Anyday Adventures

This week I’m sharing Rebecca’s amazing adventure. Rebecca of Wanderlust Australia decided with her family to abandon the 9-5 grind in search of something more out of life. Rebecca and her husband made the decision to pack up their two children and hit the road in order to live a more fulfilling life – see more, do more, and experience more with their lives, all while taking their jobs with them, and commencing homeschooling! Here’s her piece on why you will never regret an adventure!

When people question whether or not they should go on a holiday, I say – just do it. Spend the money. Take the time. You only have a limited number of years together as a family before your kids grow and get busy with lives of their own. Building memories and having new experiences together as a family unit are things you’ll never regret.

 I think on the adventures we’ve had so far as a family and I’m amazed at how much we have learnt and grown together as a unit, as well as individuals. Travelling around Australia is not just about “being on vacation,” it’s a lifestyle, just like those who choose to live in the city or in rural areas – the only difference is we can take our home with us! We still work, we still do schooling, there are still bills to pay but it’s about the various positive ways our adventure around Australia (or travel in general) has had on us.

Our positives have been:

1. Traveling puts your family at the centre.

Even the closest of families can have a hard time finding quality time to spend together – everyone is just so busy now days. Getting away from work, school and extracurricular schedules — not to mention housework, homework, and other responsibilities — means you can really focus on your family. Friends of mine have said that they couldn’t be around their kids all day, everyday (which, on a bad day is a fair comment cause lets face it, it’s not all sunshine & rainbows) but we have watched our kids grow into such wonderful little humans and we know who they are – I mean really know them. Past all the one-word answers when responding how school was that day or above all the anxiousness that being a kid can bring, we really know our kids and I can say that we wouldn’t be the same had we not taken the leap to travel.

2. Travelling gets everyone out of their comfort zone.

Travelling can be relaxing and fun, but they’re also good ways to step out of our comfort zones. Sleeping in a different place, eating unfamiliar foods, meeting new people & friends, simply being ‘there’ instead of seeing it on the TV — experiencing new things together forms bonds and memories. Even simple things that shift our sense of normal can be good for us as we continue to learn, evolve and grow.

3. Dealing with the unexpected builds flexibility and resilience.

Traveling inevitably leads to surprises. During our travels, we endured 10 days of non-stop rain.

Together. Stuck in the van. All the time. Together. With. No. Escape!

We watched as bush-fires raged around us, preparing to evacuate if needed. We had mechanical issues that needed fixing and were stuck for two weeks. Inevitably, ‘something’ is going to happen and having to problem-solve on the fly when we’re already outside our norm forces us to be flexible and resilient — two qualities we all need to thrive in a constantly changing world.

4. Seeing how other people live fosters empathy and understanding.

One of the best parts of traveling is experiencing different ways of life. Travel is especially good for broadening our cultural horizons and can help us see the diversity we have here in our own country. Leaving our communities shows us that life has its similarities and differences, and that one persons story isn’t the same as the next. Learning that not everyone lives the same as we do has help shape their world view – Kids are particularly good at noticing differences, with our children learning about homelessness in Canberra and the importance of assisting another person when they need help. They were particularly shocked and saddened to learn there are still homeless people on our streets, but they also felt empathy by wanting to help and learning what they could do for those less fortunate.

5. Experiencing new things with all our senses builds strong memories.

Our world is so full of beauty. We can look at photographs, but nothing compares to actually smelling the gum trees, feeling the ocean spray, or peering across a vast canyon. When we travel, we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch things we normally don’t. The stimulus of all of our senses builds memories that last, and experiences as a family become shared memories. Our kids love to recall places we’ve been, and they’ll often remark that certain animals, plants, buildings or songs remind them of someplace we’ve travelled before.

We aren’t wealthy (I wish — that would definitely make it easier), but we find ways and pinch pennies so that we can travel. I hope that you take my advice — always take the trip. We haven’t regretted our decision to travel around Australia, and are quite confident we never will.

Wow!! Thanks for inspiring us all with you adventures Rebecca. If you’d like to know more about how her family work, travel and home school without driving each other crazy be sure to check out her blog, find her on Facebook, and follow her on Instagram.

If you’d like to share your adventure (no matter how big or small) drop me a line or click the below link more information.

Share my adventure.