“It was an exotic and surprising family roadtrip,” says musician Viviane Audet about the 40-day trip she has just made to Australia with her partner, actor Robin-Joël Cool, and their two children aged 9 and 4 years old, Abraham and Milan.
Last year, Robin-Joël Cool, who recently won a Gémeaux award for his role in the series dog timepitched his wife the idea of going on a month and a half trip to Australia with their two boys.
For Viviane Audet, this destination had never been on her radar. “In my head, it was a bit like Canada,” says the musician. I didn’t really have the ambition to go there. […] For me, we could have taken a trip to Vancouver and New York and I would have been just as happy.”
But because her partner wanted it, Viviane allowed herself to be convinced. And she didn’t regret it. “As soon as we got off the plane – after 27 hours of flight! –, in Brisbane, the sound environment grabbed me. We are like on another planet, there is something prehistoric, I find, with Australia, in the fauna, in the flora, in what we hear, in what we see.
Viviane Audet and her family went to see kangaroos at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Viviane and her two boys photographed at Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell National Park.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Carleton tunes
The little family rented a car in Brisbane which took them across the country. “Robin had to learn to drive again because there, they drive on the left,” says Viviane. Every morning when we got into the car, I reminded Robin that we were in Australia and that we drove on the left! [rires]»
In total, they covered around 4000 kilometers across the imposing country. “We had bought tickets in advance for certain activities and we had booked a lot of Airbnbs, hotels and glamping,” says Viviane. But we found ourselves a little rigid in our business. There are certain places that we discovered where we would have stayed longer.”
An example? The small town of Torquay, on the Great Ocean Road, which the family visited after Melbourne. “I felt like I was in Carleton-sur-Mer! says the original Gaspésie. I felt like I was at home, with the small community. Robin and I even wondered how we would live here. I think my retirement plan might be in Torquay!”
The musician and her boyfriend bought a guitar during their trip, because they couldn’t see themselves not playing it for a month and a half. Seen here in Apollo Bay on New Year’s Day.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Favorites and disappointments
Among the other many notable moments of this “incredible trip”, Viviane Audet names Bluey’s World in Brisbane (“it was incredible, a total immersion in that world”), Byron Bay (“the city of surfers, a bit hippie , with dog beaches”), the country town Tamworth (“there is a huge gold guitar”), the city of Sydney (“in terms of history, beauty and cultural richness”), the capital Canberra (“a magnificent, clean and designer city, it’s really surprising”), the Twelve Apostles of Port Campbell National Park (“they’re like 12 Percé Rocks, it’s really magnificent”) and the penguins of Phillip Island (“every day, 1000 little penguins come out of the water to take refuge in small shelters”).
The little family at Bluey’s World, in Brisbane.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Viviane and Robin-Joël in front of the “Golden Guitar” in Tamworth.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Robin-Joël and his two guys at the SEA LIFE aquarium in Sydney.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
The mother and her boys in front of the famous Sydney Opera House.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Some planets reproduced with LEGO, in Canberra.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
Among the aspects that were less exciting to her about this journey, the musician mentions the city of Melbourne. “It’s as if we loved her more than she loved us,” says Viviane. We were there at Christmas and we were looking for decorations. We couldn’t find anything, everything was closed. We ended up making a tree with a laundry rack!”
Robin-Joël and his boys in front of graffiti in Melbourne.
Photo provided by Viviane Audet
During their travels, they also saw many dead kangaroos on the side of the road. “We counted 107! As well as two koalas, four wombats and hedgehogs, lists the musician. It’s hell. Dead kangaroos, especially between Melbourne and Sydney, there were one every five minutes. We told the children not to look outside.”
Expensive travel
Before leaving for Australia, Viviane says that the majority of people she spoke to about her trip warned her against the snakes and spiders she would see there. “Ultimately, it’s such a myth,” she said. I saw a snake from afar, in my tank. And there are many more spiders in Montérégie!”
Going to the other side of the globe with four people is not easy on the wallet. Without going into details, Viviane Audet recognizes that this trip cost much more than the couple had expected. “Just the plane tickets are $3,000 each,” she said. And the car cost us $5,000…”
She consoles herself by telling herself that it was a “trip of a lifetime” which included both the honeymoon that she and Robin never took in 2012, as well as the one to celebrate their 40 years and the children’s first major trip. “It’s like we put everything into this trip,” she says.
While she thinks that her eldest will remain marked by Australia (“I think there will be a before and then an after”), Viviane is less convinced of this for her 4-year-old boy. “When asked what he liked most about the trip, Milan said: the button to lower the curtain in the hotel room in Canberra! [rires]».
