Following a year of travelling with their sons, Dexter and Jack, in tow, the family visited Ky for the weekend.
“We came down here and we loved it. We visited on the Saturday and had bought a house by the Wednesday,” Mr Elliott said. “It’s the best move we’ve made,” Mrs Elliott said.
Five years on and the Elliotts have left their jobs in concreting and childcare to take over management of the Kyabram Western Gums Tourist Park, a position recently vacated by local identity Mick Sweeney.
“We travelled about five years ago with the kids for about 12 months and (managing a park) was something we were hoping to do while we were travelling,” Mrs Elliott said.
The caravan park has been significantly rejuvenated under Mr Sweeney’s stewardship and the family were happy to be taking it on following the former manager’s efforts, they said.
“We’re lucky to walk into Mick’s shoes,” Mr Elliott said.
But it has been hard going since taking on the role in early June, with the park and its clientele affected by two COVID-19 lockdowns and mobile phone disruptions.
“We had 30 odd vans booked in (for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend), the caravan club was coming up from Melbourne,” Mrs Elliott said.
Helping those stranded by border closures and keeping an eye out for the small impromptu community has become part of the job.
The new managers are also using the quiet period to plan gardening and maintenance overhauls and to become familiar with the park.
Renting out the house they bought, the family has moved into the managers’ quarters, which comes with the added bonus of a pool and substantial playground facilities.
The Elliots said they would like to thank everyone in Kyabram for being so welcoming over the years, but particularly in recent months as they were recognised in the street from social media posts announcing their new positions.
24°C