Single mum Evie Farrell and her 10-year-old daughter Emmie have built themselves a life most of us can only dream of. Traveling fulltime, they share their adventures on the wildly popular blog and Instagram account Mumpack Travel.
“I’ve always thought that in 10 years, my daughter Emmie wouldn’t thank me for installing a brand new kitchen and bathroom in our home, but she would thank me for filling her early years with amazing experiences, learnings, and sights and sounds from around the world,” writes Farrell on her website.
“I’ve realized that working until I retire and then finally doing what makes me happy is not what I want my life to be about,” she reflected in another post. “I don’t want to work all through Emmie’s childhood. I want to enjoy our time together now and learn, explore and adventure together.”
But with Covid-19, the traveling duo needed to be extra creative. With restrictions on traveling taken into account, Farrell decided to settle down in Magnetic Island on the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia. A 20-minute ferry ride from Townsville, its community consists of just 2,000 locals.
According to Farrell, more than 75 percent of the island is a national park. “Its 23 white sand beaches and bays are pristine, harbouring fish and tiny creatures in the coral and clear water,” she observed in a piece published on Mamamia. “Palm trees are everywhere and hoop pines grow out of the cracks between huge white granite boulders.”
This makes for an ideal backdrop for an isolated vacation amidst the pandemic. “I still feel the need to travel, but I’m loving being here,” writes Farrell, adding: “I have met so many of these strong women here on the island. It’s a magical place, and it feels right. For now, the island is our home.”
Follow the mother and daughter duo’s island adventures on Instagram.