Learnings

 

A few weeks to go…

It sure has been a ride. The rest of our trip is now mapped out, not much room for just going where the breeze takes us, as was the start of this adventure. At the outset, we hoped to give our kids the gift of our time, of being present, learning about Australia and Indigenous Culture, appreciating our beautiful country and all the things we have around us. We had big dreams for connecting more fully as a family, letting go of city stress and pressure and routine. Changing things up. Experiencing new things every day. Challenging ourselves. Being brave. Being in nature.

Have we achieved all this? Yes and no.

I have seen the kids’ independence soar to the point of being unsure how they will go being back at school. That life and type of learning feels too confined. Noah has taught himself how to tie knots- like proper knots that actually work, and to be more brave socially. He is snorkelling and riding waves in the ocean & finding his own creative fun wherever he finds himself. Huw has learnt to give things a go (like snorkelling, kayaking in open water) and building his confidence in speaking up to adults. He is surfing like a pro, climbing the tallest things he can find, hunting, carving sticks into weapons and fishing up a storm. Luca has found fishing, reading maps and getting himself independently around new towns (usually to the skate park). He has devoured an unfathomable amount of books, been determined with his scooting tricks and was elected prefect by his peers & teachers for 2021!

The learnings from this trip have been huge & will become more evident upon reflection. We have learnt that not having a plan was the greatest plan of all! This flexibility opened us up to so many enriching and diverse experiences. 

We have learnt about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Our patience has been tested, sometimes on a daily basis, with living in each other’s pockets 24/7 for 23 weeks straight.

We have learnt to live with less, to share & be aware of our privilege.

We have learnt that perhaps above all else the people we have met have made this trip. From short chats with locals, to camping next to wise & kind 'grey nomads', to meeting & travelling with beautiful couples and families-  these connections have added so much joy & enriched this experience beyond anything else. 

 I do feel like we have seen the most amazing things and shared this together with our kids. I do feel we have managed to ‘pause’ time for 5 mths- to slow down and connect more at this crucial time in our kids’ development. I do feel like it was brave, especially during covid, to pack up our everyday lives and give this a go. I will be forever grateful we made this decision.

I hope we have instilled in each of them a love of travel, adventure and courage to set off into the wilderness to see what happens. We hope they now appreciate the importance of taking care of their environment and protecting this one planet through their own change and action. We hope they now appreciate they have in each other a loving, true friend, and in their parents their biggest fan, who loves them wholly for exactly who they are.

We have shared once in a lifetime moments, and created memories to last a lifetime.