Victorian family of eight on trip of a lifetime around Australia in converted bus

Travelling in a 12.5-metre converted bus sounds like it would leave you quite a lot of room.

But with two adults, six kids, three dogs and one cat, it’s a tight squeeze for the Honeyman family.

It’s been four months since they packed up their lives in Ballarat, Victoria and hit the open road in their converted motorhome.

Jeremy and Donna Honeyman plan to travel the country for roughly two years on board the vehicle they call The Great Escape.

The couple wanted to teach their children life experiences instead of traditional schooling.

Homeschooling mixed with real-life experience 

Other than a few difficulties finding caravan sites that will accommodate the bus, Donna is loving the journey so far.

She says the children are adapting to homeschooling in between their daily adventures.

“We’re doing it because we think that the children will have more life experience,” she said.

“So we thought one-on-one time with mum and dad and showing them what the real world has to offer could be better than sitting in a classroom.”

DIY motorhome conversion 

After purchasing the 52-seater bus, the Honeymans got to work turning it into a liveable space.

The seats were reduced to nine, bunk beds and a shower were installed, along with battery storage, a washing machine and water tanks.

“It was a long process,” Donna said.

“The rest of it we did with the kids.”

Parking can be a tall order 

A mechanic by trade, Jeremy has found work in many of the towns the family has stopped in so far and can solve most problems that arise with the motorhome.

The only real hassle comes when it’s time to find somewhere to park for the night.

“It depends on the town. There are plenty of caravan parks, but they are booked out a lot,” Jeremy said.

“Height becomes a problem quite often with parks that have trees and bushland, especially when they’re smaller parks with very tight roads to get through.

“Free camping is also a little bit harder and we have found it very hard to find anywhere where you can legally camp.

“We found a couple of places we thought were okay and then were woken the next morning to the local council asking us to move on.”

More live-in buses hitting the road 

While double the size of a standard caravan, Jeremy believes there are more bus-sized vehicles like theirs on the road.

“Vehicles of this size in the last couple of years have become more affordable,” he said.

“Many years ago, the thought of driving a big heavy-haul bus sounded like more hard work than a holiday.

Slow, steady and adventure ready

Currently in Albany, 500 kilometres south of Perth on WA’s south coast, the family is becoming an expert at finding unique adventures and not going anywhere in a hurry.

“The children do what they want really. We go to the beaches, we go to parks every day, they’re always doing something different,” Donna said.

“I’ve been loving it, just taking each day as it comes.”