Moment Aussie family watch their entire world go up into flames during once-in-a-life-time road trip

A young family has recalled the horrific moment they lost everything they owned when their car and caravan caught fire while traveling across Australia.

Nathan Goncalves and his wife Lauren spent months saving and planning the year-long adventure with their five-year-old son Ezra and eight-month-old daughter Ocea.

The NSW Central Coast family set out on the road trip of a lifetime in November and, with Ms Goncalves’ parents in tow, made it almost as far as Whyalla in South Australia.

There the road trip came to an abrupt end and turned into a nightmare.

The family had stopped at a campsite in nearby Fitzgerald Bay to cool off by swimming and looking for crabs in the crystal blue water.

Mrs Goncalves was in the caravan with baby Ocea when she saw smoke billowing from their Nissan Patrol.

The family could only watch as the 4WD, caravan and belongings went up in smoke

The couple sprang into action with the help of other campers, but were unable to extinguish the fire.

The flames spread quickly and completely destroyed their new caravan.

All of the family’s belongings, aside from the clothes they were carrying on their backs, were lost in the flames, including the children’s Christmas presents, their toys and Ezra’s beloved teddy bear that he has had since he was a baby.

Irreplaceable possessions such as sentimental jewelry, Mr. Goncalves’ wedding ring and family photos were also destroyed.

“We got to a point where we had exhausted everything to the point where I was just throwing sand… I had to tell myself there was nothing more we could do,” Mr. Goncalves said. 7news.com.au.

His wife added: ‘The hardest part for me was when I saw the roof of the van collapse, and I knew that was it and that our lives were about to change forever.’

Nearly three weeks later, their son is still traumatized by the harrowing scenes he witnessed that day.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Mr Goncalves suspected the fire was caused by an electrical fault in their 4WD.

He is now urging everyone to always have a fire blanket and fire extinguisher to hand, which could have reduced the extent of damage if they had one.

The car and the hope of continuing their adventure are now in ruins. In the photo: the burned-out Nissan Patrol

Nathan Goncalves and his wife Lauren had been planning for months for the year-long adventure

Mr Goncalves also implored other road trippers to regularly check batteries and electrical equipment.

Good Samaritans at the campsite offered the family clothing and money to rebuild their lives in the first days.

The Goncalves have since returned to NSW.

The insurance covers most of the costs of the caravan and car.

However, the couple only had $1000 in content coverage. which will only cover a fraction of the crib of their lost assets.

“It’s one of those things you never think will happen,” Mr. Gonzales said.

Friends have gathered around young families and a online fundraiserwhich has already exceeded its original goal and raised almost $5,000.

The family had stopped in Fitzgerald Bay (pictured), just north of Whyalla, South Australia, when their road trip turned into a nightmare

“This beautiful little family lost everything in a tragic fire while traveling through Australia,” the page reads.

‘It was their dream to travel for a year and they worked hard to make it come true.

‘This is a very challenging chapter for them and I hope we can help by taking away the burden of replacing essential items and helping them regain the resilience and optimism needed to overcome the obstacles ahead to overcome, as there was no home contents insurance to replace what they needed. lost.

“I hope we can make them smile again and illustrate the power of kindness to the community.”