Yes, I admit, after 300 days we do miss a real home. We are dreaming about having our own fully equipped kitchen, our own shower, our own bed and wardrobe and not having to find a new place to stay every day.
We do not miss it enough to cut our trip short, no no, there are still things to explore. But we have a different attitude now than at the beginning of our trip. I think one year on the road was a good length for us. We are mentally prepared to get back in the summer and are very happy with that. We do not feel the urge to travel as we did in the beginning. Now it is more about just having time off, spending your time just as you feel like. If the trip had been shorter we might not have felt so content but rather stressed that it was all coming to an end too quickly.
Stress free environment at Wineglass Bay, Freycinet NP, Tasmania
I have a feeling we have slowed down during this year. Sometimes I think I will get a shock when I come back and see everybody leading their busy lives. How long will it take to get back into pace? Do I have to? Do I want to? I would definitely want to get a job and that means a certain level of stress no matter where you work. But I will do my best to keep the rest of my time stress free which I hope to have a better chance of doing after this trip.
We quite enjoy having lots of time to do “nothing” and try to use the time for something useful as well. Andy is learning a lot of stuff but is sometimes frustrated because he could do so much more with a good internet connection (the prices here are ridiculous) and his digital drawing board. Me, I am reading, writing and learning more about Photoshop to be able to do something with a few of our thousands of photos.
The cool cemetery in Lithgow, Australia, and the great clouds made a good base for some HDR testing.
We eventually passed the limit of how much hiking is fun to do in a short period of time. It is also getting colder here, especially at night, which adds to the reluctance to go on multi day hikes. During the whole trip we have been camping or staying in huts for 40 nights and most of them were during a couple of months in New Zealand. The total amount of hiking days we have not even tried to count. We are pretty sure we will not do any more over night hikes but just shorter day hikes. The tent and sleeping bags can now stay at the bottom of the backpack.
About a week ago we picked up a van, in Sydney, which is a bit larger than the one we had in New Zealand. Now we have enough space to cook inside the van, there is a fridge, microwave and toaster even. There is also a table and it is lovely to be able to sit properly in the van and not having to spend time in a communal kitchen or TV lounge. Especially since the campgrounds here in Australia does not seem to have as nice facilities as in New Zealand.
Our home for the next 2 months.
When writing the last testimony we had a master plan for what to do after the trip. We think this is still the same but other ideas have been discussed so we are not as sure anymore. I guess time will tell…
