Meet Marcus

Always an avid traveller, I’d long had a dream to complete what many would know as the big lap. An extended driving holiday, caravan in tow, circumnavigating Australia. It had always seemed just that though, a pipe dream. It was never going to become reality. Certainly not in the short-term. There comes a time though, when you just have to throw caution to the wind and follow your dreams, and for me that time is now.

Of course, my idea of throwing caution to the wind is to spend and almost infinite amount of time planning the trip, preparing for every last possible eventuality. I’m a self-confessed planning nut. I can have our daily activities mapped out to the minute, months in advance. I’ve always been this way, and for me, planning the holiday is about as good as being on the holiday. I like the fact that I know that when I leave for a trip, everything is about as ready as it’s ever going to be. Sure, there are always going to be hiccups and events that just can’t be planned for, but so long as a plan is in place, these issues are far from insurmountable.

It is not unusual for me to have half a dozen different holidays or trips all planned out. My thinking is that I can present these ideas to Rebecca and as soon as she agrees to one, I can have a trip booked long before she has a chance to change her mind. Of course, it isn’t usually all that difficult to get her to agree to a trip. She is as happy as I am to be travelling. We just approach it from a totally different mindset. Her general idea in respect to holiday planning is to head off and hope for the best. For me, that is far from a holiday, it’s a straight up nightmare.

This full lap of Australia is on a completely different level from anything else I’ve attempted in the past however, which is why I can feel the stress welling up within me on occasion. Being on the road for 6 months is somewhat removed from the simple 3 or 4 week jaunts we usually enjoy. There are certain factors I just know are well beyond the realms of my control, and I’m just going to have to grin and bear it.

I am determined to make it happen though. Being in my mid-thirties, I’m probably a bit younger than what one would expect of the typical grey nomad, packing up their homes and using the kids inheritance to fund their travels. I would much rather be out there doing it now, while I’m young enough to enjoy it however.

It’s now just a matter of putting it all together and then heading off. With just on four months to go before our designated departure date as I write this, there is still plenty of work to be done. I’ll keep you updated along the way, but the real fun will start when we leave. Check in daily (well that’s the intention) then, to read about our life on the road.

 

Marcus can be contacted at: marcus@myramblingtales.com