A Journey Across Continents
At a time when fuel costs are forcing many Australians to rethink even everyday travel plans, Tuvshinjargel Sharavnyam has his eyes fixed firmly on the open road. The 38-year-old, his wife, Amarzaya, and three children have travelled more than 70,000 kilometres since they packed up their quiet life in Mongolia more than eight years ago.
“I bought [a campervan] from Germany, then drove back to Mongolia to get my family, then started travelling to Moscow, Georgia, Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, all the way down to Sydney,” he said.
Those 70,000 kilometres have not come cheap, but Mr Sharavnyam said rising diesel prices would not stop them. “Our dream is more powerful,” he said.
Funding the Journey
Mr Sharavnyam said the family had “sold everything” to fund the journey. “Apartment, vehicles, garage … so we have nothing in Mongolia now, and we have invested all of our money to several bonds and companies,” he said. “I also worked in Australia [as a steel fixer] for 10 months … and I [made] some money as a business owner, I had a small hotel and restaurant.”
After shipping their van over to Australia from Asia, the family was confronted by record-high fuel prices — the most expensive they have seen. “When we first came to Australia it was expensive, but now it’s more than doubled,” Mr Sharavnyam said. “That’s the difficult part, we need to pay $250 per fill.”
Fuel Prices Around the World
Ironically, some of the cheapest fuel the Sharavnyams have found was in Iran — the country at the centre of the Middle East conflict that has sent global prices soaring. When the family was there in 2022, fuel costs were not a factor. “I can have 80 litres of diesel for $US1 in Iran,” Mr Sharavnyam said. “I travelled more than 4,000 kilometres through Iran and spent $US9.”
Mr Sharavnyam said Iran was “really different” to what he expected. “Because on social media I heard it’s a really bad country — terrorists, guns, bombs … but it was a really peaceful country,” he said. “It’s a really amazing country. Amazing food, people, nature.”
Impact on Australian Travel Plans
While the price of fuel is not stopping the Sharavnyams’ epic journey, it is a different story for many Australians. Data from the Tourism and Transport Forum last month shows that 41 per cent of Australians had either cancelled or scaled back travel plans in response to current events. NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said bookings were down in its holiday parks.
“Over the Easter break, we saw some easing of the bookings that we normally get. Since the war began there’s a bit more uncertainty around supply, particularly of diesel, and also prices being at record highs as they were, that obviously had … an impact,” he said.
Mr Khoury said continued global unrest may mean fewer young families take up the “van life” favoured by the Sharavnyams. “It’s a different cohort of people who are going to travel,” he said. “It’s more likely to be that older grey nomad group.”
Continuing the Journey
The family is venturing from Sydney to Darwin via Queensland, before heading back down to Melbourne. From there, they will ship their van across the ocean to Los Angeles. For Mr Sharavnyam, life on the road is all about making memories with his children.
“The goal is not every country, not every continent, but to be with the kids and give them a happy time,” he said. “Your kids will not live with you all the time, and when they’re [teenagers] … they go to their room with devices, close the door, never come back. But we don’t have any doors to close. So that’s really beautiful because we live in 2 metres. We live close.”
He is also documenting the family’s travels for his children to look back on. “We have made more than 200 videos, but not for social media … it’s for my future, for my kids,” he said. “One day they will watch without us.”
