Forced Unplugging

Day 3 of the longest (in distance & length of time) camping trip I have ever been on – and certainly the longest period of time we have ever been ‘away’ from our business location. But it is only day 3, no time to worry about that yet.

The Sapphire coast (as I have discovered it is called) is a place that I have travelled through and also spent some time when I was younger. I have fond memories of spending time with my family here and also our friends. It is lovely to be back in this part of Australia, another un-commercialised and remote part that is so easy to get to.

We are camping at Gillard’s Beach, a few people around but not too many. The pit toilet has been flooded and it is unhygienic! It is one of the debates that we have not been able to settle – the best method of toileting.

Our neighbours here are kangaroos, wallabies and those gorgeous little wrens that seem to be everywhere you go. As seems to be the practice with camp ground kangaroos they just go about their grazing around you, most inconvenienced by the fact you have pitched your campsite where they would normally eat and rest. The wallabies are super friendly venturing close (very close) to us, seemingly in search of a sausage. Miss S has even been telling one of them all about Frozen (Mum the Wallaby knows all about Frozen!).

The best part of this campsite is no internet,  no phone, no distractions from the outside world. This is unplugging at its best. Where you do not need to have any level of strength to not just check Facebook or your e-mails or answer that call-you can’t there is no coverage. You can-not be reached.

Not having reception used to really annoy me, how was I to survive without my hourly dose of Facebook. What if I missed an e-mail that was really important or a client wanting something done. 

What if I missed a phonecall that I really needed to take. What if....well guess what I am not a super hero and by becoming unplugged for a couple of days will not cause the world to stop turning. Accepting that realisation has been difficult.

I am not looking forward to arriving ‘back in reception’ tomorrow and having to go through 2 days of emails and phonecalls-but an hour or so while in the car driving and I am positive it will all be sorted. 

It is really a small price to pay for a piece of paradise, a pristine beach and time out with my family and for myself.

Even when you take your business with you on the road it is still important to have ‘rest’ days.

An Organised Camper Trailer

I am over the top organised, and that makes my life better.

I have hunted Pinterest and blogs looking for the best way to organise our Camper Trailer, taking small spaces and ensuring that we have everything we need. I have a dream that we can decide to go camping, throw clothes in a bag and leave - no stress. To do that I needed organisation and systems!

None of what I have come up with is original, I have taken bits from here and there and created something that works for me, maybe some of it will work for you.

FIRST I created lists - cause I am a list sort of person. These are saved in an excel document on my computer, I also print them and put them in a ziplock bag on the inside of the corresponding box. The real benefit of this comes into play when you are re-stocking.

SECOND I found out how much space I had, including the size of boxes. A tip here is to invest in good quality, strong boxes, with lids. We are using cheap ones at the moment (left over from a project we were working on) and breaking/smashing at least one a trip!

THIRD Pack everything. Stick to the list and the size of boxes and you will have no issues!

FOURTH Have last minute lists and a last minute box to just throw things into in the last day or so - this will save you unpacking and repacking the camper trailer. This graph includes a list I use on my last night camping before returning home, this helps to get ready for the next trip with little pain.

I hope you find some tips in here to help you with lowering the stress of your travels! Maybe you could share some of your packing hints and tips below?

The start of the journey

It is Saturday of the Melbourne Cup long weekend 2014. We are camping in the Barmah National Park – just outside of Echuca. It has been raining this morning, but the sun is trying hard to break through the clouds and warm us. The wind blows but that is OK we are sheltered in the annex of the camper trailer and Sophie is playing with her toys on the floor of her ‘bedroom’. The firewood is stacked ready for a fire later tonight (marshmallows on the ready). We have a walk planned when Miss S gets ‘bored’.

I have checked e-mails, and returned a call to somebody who wants to ‘get their Christmas cards organised’. Life is good. We have been working towards this moment – where we can travel, run our business and spend quality family time together.

It is beautiful here. We are on the banks of one of the arms of the Murray River, a family of pelicans inhabit the shore along with frogs and other bird life. The river gums are tall and the bush seems to go on forever, giving you the secluded feeling. The wind in the trees, the sound of birds, kids playing, a guitar being played and Craig’s music – it is serene and what an office!

It is only our second trip away in our camper trailer, the first to Yambak Lake was absolutely for rest and relaxation. It seems fitting to ‘birth’ the new blog on this trip, the blog about making our dream a reality and sharing that journey.

I have been very lucky, even as a child we travelled and saw different parts of Australia. I took my first overseas trip at 15 to Japan as an exchange student for 2 weeks. A trip at 21 to Thailand was quickly followed by a month in the UK and after a feeling of not wanting to leave, a ‘working holiday’ visa ensued that saw adventures in the UK (mostly Scotland) and a 4 month solo voyage through  Europe – I was a traveller.

Depression, a mortgage, boyfriend, business and child put a (temporary) end to my international travels. Purchasing our camper trailer this year (instead of a trip to Thailand or Bali) has reignited that inner traveller. It has also been the final step in our ‘planning’ and ‘talking’ about creating a business that does not rely on us to be geographically based somewhere. To become ‘Digital Nomads.’

Craig has also travelled – all over the world when he was 4 and 5 – his story is for him to tell – albeit to say that he has travelling and camping in his blood also, and makes a very useful (and fun) companion. Our daughter has no hope really-she will grow up loving the great outdoors and travelling or hating it-for now she gets ‘so excited’.

So, our business – Visionary, is largely a consultancy, our slogan says we ‘Create and Market Online Business’. We also have many other services that we provide – all we require is internet to fulfil them all. And that is the way we have evolved the business.  We can and do conduct all of our business online or via phone – and providing Telstra can continue to support our telecommunication needs that is all we require.

And so begins our journey to becoming ‘Travelling Enterprisers’. This is the beginning of something we hope is very exciting and inspiring. And so births this blog – with the purpose of telling this story and chapter of our lives.