The Why

So why does a mid-aged woman, with a job, family & friends in Perth, decide to take 10 months ‘leave without pay’, hook up the caravan and head east on a ‘working holiday’ without any guarantee of getting work? Good question. I wish I had a definitive answer. Instead, it’s all a bit nebulous. The closest I can come up with, is that I have a desire for an extraordinary (judged by me, not by others) life, rather than the mediocrity I have often settled for (the “hamster wheel”).

One of the people who inspired me in life, was Barry, who lived what I considered to be an extraordinary life, doing what he loved. He LIVED his dream, he didn’t just dream it. Most of us don’t live our dreams, me included. He changed my view of what’s possible for “ordinary” people, like me. I’m still growing my perception of what’s possible for me, but I can say, with certainty, that I won’t be skydiving unless the plane’s on fire (…which is also the only way I’ll end up swimming with crocodiles or sharks.) And Andy, who’s hilarious stories about life on the road, as a truckie, inspired me when I was a kid. Listening to his tales, I wanted to BE a truckie and I had done some research and had picked out either a Kenworth or Mac, as my future rigs. (I think I hear a collective sigh of relief, from those who know me, that I didn’t go down that career path.)

So, inspired by Barry’s example and encouraged by my son, Cody (who wholeheartedly believes in my ability to do anything I set my mind to) I did the “big lap” around in Australia in 2016, surviving 6 months solo travel without being eaten by a crocodile, bitten by a venomous snake, not having to change a 4WD tyre, not hitting a single cow/kangaroo/emu/camel/wombat on the highways, or dying of thirst in the outback. Yay for me. I learned to reverse a caravan (ok, I’m still not great at it), cook a roast on my WeberQ (next time I will remember to remove the plastic moisture-absorbing pad under the meat), navigated sandy 4WD tracks, got lost numerous times (friggin GPS unit) and survived the occasional loneliness that accompanies solo travel.

Buoyed by these successes, and with a mile-long list of other places that I want to see, I came home to Perth with very itchy feet, that have never really stopped itching. So I got busy with distractions…kind of accepted that the itchy feet would just have to itch. Gave up on living my dream, in other words (Ouch, that’s harsh!)

In 2019, I inexplicably started feeling an overwhelming yearning to ‘just head East’. I kept ignoring it, because I’m a sensible person and it seemed impossible, as I didn’t have any paid leave to use, not rich, blah, blah. The reasons not to do something are always endless. But the yearning was also relentless, so I made the decision to go, no matter what.

The other decision that I made, was to listen to (oh, and this time, act on!) the intuition that has always been a part of who I am, throughout the planning and the trip itself. ‘Intuition’ and ‘Sensible’ sometimes don’t play well together but, to be honest, the trust has been easier than I expected.

My original plan was to leave Perth in March – mainly because the worst of the summer heat is over by then & my caravan doesn’t have aircon. (I should mention that my “caravan” is actually a camper trailer, but I like the word caravan, I don’t like the term camper trailer, so “caravan” it is. It’s wrong, yes. No, I don’t care.) I applied for unpaid leave, from my job, from the March 2020 to March 2021 and it was granted on the proviso that my leave be January – January. I was really thankful to be granted the leave, at all, so I started planning for a January 2020 departure…but I had this nagging, uncomfortable feeling, that just wouldn’t let up, and kept hearing this insistent “No, MARCH!” So, I made the decision to delay my departure till March, despite the financial pressure that it would create. Within days of making that decision, I got a call from someone who wanted me to do relief work for them, so I ended up with full time income, right up until my mid-March 2020 departure date. Perfect!

More importantly, it turned out, that if I had left in January, I would have been travelling in one of our hottest summers, over East during those horrific bushfires that happened through December – January. Living in a caravan, while dodging the bushfires, would have been a harrowing start to the trip. Instead I got to enjoy my airconditioned home until departure date.

Another thing to be thankful for. I have a tenant, who will move into the house the day before I leave. Perfect! I only listed the house this week, there was only one person view the house & they were a perfect fit. I hadn’t felt any rush to organise things earlier, so didn’t. Again, everything fell into place. (I wish dinner would “fall into place” without me organising it…I hate cooking & I somehow end up eating Mozzerella on Cornthins, far more often than you’d believe). Strangely enough, when the tenancy was confirmed, I felt quite tearful (at work, so didn’t). There are so many unknowns ahead (will I end up eating out of rubbish bins and, if so, how do I find the good ones?) whereas the hamster wheel is well-stocked with mozzarella and cornthins.

So my next task is to get my CV out there, so I can look for some work. This will be interesting, as I’ve heard so many people say “you’ll never get a job once you’re over 50″… It’s a fearful belief to hold.