Even More Random Camping Reflections
This was the week we got waterwise… A near miss with the rain while camped at Rolling Stone made us realize we are very vulnerable to bad weather. So this week it was off to BCF to buy the biggest damn tarp money could buy! $280.00 later we have a tarp that covers the camper on all sides by at least 2m and should see us thru any bad weather. If it blows a gale then we could be in trouble as there is a lot of roof area there to catch – but you have to try something…
I am increasingly convinced that the life of a grey nomad is not for me. While I love the fun of travelling I simply can’t spend my days ‘lazing around’. It is pleasurable for a short period but ultimately unfulfilling. I don’t believe we were created for self indulgence and laziness but to actually make a contribution to the world however big or small that may be.
We have been camping in an unpowered site now for 6 nights and the battery is just starting to wear down. That’s encouraging. If only our water could last as long. We are usually out of drinking water in our tank within three days – and that’s with me trying to minimise it’s use by only drinking coffee and wine…
We are really looking forward to being around friends with whom we have some longevity of relationship. While we have met some beautiful people on the road we both miss a long chat with people who know us well and share some of our passions. So the next couple of months will be good as we stay with mates again
I have begun dreaming of how we will do the next big trip in 5 years time – this time longer and with a working side to it. I reckon if we got a big dual cab ute and set it up with coffee making equipment on the back (the real deal – not the ‘Breville’!) and hit the road, we could easily pay our way around. It would mean setting up a genuine business and spending some money on the gear, but I reckon it could work well. Five years allows for plenty of planning and research in the meantime.
that is the best excuse I have ever heard for drinking more wine and coffee…..got one for beer?
Good thoughts Andrew,
I remember the stages of travel, moving through unwinding, to relaxed, to renewed and energised and waiting to get back to the challenges of life again. Connecting back to creation and simplicity was a great and enduring gift of that time (now 4 years past).
But the yearning to sit and talk with someone with whom there is a deep history is another deficit. We are our stories. We are the people with whom we share. Continually going through introductions is in many ways dehumanising. The stories that we share with people connect us with them in deep ways.
Your trip has brought back many nourishing memories.
Gary
“only drinking coffee and wine…”
Oh, of the sacrifices a man makes for his wife and children… it’s all about the children… who’s thinking about the children!!
“I am – I’ll drink coffee & wine!!”
Yup – works for me!