Adventure really is in our backyard.
Michael and I met online
on the evening of 19 May 2009 (girls tend to remember exact dates, times and
places!). We had our first face to face meeting/date a few days later, at the
Whiteman Park animal exercise area, to see if our dogs got on with each other.
If they hadn’t, we would have been resigned to another bout of online roulette.
Fortunately, the dogs were happy together from day 1, I was smitten and Michael
didn’t immediately flee, so it was a good start! The rest, as they say, is
history.
Fast forward five
months. Michael was taking me on a trip
to his beloved Goldfields. I was excited
and a bit apprehensive by the prospect. I had been camping, (in a past life
with my ex husband and children) but that had been in tents and then a
campervan generally in caravan parks. I had never really roughed it or
been off road for a week or slept for more than two nights in a swag. I am also extremely uncoordinated and accident prone!
Michael had been away with his son and other assorted blokes over the last nine
years, but never with a WOMAN. I thought he was taking a bit of a risk. He
thought it was make or break time to see if I could hack camping with him in
the outback.
One of the reasons for
this travel journal was to illustrate that ANYONE can enjoy this kind of
adventure. This first wonderful trip was all about opening my mind to less
being more – if we didn't have it with us, we did without (except for
travelling mugs!). Keeping a record also
allowed me to remember the trip in far more detail than I might have otherwise.
As well, I felt that creating shared memories was important for the growth of
our relationship. Lastly, I’m a frustrated writer and loved having the time to
give full vent to my personal view of this trip.
Planning and preparation
were a must. Having enough drinking water was essential – we took ninety litres for a week – as was food (plenty of non perishable stuff)
and a decent first aid kit. I cooked some meals in advance and froze them.
Michael’s esky was a
well insulated one, so most cold stuff stayed …cold. Michael knew that block
ice was best, so we DIYed our own ice for some weeks before we left to make sure
we had enough.
Google Earth was a
terrific resource for plotting distances and checking places out prior to the
big event. Michael also had collected
some seriously detailed maps of the Goldfields (from Landgate), which we
carried with us.
I had the time of my life. Thank you Michael,
from the bottom of my heart!
Inside a shaft at Mount Palmer, October 2009.
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