A very Aussie 4x4 adventure on Stradbroke "Straddie" Island. Filmed Feb 10-13, 2025. Go to http://DrinkLMNT.com/eamonandbec for a free sample pack with any purchase!
After living in a converted sprinter van for nearly 5 years we thought we'd cracked the code to tiny house on wheels with #vanlife But, this week we really test ourselves with a brand new setup... a 4X4 truck with a rooftop tent. Not only is it the smallest setup we've ever traveled in but we've also added our 1 year old daughter to the mix. Frankie is such an incredibly adaptable baby but can we really enjoy all that Australia has to offer with a 1 year old child in tow?
We spot kangaroos, drive a 4X4 rig on some of Australia's most epic beaches and manage to keep up with our mate @MaxandOccy . Make sure you check out his episode for more of our adventures.
After living in a converted sprinter van for nearly 5 years we thought we'd cracked the code to tiny house on wheels with #vanlife But, this week we really test ourselves with a brand new setup... a 4X4 truck with a rooftop tent. Not only is it the smallest setup we've ever traveled in but we've also added our 1 year old daughter to the mix. Frankie is such an incredibly adaptable baby but can we really enjoy all that Australia has to offer with a 1 year old child in tow?
We spot kangaroos, drive a 4X4 rig on some of Australia's most epic beaches and manage to keep up with our mate @MaxandOccy . Make sure you check out his episode for more of our adventures.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00We're about to embark on a very Aussie adventure experiencing everything from white sand beaches
00:06to kangaroos in the wild and even an Australian delicacy. And we're doing it all from this basic
00:124x4 with a rooftop tent. This setup is taking us way outside of our comfort zone so you know
00:18we're gonna get up to some trouble. You ready to engage 4x4? I have a feeling we're not meant
00:22to be driving. I was feeling the same way. Ow ow. How epic is this?
00:30I just don't know how to reach high charge I don't think. I'm gonna pull up behind you into
00:33the dune here. Oh my god. All the walk gods are coming. Frank welcome to your new home. Hey sit
00:41straight. We're stripping it back pretty minimal. We're leaving all this. Why do we have all of this?
00:52Here's what we're bringing for our three nights on Stratty Island. Recovery boards. Hopefully we
00:58don't need those. Should probably drive back for them right? Shovel. Rooftop tent poles. Camping
01:04table. Camping chairs. Battery bank. Purty tickets. Big fan. Full bag of habit tea. Clothes. Beach
01:16umbrella. Bug zapper. Blankets and pillows. That's your two best mates no? I should say three.
01:23Beck and Max. Okay I don't know how many of you know this but Eamon and I used to live in Australia.
01:29Shout out to the OG viewers and Woolies Woolworths was our like local grocery shop
01:33so whenever I go I just feel so nostalgic about that time. We have one of those grandma carts
01:37because we didn't have a car. Let's go shopping at Woolies. We're only really planning two days
01:48living out of that car so we're going to try and keep it real minimal as far as food goes.
01:52She thinks all food is called apple. What's this called? Apple. What's this?
01:58Can we really do a trip without one of these? We're in Australia mate. Beans? What are you guys
02:05doing? Sorry bro. We're having a pre-adventure dance party.
02:14That's my mom. Like this.
02:20Just chugs it in the car.
02:25Max do we need this? Yeah. We missed the ferry but the next one isn't too far away. It's a 38 minute drive.
02:33I'll show you that.
02:50We have another half an hour to wait for the ferry and it's about a half an hour
02:54ferry ride so we're going to make some snacks for the road. Do you like snacks?
02:58Oh my feet are cooking. It's warm. Whipping up a sandy. Classic PB&J. Got a paper towel. I got
03:06some PB on the fecal flow. It's all right I just wiped it up with the bread. Just take your time
03:12with that spread eh buddy. Ballsies. Oh ballsies. I think you'll like it Frank.
03:29Do you want some wawa? Wawa. What's that? Tiger. Tiger. Very good. Genius.
03:40Easy as. We are on the move headed to Stradi aka North Stradbrook Island. If you guys remember a few
04:01episodes ago we went to Hawaii and rented a van and the guy living on Maui said his girlfriend
04:07lives on Stradi and he can't wait to retire there and I figured if someone who lives in Maui
04:12wants to retire here it's got to be pretty epic.
04:18Other than the recommendation from that guy in Hawaii I know nothing about Stradi and I
04:22love traveling that way. I have no expectations but the ferry ride over proved that this is going
04:28to be worth it. It looks like beautiful water maybe some snorkeling some surfing.
04:38Nice okay. Yeah.
04:45Okay welcome to Stradi y'all. Second largest sand island in the world so I'm assuming there's some
04:52nice beaches. All right I'm excited. Are you excited? Stratford let's see what you got.
05:00Can you say Stradi?
05:03The one thing I know for certain we'll be doing while we're here is driving this 4x4 on some
05:08beaches which I'm so excited about and it's the reason we went with this rental company
05:13specifically. We've attempted this before when we lived in band and it never ended well. It always
05:18ended great. I mean Eamon always loves the adventure of it but uh I'm looking forward to
05:23like some quality beach driving and maybe even beach camping. We're gonna stop by the visitor
05:28center now. You have to get a permit to do 4x4 driving and book some campgrounds. Eamon just
05:34helped himself right onto the beach. Oh my gosh. Go go go go go. Oh my gosh. Wow. That is so...
05:46Huh? I should have aired down. I told you.
05:50Eamon was definitely very very excited to see the beach and the tracks so he just drove right on. We
05:55did not get stuck luckily but p.s how epic is this?
06:03We're gonna be spending the next couple of days driving right on this pristine beach.
06:09What are the chances Eamon's gonna remember to let the tires down? I was in the back saying can
06:13we let our tires down? Should we let our tires down? He's going to let the tires down.
06:16I was in the back saying can we let our tires down? Should we let our tires down? He's going
06:21too excited. Way too excited. Not surprising. We're gonna put the tires down. Like a responsible camper.
06:29Alrighty so we have to air down to 18 psi. Essentially when you let the air out of the
06:36tire it becomes more round and it better grabs the sand doesn't it? Yeah like more surface onto
06:42the sand. More surface on the sand. Apparently it prevents us from getting stuck. It just makes
06:47sense. The visitor center was closed at four but we were able to book our permits online.
06:5460 Australian dollars. You ready to ride? Yeah baby. He's gonna take a piss.
07:01Bareback beaver to Pally Mellon. Come in.
07:04Pally Mellon receiving. You ready to engage four by four? Pally Mellon. Affirmative.
07:13Woo! Woo! Yeah baby! Look at this!
07:21So
07:38all right Max just went through a crazy crater dude. Oh whoa you're just going for it? Yeah you
07:43got it. Okay all right. Whoa all right. Okay we did it. Max just dropped four feet. Yeah it was
07:52nuts and I was driving behind. I'm like I'm not doing that. So this is G here. Cool. So you want
07:58to just cut in here? Whenever you want. Yeah let's do it. G is the vibe. Just depends which way the
08:04tent flips out but I think we're good right? I mean it's pretty epic. Yeah that's amazing.
08:11Let's go get our daughter. Yeah she can't wait to get out. Hi Twinkie. Hi babies. We've lived in a van
08:18for five years. Done a lot of camping. I've never had a spot like this before. Wow. Look at this
08:28Twinkie. Look at this. Your own private little river. It is epic. Unreal. Now the moment of truth
08:38is what side does the tent flip out off to? Are we doing the tent? Old mate at the
08:42rental place did not show us how to do this but I'm sure it's pretty straightforward.
08:52I really never understood who designed these tables. Let's get the neck involved.
09:00It's got to be the other way.
09:02Oh you got to work in the ladder too. I think it's easy as parents to question our decision
09:08sometimes and today as we were driving it was a long travel day. I thought oh I hope Frankie's
09:13okay and she's so out of routine and oh I'm getting emotional. We were just swimming in
09:18the creek and she was giggling so much and I love how adventurous she is and how how much she's
09:25love how adventurous she is and how how much she's loving this and that we're giving you all
09:31these memories and experiences even if she doesn't you know remember them.
09:36I just think it's it's forming a really adventurous little kid and I love that.
09:42Try and fix her ladder.
09:47Got her baby. Oops. Oh my tree's in the way. Don't sit up next to a tree. That's what I learned.
09:56It probably took 11 minutes maybe longer. Tomorrow I think I'll race max.
10:01Oh thank you. Cheers to Mount Franklin. Cheers to you guys. I love having adventures with you two.
10:09The best. It's so fun. Cheers tank. Cheers tanky. I'm making your food.
10:26Oh yeah.
10:31I noticed the last person who rented this place
10:35left a lot of sand in the bed but Max brought a solution for that.
10:40While Frank is having dinner we've got the tent bedroom all set up.
10:46It's warm. Here's what we're working with. Big Rayobie fan. Little mini fan. Rayobie light.
10:54As far as a rooftop tent goes I would say pretty spacious as far as two people sleeping with a baby
11:02but we do have ocean views. Hey it's a bloody Aussie.
11:11Babe she ate the entire bowl of pasta. That a girl. Yeah she was so hungry.
11:16It is the most beautiful night. It's a full moon. The water temperature is incredible.
11:32The temperature is incredible and something about being here in Australia just makes me feel
11:38so incredibly alive. A year ago our lives looked so different. We were up against so much
11:50and I wish I could go back to that version of me and let her know that I'd be standing here
11:57right now but I think there's so much beauty in not knowing what the future holds and embracing
12:03it anyways and charging ahead and just leading with love and gratitude and I'm feeling all the
12:11feels tonight and what makes it all the more special for me is being here with my daughter.
12:17Hands down a thousand percent coolest gift on earth. Where's Mrs. Mermaid?
12:33Back upstairs dealing with the monkey. I hear a lot of laughs coming from there so
12:43I take it she's not sleeping yet. Plus you see the fans the young kids are building now
12:49with like recessed lighting heated floors and the time is not even eight o'clock. You guys want to
12:57say something funny? Go to bed. What are you doing? Night fam. Night, love you.
13:07Good night Max, I'll probably see you in a bed. I'm locking the door buddy.
13:11Ah
13:20good night
13:41We have coffee, we have hot water, we just don't have a proper filter. Do you think paper towel would
13:49work? We're just gonna let that settle. The old nature press. Put this back on? I'm getting a little
13:59thirsty.
14:04A couple of outtakes eh?
14:09I don't know why people buy coffee filters, this is way better. It actually holds on really well.
14:14Look at that, that's a fresh cup man. How does everyone rate their sleep? I'll go first. Six,
14:20eight. I'm actually so happy you weren't overly dramatic about that.
14:24The score mainly comes from the location of the people we're with. I actually would give
14:29mine a seven as well, so that's really good for you considering you were an extra screaming baby.
14:35I just had some sand in my bed. I was gonna give mine a seven as well,
14:41but that's because I'm a mom I guess. Legend. I'm just glad that it wasn't like horrendous.
14:47I don't know if this is a selfish move too, but I did think as well I could park a bit further away.
14:52I was thinking you might wake up. Like another campsite. Because like you know,
14:57no point in all of us getting woken up. It's true. No, it wouldn't even need to be that far,
15:02like I reckon just like that one over there. As you'll see coming up later in this episode,
15:07we get stranded. Oh my god. Not a bad place to get stuck, but I mean we weren't prepared for it, so
15:15resources are limited. Making the most of it. When I tell you I couldn't be more thrilled
15:20to be talking about Element with you, and sharing Element with you, and having an Element
15:25out here on day three with limited resources. We thought we brought enough Element for our two
15:31months away from Toronto, but it turns out everyone we're traveling with is like super
15:35obsessed as well. So we are rationing our Elements. This little bit of water for Eamon and I
15:41needs to really hydrate us, and that's why I'm so excited to talk to you about Element. Element is
15:47a zero sugar electrolyte drink mix that was born from the growing body of research that says that
15:54our optimal health for sodium levels are two to three times our government recommendations.
16:00Being hydrated is so much more than just drinking water, and when I learned this and started
16:05implementing Element into my daily routine, especially when I'm sweating so much, whether
16:10it's traveling here in Australia in this extreme heat, or back home when I do my hot yoga and
16:15Pilates, I can tell that I'm hydrated because I don't have that fatigue, or cramping, brain fog,
16:22headaches that I used to have when I was drinking just water alone. I've loved how easy it is to
16:27travel with these stick packs, and each of them contains a meaningful dose of electrolytes without
16:32all those dodgy ingredients, artificial flavors, or sugars. Get a free Element sample pack today
16:37with any purchase when you use our link drinkelement.com slash Eamon and Bec. The sample pack has
16:43one of each flavor, so you can give them all a try. The best part is if you try it and don't like it
16:48for whatever reason, Element will give you your money back, no questions asked, and you can gift
16:52your Element on to a salty friend. Again, you can get a free sample pack with any purchase when you
16:58head to our link, that is drinkelement.com slash Eamon and Bec. A big thank you to Element for
17:05sponsoring today's video. All right, it's that time of day. Apparently there is a toilet, it's like a
17:09four-minute walk, so you're coming with. Whoa, dude, look at this thing. Bro, he's climbing this tree, what the
17:23I have never seen such a big lizard, Frank. Pretty cool, huh? Climbing a tree. All right, but I still
17:29need to go to the toilet, so. Very nice setup. All right. All right, so we did kind of mess things
17:44around a bit because Eamon made the coffee, I made the breakfast. So we have on here toast,
17:49Vegemite, avocado with some plant-based feta through it as well, and lemon, eggs, sauerkraut.
17:55Enjoy, sir. Wow. We're just waiting on some beans as well. I'm stoked. This is my first
17:59Vegemite breakfast. Yeah, cool. Bought it yesterday.
18:08The combo works though, undeniable. Vegemite just makes it.
18:17I've been in the ocean three times already. It's so hot and beautiful. I think it's still
18:22morning. Frankie's down for her first nap. It feels like we're the only people on this entire
18:27island. In some ways we are. Once the tide comes up, the only people who are here are those who
18:33came in last night. So all morning there's been no one, but the tide is shifting and I can see
18:39some cars coming. Max said he saw some people surfing on the point, which I think we're going
18:44to go check out in a little bit. Oh, there goes someone. Everyone's so cool. Stratty Island for
18:54the win. I'd retire here. Okay, man. From Maui, I get it. Let's go for a swim.
19:15So
19:30thank you past me for buying this watermelon. A little post-ocean,
19:34post-nap for Frankie, pre-surf for the boys. Snack.
19:38Frankie, do you like the watermelon bubba? Yeah. I don't know if we've really shown you,
19:43but the boys are very keen on these walkies. It's a bit of a throwback because when we first met Max,
19:48he was with Lee down in Baja and we spent like an hour detour trying to find walkie-talkies so we
19:54could all hang out and still be chatting while we drove to this secret beach. Hey, uh, what's your
20:00temperature reading? They're so FOMO. They don't have a walkie right now. How cold is it? It's
20:05so FOMO. They don't have a walkie right now. I'll be quick. Okay. Are you excited that Max is going
20:10to be on? Yeah, Max, you're a beauty. Ground control to Patty Mellon. Ground control to Patty.
20:18Patty Mellon receiving. All right, let's roll. I'm nervous. I'm nervous.
20:36Yeah, no good, I'm afraid, but I'm hoping if the surf and the wind isn't good here,
20:45on the other side of the island, it will be good. There's a surfer, no?
20:50One lonely paddler. Where are we headed now? Main beach.
20:53Marketing.
21:12I have a feeling we're not meant to be driving up. I was feeling the same way.
21:16Uh, yeah, I got a couple of vibes off people going past and then that guy was literally like,
21:21turn around. He said? Well, he kind of indicated, yeah, to turn. So this is the main surf beach.
21:28It's kind of on shore, but this guy's grabbing on. Oh, the lifeguards are coming. Oh shit. We
21:34might be getting in trouble. Did it say no turning? I didn't see a sign. Did you? Nah.
21:39The good thing about Australia is generally everyone's very relaxed.
21:45I could just see him rocking up. Hey mate, no worries, but you're not supposed to be on this
21:48beach. Oh, sweet eyes mate. Oh yeah, sweet eyes mate. Padding Island, what's the go?
21:53Yeah, so we definitely missed the sign there. You lost mate. Yeah, I'm looking for the kangaroos.
22:01You realize this is a beach. This is where the great whites are. Frankie's favorite song is on.
22:06We are currently cruising the beach. It's about an hour drive, four wheel drive along this beach.
22:12We were on the North part of the island yesterday at Flinders Campground. So now we're headed South
22:18and we're going to be checking out a new camp area. The guys this morning said this is the spot.
22:30Come on, Paddy Melons, where are you?
22:37Kangaroos. Finally, we've seen a roo. Did you see the Kanga?
22:42There goes. Oh, you lost it. Did you get that? We're going to pull Frank out of our car seat.
22:50I think these are kangaroos. They're really small, but oh,
22:55oh, oh, oh, these things are really spiky. Oh,
23:02what? Ow! These things are just everywhere. Boing, boing, boing.
23:13Boing, boing, boing.
23:23Excuse me, sir.
23:25Whenever the boys are setting up or tearing down camp, Frankie and I just find something to do in
23:42nature. And this is the exact reason I love being somewhere warm. She doesn't need anything but
23:50nature to entertain herself. It has been a lovely, relaxing afternoon here on Stratty Island.
24:02Really just slowing down, playing cards. Yeah, it's been great just to not have so much planned
24:10finally. The tide has come up significantly since we arrived. We drove an hour down this beach and
24:17now that the tide is all the way up, we actually can't get back. I don't think there's a way to get
24:23back. We got enough food for tonight. All right, we got some extra dinner going on here. It's
24:31sharkies dinner as well, so Max is just going to go out and see if the sharkies were hungry.
24:38He's going for a little surf. Wish me luck.
24:48All right, you got to give Max some credit here. He did not catch a wave, but holy, he put a good
24:52effort in. Yeah, honestly. How long was I paddling for? That's a panda workout. Yeah, that was a panda workout.
24:58And that was only, what, 40 minutes maybe? Yeah. Yeah, not easy, not easy. I'll try again in the morning though.
25:05All right, back to dinner.
25:08All right, back to dinner.
25:15Frank, you wanted an ice latte? Dinner tonight is, it's like a bulgur quinoa base
25:22with the teriyaki mixed veg and some spicy sriracha egg mixture.
25:28Pretty good. Yeah, I actually quite like it.
25:39Oh, hello flying baby. Hello flying baby. I think it's another 8 p.m. bedtime for me.
25:46Maybe the two boys and Frankie and give mama a night off.
25:51All right, the girls are sleeping. I'm moving into my neighbor's.
26:01Knock knock. Hey, nice digs buddy. Is this a good time to plug our OF?
26:11That would pop. I mean, if this is what you want to say.
26:13Good night, mate. Good night.
26:24Good morning, sunshine.
26:27Was it as good for you as it was for me? It was incredible. What a treat. I didn't hear her,
26:32so I'm assuming they had a good one too.
26:34Hi. Did you have a way better sleep? Yeah, it was a lot better.
26:44All right, it's 6 a.m. We actually got to get moving because
26:48otherwise we could be stuck here for the day. Just saw a wave crash like basically all the
26:53way up the beach, so either we got the tide times wrong or we're even too late.
27:00A little bit of a different pace this morning. It's 6 a.m., but the tide windows are short,
27:07and low tide was at 4 a.m., meaning a two hour on either side is when it's safe to
27:14drive on the beach before high tide comes in, so we're risking it for the biscuit.
27:21What do you think of that idea? Yeah. Yeah, so we're tearing down,
27:24and we're going to hit the beach. It just looks so high. Are we sure it's low tide?
27:30Who are we trusting on that one, huh? That water is right there. You excited, babies?
27:37Are you flooring it? Maybe it's better for me to be in my own track. I'm like having a hard time.
27:43Yeah, the water's coming up to your tracks already. Oh. Oh, baby, just...
27:49Oh, can you roll up your window? Is this a horrible idea? Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
27:54I think we caught up, babe. We're getting soaked over here, bud. Just remember if you need to,
27:59pile up one of the tracks. I don't know, Max. It looks like we're running out of road here. If
28:03you see another turnoff, maybe head up. Yeah, the water's looking a bit...
28:12It's like, it's pretty hectic. Oh. You can keep going. I'll follow you to the next one.
28:18Who read the tide chart this morning? Max. Max doesn't know how to read tide charts,
28:22I don't think. This is not low tide.
28:27I don't know. Should I drive back? I should probably drive back for him, right?
28:34I know, honey. I know. I'm gonna pull up behind you into the dune here. Oh my God.
28:41Whoa. There we go. We're good. Oh, like we're hanging out here for the day now.
29:05He's got the cooker. We've got the coffee. He's got the fridge. We've got the cutlery.
29:12I'm too skilled with the flow. I'm a specialist. Keep track of my story. Take notes, journalists.
29:16Where do I go? Keep going past me. Like, past the hill? Yeah, you can see where those sticks
29:21are sticking up. Left up here. Left here now? Yeah, left here now. Up. That's it. Jesus Christ.
29:29Probably went left a little harder than my intention, but otherwise, you know. Sick.
29:33Definitely worth the risk. We got the whips side by side. Oh boy.
29:40All right. Let's have a morning now. Was I looking forward to a cafe coffee and having a shower?
29:47Yes. But is this what it means to be living the adventure? Heck yeah. We have, I think,
29:54at least six or seven hours just being posted up here. Quite literally the only ones on the
30:00island this time. Made a cacao last night, so we're going to reuse that. How was that?
30:06Chocolate oats. If there's one area I trust you in completely, Eamon?
30:11It's cooking. Cooking. And I would have said, Max, I would have trusted you with tide charts.
30:17I knew the tide charts. I knew the tide charts. I have another job for you. Yeah, yeah.
30:30Hi, over here.
30:31Okay. Hi. Is it hot?
30:42It's all the coffee we got, guys. It's worse than running out of water.
30:48Coffee of champions. Coffee for Max. Max. Thank you. Long black. Long black for Beck.
30:55Beck is here. Yeah, Beck. Enjoy. Long black for Eamon. Now we're really camping.
31:03Days like today just require a perspective shift because you're ready to get up, get going,
31:09get back to town, get back to work, luxuries, you know, and then flip it on its head. You have an
31:16entire day of like rationing your resources and entertaining your child in the wilderness. And
31:22I love that. I love it. I just had to switch my perspective again. Mostly it's these darn
31:28freaking flies. They're so massive and they really love me and we're in the process of
31:34switching our perspective. Perspective shifted, baby. Just had an amazing ocean swim and I came
31:42out to find Eamon just being dad of the year yet again, making Frankie so happy.
31:48There's a big one. It's coming, Frank. Is the wall going to hold?
32:01Oh, here's another big one, Frank.
32:06To be honest, the tide isn't even out, but we're just done.
32:10So we're going to go for it. Let's rock and roll, Max. Let's do it.
32:16We know at least the tide is going out this time, so we're going to be fine. Let's do it.
32:22How's that sand guy made you? Another PB&J. Not that I ever had any doubts, but in case you did,
32:29we made it. We're all safe. We're all happy. A little sunburned. Oh, tripod in the face.
32:37Wow. I think mama's due for a good night's sleep. She didn't even see a tripod coming.
32:43See you Sunday. We made it. Yeah, Frankie.