The plan; document our travel plans, learn about websites and have a bit of fun!
We have watched (with envy) the many full time travelling families and camping bloggers over the last few years. So we have decided to cash in some long service leave and go on our own camping adventure. We are planning a three month trip to WA (more details to follow).
The aim of this site is to capture our travelling plans and experiences. Getting the kids involved, documenting our journey and learning to building their our own website. Hopefully our extended family can follow our adventures here too!
We had heard so much about this place and really wanted to experience a bit of off grid beach camping. Needless to say we were a bit nervous about driving the new Van on the beach… but BOY it was worth it. Seriously what can I say… 4WD’ing, beach at your door step, fishing, perfect weather. It was bliss. We are definetly going to come back. Below is really a photo dump because it was such a great spot and I couldn’t pick just a few.
Our experience at Teewah was 5 nights of great weather and fun in the sun.
The most northerly stop off on this leg of our Trip! We stayed in Bargara for 5 nights at the Bargara Beach Caravan Park. The patrolled beach was super close and the kids really enjoyed the surf. Archie is especially keen on the waves.
Bundaberg
Whats a trip to Bundaberg without this photo! We didn’t do the Rum tour, but checked out the local Soft drink factory and got to sample the amazing kid friendly drinks! We walked away with a dozen sugar filled soft drinks to sample over the coming days.
Botanical Gardens
Alexandra Park Zoo
While in QLD we have noticed the local parks really have some great FREE attractions and play areas. From free water parks to Gardens, play equipment and a Zoo! The kids were impressed to see some cool Animals like the very cheeky Cotton Top – Tamarins.
Mon Repos
Turtles! We checked out the Mon Repos Turtle centre to learn about these amazing creatures. We all enjoyed the interactive displays and learning about the breeding habits of the local turtle. Unfortunelty we didn’t get to see any nesting or hatching turtles but we walked away with an appreciation for these impressive creatures.
So we headed a little further north to Hervey Bay after spending a great time at Aus Zoo. We spent three very humid days at the Pialba Tourist Caravan Park.
With VERY warm beach water we headed to the free Water Park most days which was just next door to the Caravan park. The kids loved the water slide and could run wild while keeping cool – us parents may have enjoyed it a little too. We checked out a couple of local sites but mostly kept things simple. We even managed to get out car serviced to keep it running perfectly for the rest of our trip.
We also checked out the local Aquarium.
Maryborough (Story Banks)
We got to check out the Birth place of P. L. Travers – the Author of Marry Poppins in Marlborough which was about 30mins south of Hervey Bay. The kids also got to learn a little about creative writing and explore a little of the Marry Poppins world. A very fun day out.
Urangan Pier
A great place for fishing but we only managed to be spectators this time. The pier is a hive of activity with local fisherman at night. We manage to watch a few squid being caught, plenty of soldier crabs on he sand flats below and watched a beautiful sunset.
After spending Christmas and New Years with some of our FAVs. We set off on the remaining weeks of our Caravan Adventures. We have been to some great spots, but there is more to come in sunny (we hope) QLD.
Driving from South Brisbane to Landsborough we checked out all the Australian Zoo had to offer… and wowser it had lots to offer. We arrived at 9am and left when the Zoo closed at 5pm and there was still more to see! We were absolutley exhausted but elated with the day we had just expirienced.
From Koala hugs to turtle pats and croc death rolls we got to see so much at this Zoo. There is too much to say so here are some of our favorite parts and some pics…
perhaps one word sums it up… crickey!
Lemur Encounter
So cool, we were lucky enough to secure a special lemur encounter for the family. We got to feed pat and expirience all that these cheeky little creatures have to offer.
Wildlife Hospital
The Australia Zoo widlife hospital operates 24hrs a day and looks after hundreds of injured animals. Situated on the Zoo grounds you can take a sneak peek into the Hospital and see what’s being treated. Today we got to see an infant Echidna and Possum being treated. Also an Orphaned Koala. The baby room had many birds being hand fed and looked after by the amazing staff.
Its been a while since we posted! Its been an eventful couple of weeks (a lot has happened). So let’s catch up.
Kiama – Big4 EASTS
We left the fabulous Gillards Campground and headed up the coast to Kiama Big4 Easts to spoil the kids with a resort style Caravan park (the first time on our trip so far). The kids enjoyed the water park and a few days of relaxation.
Umina – NRMA Ocean Beach CP
After our spell at Kiama we made our way to the Central Coast and stayed at Umina. Another resort style Caravan Park for the kids (ok and parents) to enjoy.
Change of Plans
It was around this time Mr C-19 (COVID) decided to make an appearance around the Northern Beaches. Our plan were to head to Hunter Valley then pass through Tamworth to re-pack our Van, spend Christmas at home. Following this we were going to head North to visit family in QLD and continue our trip North. However as we monitored the situation and knowing QLDs conservative approach to borders, we took the opportunity to dash into QLD before Christmas. Particualry as we had been on the Central Coast. So, we made it into QLD a day before QLD implemented a 14 day quarantine policy that would have really messed up Christmas and our remaining trip.
COVID Test to keep QLD happy!
We actually felt very lucky we could just change our plans and stay with family for a over the Christmas/New Year period last minute (Thanks Meg, Ryan and extended family for letting us crash Xmas). We did have a precautionary COVID test to keep QLD government happy, but it was a small price to pay to be with family and able to continue our next part of the trip. Everyone was VERY Brave!
While it was sad to leave Beachcomer, it was nice to be on the road again after 5 days in one spot. We arrived at Gillards Campground which is part of the Mimosa National Park, which means low cost, off grid and back to basics. Just the way we like it. Gillards is a perfect stop, literally a stones throw from the beach and big campsites.
We also caught a spectacular sunrise at Gillards on our last morning.
Bermagui
This little spot was a favourite of Jo’s. A small coastal town that has a lot character. While is Bermagui we checked out a few local sites such as Camel Rock, the Horse Head and Blue Pool. The kids also LOVED swimming at Horse shoe Bay. This little bay was sheltered and the water was so clear.
See if you can pick the Camel Rock (we couldnt really lol). Horse Head was a bit eaiser to see.
Tilba (Tilba Tilba)
This tiny hostoric town was a nice morning tea spot. The kids cheked out the local candy store, while the adults picked up some (more) cheese!
Gillards was our most sotherly stop on the trip after this we turn around and head back to Kiama.
Following our stay in Honeymoon Bay we headed south (again) to Potato Point and stayed for 5 nights at the Beachcomer Holiday Park. This was our longest stop! Beachcomber is an eco caravan park- runs on tank water and solar which suited us and our off grid setup perfectly. The place is absolute beachfront and we had a premo site! Five nights at this place flew by with great local villages to explore, fishing, swimming and celebrating our little mans 8th Birthday! Oh the wildlife was pretty good too. We were also joined by Jos Dad for a bit of a surprise for the kids.
Narooma
We tracked south about 20mins to Narooma for a great day of sight seeing! We saw seals, lookouts, volcanic rocks and heads of beautiful water and marine life. We had a bit of a windy day, but still manage to pack a fair bit in.
Bodalla
The village of Bodalla was an amazing drop in spot and an absolute highlight. We dropped in here on Archie’s birthday – The kids bottle fed some calves, sampled some of the dairy products (ice cream, milkshakes etc) while the adults sampled some cheese and hot drinks. We walked away with a small-ish bag of cheese and smiles on our faces. I would highly recommend this place if you are passing through.
Archies Birthday
It’s not everyday you get to celebrate your 8th birthday in a Caravan on the road. Archie was worried we had forgotten his presents…. NO CHANCE!! We started the day with some pressies (at 5:30) pancakes – Josh attempted a Pokeball pancake for the birthday boy, bottle feeding cows, ice cream and ended at the club for dinner.
We were lucky enough to experience a weekend at this magic spot. Honeymoon Bay is set on the Beecroft weapons Range. It opens on weekends and school holidays, basically whenever the range is not in use. It’s first come first serve – to claim one of the 50ish sites on this beautiful bay. At $15 a night it an absolute bargain! The aerial photo is not mine, but captures the beauty.
We spent two nights here and swam, snorkelled, explored and relaxed. There is not much more to say except it was a lot of fun and would love to go back again. We met a lovely family from Sydney and the kids played the entire weekend together. It was just great. I think the kids really enjoyed having some kids to hang with. Below are some of our photos from our short stay!
Hyams Beach
We headed into Jervis Bay before checking to to our site in Honeymoon Bay. The sun was blazing, the water was perfect and the sand was White. Such a great spot. We managed to find a park for the car and van, and headed to the beach for a few hours. It was one of those postcard perfect settings.
Our next destination after leaving beautiful but HOT Kiama was Depot Beach Campground. We took a little detour through the town of Berry. It was a bustling little town with heaps of coffee shops, treat shops and places to spend some holiday cash. Jo was very restrained but had fun looking. We finished up our Berry detour with a visit to the local Treat Factory. This time restraint seem to be lost and we all walked away with a few tasty additions.
A couple of hours south, we hit Depot Beach. This National Park was home to us for 3 nights and was the type of camping we have been really looking forward to! Not to mention we had a beautiful beach just a 2 mins walk from our campsite. Our van was setup to go off-grid and this was our first big test. We made it out the other side, even with the sun being very hard to find in our lovely shaded site, so our batteries were well used.
Depot Beach
Where the rainforest meets the ocean. Archie and Ruby put there new found boogie-board skills into action. Also the rock pools at either end of the beach were fantastic. Overall this stay was another highlight. Waking to the sound of the Ocean, campfires and beach swims. We will be back for sure.
Snorkelling Trail
With our snorkel gear ready we set off…
First stop Maloneys Beach followed by Guerrilla Bay. Being complete beginners, Maloneys was quiet and a great place to start, but we soon headed to Guerrilla Bay. Below are a couple of clips from our GoPro – the tide was changing so we were having trouble keeping steady (for two novices). We are using our new Ninja Shark Masks! These give you a great full face mask (easier for kids) and let you see more.
We made our way from Katoomba to Kiama on what has been a fun filled first week of our family adventure. Yep, thats right one week down! But there is still plenty left of our trip.
The drive to Kiama was a 3.5hr drive and being a Saturday on the coast things are starting to get a little busier. Our desitination was Surf Beach Holiday- Park Kiama. A small but very tidy park nestled between Surf Beach and Kendalls Beach.
Surf Beach Holiday Park – Setup for 3 nights
We arrived to a heat wave. 40 degress and unseasonably hot weather for the coast. The entire coast was also having power issues (as everyone was running AC’s) about an hour after we arrived we had no power. Thankfully the Gecko was well equiped with a battery/solar setup to keep us going. We found the parks pool at first, before heading to the long awaited first beach visit of the trip. Archie and Ruby were SO excited, it had been a long time coming for them to see the beach on this trip. Archie has been describing our trip to his freinds as “going to see all the beaches in NSW.”
The Pool was nice, but the Beach was our target!
Surf Beach
The kids had a great time at the beach and played for hours most days. The waves got pretty intense at Surf beach on a few visits, but it was patrolled and 2 mins walk from our Home away from Home. Archie literrally rolled in the waves over and over. There was little time for sandcastles then back to the waves.
Kiama Surf Beach
The walk to the beach.
Kiama Blowhole
A must do at Kiama was the blowhole and it was great. The kids were mesmerized with water spout.
Minnamurra Rainforest Walk
About 20mins from Kiama we headed tot the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre to do a bit of a walk. We chose the Loop Walk (about 1.6km return – which took us about 40mins). Again, the kids complained and bribery ensued, but Jo and I enjoyed the treck. Once it was all over I think the kids enjoyed it.
We drove from Lithgow to Katoomba a quick 45min trip with the Caravan in tow. We stopped off at the historic town of Hartley to see a few old buildings and streach our legs. It was also a good time to fed the tribe.
Archie – Hartley River Walk.
Govettes Leap Lookout
On the way into Katoomba we stopped in at the Govettes Leap lookout which was jaw dropping. Govettes can be found in Blackheath just before Katoomba. So for us it ended up being a nice Lunch-stop. We drove, with the Caravan attached right to the lookout, checked out the sites and stairs and views. We then had lunch right from our mobile kitchen (we love this perk).
Goverttes Lookout Panarama
Katoomba Falls Lookout
Wow, the Blue Mountains ARE amazing!! I dont know if the kids can really appreciate the natural beauty of this place as much as the adults… but WOW WOW WOW. To top it off the weather was perfect.
We stayed at the Katoomba Falls Tourist Park – right in the next to Scenic World and Katoomba Falls. Literally 2mins walk to views that are out of this world. Naturally we did sunrise (well Josh did), sunset and everything in between.
This was right around the corner from the Tourist Park.
Katoomba Cascades – so pretty the kid even had a swim
Three Sisters
The iconic Three Sisters. You can see these rocks all over the Blue Mountains. The kids had fun pointing these rock out everywhere we went. They say the rocks change colour during the day so I decided to test this theory out. What do you think?
Morning
Day
Day
Night
The changing colours of the Three Sisters.
Sublime Point Lookout
This was one of Jo favourite Lookouts we visited in Katoomba. It felt a lot more off the beaten track and less crowded. It was only a quick walk + stairs to reach some amazing views. I am running out of words and pictures to capture this (insert another superlative here) part of the world.
Those little legs treked and climbed and hiked like absolute troopers. Very proud of these kiddies. There was no shortage of complaints but a few bribes of morning tea and lunch (usually food related) got the job done.
Scenic World
The kids had a great time at the Dinosaur Themed Scenic World Experience. The 90mins was a quick glimpse into whats on offer at this Katoomba attraction. COVID had changed the accessibility somewhat but it was nice to give the kids a little treat. It was only 5mins from our accomodation and left us with plenty of the day to continue exploring.
Our two nights spent at Lithgow were ’surprising’ in a really good way. Our accomodation was at the Lake Wallace (a free camp). We had heaps of space to roam, fish and parked right next to a playground. It even had a few friendly (and noisy) birds.
Lake Wallace – Lithgow
Archie tried his luck at fishing as well. I think we fed the fish all they needed.
Jo had planned a couple of adventures but following a quick trip to the Visitor Info centre we had a jam packed itinerary.
The Lithgow Gun Embankment
We came here not really sure what to expect and boy did the kids love it. The guns were here during WWII when Lithgow Arma factory produced weapons for war. The embankment was setup to protect the factory from attack. 55 soldiers were stationed here, it’s in the middle of a field just 30seconds from town. SO RANDOM! There are current 4 large artillery embankments, that have be decomposed and restored. They actually move!! It was a lot of fun for the adults too.
Hassans Wall Lookout
The Lookout in Lithgow was pretty impressvie and a taste of things to come. The wind was pretty wild – check out Jos hair!
Glow Worm Tunnel
The drive out to the glow worm tunnel was a bit of a 4wd adventure! Rough tracks, dodging fallen trees, potholes and more potholes. Not to mention an awesome tunnel through part of the mountain. Josh/Dad loved the drive… but the glow worms we’re good too!
While the glow worms are not really somthing you can photograph, here are a few more snaps of our adventure.
Before leaving Bathurst we managed to check out Mount Panorama. It was wet conditions, so with our “slick” tires and NewAge Caravan in tow we set off. It was a LOT of fun, we managed to do a couple of laps. The rain did stop us getting far on foot to look at the viewing platform, but we could see a lot from the car.
Ruby & Archie both recognised the track from the recent Bathurst race. There is actually a little park right at the top which you can stop at. Again the rain did limit us a little…
It was a great adventure… next stop for us is Lithgow!
We set off from Mudgee to Bathurst. We checked out a the Mudgee Honey Haven to see some of the local Bees and HONEY! We didn’t get to do the usual tasting (thanks COVID) but had a great time.
Once in Bathurst we checked out the Australia Fossil and Mineral Museum. There was an impressive mineral collection and the big finale was the T-REX skeleton.
Archie was very taken with the Megalodon (giant shark tooth), he learnt about these from his friend Harrison.
Ruby enjoyed looking at the pretty/sparkly minerals.
Another great day and looking forward to many more.
After much anticipation at 7am on the 21st Nov 2020, we finally set off. It was an early start, mainly as we were excited to get going. We have been packing and prepping for all week. I think it safe to say everyone was excited to leave (perhaps a little coaxing was required for Archie.)
Day 1 of our Adventures.
Drip Gorge – Ulan
Our first stop on the way to Mudgee was the Drip Gorge and what a way to start! The kids had no idea what they were in for. After we go through the initial complaints I think you can see the kids had a great time. We ended up spending about and hour at the Drip. It was a hot day, so the cool rock and shady Gorge was perfect.
Our first night of accomodation was the Mudgee Showgrounds.
After COVID delays and Melbourne manufactures lock down (for 6 weeks) the van has finally arrived on the 24th October 2020. We have a week off to explore and get organised for our quick shakedown trip to Umina Beach – Gosford.
The kids were ecstatic to say the least…Our travels are starting to feel like they are just around the corner.
So COVID sucks, but what can you do! There is little to no chance of WA borders opening in time for our trip. We have put our WA plans on hold and are looking to do something a little closer to home. We still plan to have a killer 3 month holiday with the kids.
Like most travellers this year, we have to adapted our itinerary to be a bit closer to home.
New Itinerary:
Leg 1: South Coast of NSW (Nov – Xmas). This will be a chance to see somewhere a bit closer to home. We haven’t spent much time in this part of our state and are looking forward to beaches, coastlines and relaxing in the sun.
Leg 2: South Coast of QLD (Xmas to Feb). A chance to visit some family and do some of the stunning QLD destinations in the Sunshine state.
Having plans change last minute has been a little challenging, but we are determined to make the most of our trip. Also given the trip is planned around the summer holidays we are going to have to pre-book a lot of the itinerary, which limits a bit of the spontaneity. However we have some amazing things planned and cant wait to share with the kids.
I convinced the wife… (yes there was a powerpoint presentation involved). The new addition will be a NewAge Gecko – Adventurer.
We have been really happy with our Austrack Camper trailer (Savannah X 2018 model), which we bought second hand in 2019. Having upgraded from a black-series soft floor camper that we owned for about 2 years prior. Moving to camper trailers from tent camping for us, was a game changer especially with the kids.
Despite COVID we managed to have a personal demo by the New Age Caravan team and placed our order in April 2020. Hopefully COVID pending our plans can still go ahead, but our Van due in September will make our trip easier and one even more memorable – especially in the hot summer days of WA.
Our plans to go on an extended trip have grown from a love of unplugging and spending time together. As the idea blossomed in early 2019, Jo an I have slowly worked out how to make this ‘idea trip’ a reality.
Organising an extended period of leave is challenging. There are so many considerations, work, money, kids, schooling… and money. But we are determined too ‘just do it’.
Our Time Frame
We started planning around the kids summer school holidays to minimise school disruptions. Using long service leave for Josh and a combination of annual leave and leave without pay for Jo. We have settled on 12 weeks (three months) starting the 14th November 2020 returning 26th January 2021.
This will mean taking the kids out of school about a month before end of school year, but we will be back in time for the new school year in 2021. 2021 will be Ruby’s final year of primary school (year 6) and AJ will be going into year 2.
Our Destination
While plans are not 100% finalised, we would like to head to Western Australia. Jo and I spent some time in WA in our younger years and we would love to explore more and show the kids around this beautiful state.
We have the heat of summer to contend with, so this will influence plans somewhat. But we are keen to see the beautiful south coast and explore the various beach camps of WA. Weather depending we are hoping to get as far north as shark bay.
Herden Family Travels 