Feature: Free to Explore

It’s no coincidence that a running theme through the families we connect with is that they started living the caravan life when their kids were young, with the purpose of spending more time together. At Caframo, we totally understand. We focus on a work life balance that ensures families have time together. Ask anyone around Caframo and they’ll tell you: kids grow up too fast. The Wallace family felt it so strongly that they decided to make a plan to ensure they’d have the chance to soak up all the moments growing up has to offer, and make some seriously great memories while it was happening.

Read more about Free to Explore below and be sure to follow along on their adventures via their site, Instagram, YouTube!

Where are you right now, where were you before and where are you going next?

We have been on the road for just over 24 months, and at this stage will be travelling for at least another 12 months in Australia. We took a few months off our travels last year whilst we upgraded our vehicle and worked with manufacturers to create a new custom-built caravan. During this time we based ourselves on a large property in the Atherton Tablelands outside Malanda in North Queensland.

We got back on the road in December 2021 and will be heading down to South Australia for the next few months.

Tell us about yourself. Why’d you choose your lifestyle? How long have you been at it?

Free to Explore are a fun-loving and adventurous family of five who are always pushing the limits of freedom, travel and life on the road. There’s Nathan 41, Martene 40, Zali 13, Maisie 11 and Matai 8… and in the last few weeks we have added a furry four-legged friend called Theodore to the mix. He is a 9-week-old French Bulldog.

Two years ago, we had to pack away our passports due to the world pandemic, and instead set our sights on the beautiful country we call home. Prior to that point we had taken our children to 19 countries. We have now spent the last 2 years travelling Australia full-time as we work and school on the road.

We made the decision to live life on the road because we were missing out on time with our children, and we decided we’d rather a life of "Oh F**ks" then “What Ifs". We committed to our decision, made a plan, and then set the wheels in motion (no pun intended).

Any plans for the near future? Distant future?

We are heading to South Australia for the next few months as we didn’t quite finish it last year and are yet to see the Eyre Peninsula and a few other spots. We then need to head back to the Gold Coast in May for a work event and then back up to Cape York and the Gulf in June. Depending on border restrictions we will then hopefully head over to Western Australia.

After that we will either look at international travel or find somewhere to base ourselves.

Tell us about your rig. How long have you had it, how much distance have you put on it, where have you taken it?

Currently we are in a 21’6ft 2021 Royal Flair Eco Mate off-road Caravan and a dual cab 2021 Toyota Landcruiser 200 series that was converted with a 750mm chassis extension.

When we first started out we were in a 2016 Toyota Landcruiser 200 series wagon with a 2019 Royal Flair Aussie Mate.

We were only going to swap out the tow vehicle initially as we wanted more storage, a canopy and something we could take a boat in, but we had an idea….to build an electric only caravan!

14 months ago, we approached Royal Flair with this concept and have been working and researching together to make it a reality. It is a lot harder than you might think to work out products, logistics, layouts, and inclusions all while trying to reduce overall weight and provide comfort and luxury.

Finally, after months of waiting and delays due to supply, we got delivery in December last year and were able to get back on the road.The primary driver was to create a setup where we could live off grid longer, while still enjoying the creature comforts of home. Here are a few changes we made from the initial caravan -

• Complete electric van with no gas and a 14.3kW 48volt battery and 5kW inverter
• Induction cooktops
• Weber electric BBQ
• Electric hot water
• Fibreglass composite exterior
• Composting toilet
• Stone bench tops
• Increased to 320 litres of water
• Brushed copper tap ware
• New bunk bed configuration
• Electric awning

Our most favourite things with our new set-up would be our ability to stay off grid for longer (in luxury) with our battery system, waste disposal, water storage and our drop-down bed. The drop-down bed solution was a key to choosing our van in the first place as it allows us to have a club lounge during the day and a king size bed at night.

Which product(s) of ours do you have onboard? How’s it working out for you?

We have the Sirocco II fans in our new set-up (and had them in our old set-up too!) and wouldn’t dream of travelling in the Australian heat without them!

They are especially useful when we are off the grid because they use minimal power (a huge plus for anyone equipped with only a small battery system). They also do a superb job of tackling the Aussie heat, are super quiet, compact and space savvy too.

We had five Sirocco II fans set up in our old van and have the same again in the new build, with one in each of the kids bunks, and another two in our bedroom and living area. They can be easily rotated, meaning we can use them to cool down the kitchen during the day, and angle them to create a fresh breeze in the bedroom in the evening.

Feel free to take more details from the review page!

We found you through an online community you’re part of and seem to be actively involved with. What’s the vibe like these days? Are you finding more people are starting to live the way you are?

Working remotely from our van has allowed us to live a life of our wildest dreams, and we’re quickly learning that it’s a life available to anyone who’s bold enough to reach out and grab it.

It feels to us that the amount of people choosing this lifestyle is growing, and there doesn’t seem to be any cut and copy kind of person who is choosing to live this way anymore.

While we may seem special and unique, our travels around Australia have taught us we are anything but. We’ve come across countless other families living the dream just like us, and each one is funding their travel lifestyle in a different way.

We recently created a three-part blog series where we’ve interviewed people we met on the road, and people who were about to embark on their travels. There are young families, professional couples, tradies, and each of them is approaching this lifestyle in their own unique way.

You can link to these blogs here: part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Anything else…

If you are considering living life on the road, then set a date when you want to leave, and work towards it. If you need a new tow vehicle, van or camper then find out time frames. The most successful shifts that we hear about from people who are now travelling full-time, is that they made a decision to do it, and then worked towards it.