Canungra Qld

Our first real camp was at the Canungra showgrounds, West of the Gold Coast.
Driving in I felt a bit awkward in our unpainted, unfinished bus as the grounds were full of flash Winebagos, caravans and motorhomes.
We were directed to our site and Ant pointed out the flash satellite dish spinning around on top of a van in front of us....we told him to keep dreaming.
Over the next couple of days we had some ups and downs, and at one point we all wanted to return home but then after a couple of good nights sleeps, we decided to keep going.
The kids made some friends but also had to learn how to say goodbye just as quickly because some families only stop a night for a quick rest then leave again the next day....something we will need to get used too.
The town of Canungra is so pretty, reminding me a little of my hometown of Warburton, with lots of motorbike riders, cafes and pie shops.
We spent a couple of days exploring with my favorite day driving up the mountain to the treetop walk and visiting Mount Tamborine.
I wish we had more time to spend exploring and being with family on the Gold Coast but we had to move on as Troy was meeting a man in Newcastle who was selling a gold detector.

Leaving the Sunshine Coast

Our family of five has spent the last two years converting a bus into a motorhome.

This was my partner Troy's dream not mine and for seventeen years he has wanted to embark on this epic project and I finally caved in and I must admit it has been pretty exciting!

Troy lost his big paying job as a truck driver due to a bad back and we could no longer maintain the lifestyle we had so we decided to move into the unfinished bus project and see where it takes us.

The bus was a coach/school bus from Gympie in Queensland.

We removed all the windows and replaced them with smaller ones, we put new roof hatches and a friend installed the frame of our bed, the kids bunks, bathroom and lounge/teenagers bed.

To date the bus is still not painted but is coated in a nice shade of grey primer and we don't have a kitchen or bathroom yet.

We are two weeks into our trip and the bus is running smoothly but the smaller living space has been a huge challenge for us all and a couple of times I have wanted to pack it all in and move back home.

I have never written a blog before and I write from the heart so although not magazine material, I hope you enjoy reading our journey about living in a bus and the places and people we meet along the way...for me it is more a journal so we have something we can look back on.

We have three children travelling with us, Anthony is 16 yrs, he is Steiner educated but this year he is studying justice, he hasn't been doing a lot of study of late due to the busy month we have had but is hoping to start fresh in the new year.

River is our middle boy, he is 5 yrs old and loves science, astronomy and Xbox! 

Ruby is our baby girl, she is 4 yrs old and full of spirit, she wants to be an artist when she grows up!

My name is Sue and I am the mama of the family, I love art, travel and anything creative...friends and family are important to me and I love being a mum.

Troy, as I said earlier is an ex truck driver, struggling to find himself at the moment with a back injury. He has gold fever and hopes to do some detecting in the outback somewhere, we are limited to the time he is allowed to drive but this is a good thing as we get to stop and smell the roses now.