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
Since April 2024, Jess and Doug have been travelling Australia full-time with their three kids, capturing the journey through photography, video and honest storytelling. If you’re after real family travel inspiration, follow along as Sandy Van Travels explores the country one campsite at a time.
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.
Freedom for off-road and off-grid adventures
Australian made with superior strength and flex
Luxuriously appointed with creature comforts
“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
