“I thought I was so damn special. Until I actually started travelling… and then I realized how many OTHER families are out there doing it!”

So said one of the other travelling mothers I’ve met recently. And boy is she right! There really is a little community of travelling families out there. And it’s not so little! In the past few weeks we have run into/met/played with 8 different families, all travelling for at least a whole year. There are actually quite a few travelling indefinitely (and I’m just a little bit jealous of them…) We have met a number along the way, but in South Australia there are sooo many free camps that everyone spread out a bit. And in Tasmania it was school holidays so there were children everywhere. Here in WA, there seems to be a more ‘contained destination’ way of travelling so we keep meeting the same people, or friends of friends. Really, once you go north of Perth, there seems to be the same spots that everyone stops at, so of course you meet up with lots of people. The Pinnacles, Kalbarri, Monkey Mia, Exmouth, Karajini, Broome – there’s really only a few ‘worthy’ free camps which EVERYONE knows about or caravan parks so we keep meeting more families.

We are in Broome at the moment, and went to the Saturday Morning Market yesterday. We met FOUR separate families/couples that we knew! Four! I am always surprised at how fluid and supportive this travelling community is.

Travelling in Bertha and being on Facebook has made a massive difference. I had made a comment to a friend who had left Broome and someone else had also made a comment. She clicked on my profile, realized I was in Bertha and sent a comment saying she was in a caravan ‘just up from you guys’. How wonderful! I sent the kids off in search of their caravan the next morning and ‘hey presto!’ the bus was full of loom-banding and lego-ing children once more.

Love it!