So, we have taken a leap in life that most people only dream of (we used to be those dreamers). It most definitely is the most courageous decision as adults and parents we have ever made. So much to consider, the kids, their education, our family and friends, events we will miss, money, jobs, careers, all these things for so long weighed on us when we would contemplate the nomad life.
Well here is our story WHY we made the decision.
It all started 2006 (kid free), we did our first trip together in WA’s north. It was then we both realised we had the same sense of adventure. This stems from growing up and doing the same things as kids with our parents, (here’s hoping our 3 kids will continue the trend when they grow up). Since our first road trip we have been on many expeditions, exploring places people only see in magazines, we have definitely pushed many limits in our 4wding adventures that most people wouldn’t consider, some say I get my ambitions and capabilities mixed up at times.
Fast forward 10 years….
2017 life seemed pretty good, I had recently finished a mature age apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic. We had just moved into a beautiful new showroom house that had taken 2 years to build, the kids where at a good private school within 2 minutes of our house, living near the Swan river and being able to utilise the water every second day for our sense of city life adventure. A year later something in the back of our minds didn’t feel right and financially things were tight. We were struggling to feel like we fitted into the “Australian dream” and our sense for adventure was yearning. We made the decision to try and sell our house, restructure our finances with the intention of building another house (yes we are those kind of crazy people), and maybe buy a boat and a caravan to be able to have some fun as a family.
Leading into Christmas 2018 we received an unexpected phone call from Mum saying that Dad was being flown up in the royal fly doctor from Bun bury after his dive gear malfunctioned causing him to get the bends. He was going straight into the hyperbaric chamber at Fiona Stanley Hospital. At the time we were unsure of the extent of his injury, it was a really scary moment of our lives as he has always been bullet proof. He spent 12 days in the hyperbaric chambers, and It has now been 4 months on, and he is still in recovery, we are not too sure if he will ever be the same person physically as he was before the accident. He did survive and he is walking, even if it is ever so slow, this just resonated to us that life is too short and one day could be too late.
Two weeks after the incident with dad with nothing planned for the weekend, we thought we would go check out a caravan we had seen at last year’s (2018) caravan and camping show. This caravan was way out of our budget at the time, so we went with the intentions to JUST LOOK! Our goal was to have a van no bigger than 19” and the lotus off grid hit every box except one, (the main bed lay out). So, we went there to investigate, instead we saw the Trooper and instantly fell in love with it.
We literally walked into RV show room, asked the sales man how long it would take to have one, knowing most wait times are roughly 9 months, he advised we could have the one being built for the caravan and camping show in 3 months….. But also have it customised to our needs…. We were SOLD. As we were signing up, I still remember turning to Jayde saying, “looks like were really doing this” and with that the decision was made all from signing up for that van on that day with no way to look back……
So I evolved as every married man does (or was told and just went with it), and we went from a tent, to the back of a Hilux, to a camper trailer, then a 17” caravan, to a Van no bigger than 19” ….. But like always she had bigger plans and we got the 21.6” van.
After all the procrastinating for over a decade, I feel really content with our decision, the kid’s school Principal was amazing and gave us confidence that we were making the right decision, not only for us but the kids and their education. After letting everyone know we were so over whelmed by everyone’s support and encouragement.
To wrap the first blog up, all I can say is once you make the decision to do something you desire whatever it shall be you will never regret it. Don’t let anything get in your way to live your dreams. And older wiser person once told us “you will always regret the things you wanted to do, but never did. But you will never regret the things you did as it creates the person you become…”
Lapping The Island