It’s cheaper than you think to travel around Australia
MIA and Adam Reeve and their children Jett, 11, and Skye, 8, sold or gave away most of their possessions, locked up their house and hit the road around Australia in December 2017. And they say you can do it too — without busting the bank.
Fairfield
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WHEN MIA and Adam Reeve decided they wanted to move out of their Mt Prichard home, they did it for the love of the outdoors and a wholesome life.
Their idea of sea change may not strike a chord with many of us but by sharing their incredible journey so far, they hope to inspire more Australians to also follow their hearts and not be tied down to a comfortable but predictable life.
The young couple and their children Jett, 11, and Skye, either sold or gave away most of their possessions, locked up their house and hit the road to see Australia in December 2017.
It’s been more than eight months since the start of their massive adventure and even the children are not missing their schools or technical gadgets.
Even better, the Reeves are actually spending far less money than if they had continued to live their suburban life.
The Reeves were back in Sydney earlier this month and having seen South Australia’s great outback, eating freshly caught fish off Tasmania’s west coast, trekking along the rugged Kings Canyon Rim walk in Northern Territory, they are off for more life-changing moments.
This is not the first time that Mia and Adam have gone wild — they toured Australia in a 4WD for 16 months before their children were born — and the hunger to experience this again actually never left them.
“We had the time of our lives during this 16-month trip and we often discussed doing the lap again with our two kids,” Mrs Reeve said.
“Like most people, we got caught up in living a suburban life, renovating our home and buying things we wanted but didn’t really need.
“We finally made the decision to get on the road again when the kids were 10 and 7 and life is simpler now.
“It costs far less to the live on the road and explore our incredible and vast country than it does to exist in suburbia.
“We prefer to free camp off grid so it costs us absolutely nothing for accommodation.
“We don’t have an electricity or water bill.
“Our caravan set up enables us to be completely self sufficient and we never need to plug into the grid.
Mrs Reeve said the children study through distance education and are able to keep abreast of their peers.
She said by sharing their amazing story, they hope to inspire other families to also take the plunge and see how much they could enjoy travelling without busting the bank.
“On average, we spend less than $600 a week on all expenses,” she said.
“We save a lot of money by limiting our take away meals.
“Hot pies and loaves of bread from local bakeries are our biggest indulgence.
“Our main costs are food, fuel, attractions and vehicle maintenance.”
“The biggest challenges we faced was learning to co exist in a small space and managing the workload of distance education.
“We overcame the small space challenge by spending most of our time outdoors.
“With hiking, swimming, snorkelling, spearfishing, playing board games, reading, enjoying incredible campgrounds and campfires in the evenings, we just don’t have the time to get cabin fever.
“Our children don’t have the latest of gadgets and toys because they do not need them.
“The kids are receiving a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore our own country and are learning valuable life lessons that they can only receive from this experience.
“Not only do they learn about places like Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, they get to feel them too.
“Tasmania and The Outback are our most favourite destinations so far.”
They also pick up paid work where ever they can and enjoyed the hands on experience at Beltana Station, a massive cattle and sheep station based in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. “We took our kids to The Big Red Bash, a concert featuring Australian artists, held on the edge of the Simpson Desert near Birdsville in Queensland,” Mrs Reeve said.
“We have been on the road for eight months and there is still an incredible amount of places that we are yet to visit.
“We have no end date for this family adventure and we are all having an absolute blast, including our dog.
“The only regret we have was not leaving sooner and we’d love to see more families travelling around Australia.”