February 7, 2025 • 35 mins
How do you choose the perfect vehicle to tow your caravan across the vast Australian landscape? Join us, Paul, Katie, and Jasper from the Feel Good family, as we tackle this ever-popular debate. We weigh the merits of the trusted Toyota Land Cruiser against the rising trend of American trucks, spiced up with lively feedback from our audience on social media. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the numerous acronyms in the towing world, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Plus, we share our excitement about the latest addition to the travel family—the new Zone RV Sojourn Family Bunk Van 2025.
Taking a nostalgic detour, we reflect on the life lessons and cherished memories formed during family road trips. Imagine nine of us crammed into a vehicle, journeying from Melbourne to Queensland, or traversing 33 American states in a trusty old Winnebago. These experiences were more than just travels—they were a testament to our parents' resilience and creativity, shaping our values and outlook on life. From the solitude of South Stradbroke Island to the challenges of an IVF journey, our favorite destinations and stories highlight the importance of gratitude and treasuring moments with loved ones. We also touch on a family-authored book inspired by these adventures, illustrating the power of storytelling to capture and create lasting memories.
As a massive thank you to our podcast listeners we’re offering a 25% off discount code on our best-selling eBook bundle! That’s over $200 in value, for only $60! Use discount code PODCAST25 to take advantage of this awesome offer - https://shopthefeelgoodfamily.com/products/eofy-e-book-bundle
Check out our family book here - FAMILY BUSINESS: THE BUSINESS OF BEING FAMILY – The Guerin Family Storyhttps://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1452525773?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_au
Be sure to Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and join us for all of the road trip adventures! Check out the footage from our latest episode on our YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/k_FwRqwPTNc?si=HVc_V0vPRV9dhtqM
Check out the Gear we love on our website - https://thefeelgoodfamily.com/gear-and-discounts/
This episode is proudly brought to you by our mates at Stratus Outdoors, Protect The Adventure. Keeping plastic bottles out of landfill by turning them into quality camp gear. Take advantage of our 15% Discount - https://www.stratusoutdoors.com.au (ENTER FEELGOOD DISCOUNT CODE)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the Travel Australia podcast.
We are Paul, katie and Jasperfrom the Feel Good family.
Join us as we explore thisgreat country Australia, its
people, its places and cultures.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yes, it's the Travel Australia podcast, where we
share the latest in RV industrynews road trip travel,
caravanning and camping, productreviews, guest interviews,
where to go, what to do and somuch more.
Thanks for joining us this weeksubsidised towing courses.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Is it necessary?
New caravan shakedown,shakedown, baby, battle of the
tow rig.
It's huge.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Oh yeah, I think we've opened a can of worms.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Look, it's a heated debate, isn't it?
When it comes to vehicles, uh,what's the best vehicle to tow?
In australia, growing up as akid, my favorite event of the
entire year was the bathurst1000, and I used to sit there
with my dad screaming for pBrock and Holden to, you know
squish.
Dickie Johnson and the Fords.
(01:09):
Well, you know, it's ingrainedin you as an Aussie as you're
coming, you know, through thoseearlier years and into adulthood
to take sides.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh, I just think that's just life, isn't it?
I mean, we're always barrackingfor one side or another, no
matter really what the conceptis.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Well, with this it's really been around, you know, do
we stick with our tried,trusted and true Toyota Land
Cruiser, synonymous with touringAustralia, or do we go for the
ever-increasing popularity ofthe Yank Tank, the American
trucks, Katie?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Oh, and haven't the comments been wide and varied,
and some very entertaining, Ihave to say.
But thank you to everybody whohas left us a comment so far on
our YouTube episode that wasreleased earlier this week, and
also across our socials We'vebeen asking the question please
let us know your thoughts.
(02:09):
What do you think is the bestvehicle for us as a family
towing around Australia?
And some of those comments, youknow, are really fantastic for
people in a situation where youare trying to cut through, you
know, all of the researching andto get to the real truth of
(02:30):
what is this best vehicle fortouring around Australia.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Look, it can be confusing and also then set into
overwhelm because everyone hassuch a strong opinion.
It's a little bit like religion.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Look, paul, I honestly feel how we did five
and a half years ago when wewere first setting out and we
had this same you know feelingof what do we need to choose to
travel Australia?
And we had no knowledge backthen.
And I think that is the savinggrace is that after this amount
of time of traveling around thecountry, we've really learned a
(03:05):
lot and we understand you knowall the acronyms and how they
affect you know your towingexperience and also, of course,
making sure that you're legaland compliant and safe on the
road.
But I still feel that samelevel of how can this not be a
clear cut?
You know, yes, this is the oneyou need to choose.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I think that there's a lot of options, but so far it
seems to me there's not a lot ofoptions that come plug and play
, that is, you know, you don'thave to do any additional work
to it like a.
Gvm upgrade, you know whichcould be around, changing the
axle load rating on the rearaxle or the front axle, or the
(03:49):
rims and tires.
Are they, you know, rated tothe correct towing capacity?
Then your GCM.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I think that's why it becomes such a minefield,
because there's the vehiclesGreat Okay, tick, tick, tick
tick, but then it's all thethings that you need to account
for or do to them to make themthat perfect tow rig.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Look, I'd love to go to Toyota in Japan.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
No, no, no, hello, mr Toyota.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Hi, I'm Mr Toyota.
What are you doing, mate?
Like, give us a Toyota thatcomes with 4.2 ton towing on the
rear end, you know, an eightton GCM.
I don't suggest that you shouldbe towing eight ton around this
country.
In fact, you know, I think youshould probably be always trying
to maintain as low a weight aspossible, but it'd be good to
(04:40):
have a plug and play vehicle.
And, anyway, we're going to bediscussing this quite a bit, I
think, over the next month.
We'd love to know your thoughts.
You can always, you know, reachout through our socials and
contact us there and give usyour opinion, Tell us what you
think.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Absolutely.
We want to take you on thejourney with us, because we are.
It is a journey and we arecontinuously learning this stuff
as we go.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And Katie mentioned the acronyms.
They can get confusing.
It sounds like a rum DMC, youknow.
Rap song, the GMC to the TBC,to the GVM, you know.
But we have a free downloadableon the acronyms.
It breaks it down very clearlyand gives you the information
(05:26):
that you can then really expandon and research further.
Thanks to Wait Check Dave Lewis, absolute legend there, he's
actually just retired.
Yes, and he's sent the businesson to his son-in-law to continue
that great work.
And anyway, there's 40 or 50caravan way businesses around
(05:46):
Australia.
So anywhere that you are, youcould punch that into Google and
you will find someone that canhelp you for a $300 to $400 wait
session.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
that will add value and education beyond the dollars
100% One of the best thingsthat we've done, and we've done
it numerous times with numerousrigs, all right, let's get on to
our shakedown.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Okay, the new Zone RV Sojourn Family Bunk Van 2025
has been released and we're inone.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh, my goodness, I'm still pinching myself.
Actually.
It's easy to sort of get caughtup in our day-to-day and we've
got lots of things on the gothis year that we'll talk about
as well, coming up in our what'sHappening With the Feel Goods
segment, but to actually now bein a new caravan.
We've had our previous Sojournfor almost three years and
(06:41):
absolutely loved it.
It completely changed.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It completes me, that's what I thought you were
going to say.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Oh, isn't that beautiful.
And what a great line from thatmovie, jerry Maguire.
It changed the way we traveledand dramatically, we were on the
bitumen in the caravan parksand there's nothing wrong with
that.
But we wanted to get a littlebit more adventurous.
We wanted to go down thosetracks that we saw everybody
(07:10):
else going down and we knew thatwe couldn't take our existing
setup down those tracks.
And so when we moved into theSojourn almost three years ago,
it just revolutionized our world, babe.
It revolutionized our world,babe.
It just opened our eyes up tothis whole other level of
experience and destinationwithin Australia.
(07:30):
And gosh, we look, we draggedthat incredible caravan so many
places around the country.
That was just awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I know from the very tippity top of Northern
Australia, you know the top ofQueensland there in Cape York.
What an adventure that was allthe way down and around through
into Outback New South Wales,into South Australia, through
that incredible coastline, that2000 kilometers of coastline
down there out to the FlindersRanges, through the Oodnadatta,
(08:03):
out to Uluru, kings Canyon, thePlenty Highway, the Marini Loop,
up to Darwin and beyond.
It has been an incrediblevehicle and from the outside
when you look at the new Sojournyou think looks pretty much the
same to me.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
but I'll tell you what it's a lot cleaner, it sure
is.
There's some really littlechanges and then there's some
epic changes that just make thisan outstanding off-road,
off-grid capable caravan is thatfrom their inception, they've
(08:42):
always pushed the boundaries ontechnology and how they're
making these caravans, but witha mindset of keeping it
available for anybody who doeswant to get adventurous.
It's not so big that it's outof control.
It doesn't have all of theseextreme bells and whistles.
(09:05):
It's actually, at its core, anincredibly versatile caravan to
be able to travel in and for usin particular, to live in full
time.
But it's easy and it's safe andit provides this level of
luxury that we just pinchourselves every day.
But it also has these featuresthat continue to evolve over the
(09:27):
years as they push thetechnologies that make life with
one of these vans easier andeasier.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Absolutely Katie.
That innovation Thanks to DaveBigger, who is the
owner-operator there for Zone RVand many other companies in
this composite field.
But he really brought threepillars to this sort of
caravanning industry to set thestandards and set the standards
high, and that was lighter,safer, stronger.
(09:57):
I'd love to get Dave on ourpodcast.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
On the podcast, yeah, he'd be great to chat to
actually, so we'll make sure wehunt him down in between his
crazy busy schedule of runningthese various businesses.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
All right, now let's give you the quick rundown on
those features.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
It is now gasless internally big main ones, and
this is great, particularly whenit comes to industry standards,
and a lot of manufacturers areleaning away from the gas, and
what that means is that we haveenough solar and lithium battery
(10:36):
power to be able to run fullyon induction cooking.
We got, uh, the new diesel hotwater system, which, look, we've
only been in this van such ashort time and we are already
loving.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
It is super quick and it also feeds in with the
diesel heater, which is absolutemust for anybody caravanning,
particularly in winter time orin the southern states uh, the
four ton tow hitch, the newsuspension from Cruisemaster
allowing you to set the level ofsuspension required, whether
(11:11):
you are all-terrain which iswhat we're driving with it on
currently to soft or hard.
Soft really for those off-roadadventures, or hard where you're
possibly just sticking to thebitumen the whole time.
So we're going to leave it inthat all terrain see how that
feels, but currently awesome.
We love that.
And then there's the AlphaManager 100 system, new from
(11:34):
Redarc.
It's the total managementsystem for the batteries and how
you generate power in this van.
Talk about supercharging yourlife and your lifestyle.
This is mind-blowingly good,like having a speed charge in
your van.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Oh it is, and what I love.
And you know I was justthinking, paul, haven't we come
a long way from the very firstcaravan that we purchased?
With this tech, you know, youopen up the back panel on the
new Zone Sojourn and that RedArc system is laid out in front
of you in this unbelievablyorganized with the schematic map
(12:17):
, and you know so anybody.
You don't have to be atechnician to be able to fault,
find if there was one and easilyfix that problem, because it is
such clever technology.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
And Red Arc Australian owned and operated
australian made south australianbusiness.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
You can phone the number 24 7 yes, and we have in
the past, haven't we?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
and there's someone there to actually guide you
through.
So we don't work with red arc,but we've had their gear most of
our traveling life and also inthe 79.
The land cruiser can't fault it, love it.
They're the most outstandingfeatures there.
You know the new barbecue, thesizzler max.
I gave that a really good crackand we put the baked berry oats
(13:02):
as a brekkie.
You can check out that dish aswell on our youtube channel.
Delicious.
And staying at hangar road.
I mean, this is probably one ofthose things that set Zone RV
apart from other manufacturers,besides the quality build you
know of the van, and again withthat, safer, stronger, lighter.
Ethos that they have, yes,exactly in their manufacturing,
(13:25):
but they do a handover, we liketo say, in situ.
So you head out to Hangarowit's about 100 kilometers up the
road from the Zone RV factoryin Coolum on the Sunshine Coast
in Queensland and you met therewith one of the Zone RV team
members In our case it was Dee,smiling and waving, two-hour
(13:45):
handover, your head spinning alittle bit hot tip, make sure
that you film your handover, orparts of it.
That might be a little bit moreintricate.
But then you camp at thisstunning location 120 acres.
It's just outside of Gympie andprobably south of Meriburra
about 40 minutes.
(14:06):
So you're in this beautifulenvironment, rolling green hills
.
You can test all of theintricate details of the van.
If you get stuck, there'ssomeone on site that can help
you.
So you really have got anopportunity over this couple of
nights to settle into thisnewfound love of this lifestyle
(14:26):
in your caravan.
We just think that everymanufacturer should be doing
this.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Absolutely A hundred percent agree, paul,
particularly because you are offgrid, you know.
So it's straight into learninghow these systems are working.
So how do you find Hangar?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Row, katie, on the Wikicamps app.
That's right, the best 10 bucksyou'll ever spend.
We say the app for knowingwhere you're going.
And our next campsite as well.
You can only find on Wikicamps.
We headed from there to awonderful place in the back
hills of Coolum known as Kate'sPlace is how we like to call it.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Yes, kate's Place.
And look again, you can findthis on the Wikicamps app.
And I love this location, paul,because you feel like you are
still in this quiet rural townamongst cane fields and you know
rolling green hills and tuckedaway, but you are literally 10
(15:24):
minutes from some of theSunshine Coast's most stunning
beaches.
You know, 10 minutes intoCoolum Beach itself.
You're 25 minutes to Noosa, oohfancy pants Noosa.
Absolutely.
And again, you're probably 10minutes out to Yandina.
You know that quaint littletown out there as you're moving
(15:44):
towards the hinterland one ofJasper's favourite attractions
out there, the Ginger Factory.
So it really is an incrediblelocation again, a campground
where you feel like you've gotall the space in the world
beautiful green grass to camp onby the creek.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Love it and thank you to Kate.
She's really just such anopen-armed, open-hearted host
and again, can't find this onHip Camp or anywhere else.
Have to go to Wiki, absolutelyAll right.
We do have that new segment welove to call Off the Beaten Chat
, and next week we will bemoving into guests that are from
(16:25):
far and wide, from every walkof life, but it's me who is the
guest in the hot seat today.
We wanted to share a little bitof a backstory, not only of
Katie but of myself, before welead into our other guests
coming up throughout the year.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Absolutely, although, paul, I'm not sure a
five-minute segment is going tobe enough for you.
I mean, you could be a wholepodcast in itself.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Look, that is true.
I feel like I've led threelives up to this first 50 years.
Can I say that?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, you can, darling, and it's been an
amazing life.
So I guess the first questionis where were you born and bred?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Okay, born Melbourne in Victoria, Right, and along
with, at that stage, four of mysiblings, I've actually got six.
I'm one of seven kids.
My mum and dad moved us to theGold Coast and that is where I
really grew up, so I considermyself a Queenslander, moving to
(17:27):
the Queensland Sunshine Statewhen I was three and then went
to Surfers Paradise PrimarySchool and there weren't any of
these high-risers that now haveovertaken the Gold Coast Strip,
and that really was such anincredible upbringing for me and
my four brothers and my twosisters to be on the beach.
You know, once the streetlightscame on, that was our cue to
(17:50):
come home.
The good old days, hey, yeah,it was a different world, that's
for sure, and a crazy one, withthe seven kids really under the
age of 10.
My mum and dad had very, veryfull hands, but they also had
very full hearts.
I always say my parents weren'trich in a monetary sense, but
(18:11):
they were rich in their love andtheir time that they afforded
us as a family.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Absolutely.
And look, I have to admit, hadI not known your mum and dad, as
I do, and for so long now, Ithink anybody out there
listening seven kids, what arethey crazy?
I mean that is just anincredible handful, particularly
knowing that there are fiveboys in that seven and a girl on
each end.
So I mean the dynamic just musthave been insane for so many
(18:42):
years there.
But they are incrediblyinspiring people your mum and
dad, paul, and again, probably acouple that we should have on
the podcast at some pointbecause they are living their
own van life journey as well.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Look, their story is remarkable.
I think when they moved us tothe Gold Coast they had a
hundred dollars and I think thatwas the weekly rent.
So my mum and dad went andbought frozen chickens from West
Burley Heads where we're campedup at the moment, actually and
my mum went door to door andsold frozen chickens for a small
margin and kept doing that tillthey were able to get some
(19:20):
dollars coming in to really feedus and to be honest, we ate a
lot of chicken while that timewas going.
But incredible story they have.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Absolutely, and hundreds more of those.
Okay, let's talk about somefamily traditions.
Did you guys go on road tripstogether when you were growing
up?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
The road trip was a regular part of my growing up
life.
In fact, we would head down toMelbourne twice a year and we'd
all pile in.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
What vehicle.
I have to ask, like, how do youfit nine people in a vehicle to
do a road trip to Melbourne?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
You do?
You just chuck them in withloads of pillows.
I think there was maybe threeseatbelts in the back and with
seven of us it was kind of youknow, first in best dressed and
then just hold on and Dad woulddrive overnight and occasionally
call me up and say, hey, didyou want to have a steer?
I mean, it was different times.
Right, it was.
Yes, it was.
(20:17):
We survived.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Amazing, yes, amazingly.
And do you think that's whereyou got your love for this
lifestyle?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
from Definitely.
You know, the entire trip wasreally infused with incredible
music soundtracks, likecassettes of every incredible
artist in that 70s, 80s era,which was incredible to have
that musical education throughthese great artists and their
(20:44):
songs, and also positivethinking, personal self-help
tapes, and so there was thisreal positive energy anytime we
went on a road trip and I lovedthat and that's my memory of it
and that's now really what we'vecreated in our vehicle too, as
we're traveling around withlittle Jasper Roo.
When I was 15, my parents said,righto, we're all going over to
(21:05):
America, a dream they'd hadsince they were first together.
And so my whole family workedafter school for a couple of
years to save up and do a familytrip, a road trip, the ultimate
road trip to the United States.
We arrived in LA.
We bought a old, dustyWinnebago 32 foot.
(21:28):
It slept eight, there was nineof us and they traveled us
across the entirety of America,33 states in six months
Incredible.
That really cemented in me thelove of road tripping, traveling
and living out of a tiny homeon wheels.
And, yeah, it impressed upon megreatly that you can do
(21:51):
anything that you put your mindto and that you're willing to
work hard toward and yeah gosh,I thank my parents.
Constantly.
I'm reminded and feel gratefulfor what they instilled in me
and my siblings on that roadtrip.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Yeah, it is a phenomenal story, that one and
an experience, and you know, Ijust scratched my head thinking
I don't know again how they didthis.
This was prior to the internet,to mobile banking, to mobile
phones, and they were able topack you all up and take you to
the other side of the world andsurvive without those
conveniences that we have at ourfingertips today.
(22:28):
It is just incredible.
Now, okay, there's so manyquestions here, and I do think
we need to do a podcast withyour mum and dad to really bring
out the best of this story,because it is incredibly
inspiring.
But what about a dream locationor a favourite location of
yours around Oz?
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Oh, there's so many.
I know you had this samestruggle last week.
I still feel that it would.
The place that I absolutelylove is here on the Gold Coast,
and it's South Stradbroke Island.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yes, beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
It's incredible.
You can stand on the beach andnot see a single person and you
look to your right and you cansee this skyscraper jungle of
the Gold Coast.
You know 20 kilometers that way.
And then you look the other wayand you're in the most remote
part of the coast and I lovethat and I love how I feel when
I'm there.
My parents used to take us overthere as kids.
(23:27):
That was our weekend trip inthis boat that broke down.
Every weekend we took it out.
I mean, you know, we'd be goingalong and a propeller would fly
off one week and then we'd gettowed by the air sea rescue the
next week.
The teller would fly off oneweek and then we'd get towed by
the air sea rescue the next week.
But all of that really equatedto lifelong memories and a love
of this coastline.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So, yeah, so definitely South Stratbroke, yes
, and we've been fortunateenough to spend some beautiful
time over there on that island,in particular with Bec and Scott
who manage the Tiplerscampground and restaurant there,
and just stunning location.
So if you haven't been, we'drecommend get yourself over
(24:10):
there.
Of course, now, best lifeadvice, paul.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Look, there's so many things to share here.
I think the main thing is thatit ain't a rehearsal.
You know, my dad used to giveme a click on the ear and say,
mate, it ain't a rehearsal, whatare you doing?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Sort it out.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
It's easy to forget that when you're in your
day-to-day of living, isn't itthat you know we kind of take
for granted that actually thisis like a tiny blink in time
that we're here and living thislife tiny blink in time that
we're here and living this lifeFor us as a family, what we've
realised and I think,particularly because we were
fortunate now I look at it to gothrough an IVF journey that was
four years and six rounds ofIVF and an incredible amount of
(24:52):
pressure on you, katie, but usas a couple, not only
financially but emotionally.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
is that it really set the tone for our why we've set
off to do this and share ouradventures and, more importantly
, create this time capsule oftime with our little miracle?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, and we're reminded of that every day.
We look at him too, which Ilove because it's just this
continuous gratitude for thejourney that we've had and to be
where we are today continuousgratitude for the journey that
we've had and to be where we aretoday.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Look, you want an abundant or a wealthy life.
You want the luxury of life.
Gratitude is the currency foryou to be able to afford
yourself a life full of riches.
And I don't mean anything to dowith money.
I mean the value of time withthe people that you love and
care about.
That's the greatest gift youcould find and that's, you know,
what we would say to everyoneout there you only get 18
summers with your kids.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, it hits hard, that one.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And I've got a mate over there.
He's like my kid's 32.
He hasn't left.
Can you please tell him this?
Don't know, I cannot get himout of my house.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Oh, that's excellent.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
I said you've given it to him too, good mate.
Yeah, You've given him freeNetflix.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah, but as a parent , isn't that also just so
beautiful when they don't wantto leave home?
Now listen, we would normallyask our guests how we find them
on socials, but we all know howto find you on socials, so I do
just want to ask you one quicklast question, paul, and that is
about the book that you wrotewith your family.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Okay, Look, we'd said we were dropping this podcast
down to 25 minutes.
Yeah, oops, we're already a fewminutes over.
But my family has written abook.
All nine of us are co-authorsin this project, in this project
(26:43):
.
I took this idea to my familyoff the back of growing up in
that crazy circus of a familywhere every time we met people
and engaged with people, they'dsay to my mum, dad, you should
write a book, you should write abook, everyone's got a book in
them, but you guys, you shouldwrite a book, they've got a
library.
I have to say that's right.
So a number of years now ago Iwent to my family and I said
here's the structure, this iswhat I require.
(27:03):
Here's a word count I need fromyou each day.
I want a growing up in thefamily chapter from you and I
want a post leaving the familychapter and I'm going to tell
you exactly what you need.
Anyway, they all committed.
It still blows my mind to haveall those different, very strong
personalities commit to being apart of this bigger picture
(27:25):
which was called Family Business, the Business of being Family,
and they all wrote it and it'spublished through Hay House,
through Balboa Press, and youcan probably find that on Amazon
and all the rest of it, butincredible journey and an
incredible again time capsule.
I think it's a legacy that youleave.
Others is your story, and so tobe able to have that now is
(27:50):
incredible.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Just awesome.
Thank you, Paul.
Love getting to know you alittle bit better.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Thank you wifey.
Love of my lifey.
I've always, even through myschooling years, been tagged
with the word lucky.
Yes, you know, and I've alwaysfelt that.
But now I just think it's notluck.
You know, it's certainly ablessing, but there's a lot that
goes into it and I think a lotof it's to do with how you think
(28:17):
and you know what goes in andwhat comes out.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yes, well, you are one of the most inspiring and
hardworking is not the rightterm to describe you, paul, but
you are driven and it'sinfectious, actually.
So we love being around you andwe love that you're the driving
force for all that we do.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Look out, got the lovely wife here.
She's giving me a bit of theeye.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
It'd be weird if we weren't married and we were in
some sort of interview situation.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
I appreciate you so much.
Thank you, and thanks forletting me share my story.
All right, let's move on.
We have got a short messagefrom this podcast sponsor and
we'll be back with a news update.
To wrap things up, this week'spodcast is brought to you by
Nakey, home of the world's first100% recycled hammock, made
(29:09):
from 37 plastic post-consumerwater bottles and weighing less
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did there but they make theenvironment feel good too.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Love it, Nakey.
Relax wherever you go.
Seriously, what are you waitingfor?
We love the Nakey products somuch.
We have so many of the Nakeyproducts and they are all
awesome.
Look, if you want to get yourhands on some Nakey products,
jump on over to our website andtake advantage of the awesome
15% Feel Good discount code thatour good friends at Nakey have
(29:45):
provided for our awesome FeelGood family audience.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Ah, thank you, Nakey, Love it.
I actually strung the Nakey uplast night between the 79 and
the Caravan, got on the phone tomy brother, had a little sip of
wine.
I do love it.
Such good gear.
All right, Now we're onto RVnews.
This one is an interesting one.
The Caravan Industry Associationof Australia, CIAA it's a
(30:09):
mouthful, isn't it it is hascalled for the introduction of
subsidized towing courses and anational safe towing campaign in
a bid to improve road safety.
We love this.
We think we've been calling forthis forever.
We've got you know the foursand against a lot of people it's
a nanny state.
We've got too many licenses.
We've got you know too muchcontrol by the government.
(30:31):
I get all that, but I tell youwhat, when we've seen what we've
seen safety, prior education,giving yourself some of these
skills we think is essential toyou, getting from A to B, and
that journey destination storybeing the best it can possibly
be Now there's so many morecaravans out there on the road
now, but with that increase ofthe sales and the people out
(30:55):
there giving this lifestyle acrack, the number of accidents
involving them has increased aswell.
Given this lifestyle of crack,the number of accidents
involving them has increased aswell.
Just in this last week, in theend of January there, there was
a 71-year-old man who was towinga caravan out there on the
Stewart Highway.
Unfortunately, he lost control,the vehicles rolled and he died
.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Yeah, tragic, terrible.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
It is tragic for his family and for everyone.
Now I don't know thecircumstances and I'm certainly
not here to discuss those, but Ithink it's important that we do
consider more education to keeppeople safer.
There is a suggestion thatthere's a $3 million subsidised
towing course that will betargeting only 10,000
participants annually.
(31:32):
We think it needs to be muchmore.
There's a $2 million nationalsafe towing campaign that's
going to be put forward toimprove education and awareness,
and the CIAA has unveiled thesetwo initiatives as a new policy
roadmap, and we are coming intoan election soon, so I'm sure
(31:53):
this will be part of that.
Now there's over 900,000registered RVs on the Australian
roads, and so something needsto be done, and the real
question here is for ouraudience, for you out there, is
do you think subsidized towingcourses are a sensible idea and
would it help reduce the numberof accidents involving caravans?
Please write in, let us know.
(32:14):
We'd love to hear thoughts.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Absolutely.
You know, when we're reallyconsidering safety at its
absolute core, then you know, inmy mind it's a no brainer.
Get all of that education thatyou can, particularly if it's
subsidized and going to behanded to you on a platter take
advantage of it and get thoseskills and knowledge.
Anything we can do to keepourselves, our families and
(32:38):
others safe on the road shouldbe at the forefront of our minds
.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I love it and I agree , and we will certainly be out
there shouting it from therooftops Get educated.
All right, now, feel good.
Update We've got Melbourne,adelaide, the major shows for
caravanning and camping aroundAustralia.
We'll be attending those overthe coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Oh yeah, yeah, it's been a big start to the year.
Okay, if you are in Melbourne,we'd love to see you at the
Melbourne Showgrounds.
We will be at that super showdown there every day between the
19th and the 23rd of February.
We're talking twice daily onvarious stages throughout that
show and we can't wait to seeyou there.
(33:19):
And then, just a few days later, we'll be in Adelaide, down
there, with our good mates fromCaravan Camping, south Australia
, between the 26th of Februaryand the 2nd of March.
Believe it or not, oh mygoodness, I'm not coping.
We're already a quarter of theway through the year.
These shows are fantastic.
We absolutely love beinginvolved.
We will be speaking twice dailyin Adelaide as well.
(33:42):
And look, if you are thinkingof coming along, then definitely
get your tickets and get downthere, because we always say you
know, you've got all yourexperts under one roof.
You've got all of the differentproducts and vehicles on
display.
You don't have to spend endlessweeks, you know, going out and
looking at one at a time.
They're all there, so takeadvantage of that, plus, of
(34:03):
course, all of that freeeducation that you get at these
shows.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I think it's a no-brainer and we'd love to see
you get a selfie, say hi andshare some stories with you.
All right, this week's takeaway.
I love this.
Magic happens when you swapfour walls for four wheels.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
We are definitely the endproduct of that and how our
lives have completely changed,from who we were as people and
as a family to who we are now.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Oh my gosh, it's hard to believe, it isn't it?
Katie, love it.
Different people, better people, all right, next week, off
Offroad, off-grid, australia, wewill tell you how to get your
hands on our number one audiobook of the same name.
For now, look after yourself,look after each other, dream big
.
See you next week.
Bye, guys, bye.
Welcome to the Travel Australia podcast.
We are Paul, katie and Jasperfrom the Feel Good family.
Join us as we explore thisgreat country Australia, its
people, its places and cultures.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yes, it's the Travel Australia podcast, where we
share the latest in RV industrynews road trip travel,
caravanning and camping, productreviews, guest interviews,
where to go, what to do and somuch more.
Thanks for joining us this weeksubsidised towing courses.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Is it necessary?
New caravan shakedown,shakedown, baby, battle of the
tow rig.
It's huge.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Oh yeah, I think we've opened a can of worms.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Look, it's a heated debate, isn't it?
When it comes to vehicles, uh,what's the best vehicle to tow?
In australia, growing up as akid, my favorite event of the
entire year was the bathurst1000, and I used to sit there
with my dad screaming for pBrock and Holden to, you know
squish.
Dickie Johnson and the Fords.
(01:09):
Well, you know, it's ingrainedin you as an Aussie as you're
coming, you know, through thoseearlier years and into adulthood
to take sides.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh, I just think that's just life, isn't it?
I mean, we're always barrackingfor one side or another, no
matter really what the conceptis.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Well, with this it's really been around, you know, do
we stick with our tried,trusted and true Toyota Land
Cruiser, synonymous with touringAustralia, or do we go for the
ever-increasing popularity ofthe Yank Tank, the American
trucks, Katie?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Oh, and haven't the comments been wide and varied,
and some very entertaining, Ihave to say.
But thank you to everybody whohas left us a comment so far on
our YouTube episode that wasreleased earlier this week, and
also across our socials We'vebeen asking the question please
let us know your thoughts.
(02:09):
What do you think is the bestvehicle for us as a family
towing around Australia?
And some of those comments, youknow, are really fantastic for
people in a situation where youare trying to cut through, you
know, all of the researching andto get to the real truth of
(02:30):
what is this best vehicle fortouring around Australia.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Look, it can be confusing and also then set into
overwhelm because everyone hassuch a strong opinion.
It's a little bit like religion.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Look, paul, I honestly feel how we did five
and a half years ago when wewere first setting out and we
had this same you know feelingof what do we need to choose to
travel Australia?
And we had no knowledge backthen.
And I think that is the savinggrace is that after this amount
of time of traveling around thecountry, we've really learned a
(03:05):
lot and we understand you knowall the acronyms and how they
affect you know your towingexperience and also, of course,
making sure that you're legaland compliant and safe on the
road.
But I still feel that samelevel of how can this not be a
clear cut?
You know, yes, this is the oneyou need to choose.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I think that there's a lot of options, but so far it
seems to me there's not a lot ofoptions that come plug and play
, that is, you know, you don'thave to do any additional work
to it like a.
Gvm upgrade, you know whichcould be around, changing the
axle load rating on the rearaxle or the front axle, or the
(03:49):
rims and tires.
Are they, you know, rated tothe correct towing capacity?
Then your GCM.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I think that's why it becomes such a minefield,
because there's the vehiclesGreat Okay, tick, tick, tick
tick, but then it's all thethings that you need to account
for or do to them to make themthat perfect tow rig.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Look, I'd love to go to Toyota in Japan.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
No, no, no, hello, mr Toyota.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Hi, I'm Mr Toyota.
What are you doing, mate?
Like, give us a Toyota thatcomes with 4.2 ton towing on the
rear end, you know, an eightton GCM.
I don't suggest that you shouldbe towing eight ton around this
country.
In fact, you know, I think youshould probably be always trying
to maintain as low a weight aspossible, but it'd be good to
(04:40):
have a plug and play vehicle.
And, anyway, we're going to bediscussing this quite a bit, I
think, over the next month.
We'd love to know your thoughts.
You can always, you know, reachout through our socials and
contact us there and give usyour opinion, Tell us what you
think.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Absolutely.
We want to take you on thejourney with us, because we are.
It is a journey and we arecontinuously learning this stuff
as we go.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And Katie mentioned the acronyms.
They can get confusing.
It sounds like a rum DMC, youknow.
Rap song, the GMC to the TBC,to the GVM, you know.
But we have a free downloadableon the acronyms.
It breaks it down very clearlyand gives you the information
(05:26):
that you can then really expandon and research further.
Thanks to Wait Check Dave Lewis, absolute legend there, he's
actually just retired.
Yes, and he's sent the businesson to his son-in-law to continue
that great work.
And anyway, there's 40 or 50caravan way businesses around
(05:46):
Australia.
So anywhere that you are, youcould punch that into Google and
you will find someone that canhelp you for a $300 to $400 wait
session.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
that will add value and education beyond the dollars
100% One of the best thingsthat we've done, and we've done
it numerous times with numerousrigs, all right, let's get on to
our shakedown.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Okay, the new Zone RV Sojourn Family Bunk Van 2025
has been released and we're inone.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh, my goodness, I'm still pinching myself.
Actually.
It's easy to sort of get caughtup in our day-to-day and we've
got lots of things on the gothis year that we'll talk about
as well, coming up in our what'sHappening With the Feel Goods
segment, but to actually now bein a new caravan.
We've had our previous Sojournfor almost three years and
(06:41):
absolutely loved it.
It completely changed.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It completes me, that's what I thought you were
going to say.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Oh, isn't that beautiful.
And what a great line from thatmovie, jerry Maguire.
It changed the way we traveledand dramatically, we were on the
bitumen in the caravan parksand there's nothing wrong with
that.
But we wanted to get a littlebit more adventurous.
We wanted to go down thosetracks that we saw everybody
(07:10):
else going down and we knew thatwe couldn't take our existing
setup down those tracks.
And so when we moved into theSojourn almost three years ago,
it just revolutionized our world, babe.
It revolutionized our world,babe.
It just opened our eyes up tothis whole other level of
experience and destinationwithin Australia.
(07:30):
And gosh, we look, we draggedthat incredible caravan so many
places around the country.
That was just awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I know from the very tippity top of Northern
Australia, you know the top ofQueensland there in Cape York.
What an adventure that was allthe way down and around through
into Outback New South Wales,into South Australia, through
that incredible coastline, that2000 kilometers of coastline
down there out to the FlindersRanges, through the Oodnadatta,
(08:03):
out to Uluru, kings Canyon, thePlenty Highway, the Marini Loop,
up to Darwin and beyond.
It has been an incrediblevehicle and from the outside
when you look at the new Sojournyou think looks pretty much the
same to me.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
but I'll tell you what it's a lot cleaner, it sure
is.
There's some really littlechanges and then there's some
epic changes that just make thisan outstanding off-road,
off-grid capable caravan is thatfrom their inception, they've
(08:42):
always pushed the boundaries ontechnology and how they're
making these caravans, but witha mindset of keeping it
available for anybody who doeswant to get adventurous.
It's not so big that it's outof control.
It doesn't have all of theseextreme bells and whistles.
(09:05):
It's actually, at its core, anincredibly versatile caravan to
be able to travel in and for usin particular, to live in full
time.
But it's easy and it's safe andit provides this level of
luxury that we just pinchourselves every day.
But it also has these featuresthat continue to evolve over the
(09:27):
years as they push thetechnologies that make life with
one of these vans easier andeasier.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Absolutely Katie.
That innovation Thanks to DaveBigger, who is the
owner-operator there for Zone RVand many other companies in
this composite field.
But he really brought threepillars to this sort of
caravanning industry to set thestandards and set the standards
high, and that was lighter,safer, stronger.
(09:57):
I'd love to get Dave on ourpodcast.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
On the podcast, yeah, he'd be great to chat to
actually, so we'll make sure wehunt him down in between his
crazy busy schedule of runningthese various businesses.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
All right, now let's give you the quick rundown on
those features.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
It is now gasless internally big main ones, and
this is great, particularly whenit comes to industry standards,
and a lot of manufacturers areleaning away from the gas, and
what that means is that we haveenough solar and lithium battery
(10:36):
power to be able to run fullyon induction cooking.
We got, uh, the new diesel hotwater system, which, look, we've
only been in this van such ashort time and we are already
loving.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
It is super quick and it also feeds in with the
diesel heater, which is absolutemust for anybody caravanning,
particularly in winter time orin the southern states uh, the
four ton tow hitch, the newsuspension from Cruisemaster
allowing you to set the level ofsuspension required, whether
(11:11):
you are all-terrain which iswhat we're driving with it on
currently to soft or hard.
Soft really for those off-roadadventures, or hard where you're
possibly just sticking to thebitumen the whole time.
So we're going to leave it inthat all terrain see how that
feels, but currently awesome.
We love that.
And then there's the AlphaManager 100 system, new from
(11:34):
Redarc.
It's the total managementsystem for the batteries and how
you generate power in this van.
Talk about supercharging yourlife and your lifestyle.
This is mind-blowingly good,like having a speed charge in
your van.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Oh it is, and what I love.
And you know I was justthinking, paul, haven't we come
a long way from the very firstcaravan that we purchased?
With this tech, you know, youopen up the back panel on the
new Zone Sojourn and that RedArc system is laid out in front
of you in this unbelievablyorganized with the schematic map
(12:17):
, and you know so anybody.
You don't have to be atechnician to be able to fault,
find if there was one and easilyfix that problem, because it is
such clever technology.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
And Red Arc Australian owned and operated
australian made south australianbusiness.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
You can phone the number 24 7 yes, and we have in
the past, haven't we?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
and there's someone there to actually guide you
through.
So we don't work with red arc,but we've had their gear most of
our traveling life and also inthe 79.
The land cruiser can't fault it, love it.
They're the most outstandingfeatures there.
You know the new barbecue, thesizzler max.
I gave that a really good crackand we put the baked berry oats
(13:02):
as a brekkie.
You can check out that dish aswell on our youtube channel.
Delicious.
And staying at hangar road.
I mean, this is probably one ofthose things that set Zone RV
apart from other manufacturers,besides the quality build you
know of the van, and again withthat, safer, stronger, lighter.
Ethos that they have, yes,exactly in their manufacturing,
(13:25):
but they do a handover, we liketo say, in situ.
So you head out to Hangarowit's about 100 kilometers up the
road from the Zone RV factoryin Coolum on the Sunshine Coast
in Queensland and you met therewith one of the Zone RV team
members In our case it was Dee,smiling and waving, two-hour
(13:45):
handover, your head spinning alittle bit hot tip, make sure
that you film your handover, orparts of it.
That might be a little bit moreintricate.
But then you camp at thisstunning location 120 acres.
It's just outside of Gympie andprobably south of Meriburra
about 40 minutes.
(14:06):
So you're in this beautifulenvironment, rolling green hills
.
You can test all of theintricate details of the van.
If you get stuck, there'ssomeone on site that can help
you.
So you really have got anopportunity over this couple of
nights to settle into thisnewfound love of this lifestyle
(14:26):
in your caravan.
We just think that everymanufacturer should be doing
this.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Absolutely A hundred percent agree, paul,
particularly because you are offgrid, you know.
So it's straight into learninghow these systems are working.
So how do you find Hangar?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Row, katie, on the Wikicamps app.
That's right, the best 10 bucksyou'll ever spend.
We say the app for knowingwhere you're going.
And our next campsite as well.
You can only find on Wikicamps.
We headed from there to awonderful place in the back
hills of Coolum known as Kate'sPlace is how we like to call it.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Yes, kate's Place.
And look again, you can findthis on the Wikicamps app.
And I love this location, paul,because you feel like you are
still in this quiet rural townamongst cane fields and you know
rolling green hills and tuckedaway, but you are literally 10
(15:24):
minutes from some of theSunshine Coast's most stunning
beaches.
You know, 10 minutes intoCoolum Beach itself.
You're 25 minutes to Noosa, oohfancy pants Noosa.
Absolutely.
And again, you're probably 10minutes out to Yandina.
You know that quaint littletown out there as you're moving
(15:44):
towards the hinterland one ofJasper's favourite attractions
out there, the Ginger Factory.
So it really is an incrediblelocation again, a campground
where you feel like you've gotall the space in the world
beautiful green grass to camp onby the creek.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Love it and thank you to Kate.
She's really just such anopen-armed, open-hearted host
and again, can't find this onHip Camp or anywhere else.
Have to go to Wiki, absolutelyAll right.
We do have that new segment welove to call Off the Beaten Chat
, and next week we will bemoving into guests that are from
(16:25):
far and wide, from every walkof life, but it's me who is the
guest in the hot seat today.
We wanted to share a little bitof a backstory, not only of
Katie but of myself, before welead into our other guests
coming up throughout the year.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Absolutely, although, paul, I'm not sure a
five-minute segment is going tobe enough for you.
I mean, you could be a wholepodcast in itself.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Look, that is true.
I feel like I've led threelives up to this first 50 years.
Can I say that?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, you can, darling, and it's been an
amazing life.
So I guess the first questionis where were you born and bred?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Okay, born Melbourne in Victoria, Right, and along
with, at that stage, four of mysiblings, I've actually got six.
I'm one of seven kids.
My mum and dad moved us to theGold Coast and that is where I
really grew up, so I considermyself a Queenslander, moving to
(17:27):
the Queensland Sunshine Statewhen I was three and then went
to Surfers Paradise PrimarySchool and there weren't any of
these high-risers that now haveovertaken the Gold Coast Strip,
and that really was such anincredible upbringing for me and
my four brothers and my twosisters to be on the beach.
You know, once the streetlightscame on, that was our cue to
(17:50):
come home.
The good old days, hey, yeah,it was a different world, that's
for sure, and a crazy one, withthe seven kids really under the
age of 10.
My mum and dad had very, veryfull hands, but they also had
very full hearts.
I always say my parents weren'trich in a monetary sense, but
(18:11):
they were rich in their love andtheir time that they afforded
us as a family.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Absolutely.
And look, I have to admit, hadI not known your mum and dad, as
I do, and for so long now, Ithink anybody out there
listening seven kids, what arethey crazy?
I mean that is just anincredible handful, particularly
knowing that there are fiveboys in that seven and a girl on
each end.
So I mean the dynamic just musthave been insane for so many
(18:42):
years there.
But they are incrediblyinspiring people your mum and
dad, paul, and again, probably acouple that we should have on
the podcast at some pointbecause they are living their
own van life journey as well.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Look, their story is remarkable.
I think when they moved us tothe Gold Coast they had a
hundred dollars and I think thatwas the weekly rent.
So my mum and dad went andbought frozen chickens from West
Burley Heads where we're campedup at the moment, actually and
my mum went door to door andsold frozen chickens for a small
margin and kept doing that tillthey were able to get some
(19:20):
dollars coming in to really feedus and to be honest, we ate a
lot of chicken while that timewas going.
But incredible story they have.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Absolutely, and hundreds more of those.
Okay, let's talk about somefamily traditions.
Did you guys go on road tripstogether when you were growing
up?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
The road trip was a regular part of my growing up
life.
In fact, we would head down toMelbourne twice a year and we'd
all pile in.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
What vehicle.
I have to ask, like, how do youfit nine people in a vehicle to
do a road trip to Melbourne?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
You do?
You just chuck them in withloads of pillows.
I think there was maybe threeseatbelts in the back and with
seven of us it was kind of youknow, first in best dressed and
then just hold on and Dad woulddrive overnight and occasionally
call me up and say, hey, didyou want to have a steer?
I mean, it was different times.
Right, it was.
Yes, it was.
(20:17):
We survived.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Amazing, yes, amazingly.
And do you think that's whereyou got your love for this
lifestyle?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
from Definitely.
You know, the entire trip wasreally infused with incredible
music soundtracks, likecassettes of every incredible
artist in that 70s, 80s era,which was incredible to have
that musical education throughthese great artists and their
(20:44):
songs, and also positivethinking, personal self-help
tapes, and so there was thisreal positive energy anytime we
went on a road trip and I lovedthat and that's my memory of it
and that's now really what we'vecreated in our vehicle too, as
we're traveling around withlittle Jasper Roo.
When I was 15, my parents said,righto, we're all going over to
(21:05):
America, a dream they'd hadsince they were first together.
And so my whole family workedafter school for a couple of
years to save up and do a familytrip, a road trip, the ultimate
road trip to the United States.
We arrived in LA.
We bought a old, dustyWinnebago 32 foot.
(21:28):
It slept eight, there was nineof us and they traveled us
across the entirety of America,33 states in six months
Incredible.
That really cemented in me thelove of road tripping, traveling
and living out of a tiny homeon wheels.
And, yeah, it impressed upon megreatly that you can do
(21:51):
anything that you put your mindto and that you're willing to
work hard toward and yeah gosh,I thank my parents.
Constantly.
I'm reminded and feel gratefulfor what they instilled in me
and my siblings on that roadtrip.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Yeah, it is a phenomenal story, that one and
an experience, and you know, Ijust scratched my head thinking
I don't know again how they didthis.
This was prior to the internet,to mobile banking, to mobile
phones, and they were able topack you all up and take you to
the other side of the world andsurvive without those
conveniences that we have at ourfingertips today.
(22:28):
It is just incredible.
Now, okay, there's so manyquestions here, and I do think
we need to do a podcast withyour mum and dad to really bring
out the best of this story,because it is incredibly
inspiring.
But what about a dream locationor a favourite location of
yours around Oz?
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Oh, there's so many.
I know you had this samestruggle last week.
I still feel that it would.
The place that I absolutelylove is here on the Gold Coast,
and it's South Stradbroke Island.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yes, beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
It's incredible.
You can stand on the beach andnot see a single person and you
look to your right and you cansee this skyscraper jungle of
the Gold Coast.
You know 20 kilometers that way.
And then you look the other wayand you're in the most remote
part of the coast and I lovethat and I love how I feel when
I'm there.
My parents used to take us overthere as kids.
(23:27):
That was our weekend trip inthis boat that broke down.
Every weekend we took it out.
I mean, you know, we'd be goingalong and a propeller would fly
off one week and then we'd gettowed by the air sea rescue the
next week.
The teller would fly off oneweek and then we'd get towed by
the air sea rescue the next week.
But all of that really equatedto lifelong memories and a love
of this coastline.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So, yeah, so definitely South Stratbroke, yes
, and we've been fortunateenough to spend some beautiful
time over there on that island,in particular with Bec and Scott
who manage the Tiplerscampground and restaurant there,
and just stunning location.
So if you haven't been, we'drecommend get yourself over
(24:10):
there.
Of course, now, best lifeadvice, paul.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Look, there's so many things to share here.
I think the main thing is thatit ain't a rehearsal.
You know, my dad used to giveme a click on the ear and say,
mate, it ain't a rehearsal, whatare you doing?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Sort it out.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
It's easy to forget that when you're in your
day-to-day of living, isn't itthat you know we kind of take
for granted that actually thisis like a tiny blink in time
that we're here and living thislife tiny blink in time that
we're here and living this lifeFor us as a family, what we've
realised and I think,particularly because we were
fortunate now I look at it to gothrough an IVF journey that was
four years and six rounds ofIVF and an incredible amount of
(24:52):
pressure on you, katie, but usas a couple, not only
financially but emotionally.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
is that it really set the tone for our why we've set
off to do this and share ouradventures and, more importantly
, create this time capsule oftime with our little miracle?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, and we're reminded of that every day.
We look at him too, which Ilove because it's just this
continuous gratitude for thejourney that we've had and to be
where we are today continuousgratitude for the journey that
we've had and to be where we aretoday.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Look, you want an abundant or a wealthy life.
You want the luxury of life.
Gratitude is the currency foryou to be able to afford
yourself a life full of riches.
And I don't mean anything to dowith money.
I mean the value of time withthe people that you love and
care about.
That's the greatest gift youcould find and that's, you know,
what we would say to everyoneout there you only get 18
summers with your kids.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, it hits hard, that one.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And I've got a mate over there.
He's like my kid's 32.
He hasn't left.
Can you please tell him this?
Don't know, I cannot get himout of my house.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Oh, that's excellent.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
I said you've given it to him too, good mate.
Yeah, You've given him freeNetflix.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah, but as a parent , isn't that also just so
beautiful when they don't wantto leave home?
Now listen, we would normallyask our guests how we find them
on socials, but we all know howto find you on socials, so I do
just want to ask you one quicklast question, paul, and that is
about the book that you wrotewith your family.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Okay, Look, we'd said we were dropping this podcast
down to 25 minutes.
Yeah, oops, we're already a fewminutes over.
But my family has written abook.
All nine of us are co-authorsin this project, in this project
(26:43):
.
I took this idea to my familyoff the back of growing up in
that crazy circus of a familywhere every time we met people
and engaged with people, they'dsay to my mum, dad, you should
write a book, you should write abook, everyone's got a book in
them, but you guys, you shouldwrite a book, they've got a
library.
I have to say that's right.
So a number of years now ago Iwent to my family and I said
here's the structure, this iswhat I require.
(27:03):
Here's a word count I need fromyou each day.
I want a growing up in thefamily chapter from you and I
want a post leaving the familychapter and I'm going to tell
you exactly what you need.
Anyway, they all committed.
It still blows my mind to haveall those different, very strong
personalities commit to being apart of this bigger picture
(27:25):
which was called Family Business, the Business of being Family,
and they all wrote it and it'spublished through Hay House,
through Balboa Press, and youcan probably find that on Amazon
and all the rest of it, butincredible journey and an
incredible again time capsule.
I think it's a legacy that youleave.
Others is your story, and so tobe able to have that now is
(27:50):
incredible.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Just awesome.
Thank you, Paul.
Love getting to know you alittle bit better.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Thank you wifey.
Love of my lifey.
I've always, even through myschooling years, been tagged
with the word lucky.
Yes, you know, and I've alwaysfelt that.
But now I just think it's notluck.
You know, it's certainly ablessing, but there's a lot that
goes into it and I think a lotof it's to do with how you think
(28:17):
and you know what goes in andwhat comes out.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yes, well, you are one of the most inspiring and
hardworking is not the rightterm to describe you, paul, but
you are driven and it'sinfectious, actually.
So we love being around you andwe love that you're the driving
force for all that we do.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Look out, got the lovely wife here.
She's giving me a bit of theeye.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
It'd be weird if we weren't married and we were in
some sort of interview situation.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
I appreciate you so much.
Thank you, and thanks forletting me share my story.
All right, let's move on.
We have got a short messagefrom this podcast sponsor and
we'll be back with a news update.
To wrap things up, this week'spodcast is brought to you by
Nakey, home of the world's first100% recycled hammock, made
(29:09):
from 37 plastic post-consumerwater bottles and weighing less
than one kilo.
Nakey products will not onlymake you feel good see what I
did there but they make theenvironment feel good too.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Love it, Nakey.
Relax wherever you go.
Seriously, what are you waitingfor?
We love the Nakey products somuch.
We have so many of the Nakeyproducts and they are all
awesome.
Look, if you want to get yourhands on some Nakey products,
jump on over to our website andtake advantage of the awesome
15% Feel Good discount code thatour good friends at Nakey have
(29:45):
provided for our awesome FeelGood family audience.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Ah, thank you, Nakey, Love it.
I actually strung the Nakey uplast night between the 79 and
the Caravan, got on the phone tomy brother, had a little sip of
wine.
I do love it.
Such good gear.
All right, Now we're onto RVnews.
This one is an interesting one.
The Caravan Industry Associationof Australia, CIAA it's a
(30:09):
mouthful, isn't it it is hascalled for the introduction of
subsidized towing courses and anational safe towing campaign in
a bid to improve road safety.
We love this.
We think we've been calling forthis forever.
We've got you know the foursand against a lot of people it's
a nanny state.
We've got too many licenses.
We've got you know too muchcontrol by the government.
(30:31):
I get all that, but I tell youwhat, when we've seen what we've
seen safety, prior education,giving yourself some of these
skills we think is essential toyou, getting from A to B, and
that journey destination storybeing the best it can possibly
be Now there's so many morecaravans out there on the road
now, but with that increase ofthe sales and the people out
(30:55):
there giving this lifestyle acrack, the number of accidents
involving them has increased aswell.
Given this lifestyle of crack,the number of accidents
involving them has increased aswell.
Just in this last week, in theend of January there, there was
a 71-year-old man who was towinga caravan out there on the
Stewart Highway.
Unfortunately, he lost control,the vehicles rolled and he died
.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Yeah, tragic, terrible.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
It is tragic for his family and for everyone.
Now I don't know thecircumstances and I'm certainly
not here to discuss those, but Ithink it's important that we do
consider more education to keeppeople safer.
There is a suggestion thatthere's a $3 million subsidised
towing course that will betargeting only 10,000
participants annually.
(31:32):
We think it needs to be muchmore.
There's a $2 million nationalsafe towing campaign that's
going to be put forward toimprove education and awareness,
and the CIAA has unveiled thesetwo initiatives as a new policy
roadmap, and we are coming intoan election soon, so I'm sure
(31:53):
this will be part of that.
Now there's over 900,000registered RVs on the Australian
roads, and so something needsto be done, and the real
question here is for ouraudience, for you out there, is
do you think subsidized towingcourses are a sensible idea and
would it help reduce the numberof accidents involving caravans?
Please write in, let us know.
(32:14):
We'd love to hear thoughts.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Absolutely.
You know, when we're reallyconsidering safety at its
absolute core, then you know, inmy mind it's a no brainer.
Get all of that education thatyou can, particularly if it's
subsidized and going to behanded to you on a platter take
advantage of it and get thoseskills and knowledge.
Anything we can do to keepourselves, our families and
(32:38):
others safe on the road shouldbe at the forefront of our minds
.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I love it and I agree , and we will certainly be out
there shouting it from therooftops Get educated.
All right, now, feel good.
Update We've got Melbourne,adelaide, the major shows for
caravanning and camping aroundAustralia.
We'll be attending those overthe coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Oh yeah, yeah, it's been a big start to the year.
Okay, if you are in Melbourne,we'd love to see you at the
Melbourne Showgrounds.
We will be at that super showdown there every day between the
19th and the 23rd of February.
We're talking twice daily onvarious stages throughout that
show and we can't wait to seeyou there.
(33:19):
And then, just a few days later, we'll be in Adelaide, down
there, with our good mates fromCaravan Camping, south Australia
, between the 26th of Februaryand the 2nd of March.
Believe it or not, oh mygoodness, I'm not coping.
We're already a quarter of theway through the year.
These shows are fantastic.
We absolutely love beinginvolved.
We will be speaking twice dailyin Adelaide as well.
(33:42):
And look, if you are thinkingof coming along, then definitely
get your tickets and get downthere, because we always say you
know, you've got all yourexperts under one roof.
You've got all of the differentproducts and vehicles on
display.
You don't have to spend endlessweeks, you know, going out and
looking at one at a time.
They're all there, so takeadvantage of that, plus, of
(34:03):
course, all of that freeeducation that you get at these
shows.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I think it's a no-brainer and we'd love to see
you get a selfie, say hi andshare some stories with you.
All right, this week's takeaway.
I love this.
Magic happens when you swapfour walls for four wheels.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
We are definitely the endproduct of that and how our
lives have completely changed,from who we were as people and
as a family to who we are now.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Oh my gosh, it's hard to believe, it isn't it?
Katie, love it.
Different people, better people, all right, next week, off
Offroad, off-grid, australia, wewill tell you how to get your
hands on our number one audiobook of the same name.
For now, look after yourself,look after each other, dream big
.
See you next week.
Bye, guys, bye.
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