With two adults, six kids, three dogs and one cat on board, even a 12.5m converted bus is a tight squeeze for the Honeyman family. But they say the freedom and life experience it allows are invaluable.
Travelling in a 12.5-metre converted bus sounds like it would leave you quite a lot of room.It's been four months since they packed up their lives in Ballarat, Victoria and hit the open road in their converted motorhome.
Jeremy and Donna Honeyman plan to travel the country for roughly two years on board the vehicle they call The Great Escape.Homeschooling mixed with real-life experience Other than a few difficulties finding caravan sites that will accommodate the bus, Donna is loving the journey so far."We're doing it because we think that the children will have more life experience," she said."So we thought one-on-one time with mum and dad and showing them what the real world has to offer could be better than sitting in a classroom." The bus has been parked in the south coastal town of Albany while the Honeyman family enjoys the sights and sunshine.The seats were reduced to nine, bunk beds and a shower were installed, along with battery storage, a washing machine and water tanks."But my partner decked the whole bus out himself. The only thing we paid for was an electrician and our plumbing.A mechanic by trade, Jeremy has found work in many of the towns the family has stopped in so far and can solve most problems that arise with the motorhome."It depends on the town. There are plenty of caravan parks, but they are booked out a lot," Jeremy said. "Height becomes a problem quite often with parks that have trees and bushland, especially when they're smaller parks with very tight roads to get through. "Free camping is also a little bit harder and we have found it very hard to find anywhere where you can legally camp. "We found a couple of places we thought were okay and then were woken the next morning to the local council asking us to move on."While double the size of a standard caravan, Jeremy believes there are more bus-sized vehicles like theirs on the road."Many years ago, the thought of driving a big heavy-haul bus sounded like more hard work than a holiday. "But something like this with air conditioning … it's quite an appealing option to travel with so many creature comforts."Currently in Albany, 500 kilometres south of Perth on WA's south coast, the family is becoming an expert at finding unique adventures and not going anywhere in a hurry. "The children do what they want really. We go to the beaches, we go to parks every day, they're always doing something different," Donna said. "We do school sometimes on a weekend, some days during the week. If it's crappy weather outside, they'll stay inside and do some schoolwork.Get our local newsletter, delivered free each ThursdayHow this Perth family plans to make the great Australian road trip better for the planetHow did we get here? The Broome incident that was 'confronting' and 'disturbing'Murder investigation underway after woman's body found in bin in regional VictoriaAmerican Samoa backs candidate with chances likened to 'ant trying to build a spaceship'Farmers' brainwave transforms once-dry region to dairy and grape countryMan dies in water skiing incident during race on Murray RiverFraudster Melissa Caddick's luxury Sydney penthouse soldThe worst films and performances of the year, according to the Razzie awards
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