Like a lot of people, Newcastle’s Lorrimer family felt like they were treading water, stuck in the daily grind of long work hours, paying the mortgage and juggling a young family.

Yearning for a change, they sold the family home, resigned from their jobs and bought a caravan to take off on a trip of a lifetime around Australia.

Four years on, Bec and Justin Lorrimer have never looked back. They’ve completed three laps around Australia in their caravan with their three young children and are now ‘social media influencers’, with more than 77,000 subscribers across @TripInAVan on Instagram and the ‘TIAV’ Youtube channel.

Bec reflected on the moment four years ago when she and Justin made the decision to sell up and get on the road. “At the time it just felt right – we were sick of the daily grind. Justin was working long 12-hour shifts and we were thinking… ‘you know what, let’s just do it!’.”

“I think the stress levels have absolutely decreased. We’re just living this simple life. There are no bills to pay, all we have to worry about is paying our next caravan park fee – it’s easy.”

Dedicating their new full-time jobs to exploring Australia with their young family, Bec and Justin couldn’t be happier on the road and love being able to spend more time with their kids.

“Having both Justin and I around 24/7 is a game-changer for our family. The kids love that Mum and Dad are both at home, and from a parenting point of view, Justin and I are able to share the ‘hands-on’ things like cooking, cleaning and looking after the caravan.”

Now experts in family caravanning with young kids, their gorgeous children – Jack, 7, Billy, 5, and Charli, 4 – have a simple, stress-free lifestyle centred around discovering the beauty of their Australian backyard.

When it comes to family-favourite spots, Bec says they love caravanning along the east coast of Australia.

“There are too many spots to choose from – Ingenia Holidays White Albatross in Nambucca Heads is amazing and Eurimbula in the Gladstone region is great, but Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut our favourite place to stay with the kids,” she said.

“My son Billy asked to go back to Cairns Coconut – we’ve been there three times on our travels and the kids just love it.”

With 22 holiday locations along the eastern seaboard, Ingenia Holidays parks and resorts are situated within family-friendly communities and are packed with in-park activities tailored to kids of all ages.

Even though they’ve been caravanning for four years, the Lorrimer family are still in awe of the ever-changing Australian landscape and encourage families to get out and explore their ‘back yard’.

“Everyone should take time to get out there and see what’s on our doorstep. Australia has such a beautiful and diverse landscape, and it changes almost every 100 kilometres.”

The Lorrimer family are now in Western Australia with no real plans on where to go next, which Bec describes as ‘the beauty’ of their new lifestyle.

“We totally wing it – we’ll probably just cruise along the top of the Northern Territory now, and head over to Cairns. We’re still undecided as to where we’ll have Christmas,” Bec said.

“That’s the beauty of it, you’re never on a timeframe. Everything’s at your own pace – if you love somewhere you can stay longer and if you don’t, or if the weather is bad, you can just move on.”

The Lorrimers encourage those who haven’t tried caravanning to get out and experience the lifestyle.

“Just do it – it’s the best thing we’ve ever done and if you can do it – take your time. A 12-month plus lap around Australia is completely life-changing!”

Explore our parks

Ingenia Holidays White Albatross
Who says you can’t have a rainforest, beach and tidal lagoon all on your doorstep while on holidays? Ingenia Holidays White Albatross is positioned where the Nambucca River and South Pacific Ocean meet, our White Albatross guests can enjoy the luxury of direct access to a tidal lagoon as well as a surf beach less than two minutes’ walk away.
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BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut
Few holiday parks compare in popularity to our award-winning BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut in Tropical North Queensland. In fact, if you looked up the definition of ‘kid’s paradise’, you’re likely to see a description of BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut.
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