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Year out to travel oz

Year out to travel oz

Old Jan 15th 2009, 12:51 pm
  #16  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by pumpkin blossom
LOL, I was dragged from Cambridge to Manchester, it was THERE I wanted to get away from.
Been there done that too - outskirts of Stockport for me! YUCK!!
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Old Jan 15th 2009, 6:15 pm
  #17  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by natalieml
It's not really a good avertisement for Cambs is it - everyones upping and leaving for OZ!!!!!
Me also Cambridge born in Huntingdon, lived in Cambridge now live in Leeds and about to do a year in Melbourne but hopefully never come back.

Be prepared to stay there longer if you are going for a year!

Yeah I will miss Cambridge.
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Old Jan 16th 2009, 5:52 am
  #18  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by neiluk
Hi All

Well we are thinking about taking a year out to travel australia 3 children and a dog rent the house up pack the tent and see what happens i was just woundering if anyone out there has done this and has advice are we mad stupid or as my wife says you only live once and what life exsperiance it will be for the boys. Im a chef by trade so hopfully picking up work along the way shouldnt be to hard.All comments welcome.

Thanks

Neil
Go for it!!! We did the same in 2006 (without the kids but with our British Bulldog George) and it was the best year of our lives. I would deffo buy a Caravan, living in a tent will become a nightmare after a while. We bought one for $23000, lived in it for a year then sold it for $21000. It owned us nothing.
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Old Jan 16th 2009, 7:11 am
  #19  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

We took a year off and travelled with our children now aged 10 and 12 last year... we took the car and drove from the UK to Italy stopping off at Belguim, Germany, Switzerland and then finally all over Italy... we stayed in Backpackers...

Then sold our car in the UK (car auction.. our house was already sold and stuff in storage in our container), and flew out to Hong Kong and backpacked (even the kids had their own backpacks) there and onto Thailand (various locations) Singapore and then flew into Perth...

From Perth we bought a Motorhome (can't recommend the campervan/motorhome option enough... or caravan even!).. and we travelled all the way up the west coast of Australia, through NT (up to Darwin and down again) across to Cairns and then down to Brisbane and finally Sydney and then by that time everyone had had enough... we have now settled on the Sunshine Coast and today (weep) our Motorhome was sold and is off travelling with a differnt couple!

I would encourage every single family to go travelling as a family unit.. People worry about the children and keeping the adults sane, but it is truely one of the best experiences ever...

Things to bear in mind... schoolwork (grr!) needs to be done, but Australia is setup for homeschooling, and provided Mum and Dad keep nagging the kids to get it all done, the kids don't miss out..

Living in a close promixity... its tough, no doubts about that.. we didnt have a telly, but we did take a laptop so everyone could email people and watch a DVD on it occassionally... (took DVDS in a CD carrier).. the kids *do* get fed up btw.. things that we found exciting, they just shrugged their shoulders at sometimes, which can be frustrating... also, as you have loads of time on your hands, you really end up listening to your kids... not just pretend listening as parents fall into when life is busy... its great as you get to know your kids as people and they get to know you as people... we are all very close as a family unit now..

We also found that as we were all in "holiday mode" all the time, the kids got into the habit of thinking they could have all the treats that they wanted, which was not good! So.. we made a list of jobs to be done and they earnt money for doing them.. washing up, packing up chairs/tables, sweeping out the van, taking the bins out, hanging out washing etc etc.. this worked REALLY well... the more they did the more they earnt, the more milkshakes and hot chocs they could afford when we were out sightseeing.. we also ran a financial sheet and taught them a little about accounting and how to manage money... this sort of life-lesson is again, not really something they get from school..

Also, because the children are with you 24/7, Mum and Dad don't tend to get a lot of time to talk things thru privately.. so just be aware of that burden.. as we were in the Motorhome we used the time driving between locations with the radio on loudly whilst the kids sat in the back playing cards or drawing (they could sit around the table, you see!) for us to have a normal adult conversation without them butting in all the time!

Anyway... have nattered on for long enough... just a couple of things as food for thought... good luck with it all.. suggest that you *do* do it... it is one of those things that we will for the rest of our lives will always remember and it is great to have that time with our kids as they are soon teenagers and then off our hands...

Em x

PS Our Ipods were our salvation btw... when we had all had enough of one another, we would all plug into our Ipods and listen to books or music or anything to block everyone else out... trust me.. sometimes you just need to do it! lmao!
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Old Jan 16th 2009, 8:16 am
  #20  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by emelems
We took a year off and travelled with our children now aged 10 and 12 last year... we took the car and drove from the UK to Italy stopping off at Belguim, Germany, Switzerland and then finally all over Italy... we stayed in Backpackers...

Then sold our car in the UK (car auction.. our house was already sold and stuff in storage in our container), and flew out to Hong Kong and backpacked (even the kids had their own backpacks) there and onto Thailand (various locations) Singapore and then flew into Perth...

From Perth we bought a Motorhome (can't recommend the campervan/motorhome option enough... or caravan even!).. and we travelled all the way up the west coast of Australia, through NT (up to Darwin and down again) across to Cairns and then down to Brisbane and finally Sydney and then by that time everyone had had enough... we have now settled on the Sunshine Coast and today (weep) our Motorhome was sold and is off travelling with a differnt couple!

I would encourage every single family to go travelling as a family unit.. People worry about the children and keeping the adults sane, but it is truely one of the best experiences ever...

Things to bear in mind... schoolwork (grr!) needs to be done, but Australia is setup for homeschooling, and provided Mum and Dad keep nagging the kids to get it all done, the kids don't miss out..

Living in a close promixity... its tough, no doubts about that.. we didnt have a telly, but we did take a laptop so everyone could email people and watch a DVD on it occassionally... (took DVDS in a CD carrier).. the kids *do* get fed up btw.. things that we found exciting, they just shrugged their shoulders at sometimes, which can be frustrating... also, as you have loads of time on your hands, you really end up listening to your kids... not just pretend listening as parents fall into when life is busy... its great as you get to know your kids as people and they get to know you as people... we are all very close as a family unit now..

We also found that as we were all in "holiday mode" all the time, the kids got into the habit of thinking they could have all the treats that they wanted, which was not good! So.. we made a list of jobs to be done and they earnt money for doing them.. washing up, packing up chairs/tables, sweeping out the van, taking the bins out, hanging out washing etc etc.. this worked REALLY well... the more they did the more they earnt, the more milkshakes and hot chocs they could afford when we were out sightseeing.. we also ran a financial sheet and taught them a little about accounting and how to manage money... this sort of life-lesson is again, not really something they get from school..

Also, because the children are with you 24/7, Mum and Dad don't tend to get a lot of time to talk things thru privately.. so just be aware of that burden.. as we were in the Motorhome we used the time driving between locations with the radio on loudly whilst the kids sat in the back playing cards or drawing (they could sit around the table, you see!) for us to have a normal adult conversation without them butting in all the time!

Anyway... have nattered on for long enough... just a couple of things as food for thought... good luck with it all.. suggest that you *do* do it... it is one of those things that we will for the rest of our lives will always remember and it is great to have that time with our kids as they are soon teenagers and then off our hands...

Em x

PS Our Ipods were our salvation btw... when we had all had enough of one another, we would all plug into our Ipods and listen to books or music or anything to block everyone else out... trust me.. sometimes you just need to do it! lmao!

Brilliant piece - so informative!!!
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Old Jan 16th 2009, 10:35 am
  #21  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

I guess if i was in your position i'd be most concerned about kids schooling and stuff but what a life experience for your kids and as you say you only live once. If you can rent the house out for what its worth i'd say go for it.
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Old Jan 16th 2009, 12:04 pm
  #22  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

We are going to Oz on a WHV in May/June while we wait for our 175 PR to be approved. We were planning on touring round for 3+ months but thought as we were going to settle there anyway we would just buy a decent car and then hostel/hotel it.

We had a look for campervans for sale and they were all proper sheds for less than $20,000 so where are you guys getting your campervans from? If we could get a camper for a decent price and be able to sell it this might well be an option we consider.

Thx!
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Old Jan 17th 2009, 6:32 am
  #23  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by AndyR
We are going to Oz on a WHV in May/June while we wait for our 175 PR to be approved. We were planning on touring round for 3+ months but thought as we were going to settle there anyway we would just buy a decent car and then hostel/hotel it.

We had a look for campervans for sale and they were all proper sheds for less than $20,000 so where are you guys getting your campervans from? If we could get a camper for a decent price and be able to sell it this might well be an option we consider.

Thx!
You can look in the local papers... the internet is prob the best for finding them tho..

You could always hire... wicked campers are big over here with younger people...

Think their website is wickedcamper.com ??

Em x
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Old Jan 17th 2009, 3:51 pm
  #24  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by emelems
You can look in the local papers... the internet is prob the best for finding them tho..

You could always hire... wicked campers are big over here with younger people...

Think their website is wickedcamper.com ??

Em x
Did look at Wicked Campers but had numerous people say don't bother as they are sheds. General comment coming back from people is "if you see a broken down camper, its a wicked one!"

Thx though!
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Old Jan 17th 2009, 5:19 pm
  #25  
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Default Re: Year out to travel oz

Originally Posted by AndyR
Did look at Wicked Campers but had numerous people say don't bother as they are sheds. General comment coming back from people is "if you see a broken down camper, its a wicked one!"

Thx though!
oh really?! Yes they are pretty basic I suppose.. oh well! you can always go with a proper hire firm I suppose if nec?

Em x
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