Heartbreaking blow for young influencer and her partner four days into dream road trip across Australia

A young couple have lost everything just days into their six month lap of Australia after their mobile home burst into flames. 

Content creator Isabelle Scherrer and her partner Dave Angus packed all their belongings into a caravan and left Adelaide on Monday. 

By Thursday, the couple had made it to the Eyre Peninsula 650km away, where disaster struck.

Ms Scherrer, 28, had gotten out of the van to help direct her partner to reverse when she suddenly noticed smoke and heard the fire alarm.

‘I saw thick smoke pouring out of the vent above the caravan front door,’ she wrote online.

‘We quickly got our three pups to safety, unhooked our car, and my partner tried to fight the fire with a fire extinguisher — but it was too late. 

‘The smoke was overwhelming and it was too dangerous to be inside the van with no visibility … due to the extent of the fire.’ 

The quick-thinking couple pulled their portable gas bottles from the caravan and called triple-0, but their mobile home was incinerated within minutes.

‘All we could do was watch as everything we owned burned to the ground,’ Ms Scherrer said. 

The pair were thankful to escape the blaze unscathed. Their dogs Lucy, Buddy, and Axel were also unharmed.

The trip had been ‘months’ in the making with the couple planning to continue their work online while travelling across the country. 

They estimate $25,000 worth of possessions perished in the blaze, including cameras, drones, clothes, jewellery, passports, and sentimental items.

The pair had also been towing an inflatable boat, outboard motor, and thousands of dollars in fishing, snorkelling and surfing gear, which are also now gone.

Their insurance policy only covered their contents to $1,000. 

‘We spent hours searching through the debris but the only distinguishable personal effects were a burnt passport and a Valentine’s Day photo album,’ Ms Scherrer said.

The trip was meant to be a fresh start after Mr Angus’ building company collapsed last year.

‘This trip was meant to be a fresh start for us. We recently lost our company due to non-payment by a developer,’ Ms Scherrer said.

‘Even after winning a lengthy legal battle, we received nothing because the developer had no assets to liquidate.

‘We chose to turn that hardship into something positive by embarking on a trip in our caravan, only for this to happen.’

The pair are now awaiting advice from their insurance company.

Ms Scherrer has launched a GoFundMe page as the couple scrambled to make alternative arrangements.

‘We are hoping to raise funds to help replace some of what was lost. Today, we went to Kmart to purchase some clothes and toiletries as we were literally left with what was on our backs,’ she wrote.

‘We have booked an Airbnb for a few days to figure out our next steps and while we await advice from the insurance company.

‘We’re staying strong and grateful that we and our pups are safe. Thank you so much for any help you can offer.’