On horses, home, Sarah and the book
1 comment May 3rd, 2008
Life has just been so cool of late.
Firstly, my darling mate Sarah, she of the first reconnaissance mission to Morocco in Slow Journey South, has just been out to visit for two weeks. It is such, such bliss to have had time with her - one of the hard things about living a dual nationality existence is how one eternally misses the people and places of one or the other all the time. It was wonderful to have her here, and we passed many a pleasant hour over long lunches and dinners - one of which is pictured here, along with another friend, Cath.
It has been such a busy month, one way or another. I went to Sydney and Brisbane for publicity for the book, and had a great time flouncing about feeling like the queen of sheba with my Random House publicist, Annabel. She did a marvellous job of hoiking me from one radio station to another, and in and out of book signings. She also loves sushi, so we did well on that front. It has been great to see the book getting so much publicity and such lovely reviews - I get chuffed every time I read a new one. Thanks most of all to those of you who have contacted me directly or left comments on the site saying how much you enjoyed it - they mean such a great deal, and give me a thrill every time I open up my email.
Sarah and I travelled up to my home town of Mansfield, and passed a couple of awesome days. Since I often feel a bit boring writing my blog when I am not walking, this particular trip gave me something to put in here that some of you may actually find interesting. Since my family left Mansfield, nearly ten years ago now, I have been - shall we say - horseless. Ok, I know I have had plenty of camels to keep me company, but I grew up on horses, and I miss them. Even more importantly, I miss the beautiful mountains and rivers of home, and the peace and joy of riding through them.
So it was just utterly wonderful to take Sarah up to stay with an old friend of mine, Lesley Dunlop, whose family has run Merrijig Lodge ever since I was a kid. She is the kind of mate I tend to catch up with every few years and never feel like I’ve skipped a beat; she has travelled all over, and is endlessly great company. Merrijig Lodge - and Lesley and her Dad, Chris Dunlop - have always run brilliant trail rides all through the hills around Merrijig and Mt Buller, anything from half a day to three days, and it is a real pleasure for me to go home and catch up with Lesley for a ride. We took Sarah out and
she came back gobsmacked by the sheer beauty of the country we rode through - if a little sore! For me it was a long breath out after weeks of racing around cities made up and speaking about myself and the book (alright, I am sure that you all think that sounds wonderfully glam, but it actually does get a bit tiring after a while - precious as I realise that sounds, and believe me, I am SOOOO grateful to be getting publicity at all, etc etc….). We drove up to Buller and sat in the sun and I thought how lucky I am to have grown up in such a beautiful part of the world - I hope I find a way to move back there in years to come.
One of the bonuses about Merrijig Lodge is it’s proximity to the legendary Merrijig pub - or to give it the official title, the Hunt Club Hotel, Merrijig. Sitting outside on the verandah sinking a quiet couple of ales after a horseride has to be one of the great pleasures in life. Sure beats the hell out of walking into dusty Tomboctou for a laugh. Sitting there watching the day fade into the glorious
dusky blue and rosy pinks of the High Country sunset, I felt lonely for the desert again, but also comforted by being back in the beauty I grew up amongst. It reminded me how truly important it is to live your life where you feel happy, and where the country matches your soul. Some of us just weren’t built for cities. I’m one of them. Fortunately for me, Graeme also loves the mountains up there, so I am not alone in my dreaming of going back home some day soon.
If any of you are thinking of visiting Australia any time soon, I cannot recommend any place more highly 
than Merrijig Lodge to see the glorious country of the Alps. Have a beer with Lesley for me…
All of the excitement over both the book and Sarah being here has helped me totally refocus on two things: the next book, and the last leg of the walk. I feel utterly enthused about both, and am writing again at last and planning madly. I sometimes feel so excited about how much I have learned, and changed, over the last few years; even this enforced break, which I once felt so resentful about, has in so many ways been such a wonderful learning curve. I feel strongly that this next phase of the walk may well be the most rewarding; if the first desert trek was dominated by the utterly rotten trauma of my marriage break up, and the second phase was a real shock in a physical and logistical sense, I have a weird belief that this last desert leg will be a consolidation of all that has gone before - a peaceful, well organised, well outfitted, and satisfying walk. The reality may well wind up totally to the contrary, of course, but I feel so very much more confident in myself about it. It has taken so long for me to really feel at ease with what I have done, and to believe in my ability to carry on; sometimes I have wondered if I have just been lucky, fluked it to get this far, and it is hard to look back and see what I have done right rather than simply see all the mistakes I have made. But I guess that in itself is a continual spur to always want to do better, and that is where I am at right now - full of the desire to really get out there and do it well, to walk every bit I can and enjoy it.
In the meantime I am appreciating every wonderful thing about being home amongst family, friends, and the accroutrements of modern life. Much and all as I would love to say I have come out of my walk with a desire to live like those in the countries I have passed through - I am a shameless advocate of the good life, and of the freedoms our life here in Australia offers. Whilst I love the thrill and exotic nature of the places I pass through, it is bliss to come home to a clean, safe, prosperous and educated nation, where the quality of life is so incredibly good. We are unbelievably fortunate. Although I learn much about humility and modest needs when I am travelling, it also highlights for me how amazingly lucky we are to be able to choose to visit the countries I have - and then return home. Our lives are easy, blessed, and full of a myriad of opportunity. We have much to be thankful for, I think.
To all of those booksellers who have been so welcoming in recent weeks, thankyou, and to Annabel and all at Random House, my thanks know no bounds for your generosity and hard work on my behalf. I am seriously chuffed to see the book get to Number two on the Sydney Morning Herald Travel book bestseller list! To all of you who have bought it - an enormous thankyou. I will hurry up and get the second one happening.
I called in to the local bookstore in Mansfield - after savage prompting from Sarah - and stutteringly offered to sign some copies of the book. It is hard not to feel a total plonker doing this, and I always cringe in shame, but the owners seemed ok with it and were lovely, so despite needing a soothing ale afterwards, I think it was a good experience for all involved.
Please keep emailing. You have no idea how heartwarming it is to hear of so many others who are dreaming and planning out there - particularly women! I think there is an endless supply of brilliant, creative, gutsy chicks out there who are just packing up and doing it. How utterly wonderful. I love hearing from every one of you.
I hope you enjoy these pics of the country I come from…slightly different to the desert, but God’s own, indeed.