Gibbo and Kirby spent years chasing the Australian dream, owning their own home, sacrificing family holidays, missing Christmases and birthdays, all while working tirelessly. But eventually, they realised there had to be another way.
“One thing we found ourselves saying quite often while justifying our chosen lifestyle was ‘one day we should…’,” Kirby said.
That sentiment became the foundation of a new way of life, and ultimately the name of their blog, One Day We Should, now followed by more than 100,000 fans across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. What started as a way to keep family and friends updated soon grew into a passionate community of fellow travellers and dreamers.
“After a while, it was clear a lot of people were also interested in what we get up to. We have been fortunate enough to have the support of an amazing group of people who not only offer support and advice where needed but at times have put us up on some amazing properties and hidden gems,” Kirby said.
Their adventure began in 2017 when the couple and their kids, Axl, 13, Darci, 11, and Bonnie, 10, returned to Tasmania after several years working in Queensland. That’s when the opportunity presented itself.
“We realised there would never be a perfect time to sell everything we owned and hit the road, so we just decided to do it,” Kirby said. “When we drove out of the drive towing our, at the time, brand new van, our kids were only five, three and Bon was only a baby. Having sold our house, we literally owned nothing apart from our ute and caravan and the few items that we could take with us.”
With no real plan other than to be together, the family booked a crossing on the boat and headed out of Tasmania.
“When we arrived in Melbourne, the traffic was intense and it was easier to stay in the left lane which happened to head west, so that’s the direction we went.”
Now, several years and a few upgrades later, the family travels in an On The Move Adventure 6.3F. They upgraded in 2024, choosing the Adventure series because it “had everything we wanted in a caravan”.
Gibbo said many of the upgrades they were chasing came standard with the Adventure series. “We added some privacy curtains to create a few different living spaces. The kids now have a bedroom and so do we, making it nicer to live in. We’ve also modified the rear bar to incorporate a bike rack as we are really into our mountain bike riding and we can now carry all the bikes on our trip.”
Kirby said the van had been fantastic so far and they only wished they’d had it when they first started out.
Living in such close quarters was a big adjustment, but Kirby said it didn’t take long for life on the road to feel “normal”.
“I feel like the biggest change is the realisation that the normal way of life is in fact just a mindset and we’re extremely fortunate to have the opportunities that we have in Australia,” she said.
Even now, their daily conversations haven’t changed much – “How much water do we have?”, “Do we have enough fuel to get to the next town?”, and of course, “I’m hungry!”
They still love fishing, hiking, swimming, exploring, cooking and eating. The kids love making new friends everywhere they go, and no matter the weather, they’re always outside playing.
“We’ve been to so many places and experienced so many things since deciding to travel, but I think the most important and the thing that sticks with us the most, is meeting other people along the way. Australians really are a special sort.”
