'August 7th 2016'
Yesterday marked three months since leaving home. We set off on an adventure to see and experience this beautiful country of ours. Traveling and exploring by 4wd has opened our eyes to many things and made us realise whats important. This country is a truely amazing big and beautiful place. There has been something amazing around every corner!
But, amongst all the amazing things we've experienced has been the reality of camping life, which isn't always pretty and doesn't always get shared with others. So, today I'm going to share some of the good and not so good times over the past three months.
The things we've missed ...
Friends and family, a wardrobe, town water, flushing toilets, beaches nd rivers we can swim at the gym, privacy, a decent sized freezer, a couch and dog friendly places.
The things we expected to miss but haven't ...
T.V, living in a big house, routine.
Things we've learned to love ...
cold showers, aeroguard, canned food, bore water - with cordial if it's that bad.
The things we now can't live without ...
Aeroguard, thongs, a first aid kit, tools, baby wipes.
What we've loved ...
Going places we've never been, doing things we've never done, having freedom, warmer weather, meeting all kinds of people and making new friends.
What we've not loved ...
The cost of living while traveling through remote areas- no matter what anyone tells you, it's not cheap. Diesel $2.20/L in some areas! Cain toads, things breaking, maintenance on the car and the caravan, road trains, packing up and setting up camp - sometimes every day! The wind, the rain, thunder storms, mosquitos and flies.
Things gone wrong ...
The wrong electric break plug was installed on the car, electric breaks didn't work at first. Wrong size tow ball on the car - we couldn't hitch the van on! The jockey wheel broke at our first stop - in the dark and the pouring rain, while our car was taking up the entire road at the caravan park. The caravan roof collapsed. The caravan breaks had to be replaced. The canopy almost fell off the ute tub. Brutus got sick. I got sick. We got ran off the road by a road train while towing the van. We saw a cattle truck tipped over with dead cattle everywhere.
All things gone wrong and not loved are the things that have taught us to go with the flow and stay positive. We could have turned around and come back in the first week when most things went wrong. Instead, we decided to finish what we set out to do. We all have choices in life. We can chose the easy way out or we can put in the effort and come out on top of mountains with views of the most amazing places. it's been worth every hated moment!
