Wandering Ozzie

One could say I was destined for a life on the road. I was born in Mt Isa but my early years were spent in an old F100 and a tiny busted up caravan lovingly nicknamed “Dolly”. My Mum and Dad were both country music fans and Dolly Parton was up there with the greats. Still is.

I believe those early years shaped my entire being and gave me a lust and desire for continual travel. My parents gifted me Wanderlust. So thanks Mum and Dad for packing up your comfortable life in the Isa and hitting the long dusty roads with 2 kids under 3 for a two and a half year adventure around Oz. You legends!!!

My first ever memory is of an open field in South Australia, the year was 1977 and bunnies were in plague proportions, Myxomatosis had obviously not reached there yet. As we screeched to a halt, dust swirling around us, it was as if the ground was moving, a symphony of bunnies all dancing to a chaotic tune only they could hear. My eyes were as wide as saucers, I was completely mesmerized by this display. Mum helped me out of the old Ford but by the time my little feet hit the hot ground it was eerily still once more, except for our cattle dog Jackson who had flown out the back before we had even stopped and was half way down the field bouncing like Tigger on acid after those little cotton tails before disappearing himself, head first down a bunny hole.

As far as first memories go, it was a truly crazy and magical one.

My parents blessed upon me a wonderful, transient start to life and I wish to do the same for my free spirited son Madigan. I want his first memories to be that of an endless road, endless possibilities and wide open dreams. I want him to understand change and embrace it. To be excited in saying hello and happy in waving goodbye. I want him to understand it’s not what you have but what you do in this world that counts. I want him to know that no dream is ever too big, no matter how small you may be. I want him to wander and be happy about wandering freely, never feeling lost…..just like me.

So with my Land Rover Defender as our trusty steed and a small caravan to home our weary heads, it’s time to embark on the bucket list dream I’ve had since my high school years and travel this vast country of ours, just as my parents did with me over forty years ago.

So without further ado I say goodbye to the comforts and certainty of everyday living and open my heart to the wind, letting her whisper her guidance, arousing my unsettled soul. With only the open road dictating our next destination I unleash the gypsy within to live out my life’s motto, because…

………“Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost”