Lap of Australia Budget

In this guide I will be breaking down our budget statistics for a year on the road Towing a 20ft Caravan with our 2019 Isuzu Dmax! We can’t say we were on a tight budget but we did have one to stick to,have a read below and let us know your thoughts!

The first month of our Lap we felt like we were rich king and queens lol money money money…….

Overall Budget statistics

$40,000 saved for the year $10,000 saved for Emergencies/Misc $15,000 Saved for when we returned home $3,330 a month was our budget which was the $40,000 / 12 months At first I broke down the $40,000 into categories of the below which I worked out from researching other travelling families budgets and working out what I thought we would need with our setup….. Fuel $10,800 for the year Accomodation $8,400 for the year Food $8,400 for the year Activities $7,000 for the year Misc/ personal $2,700 for the year Alcohol $2,700 for the year $10,000 emergencies $15,000 savings

First month of the Lap

The first month of our Lap we felt like we were rich king and queens lol money money money……. Then literally our first stop on our trip (north Stradbroke ferry) I carly didn’t measure our setup correctly and we ended up having to fork out an extra $80 on our first day 🤣 but we didn’t go over our month budget ( you can read this on our website if you wanted the months breakdown) So what I’m trying to say is you can’t foresee everything and that is why you should always over compensate so you have that fallback! Not too mention this is suppose to be a trip of a lifetime so don’t miss out on having those drinks in that bar or go on that tour if your budget can handle it!

Cost Breakdowns

Below is what we actually spent out of our whole $65,000 in our savings for this trip! Fuel $11,632.50 ‑ our most expensive fuel on the trip was $1.97/L in WA! We had a good run at the start with only paying $1.15/L but it didn’t last long Accomodation $9350.00 ‑ we went over our year budget on Accomodation only because WA shocked us with not having many free camps! The most expensive stay we had was $80 a night for a powered site in Cradle Mountain. Groceries $8940.50 ‑ we didn’t do to bad with our groceries however the most expensive shop we did was in Normanton Queensland ‑ it came to $230 and we walked out with two bags! Activities $7600 ‑ I had always included spirit of Tasmania in our activities and when I originally got my quote it came back at $1440 return …….. but then covid hit and we ended up paying $2550 return with no cabins or recliners! So this took up a large chunk! Misc $6230.50 ‑ this included Gas,internet, personal care , clothes shopping, fishing tackle, spear guns, hair appointment and hair cuts, subscriptions, thong blowouts and any type of random living expenses! Alcohol $2000.00 yep that’s right!! Kurt and I aren’t big drinkers so when we travelled on our own we rarely drank …. It’s when your social that’s when it becomes dangerous lol Emergency $6246.50 ‑ now this covered all our Services, 3 x times car services 2 x caravan services , new brakes on the caravan , 2 x new batteries that died, a solar blanket , new lenses x 3 for camera , boat hire for 5 days in Exmouth and any type of crap that popped up unwanted So all up we spent $52,000 for a year around Australia that was every single expense covered and we returned home with $13,000 to start our new chapter!!!

Spent VS Budget

Fuel ‑ $11,632.50 spent / $10,800 Budget ‑ $832.50 over budget Accomodation ‑ $9350.00 spent / $8400 budget ‑ $950 over budget Groceries ‑ $8940.50 spent / $8400 budget ‑ $540.50 over budget Misc ‑ $6230.50 spent / $2,700 budget ‑ $3530.50 over budget Alcohol‑ $2000 spent / $2700 budget ‑ $700 under budget Activities ‑ $7600 spent / $7000 budget ‑ $600 over budget Emergencies ‑ $6246.50 spent / $10,000 budget $3753.50 under budget Spent $52,000k / Budget $50,000k ex savings So in the end we even out but had to dip into $2000 of our savings which left us with the $13,000 left to come home with so we are pretty happy with that!

Kurt and I aren’t big drinkers so when we travelled on our own we rarely drank …. It’s when your social that’s when it becomes dangerous lol

Carly & Kurts Favs

Best bakery ‑ Carly (Ross bakery Tasmania) Kurt (Minlaton Bakery) Best Pub ‑ Carly (Daly Waters) Kurt (Blue Heeler pub) Best Beach ‑ Carly (Hellfire Bay) Kurt (Wharton’s Beach) Favourite Tour ‑ Carly (Seals in Jurien Bay) Kurt (Jumping Crocs) Best Dinner out ‑ Carly (Prawnstar Cairns) Kurt (Lovster shack Tassie) Best Hipcamp ‑ Carly (Winslow VIC) Kurt (Sandy Ridges Kingaroy) Best free camp ‑ Carly (Cosy Corner Tassie) Kurt (same) Best Low Cost Camp ‑ Carly (Perlubie Beach) Kurt (same) Best Caravan Park ‑ Carly (Huon Valley Caravan Park) Kurt (Bowen Caravan Park) Best experience ‑ Carly (swimming with turtles) Kurt ( Catching the 1.35m spanish Mackerel) Best National Park ‑ Carly ( Karijini) Kurt (Purnululu) Top 2 states ‑ Carly ( WA & SA) Kurt ( Same) Fav Sunset ‑ Carly ‑ (Busselton Jetty) Kurt (Uluru)

The end of an amazing Chapter

We did some amazing things on our trip that we will remember forever, we met some amazing people we will be forever friends with and some people we probably won’t ever see or talk to again but that’s what makes our lap ……. Our lap!

We have learnt so many things about our amazing country and taken things away from our time that we will never forget! We will do it again and it will be different all over again but until now we will continue to explore our backyard and bring you more info, tips and tricks that can help you get out there and start exploring and living life to the fullest!

The sunsets we have watched go down, the sunrise we have witnessed come up every new day was an adventure that we didn’t know what was in store and it was so so exciting! Kurt and I loved spending everyday together laughing, exploring, wanting to kill each other and waking up to a new spot and new adventures! We don’t regret anything…… sure it will take some time to settle in back home but it was all so worth it in the end 🌱🌿

Thank you for joining us on our journey and I hope we will one day see your adventures on the road ❤️