever way suits your budget, in whatever vehicle and van, tent, swag, cabin or camper suits your needs. You can do it in weeks, months, years or perpetually. But if you have that dream of doing it, don't wait, don't sit and procrastinate, make a plan and make it happen. You will either Love it or hate it, but at least you went out and gave it a go.
PS you will love it .
We did it and we did.
Thank you to all of the people we met, the people who followed our journey via our website or Facebook page. Thank you to all the locals out there that made us feel part of their families and welcomed into their towns. Thank you to my wonderful wife Sue for making this happen and coming along on the journey and thank you to my boys Luke, Jarred and Ryan. You all made this the most epic journey of a lifetime and made the rest of our lives an epic journey to continue.
Cheers
Blake
The Stricklands Loopy Lap of OZ