Family Travels with @rileys_travels

 

~ What’s the formula for an awesome campervan trip with the family?

Good company for starters!
We like to keep it pretty rustic, using what we already have at home or stored in Izzie.

A spontaneous trip down an old baron road and a good campfire — it’s kinda exciting to just trust the journey, having no real fixed plan has worked well for us,

some of the most amazing places we’ve seen have just been from locals word of mouth or people we’ve met on the road.

I think the less stress and expectation the bigger the reward.

 

~ What are your favourite camping spots throughout Australia and why?

We are so spoilt in Australia with an abundance of incredible camping spots.
I looooved Streaky Bay in South Australia, the most magical pinky sunsets whilst camping right on the waterfront. Broom blew me away!!

The killer colours of blue turquoise water rolling onto white sand against red dirt, gah unbeatable...

but I loved free camping on the waters edge at Shark Bay in Western Australia, we had this spot all to ourselves for three days.

I think a lot of the most magical spots are located in the national parks, this is where you’ll find the real gems.

~ Why do you feel that travelling is an important form of education for little ones?

They learn about this amazing country & where they are from, seeing it first hand is something school cannot give our children.

I wanted my children to appreciate cultures and the indigenous people, to respect the land and to always take care of it.

We also wanted to soak in the early years together as a family.

With Lock working away it was important for Riley to have these adventures with us and to bond with Dad.

~ As a citizen of the world, and an advocate for environmentally & socially conscious travel what have been your biggest learnings?

Our biggest lesson by far has been that we really don’t need much to be happy.

We can easily complicate our lives by thinking we need so many unnecessary things but in fact all we need is each other and a good adventure.

We’ve definitely never been happier then living out of a tiny 57 year old kombi with a few clothes and a bit of food, not knowing where we’ll end up each day when we wake up.

At the start of our trip we had overpacked so much, we had bags in the back, suitcases on the roof, it was an absolute shambles.

Road tripping taught us that we can be smarter with less, by the end we only had a quarter of what we set out with and had sent the rest home.

After travelling this beautiful country and seeing some of the disrespect shown to it we have definitely become more conscious of our footprint on the environment.

Our approach to life has become about appreciating time with one another and to do everything we can to preserve our planet,

so our children can enjoy it when they grow up just like we have had the opportunity to.

~ Having travelled around the globe with Riley, where would you say in the world are the best places to travel with kids?

I truly believe taking your children to less privileged places will have a great impact on them and also you as a parent.

We sweat the small things, over think and over analysis so much as we come from a first world country.

Sometimes stepping back and seeing children and families who have so little but are some of the happiest and friendly people helps you restart the brain and think wow!

We don’t need so many material things to be content or to show our children we care and love them.

They also see life for what it is and hopefully grow up with empathy and understanding with a sense of appreciation.

Places like Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Phillipines have been some of our favourites for this.

Cuba was the first place we went with Riley after he was born so will always be very special to us.

Follow the magical life of Kirianna on Instagram @rileys_travels  🌏✨