These childhood sweethearts from Newcastle are literally living in a truck with their two young daughters after making the shock decision to sell their beautiful home and hit the road for an outback adventure.
And after parting with many of their cherished possessions, including the suit Karstan wore when they tied the knot on The Block 11 years ago, they are loving their new life in a home on wheels.
“It was the best feeling – it felt wonderful to take all our stuff, and there were lots of nice things in all those boxes, to Lifeline,” Maxine tells Woman’s Day.
The inspirational couple walked away with just $40,000 from one of the most controversial seasons of The Block with Darren and Deanne Jolly, Michael and Carlene Duffy, and Chris and Jenna Susetio.
Brothers Shannon and Simon Vos won, taking home $435,000. But Karstan, 37, and Maxine, 35, have no regrets and are now mortgage-free millionaires after flipping two houses in Newcastle.
THE GIFT OF TIME
They recently sold their “dream home”, a renovated beach house they called The Palms, in Merewether for a massive $550,000 profit after making an even bigger profit of $1.35 million on a house they renovated a few years earlier.
But rather than splashing out on designer handbags or expensive boy toys, the couple decided to literally give all their stuff away and buy a home on wheels to travel around Australia with their kids, five-year-old Zuri and 17-month-old Zena.
Karstan and Maxine both agree it was incredibly liberating.
“It was ridiculous,” she laughed, admitting shedding so many possessions, including her bridesmaids’ dresses, before they embarked on an endless journey around the country was wonderful.
“Time, for us, is way more important than money,” explains Karstan, who admits it would have been better financially to hold on to their home and possessions, but they chose “freedom” over security.
They fell in love with life on the road four years ago when they chucked in their jobs and took their then six-month-old daughter Zuri on an outback adventure in a battered kombi van, sharing their adventures on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
This time around they are doing it in a bit more style. Their new home on wheels is an Australian-made Oka truck, which took two years to be made in Perth, and cost them almost $300,000 – even before coalminer-turned-carpenter Karstan transformed the empty shell into a luxury motor home.
“There are timber finishes, marble benchtops and leather seats, so it’s a huge improvement on the kombi,” laughs Karstan.
“But we still love the kombi! It’s like a family member and travelling the outback in it showed that you didn’t need to have something like an Oka to get out there and do what we did. I want to rebuild it and cross the Simpson Desert in it.”
FREE RANGE LIFE
The couple have just spent a couple of weeks exploring K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) after already traversing the red dirt plains of outback NSW and Queensland, and they have no regrets about life on the road, even with two small children.
“What’s daunting for us is being in four walls, it’s like a cage and it’s just not for us,” Karstan says.
“Seeing Zuri grow up on the road and how much she thrived and adapted is what inspired us. We see the best version of her when she’s outside and free and she can be who she wants to be and experience all these amazing things and meet all these amazing people.
“And we want to make sure Zena gets the same opportunities as well. We don’t plan too far in advance but for the first few years we will homeschool. We’re also open to Zuri going to school for a term here and there.
“Our plans change all the time. We’re thinking about spending two years going around Australia in the Oka and then hopefully getting the Oka shipped over to the UK so we can drive Europe. I’d love to drive up and down Africa and through Asia back to Australia.
“We’ve learned that anything is possible. If there’s something you want, call it a dream or whatever it may be, and you don’t give it a go or plan for it to happen, it never will. Just go for it!”
