The People We Meet

Mandy Farabegoli from TAWK (Travel Australia With Kids)

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Mandy at the Wandoo Woodland Bush Camp. After striking up a conversation with her we discovered that we had been following her Travel Australia With Kids Facebook group for the last few years. We thought it was a great opportunity to learn more about how she got started with TAWK and what motivated her. What drew you out to the Wandoo Woodland Bush Camp?

I was drawn firstly to Wandoo Woodland Bush Camp as I love Wandoo wood! Haha, a little bit crackers and a bit random but a lot of our home is made from this glorious hardwood. We had a fire in our home many moons ago and because this wood is so hard, our house did not completely go up in flames as it took so long to get a hold on the property that by the time it did, the fire trucks were here putting it out and little damage was done. So, I do feel it is a lucky wood for us. When I then investigated the Wandoo Woodland Bush Camp, it looked idyllic. Surrounded by these majestic trees, lots of space and with the ability to have a campfire, I was sold. Luckily, we are selfcontained and despite the continuous rain on the days we were there, we set up the

THe peOple we meet

By Chris Morton

awning to catch the water and had longer showers! The spot is amazing, secluded and close enough to York to grab any supplies if needed. We will be regulars going forward. Who do you normally travel with?

Nowadays I normally just travel with hubby. This is fairly new, but our kids are teens and young adults now and love being left at home alone ... although writing that down worries me a tad! Come to think of it, why do they keep encouraging us to go camping without them!? They still come on our annual camping trip up to Ningaloo Reef but we have recently gotten rid of our family caravan and purchased one for just the two of us, so it’s tents and swags for them now. We often give a shout out to any friends that wish to join us and when they can, they do. Tell us how/why TAWK started

I started TAWK many moons ago back in 2011 as I could not find a website with information all about Travelling Australia With Kids (TAWK) for an extended period of time. There were lots of commercial type sites, but none with real information from real families and real experiences. So, I decided to create one. We travelled the country with our three children for two years, starting when they were six, seven and nine years old. It was without any shadow of a doubt the best two years of my life. The time that we all had as a family being together all the time was so special and I just want other families to be able to do this. So often living to work gets in the way. Children grow up too quickly so

the window to do this closes very quickly and saying you’ll do it one day, too often becomes never. There are lots of families travelling now and with social media, many families are seeing other families doing this and realising that TAWKing for them is a possibility. What is the purpose of TAWK?

TAWK is to help and encourage families to turn their dreams of travelling Australia with their kids into a reality. Who would not want to take their families out of the rat race for a while and explore our fabulous country? On the Travelling Australia With Kids website we have everything for families to get started and turn dreams into plans. From what you might travel in to make your home on wheels, schooling and options for families, when might be the best time to go, how you can afford it, to places to go and how to cope with being together 24/7. What is your favourite destination?

Our favourite destination has to be the NW of WA. But from there, it’s very hard to choose, which is odd because it is so vast! I love the Gascoyne, the Pilbara and the Kimberley. I am not sure how, but I think the red earth up there seems to seep into your soul and calls you back. We also love the Coral Coast and Coral Bay holds a place in our hearts as we worked there for five months on our two year trip around Australia. We were part of the community and still feel at home there. Do you prefer short or long stays at a location?

Oooo, this is a hard one. I like both! I love moving through, but even then, it would be a minimum of three nights in one spot. Two is not enough and you feel like you are unpacking and packing up all the time. I like to explore and spend some time in a place to get a feel for it. Sometimes getting the feel of a place makes you want to stay longer and embracing all that the area and the locals have to offer. Mix with the locals and you will find those secret spots that the tourists are not so aware of and of course the secret fishing spots and best 4WD tracks – although this mag has most of them covered! What are your best tips for travelling Australia with kids?

Do it as soon as you can for as long as you can. Just do it! The decision is the hardest part and once you make that decision you will find that everything else will fall into place. We have lots of information on our website to help you with your plans and then to support you on your trip. It's not all rosy, be prepared for that and it is no holiday either, which can come as quite a shock to some, as does being together 24/7 but stick with it and once you settle in, you will not regret a moment. There are tough times at home too, but this way you get to experience our great land and all that it has to offer. It will be beneficial to your kids in so many ways. The education just from travelling and not stuck in classrooms day in day out. Learning to love our land, to experience our land and all the opportunities life on the road presents. Go with the flow and enjoy the ride and again my tip is to just do it asap! The kids are growing day by day.

Enjoying a swim at Fern Pool, Karijini N.P.

Describe your touring setup and what you like about it.

Our set up now is only slightly different from when we travelled Australia with our kids. Now we have just a two berth full caravan whereas back then we had a seven berth full caravan with three bunks. I would always encourage you to try before you buy if you are considering travelling with your family. There are a lot of peer to peer hire companies now and you can hire from other families. We chose the full van as we did not want to be setting up and packing down a camper trailer every few days. With the vast distances we were covering we needed it to be easy. You also need a good tow vehicle and you both need to know how to tow the caravan. However, let me just say, you do not need to spend an absolute fortune to do this. You can of course and if you can afford it, do so. BUT if you cannot go all out, do not write the trip off. The caravan that we took on our two year trip around Australia, cost us $6000. An oldie but a goldie! We kept that van for another eight years after our trip and sold it for $3500! So, whatever your outlay, remember you can get a lot of the money back by selling it. Tell us about a location that you haven’t been to yet that is on your bucket list

Sorry to say and maybe no surprise, still in the NW of WA, Mount Augustus is on my bucket list. We drive past the turn-off every year on our annual trip up to Coral Bay, but because we always go there in January, we feel it is too hot to go inland at this time. So, we will choose a cooler period in the coming years and get to see this huge monolith and see if it has the same vibe and spiritual feel as Uluru. What is your favourite 4WD magazine and why are we? : )

I spend so much time online and working, reading online articles and running my website, that to have a real copy of a magazine in my hot little hand that I could read sitting around the campfire, with articles from like-minded souls was refreshing. I even loved the fact that it was ‘book sized’ and not A4 like a lot of them. I was surprised about the variety and of course loved the fact that there was even a kid’s section. Which again was fabulous as I actually learnt something. It was all about shells and what they were before you found them up on the sand. Well done kids. I love the fact that there was lots of variety in the mag with info that hubby would find more fascinating than myself, but it was not just about all the 4WD gadgets, there was also lots of 4WD people. Is that even a thing? Yes, it is, and they are my people. Now I am reading through all the different 4WD adventures that are so clearly marked out in the various books in the Explorer series. This also gave me joy as I know that my kids love the outback due to our travels and I know they will be exploring in 4WDs in the future. Now I’ll have a little bit of peace knowing there are tracks and coordinates for them as they journey, and they will not be alone. The books feel like a back-up and with young adults that are finding their own way round our land, I need as much backup as I can get.