Together Again: Life on the Road with the Fullarton Family

Amelia Fullarton and her family are living a life that others only dream about.

She and her partner Al, along with daughters Arlo, Agnes, Ottie and Una, recently packed up their house in exchange for a year on the road to explore Australia.

The family left the far north coast of New South Wales in a caravan in December, and has since travelled across Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory—but their journey is far from over.

This Mother’s Day, we celebrate the joy of reconnecting with loved ones while catching up on lost time and making family memories together again.

Featuring Amelia Fullarton, Arlo, Agnes, Ottie and Una.

Hi Amelia, you recently packed up your house in exchange for a life on the road. What led to this decision and what has it been like?

We had spoken about doing a lap around Australia with our kids ever since l can remember; one of those things we wanted to experience as a family while they were still little. After a big few years—both of us juggling work, business, building a house, finding out my mum was unwell, as well as having the girls through that time—we both felt pretty burnt out. In all honesty, l think l was at the point of having a bit of a mental breakdown. It was a now or never scenario, like something had to give or one of us was going to break. It’s truly been one of the best decisions we’ve made as a family. I can’t really explain what it’s been like—so greatly different to the often mundane domestic life l was living at home. That’s not to say l don’t love the life we had, but sometimes a little mix-up in routine and adventure is just what the soul needs.

What have you learnt from the experience so far?

That time is the greatest gift we have. Time with each other, time with our kids. Truly being able to slow down and connect with each other. To be able to have these experiences with our daughters.

You’ve described the last few months as some of the happiest in your life. What do you hope your young children will take away from it?

I hope our children realise that you don’t need much to be truly happy. That they form a great love of adventure, the outdoors and their home country, Australia. That they learn more about the Traditional Custodians of this land and their respect and connection to Country. I hope that from learning to love nature, they will want to fight for it and care for it, as well as see it as their greatest healer and teacher.

What’s it like having your family so close together under one roof?

Surprisingly, l thought it would be a lot worse! If you ask most people with kids to imagine being with their four young children 24/7, living in a caravan, without a day apart from each other for a whole year, they’d probably tell you they’d go crazy. But it's such a different life to being at home—there is no rushing, no endless to-do lists, the days are much slower. I’ve found it makes more sense than how society has become, so fast-paced and somewhat dismissive of our children. I’ve really felt children seem to thrive when they are held much closer. That’s not to say it doesn’t come with challenges—there is no such thing as personal space, tension can escalate quickly and there are still the usual arguments, it's a van full of female emotion (haha). It’s not for everyone but I’ve learnt a lot from it.

How do you spend your days? Have you created any routines or do you prefer to take each day as it comes?

I suppose we have a routine. Coffee in the morning in bed, Arlo can make it for us now so it feels like such a treat. We usually try to squeeze in some school work, then head for a hike or explore the area we are in. The afternoons are usually pretty relaxed and we will take it easy. Then we try to put the kids in early so we can have some time to ourselves. I always try to catch a sunrise or sunset wherever I can!

For other families looking to do something similar, what would you like them to know?

Some people are probably thinking how did we afford to do this? I realise we are very privileged to be able to have this time with our kids, we are fortunate to be able to still work while being on the road and have income coming in. I think if you are in a position to take some time off while your kids are young then you should. It might not be in a caravan, it might just be in a tent for a weekend. It’s the simplest of pleasures that bring the greatest reward. Life is full of uncertainty and worry at the moment and if there is one thing l feel, it’s that it's here to be lived. Go live it while you can.