Family Gap Year Post #29: Settling into the Hinterlands of Australia (Nov-Dec)
Description
For three weeks, we settled into the “hinterlands” of Byron Bay.
My family and I discovered this area of the world accidentally several years ago when we visited Australia for the first time. We knew we had to visit it again during our Family Gap Year.
We lived in a little cottage on a family’s property, and we enrolled our children in school for the last three weeks of school. Honestly, this was one of my absolute favorite parts of our trip so far!
Highs
There is so much magic in this part of the world. On our first night, we happened upon a Thai food truck in the middle of no where—overlooking a verdant valley. On another night, we found a pink donut truck in the middle of no where and ran out of gas, just as we pulled into the gas station. We also stumbled upon an incredible swimming quarry, and we loved all the quaint neighborhood events like pop-up pizza night and an evening of Christmas carols. Everything feels more magical in the hinterlands.
Part of why we loved this part of our trip so much was because of the community and connection. We enrolled our boys in school for three weeks, and the community welcomed us in so wholeheartedly. We were also welcomed into the lives of our sweet neighbors. Our boys had friends and we had friends.
During this part of our trip, we also headed back to Sydney and got to reconnect with our friends there. So our hearts were constantly full with connection.
Finally, one of my favorite parts about this leg of the trip was realizing how this year of traveling enabled me to live so fully in the present moment nearly all the time.
Lows
The meltdowns got really bad during this part of the trip. At first we thought it was related to the anxiety of school, but they continued even when school was over.
Lessons Learned
- There are times when not medicating children has negative side effects that are worse than the medication’s side effects. During this leg of the trip, we decided that we want to try anxiety medication for one of our children.
- I want to set up a home environment that fosters creativity, hands-on learning, and wonder. I can’t wait to do this when we settle down again!
- Casual community after school and on weekends is hard to come by but it’s worth seeking out! And co-housing as a neighborhood model makes so much sense.
- We have sensory processing issues in our family. And we all benefit from calming strategies!
- When we settle down again, I want to be a “Room Mum” and take responsibility for organizing gatherings among all the families in my children’s classrooms. It takes a village to raise children!