In Canada, I thought of myself as spontaneous and adventurous. I had no idea how those two qualities would grow even more in Australia. I grew up in a small city outside of Vancouver and my family lived even further from the city.
We had a good-sized property with room to run around as kids, a spot for campfires, a creek, gardens and a forest behind it all. As a child I had endless days of building my own forts, climbing trees and too many splinters from not wearing shoes. I felt as though I could do anything in my own backyard, this was my adventurous side.
Then when I moved to Vancouver I felt more spontaneous because there was more available in the city. Whether it was a beach day, going bowling, cycling on a mountain all while working nine to five during the week. I had so many options and I could do whatever I wanted almost anytime.
Living in Australia, coupled with living in a van and not working consistently has been the best reform for my adventurous and spontaneous qualities.
I hardly ever know what’s happening tomorrow, let alone next week or next month. It’s also made me realize the benefits and downfalls to this lifestyle. Previously when I planned a trip, I would book hostels, car rentals, plan restaurant ideas, budgets and have rough plans of where I’d be each day of the trip. The benefit to planning any trip that way is it may be more planning before leaving but it’s easier to enjoy the trip, everything is outlined.
A downfall to this organization is it doesn’t allow for much movement for spontaneous trips or nights outside of the itinerary. Inevitably I’ve fallen into something completely different, now I rarely know what’s happening tomorrow.
This is why I’ve come to the spot on spontaneously planning. My schedule is rarely ever set in, but I do plan a little bit. For example, better than never knowing what I’m doing tomorrow, instead now I’ll try to plan a few days ahead, not weeks.
This gives me an idea of how many days of groceries to buy for in case I’m heading into an National Park, or somewhere else where there isn’t grocery stores. This type of planning has also allowed me to be more relaxed because I generally know what’s coming next but I still have the ability to be adventurous and spontaneous. Except instead of building forts in my backyard I get to drive mine all around Australia.
