Family breaks taboo to share true cost of epic caravan trip of Australia
After finding life in the city 'repetitive', the Sydney family have left it all behind to embark on an 'indefinite' adventure in a caravan.
With a growing number of Aussies getting the urge to quit the rat race and chuck a 'lap' around Australia in a 4WD, van or caravan, one family has broken a taboo by lifting the lid on exactly how much the dream experience will cost.
Brooke and Grant Goosen hit the road six months ago with their two children Harper, four, and Macy, two, on what they describe as an "indefinite" adventure. They have no fixed plan of how long they'll travel, or where they will even go.
Mum Brooke told Yahoo News Australia it was during the 2020 lockdown that the family decided to give up their hectic Sydney life and move into a caravan full-time. Grant, who worked as an electrician, was "hating" his job, and Brooke, who was a stay-at-home mum said life felt "repetitive".
"We just felt stuck in our lives back home," she said. "We decided we were going to start living in a van and travelling around." The decision, according to Brooke, has been "life-changing".
Family lift the lid on cost of 'indefinite' caravan adventure
The family have since shared how much it's cost them to make the huge change — and even how they fund their lifestyle as they go.
Before they embarked on the trip, the family purchased a brand-new $90,000 caravan which they used savings to buy. Thankfully, they already owned a Ford Ranger so didn't need to buy a 4WD to transport the caravan.
The mum said initially she'd budgeted around $1,500 a week for the family's expenses, but after a few weeks on the road, they were spending more like $2,500 per week which they are funding by renting out their family home in Sydney along with another investment property.
"We have investment properties, and we have passive income from that which is funding our trip," she explained. "We may work on the road but at the moment we don't have to."
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Brooke explained that their expenses are higher than others, and added sharing details of the costs online has proved controversial.
"People get really angry because it ranges so much," she said. "If you're a couple, you could literally stay on the side of the road in those smaller vans, so they just can't understand how we spend so much money."
But with a family, Brooke says things are different. "Our van so long we can't park it on the street or anything like that. So we have to go to caravan parks or national parks."
The weekly $2,500 spend, includes dining out and supporting local businesses.
Breakdown of costs for the month of June:
Groceries: $1,759
Eating out: $1,361
Alcohol: $981
Fuel: $562
Bills: $755
Accommodation: $608
Car/Van equipment: $686
Entertainment: $1,315
'Anyone' can have great Aussie adventure
So far, the Goosens have spent time on the East Coast of Australia, but plan to venture further west later this year. Brooke, who hopes to use the adventure as a chance to find a new place to call home, as well as a new career said that she's experienced Aussies from all walks of life — and all budgets — making life on the road work for the.
She says they've met many families who have managed to travel by stopping in towns and working temporarily. She believes that with determination and flexibility, anyone can live the travelling lifestyle.
"You don't need to have the most amazing caravan," she said. "We're lucky that we don't have to work, but we've met so many families who have a little bit of savings to get them started, and they just stop along the way and get a certain chunk of money by stopping at towns where they can get work.
"I want everyone to be able to live this life, if this is what they're into, because it's just so amazing. If you want to do it, you can make it work for sure."
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