Alyson for World Travel Family

12 Reasons to take a round the world trip (RTW). Only 12? There are far more, but I’ve tried to condense them into an even dozen. Our primary reason for travelling is education, learning, and understanding. I’ve always been driven by my thirst for knowledge in the areas that interest me, this is why I’ve …

We’ve been travelling full-time for over 4 years now, without a full-time traditional job between us and loving our new non-conventional life. Raising the money to travel was hard work initially, we weren’t rich, didn’t win the lottery and for the preceding 5 years we only had 1 income, my husband’s chef’s salary. I was …

Travel is amazing, but it’s time to ‘fess up. I have a few travel horror stories to tell. Sometimes travel sucks. It can be hard, exhausting, dangerous, boring or just plain icky. If you are squeamish or don’t like reading about matters lavatorial, maybe this isn’t the post for you. Here are some of my …

We’ve fed our travelling children in around 50 countries now. They’re still alive, still healthy and one, at 12 is now dwarfing his mum. We’re doing OK. Do you want to know a few tricks and tips for finding food for kids while travelling? You need food they will eat and that will keep them …

There are quite a few options in Port Douglas if you are interested in helicopter rides and charters. You can take a helicopter to or from the  Great Barrier Reef, some reef charter boats let you book  short helicopter rides  from the reef pontoon. You can even be dropped on a sand bar and have …

Most people worry about flying with children. I used to, but now I don’t know why I ever did. We’ve done it many, many times including flying the seriously long-haul UK to Australia routes with kids. It holds no horrors for me and hasn’t for years. No, my children are not angels, far from it, …

Some people just don’t understand homeschooling at all. That’s OK, its not something that most people have ever come across or researched. It’s not “normal”, school is the best thing for kids in the conventional mindset. Surely it’s compulsory? It’s not compulsory, it’s a choice, parents have a legal obligation to provide their children with an education. …

Stinger season Cairns, Port Douglas, the Great Barrier Reef area and the whole of Far North Queensland is something you need to be aware of. Insider knowledge on how to be safe, for you and your kids is essential. We lived up here for 6 years safe from jellyfish, so read on. Dates for Stinger …

People often don’t associate South Africa with game reserves, I always think of Kenya and Tanzania, but there are plenty in South Africa, the mighty Kruger and dozens of smaller ones. We took our then very young children to a few of South Africa’s game reserves and wildlife parks and this is how we managed …

This post was written and titled “Living in Port Douglas” when we were planning our great escape. We lived in Port Douglas. we owned, still own, a beautiful house there, but we left to travel the world. We’ve been travelling a very long time now, that’s just how things worked out. Port Douglas is a …

We saw an Australian animal that less than 10% of all Australians have ever seen near Cairns, the fantastic, and surprisingly tiny, platypus. That’s wild platypus, not in a zoo.  If you’d like to share in this incredible experience, check out the Atherton Platypus Park near Cairns at Tarzali Lakes. You can visit for the …

Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas, was closed a while ago by a 4-meter saltwater crocodile. He didn’t do much, just swam along the beach about 20m from shore. A crowd gathered and watched, that’s about as exciting as the day got.  It made me think though, not many people have the experience of sharing their home with …