Gladstone Observer Article                  20 June 2015

Thanks to The Gladstone Observer who published a double page feature about The Blondies trip to Heron Island. 

The Blonde Nomads are a well known family of three who travel and explore holiday locations across Australia. Rob, Tracy and their 2 year old daughter Marli, recently visited Heron Island, where they spent their days snorkelling in the harbour, enjoying reef walks and admiring the local bird life.

With over 8000 Instagram followers and 2000 likes on Facebook, their family adventures are followed by many. They have been known as The Blonde Nomads since 2007.  “Rob and I enjoyed a 6 month road trip around Australia in our campervan and our family dubbed us ‘The Blonde Nomads’ and the name stuck,” says Tracy.

The Sydney based couple have often traveled on various trips locally and abroad and starting a family didn’t stop their adventures as they now take their daughter along everywhere they go. “Marli loves the outdoors and fresh air, she is very adventurous” adds Tracy.   

Below they share with us what they loved most about their holiday to Heron Island.

“We travelled to Heron Island recently and it was paradise! It has everything there that we love and were really impressed. You can step out of your villa on to the sand, dive in the water and enter an amazing underwater playground of coral and sea life. We loved snorkelling around the wreck and in the harbour too. 

On our travels we have visited many costal beaches and islands in Autstralia but they are not on the Great Barrier Reef so you really cannot compare them in terms of what you see when you dive underwater at Heron. With an abundance of tropical fish and coral it really is a treat for the eyes and to see the Sea Turtles and Stingrays up close is so amazing“.

One highlight was when Tracy went snorkelling off the beach just outside their villa and saw over 20 Stingrays beneath her sitting on the sand in about 1 metre deep of water!  Tracy says “It was such a memorable experience and it definitely got the heart pumping!” Rob, an avid free diver, also had an unforgettable snorkel at sunrise with the reef sharks and a huge loggerhead turtle that the Island locals have named Ben. The reef walk at low tide is also great for kids and we found beautiful sea stars, sea cucumbers and even a few juvenile leopard reef sharks swimming at our feet too! That was pretty cool - Marli loved it.

Together we have a passion for travel, but we wanted to start a family too, so bringing Marli along gives her the opportunity to explore our amazing country, learn hands on and gain a love of nature like we do.  With another baby due to join ‘The Blondies’ in July we want to raise our family to embrace the simple things in life. Teaching our little ones to only take what you need and to respect mother nature’s gifts. 

One of our messages is life’s too short, do it now! Go and have an adventure, pack up and take the kids with you and don’t wait until retirement”. We are always planning our next adventure and can’t wait to venture back to Heron for the next Turtle hatching season! 

You can follow The Blonde Nomads adventures on Facebook (www.facebook.com/theblondenomads) or Instagram (@theblondenomads) or view their website www.theblondenomads.com.au. Their images (which are also available to purchase) are an inspiration for us all to go out and explore our amazing country! 

© The Blonde Nomads 2015