The Warren Tribe is an Australian family of six that’s spent the past 12 months venturing around the Australian coast in their airstream trailer. They’ve settled down in Byron Bay for now, but took a moment to chat with us about their time on the road so far and how it has strengthened their bond as a family. Follow along on their upcoming adventures @warren_tribe.
Tell us about yourself and your family. Where are you from and where are you going?
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A post shared by Rhythm Of Our Tribe?Australia (@warren_tribe) on Jan 5, 2019 at 4:24pm PST
“We are a family of six—Glenn, Kelly, Finley (age 12), Marlow (age 8), Harper (age 6) and Sunnie (age 3). We are originally from Gippsland, Victoria and after twelve months on the road, have settled in Bangalow in Northern New South Wales.
We travelled Australia in a clockwise direction, following the coast most of the way. After the Red Centre, we headed to the east coast where we began looking for a place to call home.”
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What kind of vehicle did you travel in and why did you choose it?
“We traveled in a Landrover Defender and an Airstream. We have always loved both the Defender and the Airstream because of their iconic and timeless designs. Given we had the idea to set up a business [renting] out our Airstream and the fact that we wanted to travel Australia before doing so, it made sense to undertake the trip in an Airstream. We like to only buy once, where we can.”
How did you know the time was right to hit the road? What did your kids think?
“We knew the time was right to hit the road as we’d never before had the opportunity to travel for an extended time. This was our first opportunity to do so. The kids were all at a great age for traveling and we were ready to see what other opportunities might be out there for us.
The kids were so excited about hitting the road. We spoke to them about traveling Australia, home schooling and living in the Airstream for the year and they were all on board with the idea.”
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How did you plan your travel route?
“All we planned was the direction we were heading in. We knew we would head west from Victoria and follow the sun. We made some spontaneous visits and found that not planning ahead worked well for us, particularly in the West. We had a list of places and sights we wanted to see, but no specific dates. We worked in with the seasons, so there was still some timeline to our year on the road.”
What place stole your heart? Where did you end up staying the longest?
“We loved so many places along the way. Our list of highlights continued to grow throughout the year. Some of our highlights were Cactus, SA; Esperance, WA; Margaret River, WA; Gnaraloo and Red Bluff, WA; Exmouth, WA, El Questro, WA; the Centre and, of course, Byron Bay.”
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What was most challenging about traveling with 4 kids?
“The highlight of the year was the fact that we could spend every day together exploring Australia.
The challenges of traveling with four kids was probably fitting in the home schooling after big days exploring as well as being the teacher and the parent. Having said that, we would travel again with all of the children in a heartbeat.”
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Whose idea was it to have the kids journal during the trip to document your adventure?
“It was our idea to document their travels in a journal. The children really enjoy reading back over their journal entries, even after just a few months. I can’t wait to see what they think when they read back over them in a few years.”
Did you come across many other families traveling around the country?
“There was such a big community of traveling families living on the road. We were actually quite surprised by how many. We were leaving such a wonderful community back in Maffra and little did we know at the time, the great community of travelers we would be meeting on the road.”
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What did your typical day look like?
“Our typical day was rising (quite often getting up to appreciate the sunrise), breakfast, packing a daypack and heading out exploring. Our days were actually so varied depending upon where we were. Beachside, we would manage some surfing and inland, there was quite a bit of hiking. Always appreciating the sunset at the end of each magnificent day.
Generally we would be writing in our journals in the evenings, documenting the places we visited and what we learned. Dinner together and then bed.”
What are 5 ‘must have’ items that you took on your trip?
“Five must have items: Surfboards, BBQ, camera, snorkels, and a tent—for off-grid trips where the caravan can’t go.”
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What has surprised you the most about life on the road?
“What has surprised us most about life on the road is just how much we would get out of a year on the road together. Even watching the children now, they have all grown closer than they were before, looking out for each other more than they would before. Everyone has learned to work together well, by having to set up and pack up regularly. And lastly, everyone has a greater appreciation for the smaller things they probably once took for granted, like baths for example.”
What do you hope your kids remember most about the experience?
“We hope they remember the fun we had exploring together and we hope they retain the appreciation they had at the time to be able to travel Australia as a family.”
What’s the best advice you would give to someone wanting to travel around the country?
“Make it happen!”
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What are your plans now that you’ve settled down in Byron Bay?
“Enjoying the simple things in life: living in a house, surfing, the company of friends and weekend adventures!
We are also excited about establishing our business One Lazy Sunday, offering airstream [rentals] for events, weddings, photography, and weekend getaways.”
