Just like a bad thriller movie, whilst heading home, John & Renee* were left out in the cold, doors shutting on them and their children… and all because of fear.

WHEN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED TRAVELLERS TO HEAD ON HOME in March 2020, millions of Australians were left out in the cold across the national highways, in the middle of nowhere. Alicia’s friends John & Renee were caught in one such fiasco.

For John & Renee, it was a wedding invitation like no other. Family friends’ young son Benjamin and his fiancé Ashley had finally splashed their love in artistic silhouettes across beautiful invitation cards. There was just one caveat – the wedding was to be held in Queensland and John & Renee lived in Victoria. With 3 children under 5 years of age, they were unsure whether they could dare the big trek up to Queensland to support their lifelong family friends, and with whom there was such a warm and deep friendship. 

They had known Benjamin since he was a boy and had been there to support him through his teenage years, developing his musical interests and his life skills in leading the younger generation. They had watched him turn into a bright, responsible, young man but 3 children under 5 years and 2000 kilometres ahead of them kept John & Renee umming and ahhing about the possible trip. At long last, they sent a message to Benjamin advising that they would definitely make the big, long trek up to Queensland for his wedding.

After a 3 week road trip, the Wedding in early January was absolutely stunning. Held in the heart of Tambourine, surrounded by lush, green hills in the comfort of an open-air deck restaurant, including a playground and llamas to feed for the children, John & Renee felt that the trip had been worth it. Being led by spontaneity, the couple decided to remain in Queensland for just a little longer. With their respective responsibilities not picking up for some time yet – they certainly had time up their sleeves. 

In years gone by, their home had been in Rockhampton. They decided that they would continue up the coast to visit old friends along the way to Rockhampton. They had a marvelous time, full of freedom, feet dipped in the sand at the beach, their 3 children never knowing such joy! 

Whilst in Rockhampton, an old friend sold them his old caravan! What a blessing this was – not to have the 3 children squished in the back seat of the Navara – and they continued their travels in much better comfort. Little did they realise just what an even bigger blessing this caravan would be in the not-too-distant future.

Upon their return to Brisbane from Rockahampton, John & Renee decided it was time to say goodbyes to Benjamin and his family. Still stuck with the fresh new travel bug though, they planned to spend some weeks on the Gold Coast first before spending some more time exploring Coffs Harbour. 

When suddenly… everything changed.

It all started with their stay at a campsite coming to an end and being told they could not be permitted to extend their stay, the campsite was suddenly not taking on new bookings. Renee’s phone had fallen and smashed to the floor during their camp stay, so in order to find out where they could stay next, upon checking out of the campsite, they visited a local Information Centre. It was here that John & Renee heard of the harrowing news that many campsites and temporary accommodation sites across the country were closing their doors.

John & Renee had already checked out of their campsite, where would they go with their 3 young children now? They were told that they might be lucky and find someone who might listen to their story. But was this a high hope with a fat chance?

John & Renee still had another week’s trip before getting home to Victoria – would they find any people along the way that might gain compassion for them and allow them to stay? After all, there had been various government directives every couple of days – could they trust that they could have accommodation, between now and then? Should they consider heading back to Queensland, still just a few hours’ trip, and wait for things to calm down?

With a broken phone, they were unable to reach Benjamin in Queensland. In the meantime, they suffered a punctured tyre! They quickly changed it for the spare one but had to find a new spare before moving on from Coffs Harbour. Time was of the essence, as very soon, in an unprecedented turn, Queensland would be shutting its borders.

Finally Renee got through to Alicia in Queensland. Alicia had discovered that, whilst accommodation places were not yet directed to close by government, there certainly was a lot of confusion amongst accommodation business owners and many of them were shutting anyway. Exasperatedly, Renee said, “We’ve found a campsite that will take us in tonight – but we’ve been told to leave by 4am tomorrow morning because they don’t want to get into trouble by the authorities.”

Fear, fear and more fear! What a time to be travelling on Australian roads! At last, Alicia thought of Jason’s cousin who has large property in New South Wales and called out for help. Cindy* was able to come to the rescue and offer John & Renee to have their caravan on her property. 

Upon their arrival, John & Renee gasped at the beautiful sights before them – lush green hills, acres upon acres of glorious space for their children and somewhere safe and sound to be during this uncertain time.

Who would have ever known that their family road trip up to sunny Queensland for a family friend’s wedding in January would have ended in a completely different scenario just 2 months later! Unable to return to Victoria, where Covid-19 restrictions have remained to date, for now John & Renee are happy to be safe and sound, in more ways than one.

*Some names have been changed for privacy

.