Since we got together a little over four years ago, we’ve taken every chance we can to enjoy the great Australian bush.
Every spare holiday and as many weekends as possible we’ve headed off walking. It means we’ve visited over 40 National Parks and countless State Forests, but even when on a two week break it always seems a bit rushed.
Itineraries usually look like this:
- drive 200 to 2,000 kilometres
- walk fast
- drive 200 to 2,000 kilometres home
This is great fun, but life disappears in a blur and it’s hard to fully appreciate experiences, remember details and we risk developing a list-ticking mentality. ‘Yes, we’ve done the Larapinta.’
As William Henry Davies put it:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Thanks to a range of coincidences and craft, some penny saving and the determination to see Australia properly rather than buying a house and chaining ourselves to a mortgage, we decided to make a clean break and head off for ‘some time.’ We fully intend to spend lots of time standing, staring, walking and driving.
Then we’ll stop for a while and write about our experiences here so that you can read about them.
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Sounds like a great adventure in the adopted land of my sister and the birthland of my niece.
stand and stare as much as you can… a thoroughly under-rated pastime.
great to see.
i love adventures