travel review: thursday plantation aloe vera gel & tea tree antiseptic cream

I've come to realise that even though I started this blog with a wholefood focus in mind, travel has become part of it with my family and I traveling for third term each year.

We travel for my husband's work with Elders in remote Indigenous communities so we find ourselves in places that are hot and where mosquitoes and sandflies love to buzz around. The problem with mosquitoes is not only do their bites sting and itch but they can also pass on nasty things like Ross River virus, Dengue Fever and Barmah Forest virus. The other potential problem is that if bites are scratched until they bleed there is a risk of infection which my husband was hospitalised for once many years ago.

Our trip this year to North East Arnhem Land is no exception. Our youngest son Sol must have had 60 bites at least on his bare legs during our time out bush, despite our futile attempt with homemade repellent that just didn't seem to work.

The super strength repellent available to buy includes a chemical ingredient called DEET included in various concentrations depending on the brand. The use of DEET comes with many warnings due to its strength and potential side effects that range from skin irritation, headache, burning eyes to more serious and extreme effects including seizures and death.

Needless to say we steered clear of repellents containing DEET and instead made our own repellent of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, dettol antiseptic and baby oil.

As dusk fell we sprayed this mix on our skin and then put on our long cotton clothing. It helped but wasn't 100% effective, I don't know if there is anything that's 100% effective. The sandflies found my ankles and we weren't quick enough covering Sol up so we had to find relief from the bites which we did in the form of Thursday Plantation Antiseptic Cream. More about that soon.

The other peril of outback travel is the blazing hot sun. Again, despite our best focused efforts to stay protected from the sun's burning rays sometimes we've been caught out and had to soothe some sunburn.

So today I'm sharing with you my favorite remedies for sunburn and mosquito and sandfly bites. What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in our bodies.

Thursday Plantation

Thursday Plantation is an Australian based company that makes a range of products for hair and skin using natural ingredients including plant oils.

Their products are free from synthetic parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES) and no harsh detergents.

Thursday Plantation Aloe Vera Gel

When we're traveling my favorite soothing remedy for sunburn is Thursday Plantation Aloe Vera Gel.

When we are at home we break aloe vera leaves straight from the plant in our garden and crack them open to rub the gel onto skin that's been exposed to the sun.

It's a bit difficult to travel with an actual aloe vera plant so on the road I like the Thursday Plantation Gel because it is immediately cooling and soaks nicely into your skin without being too sticky and the tube is a handy size to store in small travel spaces like a tent or caravan or in my handbag. It lasts well too as a little bit goes a long way and it is readily available in chemists and supermarkets.

Depending on where you buy it it will cost around $8 or $9 for 100g tube.

Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Antiseptic Cream

A friend who lives in Arnhem Land put me on to this fantastic antiseptic cream to use as relief from insect bites.

I was so grateful to have this on our recent trip out bush. The cream is very light so you don't feel like your skin is being smothered and it immediately is cooling and anti-inflammatory.

The other benefit is that if like my youngest son, someone in your family scratches their bites until they bleed you can wash the bites with clean water and then dab this cream on to prevent infection.

I will be keeping this as a permanent addition to my travel kit and my first aid kit at home too.

I bought this product at the Chemist for around $8, again depending on where you buy the price varies from as low as $6.95 at this online chemist to $11.36 at this online retailer.

If you have some tips or remedies for insect repellent or relief from bites, stings or sunburn I'd love to hear.

Happy travels!

stills collection

1. The wide open road. South Australia desert.

2. Road train

3. Road school

4. Exploring Coober Pedy

5. Roadhouse cuppa

6. View from the top of the hill at Olive Pink Botanic Gardens Alice Springs

7. Barefoot and happy

where's my toothbrush?

We're home. Our road trip is complete. But of course the unpacking isn't!

Packing is always exciting, the anticipation of what lays ahead. Unpacking on the other hand is well, tedious. I've been pushing through it though and in the process sorting clothes and toys and sending bags of belongings to the op shop.

Pete and I have both returned home with a renewed sense of what matters and what doesn't, how we want to spend our time and what is important when it comes to raising our boys. We were both fairly clear on these things before we left, our time away has crystallised certain elements.

If anyone reading this has been considering taking a road trip I say go. So much of life can easily become predictable and mundane if we allow it to be, travel changes that. Travel is revealing, not only in what you see but in who you see in yourself and in those you travel with. Not all of it is beautiful, but it is rich and adds to the depths of who you are and who you want to be.

Having said that, for me traveling when our youngest was four and a half and our oldest seven and a half was perfect. I marvelled at families I saw travelling with toddlers and babes in arms. Maybe one baby but both a baby and a toddler! Not for me. The thought of breastfeeding, sleepless nights and then keeping an eye on toddlers so they don't get bitten by a snake or worse a crocodile is not my idea of fun. I'd love to hear differently though if you've done it and want to leave a comment.

In the 24 hours that we've been home when friends have asked, "How was your trip?" I haven't really known how to answer. You see, travel is different to a holiday. We weren't on a holiday.

Pete was working, making connections, joining dots, doing all that he could to ensure that his work with Indigenous Elders and at risk Indigenous youth brings positivity and longevity to young people in communities and values the wisdom and expertise of Elders.

River and Sol dropped easily into community life, playing handball with their new friends, catching fish and trying out a few swear words too!

I like to think that I too dropped easily into community life, making cups of tea, listening to stories, getting to know Elders and young people and of course cooking and sharing my love of wholefood as best I could with the limited good food available. In many ways I felt quite at home and in other ways I was confronted and overwhelmed.

It was the matter of factness that struck me when I was told stories of domestic violence, child safety concerns, drug and alcohol issues, chronic health problems, told in a way of acceptance that somehow normalised these situations. When of course there is nothing acceptable about any of them.

Pete has been working with Indigenous Elders for 20 years. This trip was my first time visiting a community. Not only did I gain tremendous insight and understanding into the reality of daily life in Hope Vale, the community we stayed in, I gained a greater insight into my husband. Despite the magnitude of the work he undertakes, working to convince policy makers that Elders led healing is the way forward, he rarely shows even a glimpse of it being too hard.

Now we are home and the work continues. It is big work, work that can sometimes overshadow much of our lives and I have to remind him to lighten up.

Blogging on the road has not been easy. So thank you for your patience and for returning here. In many ways Pete is anti-technology and while he supports the change I want to see in the way people eat, he doesn't even begin to understand why anyone would want to spend hours in front of a computer - promoting wholefood or otherwise! I felt for the most part of the trip it was best to surrender to real life and step away momentarily from my online life.

Finding time to blog on the road was one hurdle as was access to electricity and wifi in some areas.

But now I am home with only four sleeps until school goes back so there will be some clear time in my day (though I will miss River and Sol after 5 months spending everyday together), easy access to power and internet, and a heart full of stories to tell.

I look forward to sharing them with you as well as getting back to some usual posts such as recipes, weekend reading and wholefood step-by-step.

Oh, and the other thing I am really happy about is that my family can stop asking me "Where's my toothbrush?!"

If you have any questions about travelling with children please feel free to ask, or share your experiences in the comments.

stills collection: road trip

1. Driving up Elim beach at low tide to see the coloured sands

2. So many mangroves. Elim beach

3. Fisherman in the making

4. Sand dune fun

5.  River gave his AFL footy card collection to his friends in Hope Vale

6. Sunset Hope Vale

stills collection

1. Follow the sun we're heading north.

2. Sol's travel essentials.

3. You probably know about the big pineapple and the big banana, but did you know about the big giraffe? Me neither. Look out for this beauty poking it's head out of the trees in Bororen, south of Rockhampton.

4. Standard footwear.

5. It's all handstands...

6. and seashells. Except when its not. I'll be writing a post soon about the realities of life on the road as a family: everyone still gets tired, needs to be fed and dishes and clothes still need to be washed. Not that I'm complaining one bit, but I don't want to give you the wrong impression! (Sol is collecting shells inside a safety net where the tide is out, we are at Seaforth 40km out of Mackay, the net is to protect swimmers from Box Jellyfish).

7. Camp kitchen. Not many food photos on my camera this week. We did eat! More food photos next week.

8. Just another day in paradise. (Seaforth beach)

on the road again

Today we leave our home-away-from-home here in the Byron Shire and make our way north.

Having spent our winters here for the last eight years, the spectacular beauty of Byron Bay and surrounds, its beaches and hinterland, has become a familiar haven for us. In some ways I feel like as we travel beyond what we know, beyond our close friends, it sounds cliche to say but that is where our journey begins, beyond what we know.

Pete and I did a road trip to Cairns a couple years before River was born, but River and Sol haven't been past the Gold Coast. I'm looking forward to travelling to new places with them. And of course the sun and warmth will be a bonus, with the chill of Victoria's winter pushed to the back of mind. River and Sol are excited about sleeping in the tent, about campfires and fishing.

What they're not excited about is saying goodbye to Uncle Dave our friend who generously opens his home to us each year, and who this visit has sat through pages of doing Star Wars sticker books, taken the boys to movies, introduced them to Hello Dolly! and practiced doing circus tricks with them following our trip to Spaghetti Circus.

Remember that aunt or uncle who gave you their undivided attention when you were a child? Who let you choose the game/movie/book? Who was patient and funny? That is who Uncle Dave is for the boys and he will be missed by all of us but we'll be back in September.

Life on the road is a string of hellos and goodbyes, seeing old friends, making new ones and finding places to fall in love with.

I have to admit I was caught by surprise by a twang of homesickness yesterday. All of a sudden with three months of travel to go, the time away from home felt lengthy.

I've pushed through that feeling before when traveling and this time it is no different, except this time I am travelling with my little tribe and its true wherever they are tent, caravan, hotel is home.

So this post is just a little update that the regularity of my posts will vary from here on. I have plenty to post about but finding the time when there is no school day and when we are about to head into areas where wifi is not guaranteed will be a bit of a test.

If you are of the facebook or instagram world join me there @wholefoodmama. You can also sign up (top right) to have new posts delivered to your inbox if you like to do things that way. More soon!

What's happening with you? Are you travelling? Dreaming of travelling? I'd love to hear in the comments.

wholefood mama & family are hitting the road...

I've been meaning to post about this for a while but somehow life got full busy as it does and now Thursday, our departure date is almost here.

This trip has been brewing for a while. I think I've resisted writing about it here because it makes it real! I am excited about travelling up the east coast of Australia with my family but I'm also a bit dare I say, anxious. I'm a Virgo, we do anxious and calm well.

It will be a work trip. I will continue to write both here and the plan is to foray into some travel writing. And Pete who some of you know is a photographer and author will be working in remote Indigenous communities www.bepartofthehealing.org and also doing some photography workshops and book presentations along the way.

I will be homeschooling River and Sol. I'll just write that again so it sinks in, I will be homeschooling River and Sol. Yes ok, I'm a bit nervous about that. Feels like a big thing for them to be missing almost two terms of school and kinder. I trust I am completely capable of making sure that they read, write, count and be creative every day, but then my irrational brain chimes in and reminds me how happy they are at school and kinder, how they (& I) really like the rhythm of our days and that life on the road is going to be, a bit well, unpredictable.

Despite working as a freelancer for the last 13 years I actually really like routine or rhythm whatever you prefer to call it. I know I will find our new rhythm on the road, but I also know it will take some adjusting to.

Before I start sounding like a completely neurotic woman and you click over to another blog because you wish you were going on a road trip and you can't bear to read another word of my fretting, this post is also to let you know that the frequency of posting may change a bit too. I am hoping to regale you with wholefood travel tales but if I disappear for a few days its because there's no WiFi!

What I am looking forward to is time with friends in Bermagui, time with beautiful Jay and her family in Bellingen, time exploring Sydney with the boys while Pete works, and time in Byron our home away from home. After that, no dates and places are set yet. Oh catching up with the girls from Confetti Mag when we reach Townsville. My mind hasn't made it past Byron yet. Past my comfort zone. Perhaps I will get to meet a few more of you at farmer's markets and health food stores along the coast...

While we are away River will turn 8 and I will turn 40. And we will have our eyes peeled for our potential new home in the warmer northern climate...watch this space xxx

Have you ever been on an extended road trip with children? Tell me the highlights and lowlights. Or do you dream of doing it but haven't worked out how to make it happen. I'd love to hear.