Each month we will be sending out a Newsletter summing up where we have been and what we have done including what’s new to our website. Be sure to keep up to date as all subscribers will be eligible for our monthly website draw.
Trekking full time is not always peaches and cream, but life is what you make it!
It’s funny when you reach that one month mark of your giant lap around oz and then you realise…. Wow- we made it. And as a bonus, there are still 5 of us!!!!!!
*****Month One Funnies…. Oh dear. So it’s not always peaches and cream on the road. Things happen that aren’t supposed to and sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and find something funny about it to help you through.
So many things didn’t go to plan and that’s ok… its gonna happen, either roll with the punches- or let it steal valuable adventure time.
Kids; favourite beach towel left at the bore baths, swinging on camp chair (told not to) broke it, swinging on giant tree swing- failing off and leading to a concussion, toilet troubles- including plenty of sheet washing, digging holes in strange places for urgent poos, poorly timed nappy changes resulting in both wee-gel and poo explosions, there was that one giant poo that wouldn’t flush (had to be gloved out and buried), finding a nesting large ground bird and thinking it’s like collecting chicken eggs, playing with securing bolts of tray tables (told not to) fell off and out the open door unnoticed, running full speed in thongs on a gravel camp site/ stacking it/ shredding up leg before a swimming trip.
Mum; Completely smashing one iPad (the one with all the CDs, dating back to my teenage years that i no longer have access to as they were all sold or donated pre trip), knocking and killing the family hard drive with all 300 movies on it (which we also no longer have access to the DVDs for the same reasons as the CDs), swatting what I thought was a fly under my singlet top- only to find it was an angry bee who left his mark on my boob- OUCH, enduring an ill-timed thong (flip-flop) blow out, ingesting 2 flies that i couldn’t cough out and being sick, setting off the smoke alarm inside the van (we have an outdoor kitchen), blocking the toilet with too much paper (had to be fished out with a stick), making Lucas’s bed the wrong way around and him falling off the top bunk (I’ve never woke so fast in my life).
Dad; getting stuck with a huge dinner bill after feeling
obligated to eat at a place with only an adult menu and no prices, generously over pumped the kids soccer ball up then threw it into a hot storage boot and closed the door- POP, snapped the fox wing awning and gauging the car at the same time, broke his expensive favourite chair giving Wade an aeroplane on morning 2 of the trip (the chair we were doubling up as a high chair), stabbing both big toes 2weeks apart (glass and a huge stick) because wearing dodgy footwear that should have never made the initial cut for the trip, buying a fly catcher that ended up smelling so putrid it wafted into the van and stuck around for hours- making everyone fell nauseated and finally forgetting to phone his parents for 2 weeks… eeek.
So how did we go budget-wise? We really didn’t set too much of a budget month one as we knew not of what to expect. We’ve never done this before- so besides trying to be mindful of our spending, we just hoped we keep it under an average of $750/week. Not knowing what areas need more allocated money, how much diesel we would need and I suppose not wanting a travel plan made this a guessing game but we didn’t do too bad. We came in just over $1000 for the month basically owing to our incidentals list….. getting caught out buying said expensive dinner, needed a second solar panel (which we could not have predicted prior to leaving), Jake having a grow spurt in the first 3 weeks and Ryan not packing enough t-shirts. As a positive from month one, we did however set a budget plan for month 2 which we are super happy with.
Month One Blogs
Click on the below to read our first months blogs.
All in all- we look back at our first month’s experience of living life on the road and we have no regrets. There is not much we’d change. It’s all been a learning curve and whatever doesn’t stop us- cant only make the force stronger and our laughter louder.
Thanks for tuning in,
Keep Trekking Ryan and Amy
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