1 Year On...

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Esperance
March 1st 2012

Published: March 1st 2012

A year on the road today... Quite the milestone! This is actually the longest Faye and I have ever been away from home, our last travels lasted just less than a year, so this is quite monumental for us. I'm actually suffering from severe blog lag. We're not in Vietnam as the last published blog suggests, in fact we're not even in SE Asia anymore, we're currently living under canv... Read Full Entry

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Michael & Faye Johnson

MichaelnFaye

So... It's been six years since we got back from our big family travels. A lot can happen in six years and the kids are growing at a pace that's completely overwhelming. We have 'settled' back into life in the UK, which for all its problems is an amazing country and we love it here. We've got back on track with our careers and the kids are progressing well with their schooling. As for travel, thankfully we still haven't stopped. Over the last few years we've been to a few more places in Europe, spent many weeks in Thailand and Malaysia, celebrated our 10 yea... full info

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1st March 2012

John and Sylvia
John Wallace & Sylvia Bowman Wallace

Glad you're enjoying Oz
It always seems expensive after SE Asia but, with the Oz $ almost at 70p and $US1.08, it is expensive for everyone these days. If you make it to the east coast and have the time please come and say hello. Sylvia and I live about 1hr south of Newcastle (1.5hr north of Sydney). John

1st March 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

It was a bit of a shock and we've heard WA is the worst.... We had every intention of heading to the East coast, but sadly the Van we bought is just a little too crappy and we just don't trust it! Still... There's always next time! :)

1st March 2012

Dancing Dave
David Hooper

GREAT MEMORIES
What a trip...what a life...you receive what you embrace...and you embraced heaps...best wishes to your family...if you get to Sydney...please contact me...there's also TB's 10th B'day.

1st March 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

Thanks... Sadly we won't be making it to to the east coast like we originally planned, The van we bought probably won't make it! :) We're currently putting some things together so we might make it to the 10th birthday in KL though! :)

1st March 2012

aspiringnomad
Jason

Epic
Travelling with one kid is tough enough. Travelling with two small kids is as challenging as any of the most gruelling off-the-beaten-track adventures I have ever undertaken. I agree with you about certain cultures obsession with "routine", and not having the time to read a book. I also concur with the idea that these experiences will shape the personality of the children, even though - if you haven't already heard this - when you get home people will say "What a shame they won't remember any of this". Kudos for being able to keep up to date with the blog as long as you did, I often wondered how you did it. My own blog lag now stretches back years, yet the pace of life continues to move so fast, we don't even have time to sift through our photos let along blog. I've reached a point of anxiety now that if I don't get it written (for our benefit) I feel I may one day look back at wonderful photos of "this life" and think "shame I don't remember any of this!"

1st March 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

Ha ha... as each day passes there are moments when I think "I so could of put a few lines together then for my blog" rather than just sat and done nothing.... but then the guilt passes when I realised that after chasing these two around I really enjoyed sitting around doing nothing!!! :) Kids are a benchmark for how fast life flies past.... It seems like yesterday we were kid free, now we're responsible for two walking, talking assertive little people with their own needs and desires.... Maybe we should stop having fun, times sloooows right down then! :)

1st March 2012

Jo Trouble
Jo McCarthy

Congrats on the anniversary!
Hi guys, Congrats on being on the road for one amazing year - enjoy the rest of your time, and the memories that will be with you forever. Again, amazing photos! Btw, I did google 'Luck Bay, Esperance' and I definitely wish I were there...... :-)

1st March 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

Thanks Jo... We're putting some stuff together so that hopefully we can make it to KL for the 8th... Fingers crossed it all works out and we'll see you then! :)

1st March 2012

Kelly
non-member comment

Lovely but sad
Ah hon your year review was lovely but brought a tear to my eye as it sounds like it's all coming to an end. It's like having watched a good film with a voice over at the end with the final details.... We can't wait to have you back though. Enjoy the rest of your time. Love to you all xxx

1st March 2012

Donna and Neil
Donna and Neil

1 year!
It seems like only yesterday you were leaving the UK. You have some great pics and fab memories from your year and like you say you will have shaped their personalities and futures. It must be great to see them grow and develop every day. Western Australia looks amazing, the costs are the one thing making us put off Australia for now. Enjoy the rest of your time in Australia, let us know when you are back in Asia and we'll see if we are in the same place at the same time!

1st March 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

Wow.... I can't even describe how expensive it is... other than as an example. When we arrived we got a room with a queen bed that only just fit in it for £69 a night. It also had SHARED bathroom. Can you believe it! $4 (£2.70) for a loaf of bread!!!!! To be honest though, we're loving being here... after the pace in Asia, to come to western Australia which is the size of Western Europe but with only 2 million people in it, it's a breath of fresh air!! So much space, so clean and the stars, I never realised how much I missed the stars!!! We're actually back in Asia in April. We're trying to organise getting to KL for the 10th birthday party at Ali's then we'll be in Bangkok by the 11th as we're meeting with my parents... How about you?

1st March 2012

denidax
Deni, Dax and Ella

£1807.06 on Tattoos???
That is a lot of ink you must have now!! :o) I'm glad to hear from you again, I was wondering if you had gone back home. I really enjoyed this blog and I'm going to make all my friends with kids read it, maybe they'll stop using their children as excuses to do things... I can't tell them anything cause I don't have kids and they always use it 'against' me, but you have 2!!! :o)

1st March 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

Yup... Slowly getting covered. Wasn't just me though this time, Faye got a pretty big back piece. Actually £1800 is a bargain for the amount of work we had done, I'd hate to imagine how much it would've cost in the UK... Be gentle with your friends... :-p Kids are hard hard work... Maybe we just lucked out with a couple of good ones with open minds that quickly picked up our easy going attitude... Obviously there's a bit of adjustment when they arrive but, In my opinion, kids should complement your life, certainly not restrict it, we're people too, it can't be ALL about them!!!! :)

1st March 2012

Mum W.
non-member comment

An amazing blog
A truely amazing blog Michael.I,m afraid it made me cry as for what you wrote came from the heart.Brilliant

1st March 2012

AfricaBound
AfricaBound

Great photos!
Hey there, Great to hear from you guys! Love the photos! Enjoy the rest of your trip. We were also super shocked by the cost of things in Australia. What is the price of bananas these days? Our daily budget for Australia ran approximately $250/day, and that was camping and buying all of our food in supermarkets. We kept telling ourself, but in China this would only cost us X amount. Take Care and safe travels. Kathie

1st March 2012

Home and Away
Bob Carlsen

Just take a lot of pictures...
and when you have time to write your blogs, the pictures will trigger your memory. Just don't quit blogging.

2nd March 2012

Paul and Emma
Travel Diaries

itchy feet
Your blog is truely inspirational, especially as I have a sixteen month old and another on the way in June! Great blog and some of the best photos I've seen on travelblog. Cheers Paul&Emma

3rd March 2012

laetitiaaroundtheworld
Laetitia

Happy Anniversary !
What a fantastic year on the road indeed! Love the "winning smile" and the fact that you guys managed to be on the road full time with your two lovely boys, keeping your heart opened to new discoveries and sharing these with us. Enjoy Australia and hope that this is not a farewell blog ! Take care & should you pop by Jordan, let me know ! Cheers

5th March 2012

tamandfamily
Tam & Family

Congratulations on 1 year of travel!
Absolutly fantastic stuff as i havent dared do more than about 2 weeks with my two little ones dragged along behind me :) I have loved reading your blogs and knowing youre out there visiting all sorts of strange places and it gives me hope that i can convince my hubby we can do similar travel to unknown places like we did pre-kids.... although yet to win this battle :( If you make it back to Perth and are free for a 'playdate' just inbox me...mine are 16 months and 4 years now. I might be able to help out with some kid park ideas...or google 'perth coffee in the park' and you'll find a great website. Keep up the travel and i hope to read more soon :) tam

15th April 2012

Andy and Nicola Bickley
Andrew & Nicola

Great to Catch up!
I kept checking your blog to see where you were up to in WA, we haven't made it down to Lucky Bay yet (only 20 days holiday a year here and you have to accrue them first!) so that is on our list. You're our inspiration for travelling with children - although we don't have any yet we think the only time we'll be able to do the RTW thing is once they are here, so it's pleasing to see that it can be done!

5th May 2012

Sophie and Dale
Sophie & Dale

Bit behind...
Hey guys Just caught up on this blog.. it's funny just the other day I was wondering how and where you were and still didn't get round to reading it! So you are back home now? Gosh, like Donna & Neil say it just seems like yesterday you were off and we learnt you had lived just down the road from us all that time!! Are you back there now? Interesting to read about your experiences with the boys, I was most interested to see how this went for you with my (Sophie!) wild ideas that it would be a doddle and one day Dale & I could sail off with a couple of kids in tow to save on nursery fees.. maybe it's not quite as rosy as i'd imagined :o) Glad you had a wonderful (if exhausing) time and look foward to hearing all about all your adventures soon... Sophie :o) ps you must have had a whole lot of work done on tattoos!!

27th February 2014

Sharon
non-member comment

Travel with kids
Hi, I was just logging onto travelblog to write my latest blog, entitled, "And we said having kids won't change the way we travel..." and saw your blog. When I saw you were travelling with kids, it made me intrigued. We have backpacked around the world three times (a year or so at a time) and after having our first baby we took her backpacking in Indonesia (Bali, Flores, and Sulawesi) for three weeks and it went amazingly well. She was 10 months old at the time. Well, our recent trip was an all-inclusive Club Med resort in Mexico - a serious far cry from anything else we have ever done! We have baby #2 on the way in May and we are constantly walking about trying to squeeze in one more big backpacking trip before they start school... wondering how old your kids were on this trip? Also, did the highs outweigh the lows? I admire you for doing this - great experience for the kids! It is bound the affect them in a positive way.

15th April 2014

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

:)
Hi, Thanks for the interest. Sorry for the delay... I log on to Travelblog so infrequently now as although it's great to get lost in the memories of previous travels, those same memories make us want to up sticks again which is getting harder and harder to do... :) Before we left on our big trip with the kids we did a few trips here and there with them just to see how viable it was (Japan, Thailand and California), and when we left the UK for the 14 month trip they were aged 1 and 2. everyone said we were mad but we knew we could do it and proved that we could. As for the travelling itself, it's very different from travelling without kids that's for sure. I can't lie, someday's you feel so low you just want to jump on a plane and head home, straight into the arms of waiting family. They have their moments on the road (as do I) where it's just not fun any more. Being a parent 24/7 with no break is exhausting. That being said, the good times DO far outweigh the bad. I spent a couple of years with my children during key developmental changes unhindered by work or home routines, something which isn't normal for Fathers. I've played with them on beaches that inhabit peoples dreams, clambered over monuments and explored ruins that populate most dreamers bucket lists... Sadly they'll remember none of it... But... they're 4 and 5 now and my oldest is in school, I know everyone thinks their own kids are marvellous, but mine do show a level of patience and consideration that blows me away almost weekly. they're also incredibly adaptable, if their routine changes they don't even blink, they just get on with it. I couldn't recommend travel with kids enough, it's incredibly trying at times but having kids at home is too. I'm off to read your blog now... Safe travels.. :)

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