Week 22: July 10th – 16th, 2023 // A Reminder to Why I Started
I could not be happier with how this week has gone! There’s been a lot of really good moments that have been reminding me why I started this chapter of my life the way that I did, and the things that have made me feel excited about life and most connected with myself. This week I allowed myself to really dive back into that, and it’s got me really excited to take the weeks one day at a time again.
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Monday was a super chill work day! I got scheduled to pick up a couple from Uluru and drive them to the Alice Springs airport Tuesday morning, which meant I got to drive the nice car out to Uluru on my own today! It’s a decent 5-hour drive, so I spent it blasting music and listening to podcasts, which made me miss being on the road so much more. I’ve been really enjoying getting scheduled for transfers because it’s meant I get a good chunk of time on my own while driving around the Outback – so it gives me a bit of the road life again. My timeline is still very much up in the air in terms of when I plan to leave Alice Springs, but with Sea Shepherd dates locked in and the Larapinta Trail coming up soon, I think it’s going to come a lot faster than I realize.
By the time I got to Uluru I was SO tired and was there too late to do any walks – so I spent a couple hours just hanging out, before joining the others for the sunset BBQ that work puts on at the rock (Uluru). Was SO nice to spend some time with Pablo again! He made an amazing dinner for the house + myself, so after the BBQ, we got the moussaka in the oven and spent the evening catching up.
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Had SUCH a good day. I was a little worried about being stuck in a car with 2 strangers for 5 hours and us potentially not being on the same wavelength, but they were SO lovely and well-travelled and had such great travel + work tips. We talked the whole drive with no awkward silences AND I got an $80 tip… not a bad work day at all lol. Didn’t get back till later so I spent the evening watching Sorrelle’s new Free Human episode (highly recommend this beautiful and inspiring YouTube series interviewing people living an unconventional life), cooking dinner, and getting last week’s blog post written + posted.
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Wednesday was an early 4am start for me… I followed up with the Outback Ballooning company I met with last week to get a peek at what the job entails (basically just shadowed a shift). It honestly seems like a pretty ideal and cruisy job, but with my availability + leaving soon, it probably won’t be ideal for the amount of training that would be needed.
The rest of the afternoon was a very healing one. I spent a good chunk of time reading and taking a solid (and much needed) nap, and then got my butt in the sun for some yoga and journaling in the park across from the hostel. I realized it had been such a long time since I’ve done any of these things and how desperately it was needed. I also managed to find some clarity on a lot of the “stuck” feelings I’ve been experiencing the past few weeks – which if you’ve been following along the past few posts, you’ll know how much this has been affecting me and my time here in Alice Springs. I’m actually going to share one of the entries I wrote when finding this clarity. I think the overall theme that sticks out most for me is: stop trying to rush life. Yes, it moves fast, but I need to stop trying to make it move faster (whether that’s intentional or not).
I was feeling pretty inspired from this time on my own and ended up finally finishing a blog post Comfort in Solitude that I started over a month ago. Only meant to work on it, but when I realized it was the 4th anniversary of my first ever solo trip to Sombrio – the trip that started it all – I HAD to get it posted that evening. It was also this evening that I knew I had to get out to do some things that make me feel alive, and soon.
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Thursday I was feeling pretty sleepy. I managed to get in a good gym sesh before work and thankfully work was a small group + easy drive around Alice Springs for the historical tour. I take them to three different museums around town (that are actually really impressive and highly recommend to anyone travelling through Alice Springs – I’m working on a future ‘Things to do in Alice Springs’, so stay tuned).
God bless Pablo for giving me leftovers that I completely forgot about before lol because I was NOT in the mood to cook tonight haha. Spent the evening reading (finished another book!) + scrolling on my phone.
Curious to know if people would be interested in a regularly updated list of books I’ve read since coming to Australia? Lemme know in the comments! I think I’ve read more these past 5 months, than I ever did when I was a kid (and if you knew me then, you’d know I ALWAYS had a book with me). I think I’m up to 16 finished books now?
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Friday started with no plans and turned into such a great day. I got a bunch of Duolingo lessons done first and continued to spend too much time on my phone. I knew I really didn’t want to feel like I was wasting another day, so I decided to take myself out to Ellery Creek (1.5hr drive west of Alice Springs) for a dip in the waterhole and some reading in the sun! Made a stop for some good snacks, and had such a beautiful day. I was there for at least 5 hours, and it felt so good to be without service, read at least 85% of my time there, and to just get out of the hostel. I think a large factor to me feeling stuck has been due to me not getting out and exploring for myself. Sure, work takes me to great places, and I’ve spent lots of time with friends around town outside of the hostel – but I haven’t done anything that’s reminded me why I made the life change that I did. I came to Australia and decided to move into a van because I wanted the excitement of change and discovering new places, to travel slow and explore at my own pace, to spend time with myself and on old hobbies in cool places, and to get outside more. Which I really feel like I’ve been lacking that connection the past couple months. The people have been amazing, but I’ve been slacking on the connection with myself.
Once I got back, Emma brought over some bbq leftovers and shared with myself + Felipe + Gian and some other hostel floaters (well… I had my own dinner because it wasn’t vegan, but I joined for the company). Had another really good gym sesh then went straight to bed.
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This weekend turned into such a beautiful time! I had a short shift today (Saturday) and Sun+Mon off, so after I dropped the guy off for the Larapinta Trail out at Redbank Gorge (2hour drive from Alice) and got some kitchen work done, I ran to the grocery stores and hit the road back out to Ellery Creek; kinda funny because it’s the exact same drive I JUST did that morning for work… just 30min closer lol – I’m going to know this road better than the back of my hand by the time I leave Alice. It was a HOT drive, so as soon as I got to Ellery, I went for a quick dip in the water (it’s freezing… like almost glacier water cold somehow… so a “dip” is a pretty accurate visual of my time in the water). The rest of the afternoon/evening I spent cozied up in the van reading + finishing ANOTHER book.
I also got my first ever photos of the milky way and to say I was stoked would be the biggest understatement. The excitement I felt and the smile + disbelief I had when I saw the first photo pop up on my camera screen after trying out some starry photos at the creek, were unmatched. Now, the quality is sadly not great once on a larger screen because my camera is 13+ years old so it’s quality with a high ISO is not great… and I can’t tell if it might also be slightly out of focus? But either way, I’m still so stoked to finally start playing around with night photography after years of being curious but never spending any time with it.
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Sunday was a great day. I set no alarms and decided today was to be an R ‘n’ R day (“rest n recover” for those who don’t know). I stayed in bed till 1045am, did some tidying of the van, spent some time mapping out and planning Larapinta (finally) and then started a new book. I read basically the WHOLE day. It was amazing and I’m so happy to have had a day like this – it’s one of the things I’ve missed most about being on the road. Waking up in a spot I really like, with no service, beautiful weather, and deciding I don’t feel like driving. I keep all the doors open and stay curled up in bed, with no distractions, good food, and a good book. It’s a practice I think I need to bring into my life more on days off; just driving somewhere nice and hanging out for the day, rather than always staying at the hostel for days like this. It keeps the feeling of adventure + exploration alive.
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When you feel stuck, take a step back to analyze how you’re feeling, and focus your energy on the things that are keeping you going. By this, I don’t mean continue to fixate on the things that are planned for the future, but rather the little things that make your days feel fulfilling. The things that you look forward to in the more immediate future, like reading your book after work, or catching up with friends, or going for a hike on a day off, or spending time learning a new song before bed, or moving your body first thing in the morning. Get yourself excited for these little things, so that you learn to love your life during the regular day to day, as well as during the big adventures.
Stay passionate and curious – and be kind to yourself.
Hunter💛
