The road that raised us

For two years, we traded the comfort of home for open roads, red dust, and the unknown. What began as a creative project soon became a way of life — an adventure that raised our children, reshaped our marriage, and taught us what it really means to live slowly and with purpose.

LEAVING HOME

There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when you leave everything behind and just start driving.

The hardest part for us was the beginning — packing up the house, saying no to work in Perth, and spending every spare cent on a setup that could safely take us around Australia. It felt wild and reckless, but somewhere deep down, we knew it was exactly what we needed.

We had a small window of time — the girls were young enough to miss school without missing out, and Jake and I were burning out after years of shooting and painting back-to-back weddings. Every day had started to feel the same, and we both craved something real again. We knew there was a whole lot more to learn — about ourselves, our work, and the people who live out in the regions.

No fixed plan. No rush to be anywhere. Just the open road, the hum of tyres, and the feeling that, for once, we were exactly where we were meant to be.

For two years, that’s how we lived.

We packed up our little family — two kids, cameras, paints, a caravan, and a head full of dreams — and set off around the country, following the sun.

OUTBACK EVENTS

I’d travelled around Australia once before, but that time, we moved too fast. We skimmed the surface of country towns without giving them the chance to leave their mark. This time, I wanted to do it differently — to slow down, smell the rain on red dirt, and make lifelong friends in places most people only pass through.

We decided to follow the outback event circuit — pulling up in tiny towns, painting murals, and documenting the changing nature of regional events as part of our art trail. What began as a creative project slowly evolved into a way of life.

We thought we were chasing stories and light, but what we found was so much bigger.

We chose the outback event circuit because those days are the heartbeat of small towns — the one day a year when a community can truly show itself off. Every local pitches in, volunteering their time, energy, and spirit. People travel in from far and wide, not just to attend, but to help — to pour beers, bake cakes, set up arenas, or run the gate.

Being part of those events gave us a rare window into the soul of rural Australia. We met incredible characters — people we never would’ve crossed paths with otherwise. It gave us a route to follow, a loose schedule to keep, and a purpose that felt bigger than ourselves.

Through our work, we were able to contribute something lasting — painting murals that captured the history and spirit of each event, and documenting them through photographs as a kind of time stamp. It felt like preserving something precious for the generations to come.

So many of these towns are shrinking. As farms grow larger and families wrestle with succession plans, the local populations get smaller. Kids are sent away to boarding school younger, leaving behind empty paddocks and quieter main streets. With fewer people, community life struggles to keep its rhythm — and many of these events, once the highlight of the year, are finding it harder to survive.

By being there — by photographing, painting, and telling these stories — we hoped to play a small part in keeping their legacy alive.

WHAT WE GAINED FROM THE ROAD

What we gained from this experience goes far beyond the miles we travelled.

For me, it built confidence — the kind that only comes from putting yourself out there again and again. I’ve learned to reach out to new opportunities, send that email, say yes to projects that scare me a little. Even when it feels uncomfortable, it’s always worth it when it pays off.

The girls have grown a whole new kind of resilience — to long, uncomfortable journeys in the car, to flies in their faces and hot nights camping off-grid when the aircon won’t run and a wet cloth becomes their blanket. They learned to make the most of a single box of toys, to turn boredom into imagination, and to talk to anyone — old, young, or someone living with a disability.

They met every kind of person, and each encounter gave them something new. They’ve developed a natural empathy with animals too — they know when to step back, when to be gentle, and how to read their moods. They’ve learned to take calculated risks and now understand their limits with confidence and care.

For Jake, the road pushed him creatively. He tested every boundary of his art — painting on every kind of surface for every kind of client. He experimented with new materials, new designs, and new ways of telling stories through paint. Most of all, he found the space and freedom to truly develop his own style — to paint from instinct rather than expectation.

As a family, we all fell a little in love with the history of Australia. We discovered stories that aren’t written in books — the kind you find on pub walls, in dusty museums, and in the proud retellings of locals who still keep their towns alive. Seeing that history, feeling its weight and warmth, changed us. It reminded us who we are, and where we come from.

Our girls learned their colours from sunsets, and to count by the number of hours left in the drive. They learned patience from long stretches between towns, and kindness from strangers who became friends over cups of instant coffee and roadside chats. They learned that home doesn’t always have four walls — sometimes it’s a campfire, a tin shed, or a star-filled sky somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

There were days that tested us — stuck in the caravan after a disagreement, bogged in red clay after the rain, or facing weeks apart when Jake had to fly home for a mural job he couldn’t turn down. I towed the caravan solo through unfamiliar country, thousands of kilometres from our safety net. But every challenge carved a new layer of resilience into us.

Somewhere between the dust and the downpours, I found beauty in the chaos — a rhythm that reminded me how simple life can be when you let go of everything unnecessary. I learned to dislocate my shoulder just to pass a water bottle into the backseat, and I learned to ask for help when I needed it the most.

I discovered that I could do far more than I ever thought I could — if only I tried. The girls learned to use their imaginations with whatever they found lying around — sticks became wands, cardboard boxes became cubbies, puddles became oceans. We learned to be there for each other, to lift one another up when the road got long, and to laugh when things didn’t go to plan.

The girls experienced everything — desert heat and coastal storms, rainforests and rodeos, beaches and bush tracks, snakes and stick insects and every creature in between. Every town had its own heartbeat: race days, pub yarns, local legends, and people who work hard and love harder.

The further we went, the more we realised that Australia isn’t just a place — it’s a spirit. It’s generosity, grit, and humour all rolled into one.

And somewhere along those endless roads, between the dirt tracks and dinners under gum trees, we changed. The noise dropped away. The girls grew up before our eyes. And we found a slower, sweeter way to live.

This journey was never about ticking places off a map. It was about becoming part of something bigger — a story written across red earth and blue sky.

The road didn’t just take us around Australia.

It raised us.

FOOTNOTES We’re so grateful to our parents for helping us get on the road — for making it possible to afford the rig that took us on this incredible journey. Your support meant the world to us.

2 Comments

Nov 10, 2025, 10:33:45 PM

Ange Butler - We loved our time in the Adelaide hills with you guys! Sienna is still wearing your boots around!

Nov 7, 2025, 5:53:25 PM

The Broderick's - We are so grateful to have been a very small part of this amazing, beautiful, life-changing journey. We have loved watching your progress around Australia and hope that the feeling of slow stays with you all for as long as possible ❤️

The road that raised us

LEAVING HOME

OUTBACK EVENTS

WHAT WE GAINED FROM THE ROAD

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