Home in Melbourne 5 th June

I am back in wintry Melbourne adjusting to dark cold mornings and early nights. It is a bit of a shock from 40 degree temperatures at the Dead Sea. It is good to be home nevertheless and I am now trying to update my blog to make it easier to navigate and so I can continue to add to it with my next adventure.

I was to be having a 4WD trek through Central Australia but it has been put on hold due to uncertainty about roads. The outback has been subject to inundation and roads are blocked. It could make for a later date to explore and that won’t suit as I am off to South America shortly after. I couldn’t afford to get bogged and stuck out there and not be able to get back in time for the South American departure.

Also my friend’s Mum is not in good health and she doesn’t want to be too far away in case she is needed. We are all at that time of our lives when if it isn’t grandchildren needing care it is our parents. The cycle of life makes all the trips more important.

I believe in doing them while I am able and relatively free. Time will come soon enough when such adventures will be curtailed.

This last holiday or more accurately group of holidays where so different from my usual freewheeling travels. They were wonderful and it gave me a current benchmark to measure against. I loved them and enjoyed the companionship, the organisation and the ease of travel. I missed the independence and free time of my own travels. I feel so empowered if I have to negotiate travel independently. It is not as efficient sometimes and has more stress probably, but I do feel energised by the challenge.

Staying in hotels had great advantages, not the least a private bath in the private bathrooms, room to spread out, towels and toiletries, and power points! What I missed was that many were not right in the heart of things, or there was little communication with other travellers. I find people interesting and love to hear their stories so I enjoy meeting new people and that is certainly made easier when you are in close quarters or sharing the same route so that you bump into the same people more often.

Of course I did meet new people who were part of my group and that was a delight and special in a different way. I mean meeting people outside my usual circles such as locals or other international travellers.

So I have enjoyed and gained so much from this holiday and will look forward to adding this style of travel to my repertoire depending on the destination in the future.