Livin On The Road

We packed four kids and a belongings into a caravan to head around Australia; the country we had all been born in. We had our preconceptions and ideas about what we would see and do. Each had their own secret ambitions and fears about the trip that lay ahead.
We were still fairly new travellers and close to home when we followed a sign to a National Park we had not heard about, and explored a temperate rainforest in cold Victoria. Later we would learn about communities as diverse as grain-growing, ski-fields, vineyards, opal mining, and tourism.
The resilience of the farmers in the grain-growing region of Victoria, the Mallee, and their dependence on the elements was foreign to us. The farmers harvesting around the clock as families worked together to bring in the crops, and the agony they described after years of drought when a locust plague blackened the skies and the ground.
This was different again to the remote, yet bustling township of Mt Hotham where holiday-makers come in their thousands during winter to play in the snow. The crisp Alpine air stung our cheeks as we familiarized ourselves with the vibrant, playful atmosphere. Many of the employees who we came to know followed winter from one ski resort to another, and some had not seen a summer for over a decade. Then there were the families who brought excited, giggling kids who wobbled down the slopes. The region was equally dependant on the elements to succeed, but the atmosphere was much more laid-back and cheerful.
The culture at Uluru and Kata Tjuta was flavored by the Aboriginal stories and culture, but there were few Aboriginal people to be seen. Instead, the staff seemed to be a mobile community of international backpackers and young people taking a gap-year. Again, everyone was in holiday mode, but this time it was awe at the rock formations nature had provided. The rugged outback desert dominated by a rusty massive rock with permanent waterholes at its base.
There is no time soon that this family of six will stop travelling. It's fair to say that we are constantly surprised at how diverse the culture and landscape is within just one country. We had only known the culture and landscape of our tiny square of Victoria, and very little of the rest of Australia. We’ve learnt that the culture of Melbourne is unique only to that city, and its necessary to venture along the coasts, into the ranges and through the desert to become familiar with Australia. Take it for granted that the culture changes from one town to the next, and you won’t know the real Australia unless you head off the beaten track.