Who are we?
Hey we are Nikki, Ian, Laanii and Raif aka The Phenix’s and we started our part time ‘life in a can’ years ago when we bought our first little caravan called Myrtle. We immediately fell in love with her and with #caravan life and were hooked.
Both Ian and I have done a lot of traveling (pre kids) and once we had had a taster of #caravan life we talked constantly about how cool it would be to go on a big adventure towing a caravan as a family.
Because the truth is our life was ‘nice’ but it was not extraordinary and we felt like we were stuck on a hamster wheel of ‘rinse and repeat’. We felt cages and we both craved an adventure!
But when we talked about it, it just seemed like a dream. I mean, could we really make it a reality?
Well if I am honest I (it’s me Nikki!) was the one who planted the seed with Ian about stepping away from our every day life to go on a big travel adventure. He immediately dismissed the whole idea and thought it was completely crazy! Then one day an incident at Ian’s place of work gave him a massive wake up call, and he arrived home and said ‘when do we leave?’
And so set in motion a 2 year plan to hit the road as a family on a great caravan adventure!
Well if I am honest I (it’s me Nikki!) was the one who planted the seed with Ian about stepping away from our every day life to go on a big travel adventure. He immediately dismissed the whole idea and thought it was completely crazy! Then one day an incident at Ian’s place of work gave him a massive wake up call, and he arrived home and said ‘when do we leave?’And so set in motion a 2 year plan to hit the road as a family on a great caravan adventure!
Because all of our work was hands on and our whole life revolved around being in the area we lived on the Isle of Wight, UK.
We needed to take our work online and how on earth did we ever start to do that?
On the caravan front, Myrtle was not at all fit enough for our adventures, and was now in graceful retirement as a tea room at our stables. By this point we had upgraded to Lionel but we just didn’t feel his layout was the one we wanted for our travels and so in Feb 2021 Suzy came into our world and everything began to fall into place.
Those 2 years were a massive learning journey of change and a shit ton of mistakes, but we persevered, always with the end goal in our minds.
Finally on the 10th Sept 2021 we left the UK and headed off into Europe on our great adventure with Suzy being towed by our beloved Vito Vinny who may be old and a bit ropey but we absolutely adore him and to date he has navigated us around 23 different countries.
He is also part converted as a campervan so for short trips we often park Suzy up and go off exploring in Vinny! So yes in truth we travel with a caravan AND a campervan!
On our adventures people have often said how lucky we are to live the life we lead. I would say that in comparison to those who live in the developing world, countries at war and those where people are oppressed, yes indeed we are very fortunate to have the opportunities we do at our disposal and we do not for one minute take it for granted.
But for those who live in first world countries who tell us we are lucky, I make it very clear that it is not luck that has created the life we lead, it has been shear hard work, grit, determination and a whole lot of sacrifice.
In the 2 years from saying ‘let’s do this’ to leaving the UK, life threw us so many shit storms it was as though the universe was actively trying to stop us from leaving. Every time we picked ourselves back up and kept our focus on the end goal.
As we have travelled life has thrown an equal share of curveballs. There have been tears and stress, and times when we have had to face the possibility that our travels needed to end, but every time we have taken a deep breath and said no, we can find a solution to this problem.
Because the truth is, we don’t want it to end.
Our great travel adventure has been the most amazing experience and going back to our ‘old life’ just doesn’t appeal to us. We have all changed as people, both Ian and I and the kids.
We love the adventure, we love the freedom and we love meeting new people and learning new cultures.
Our kids confidence has gone through the roof and we love nothing more than sitting on a campsite with a glass of wine, with a camp fire and marshmallows to toast, fire flies dancing all around us and the sound of the Bulgarian jackals howling in the distance, playing cards!
It’s the most perfect way to just ‘be’ as a family and for us it gets to be our almost every day life.
Yes we have dipped into Airbnb’s at times when we have had to but without a doubt our happiest times are travelling as a family with Vinny and Suzy and hanging out on campsites.
So much so that our next dream is to have our own campsite!
Anyway, welcome to Life In A Can! We’ll share our adventures and also the learnings, tips and tricks along the way along with some of the shittier times too!
There will be no sugar coating it here, but I hope that it will inspire you to see #reallife and to also see that if we can do it, so can you!
So I'm Nikki, and I am chief co-ordinator and yes the family would call me The Boss!
I was a chiropractor (human and veterinary) before we set off on our travels and I am now a business mentor and founder of Global Trailblazing | The Online Youth Club
When I am not hanging out of a campsite with a glass of wine or out exploring with the family, you'll find me recording episodes of my podcast Wet Wipes and Wine, exploring business ideas or out in Uganda working with my organisation The Africa Childrens Development Trust
I love to get out walking and I love to travel! I am a bit of a thrill seeker and love adventure and anything that's a bit scary!
Hi I'm Ian, and yes whilst I am Dad, I am (by my own admission!) a man child!
But in amongst this I am a pretty good guy! I must be, as I have the most amazing family around me so I can't be that bad right?
I love being on my tools and am a carpenter by trade and before we left to travel I ran my own business in decking, fencing and other wood buildings and creations!
I am also qualified to teach so many sports and fitness modalities because I have loved sports and fitness all my life
So whilst Nikki is the brains I am the braun and it makes for a pretty good combo!
I am an online distance running coach and I am also one of the club leaders in Global Trailblazing and I love running and Ironman stuff! When I am not working you'll find me with a beer, listening to Depeche Mode searching for my next race!
Hey so I'm Laanii and I am currently 11 years old! Whilst we have been travelling, I have been attending online school and love it! I am also the Buddy Trailblazer at Global Trailblazing and I welcome all our new members as I know it can be a bit scary when you are new! My favourite country we have visited so far is Turkey! I love gymnastics and horses and I am just finally being able to do the splits for the first time! It has take sooooooo much practice! I love swimming and being under water and i think it's because I was born in water! Just in case you are not sure, my name is pronounces Lah-Nee! I also love chocolate and peach iced tea although I am not allowed it as much as I would like!
Rooooooooaaaarrrr! Yep I'm Raif, the tornado of the family and I am 6 years old! I have the biggest heart and I love hugs, I also never stop talking and my favourite phrase is 'just one thing' even though it is NEVER just one thing! I literally love to talk about poo all day, and bums and bogeys and annoying my sister in any way I can oh and I love dinosaurs and watching Bluey! I also love Minecraft and maths! I love numbers and I am always finding new ways to create a maths sum out of wherever I am! I'm just learning to swim, but I love being on my bike and my scooter! I make everyone laugh and the ladies love my 'cute face' it works every time!
