We’re Jess and Doug, the family behind Sandy Van Travels, a full-time travelling family of five exploring Australia with our three children, Ellie and Arthur (our 7-year-old twins) and Harry (5). After selling our home and most of what we owned in Brisbane, we custom built our first van in April 2024 and hit the road to create a life centred around family, adventure and experiences. We now travel Australia full-time, working remotely, homeschooling our kids and documenting the journey through photography, video and honest storytelling.
Jess & Doug
Sandy Van Travels
Living full-time in a caravan with three kids definitely teaches you to be intentional about what you own. Everything has a home, and if it doesn’t have a purpose, it doesn’t travel with us. We’ve learnt that smart caravan design makes all the difference, functional space, dedicated storage spaces and keeping everyday items easy to access. We also use storage tubs to keep everyone’s gear organised, everything has a place and is put away when not in use.
We do around 99% of our cooking outside and absolutely love it. Some of our family favourites are anything Mexican, Italian, slow-cooked curries and fresh seafood whenever we’re lucky enough to catch it ourselves. Cooking outdoors has become one of our favourite parts of travelling. We have the Panasonic 4 in 1 Microwave Convection oven built inside the van (we also had this in our first van and loved it, so we wanted it again). We also have a Wolstead 14-1 multi cooker, a TM7 and a Weber.
It’s impossible to choose just one. Spending three months at Ningaloo Reef is a memory we’ll never forget. Watching our kids fall in love with fishing, snorkelling, exploring the beaches and spending every day outdoors reminded us exactly why we chose this lifestyle. The biggest surprise, though, has been discovering that some of Australia’s best places aren’t the famous ones. They’re the unexpected campsites, quiet beaches and little towns you stumble across because you decided to take the scenic route.
Reliable off-grid power is a big one for us, along with Starlink so we can keep running our photography business from the road. Our camera gear travels everywhere with us, and with three active kids we have bikes and scooters. We also love our campfires and comfortable camp chairs.
A queen bed and a lounge up front, tucked away from the kids at the rear.
A large, full-width ensuite right in the middle of the van.
Three bunks at the back for the kids, with storage packed throughout.
“We’d lived in a van for 18 months, so we knew exactly what we’d change. Wonderland RV got it right. It’s home for the five of us.”
Jess & Doug
