A couple who quit the rat race to travel around Australia with their three children have opened up about their adventurous life on the road.
Parents Bec, 33, and Justin Lorrimer, 34, along with their sons Jack, aged five, and three-year-old Billy, and daughter Charli, two, permanently live in a cozy Jurgens Narooma caravan towed behind a Mazda BT-50.
Traveling wherever the sun takes them, the family of five has clocked more than 65,000 kilometers after they embarked on their permanent road trip in December 2015.
The parents, from Newcastle, NSW, have turned their never-ending road trip into a lucrative career by blogging under Trip In A Van.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the family has given a glimpse into their nomadic lifestyle – and why they decided to live a life many dreams about.
Bec and Justin Lorrimer along with their sons Jack and Billy and daughter Charli has been on a never-ending road trip
Life in a van: Jack, aged five and three-year-old Billy and daughter Charli, two, have been travelling with their parents in tow
Spectacular experiences: The family embarked on their trip of a lifetime around four years ago after they quit the rat race
The Australian parents have turned their never-ending family road trip into a lucrative career by blogging at Trip In A Van
The pair said the decision to quit their jobs was not a hard one to make because they’ve always dreamed of traveling
The parents said the decision to quit their jobs was not a hard one to make – as they had always dreamed of traveling with their children.
‘It was always a dream to travel to Australia, but when Justin had a change in work circumstances, it led us to plan the trip and make it happen,’ said Bec, a nurse.
‘The coal mine Justin worked at shut down about four years ago and everyone was made redundant. He continued to work in the industry for another company but he really didn’t enjoy it anymore. He had lost the work and life balance that made it all worth it.’
And so the parents made the snap decision to enjoy the holiday of a lifetime with their children.
‘The biggest reason was to spend quality time with the kids while they are all so little. We have always camped and had a camper trailer so the kids had always been on camping adventures early in life,’ the father of three said.
‘And we thought the timing was perfect as the kids were not school age.’
Justin said the family decided to sell everything – as he revealed their plans to relocate sometime down the track.
‘We sold everything. But not to fund the trip. We had saved extra to fund the trip, we only sold everything as we wanted to relocate along the way when we find an amazing place we want to live,’ he said.
‘So we still have our nest egg to settle down into a house when we are ready. We have a small storage shed in Newcastle with some personal things, other than that, our whole life is in the van.
‘We live very minimally in the van, we don’t carry too many clothes as we follow the sun and we don’t need much more than board shorts, singlets, and swimmers.
‘The kids got to pack a bag of each of their favorite toys and the rest went to St Vinnie’s.’
The adventurous family of five has been living permanently in a cozy Jurgens Narooma caravan since December 2015
With their three children in tow – the adventurous parents haven’t looked back since as a return date is yet to be set
The family has given a glimpse into their nomadic lifestyle – and why they decided to live a life many dreams about
The pair said the decision to quit their jobs was not a hard one to make because they’ve always dreamed of traveling
With their three children in tow Bec and Justin haven’t looked back since as a return date is yet to be set.
‘We have no plans to settle down anytime soon. At least another 12 to 18 months before we think about it,’ Justin said.
From learning how to toilet train to swimming with sharks, the youngsters have grown up encountering parts of Australia.
‘For us, it’s been amazing,’ he said.
‘I think we are very lucky we have laid-back kids that adapt easily to our changing environments, but they seem to thrive on it. They are happy, confident, and loving little kids who enjoy the van life.
‘Obviously, we still have some tough days where the kids are tired and cranky and we get the occasional toddler meltdown, but who doesn’t? It happens even if you’re living in a house.
‘Toilet training has been a real challenge on the road. We have had to train two of our kids while traveling and thank god we have an onboard toilet in the van. I don’t know what we’d do without one.’
The family has given a glimpse into their nomadic lifestyle – and why they decided to live a life many dreams about
Funding their lifestyle through their blog, the family has made it possible to sustain their adventures by writing articles and reviews for major traveling magazines and websites
And traveling on the road has offered beautiful scenery and a lifetime of countless experiences – with many tales to reflect back on when the children are older.
‘Plenty of amazing times on our travels,’ Justin said.
‘We have ticked off so many bucket list items along the way. Swimming with whale sharks in Exmouth, Western Australia, and the epic beach camps on the coastline.
‘Insanely beautiful gorges and waterfalls in places like Karijini National Park and El Questro Station in the Kimberley. Cable beach sunsets are unbelievable. We found a free camp in the Dunes near Uluru that was absolutely stunning.
‘We have had two viral videos throughout our travels, one where a kangaroo jumped in our van at Jervis Bay last year and one just a few months back in Kununurra where we captured a crocodile eating a cow on drone video.’
The parents will also be filming a documentary this year to share a glimpse into their life on the road with their three children
The Australian parents have turned their never-ending family road trip into a lucrative career by blogging at Trip In A Van
And while there have never been any dull moments or disappointments that come to mind, Justin admitted there were challenges along the way.
‘Honestly, there are no lowlights for us,’ he said.
I’m sure we will still be caravanning when we are grey nomads
‘The biggest challenge was the first four to six weeks of van life. It’s a big adjustment for everyone and it just takes a while for everyone to get used to the new living conditions and the routine of traveling.
‘We have learned that simple things in life, really are the best for us – that we love our family and our kids are amazing. And to travel while you’re young and able.
‘I’m sure we will still be caravanning when we are grey nomads, but we are super grateful to be doing it now while we can climb everything, jump off everything and swim in the coldest of waterholes without our arthritis playing up.’
Funding their lifestyle through their blog, the family has made it possible to sustain their adventures by writing articles and reviews for major traveling magazines and websites
The family has given a glimpse into their nomadic lifestyle – and why they decided to live a life many dreams about
So how do the parents educate their children on the road?
‘For us, all the kids are under school age, so we teach them the same things all parents do before their kids go to school,’ he said.
‘We read lots of books, we play lots of games and we try and get to local library book clubs and story times so they can participate in classroom-like activities as well.’
The jet-setters said they have been traveling around the country on a tight budget by keeping their costs down with cooked meals and free sightseeing.
‘Of course, we travel on a budget, we are always on the lookout for ways to save money and we provide budget updates of our travels to our followers on our social pages,’ he said.
‘We don’t eat out, we prepare meals in bulk, we free camp where we can save and we limit the number of tourist activities and attractions we do to save money.’
The adventurous family of five has been living permanently in a cozy Jurgens Narooma caravan since December 2015
The pair said the decision to quit their jobs was not a hard one to make because they’ve always dreamed of traveling
The parents will also be filming a documentary this year to share a glimpse into their life on the road with their three children
Funding their lifestyle through their blog, the family has made it possible to sustain their adventures by writing articles and reviews for major traveling magazines and websites.
‘So we saved for a lot of years to fund our travels,’ Justin said.
‘We are very busy this year and it’s definitely a working holiday now, not just a holiday,’ he said as he laughed.
‘We have lost count of how many cities and towns we have visited. We have done one and a half laps of the Australian coastline in 20 months just following the sun.’
Before heading off on their trip, the parents said they received mixed responses from family and friends about their decision to hit the road full-time.
‘The reaction from family and friends has been great,’ Justin said.
‘I think there was probably a few worrying thoughts from some family members at the start of our trip, but I guess that’s normal.
‘It didn’t really worry us that there were negative comments about our travels, we had our plans to make it work and we had a funny feeling that it would all work out in the end.
‘We actually don’t miss home at all, we get asked that a lot and we can honestly say it’s something we never talk about.’
For those wanting to leave their ‘normal 9-5 jobs’ behind for an adventurous life on the road, the parents advises: ‘Plan, research and save, save, save’
The adventurous family of five has been living permanently in a cozy Jurgens Narooma caravan since December 2015
The parents will also be filming a documentary this year to share a glimpse into their life on the road with their three children
The parents will also be filming a documentary this year to share an insight into their life on the road with their three children.
‘Our big goal from our travels is to grow our travel pages and website into their own media outlet where we can provide all the info you need to research your own trip around Australia,’ Justin said.
‘We are filming our travels this year and will be putting out a DVD documentary of our trip next year.
‘It will give a great insight into what it’s like to travel to Australia with your family. Huge amounts of information, epic scenery, fantastic camp spots, caravan parks, must-see attractions, fishing, adventures, and everything in between.’
And the family has already planned their trips for the rest of the year.
‘We are currently in North Queensland about to explore Lawn Hill National Park and Adeles Grove. From there, we make our way across to the coast and head up to Cape York,’ Justin said.
‘After that, we slowly head south along the coastline hitting all the hot spots on our way to Warrnambool in Victoria for Christmas.’
For those wanting to leave their ‘normal 9-5 jobs’ behind for an adventurous life on the road, the parents advise: ‘Plan, research and save, save, save’
The adventurous family of five has been living permanently in a cozy Jurgens Narooma caravan since December 2015
The Australian parents have turned their never-ending family road trip into a lucrative career by blogging at Trip In A Van
And for those wanting to leave their ‘normal 9-5 jobs’ behind for an adventurous life on the road, the parents advise: ‘Plan, research and save, save, save.’
‘Make sure you choose the right van that suits your family’s needs because there is a massive difference between doable and enjoyable,’ he said.
‘Take your time. Talk to everyone, we have found some of the best camping spots by just talking to people at the diesel pump. Go the extra kilometer down the track to reach that really cool spot – nine times out of 10 it’s worth it.
‘Travelling with the family is an amazing way to grow together and form bonds with your kids that are different from what you get in normal home life.
‘It can be challenging and you do need to adjust to van life, but relax and let kids be kids and you will have an amazing holiday that just might turn into a way of life – if you’re lucky enough.’
To follow the family’s journey, please visit Trip In A Van on the family’s website, Facebook and YouTube.