Letting the Future Control the Present [The Time is Now]

Letting the Future Control the Present - The Time Is Now!

I've spent a lot of time lately being very present, immersed in the here and now. 

Living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, a rather beautiful nowhere, certainly helps. Our goal at the moment is to gain our 2nd year visa days and so we are just making the most of our little temporary homestead.

*UPDATE: We got our visa's and then went on to work on Fraser Island!*

It's a bit of contrast to 3 years ago. Back in England I was working at a bank. I hated my job, there wasn't really a thing I liked about it. Maybe the hot chocolate machine wasn't so bad.

I remember receiving details about my pension scheme in the post, and it felt like a big scary sad joke. I had one of those 'Is this it?' moments.

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Plenty of people my age are in stable fulfilling jobs, and are thinking about, or already have, invested in buying a home. A part of me always wanted to be able to buy my own home, forever watching 'Grand Designs' and 'Homes under the Hammer'. Then since my mind started changing a bit over the past year, I thought about it differently. It occurred to me, the notion of 'investing' money in a home, and the commitment associated with that, is quite a frightening prospect.

We work hard, save up, and then take the plunge, assuming one day that we will see a return on this investment, basing this hope on the assumption of a future. Morbid I know. But nonetheless we make this big commitment in the hope that in the future, this thing will work out exactly as we want and need it to at that given moment, even though the world will be a very different place. We make huge sacrifices now, towards a future based on very little or accurate foresight.

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There is a lot of sense in planning for the future – but is there sense in giving the entirety of your best years to the preparation for it? Maybe that's why I don't regret walking away from my own business, and from that path of heading toward owning a home.

That doesn't mean I have dismissed the notion entirely. If I can forge a career I love, a career that enables me to save or contemplate a mortgage or another financial commitment, then maybe it will make sense for me then.

But travel is my foremost priority, living for the whim and spontaneity it brings. But back when I was working at the bank, I was driven toward planning for the future. I was to go through with a set of motions to reach certain outcomes in my old age. A sense of predictability, even comfort, can be found in that. Most people centre their job choices or even select a certain career purely because of how it will work for their distant future.

As someone who has worked since the age of 16, and feared unemployment like the plague, to find myself removing that concern from my mind, well it feels like a mid-20's rebellion. I am resisting something which is sensible and pragmatic, something which works for plenty of people.

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What got me considering all this?

I saw an item on the Australian news the other night, about a retirement community with a difference, 'co-housing' it's called. Residents live together in a semi-independent, semi-communal fashion; they cook together, socialize, share some of their living space and amenities. So it's basically university halls of residence without the sambuca and bed-hopping (as far as I know).

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In the news report, the retired people, lithe couples in their mid 60's to 70's, all looked super healthy and very relaxed. And I thought it looked great. They were doing yoga for god-sake. And then I remember the way some older people live back in England. Confined to small but perfectly fine flats within special units.

I have older relatives who have suffered from depression and felt lost. Many were living alone, with their husbands or wives long gone, they're children forging ahead with their lives. In theory they have the time, the funds and the ability to enjoy life and yet they can't. There most mobile years where freedom was possible are simply past them.

Many of them are suffering numerous health issues, issues that prevent them enjoying any financial freedom they might have obtained through years of hard work. Essentially, the end result of the game of life isn't always great. Its sometimes mundane, difficult and not always satisfying. There is no guarantee of a fulfilling and easy old-age. Some people avoid retiring and work themselves to the point of exhaustion, pushing the limits of their body, reaching the age of 70 yet still working like a 30 year old. There's a fear for what might happen once they retire, even if they spend plenty of time thinking about their twilight years. Do they fear a loss of purpose? Having little reason to have any get-up and go?

And yet some absolutely relish retirement, doing things they never dreamt about doing before.

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My great aunt for example, she holidays abroad 2-3 times a year, but hadn't stepped on a plane until about 6 years ago. She is using her time and money to enjoy her life the way she wants to. I admire her bravery as a widow, her sense of hope for what enjoyment there is to be found in her life, even if it has not turned out as she imagined. I hope that if I reach her age, I look half as good and live half as well. 

And yet, might she wish she did the things she's doing now before she got a knee replacement? Before she developed a chronic lung condition?

Do our older relatives envy our ability to explore our options thoroughly, far beyond the imagination of their own post-war world? Many were brought up with simpler aspirations, and have lead a good, if humble, life. But at the age of 25, whilst I feel good, and my noggin seems to be firing on all synapses, I want to make the most of it.

I want a good quality of life if I get to reach old age, but I also don't want to hold back in doing what I love, giving it all up for a 9-to-5 for 40 years. It might be the secure option, to buckle down, work, and save. But life is so utterly unpredictable no matter what measures you take to control and prepare for it.

My mind boggles at the concept of my present being entirely geared toward a distant future. There's so much more I want from my now, that has little if nothing to do with retirement. And then again, maybe I will be satisfied in my later years, pleased that I followed my heart whilst I had the freedom to?

I want to do stuff that terrifies and exhilarates me. I want to feel myself sick with nerves before I do something crazy and confront my fears. I want to become more tolerant of my own idiosyncrasies as well as other peoples. I want to fight the inner battles not deny them until they become bitterness. I hope I can see as much of the world as possible. I am not entirely sure I could do all that whilst pulling a 9-to-5.

I want to see the world though my clearest eyes, and I don't want to feel like I can't because I might be harming the comfort of an imagined distant future.

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Whilst I'm backpacking Australia, a pay-check doesn't mean pension, it means more travelling, sky-diving, snorkelling the great barrier reef, camping on the Whitsunday islands, and maybe eating a lot of subways. 

That simplistic, maybe reckless choice, is what's working for us right this minute. That's the shape of our life at current; maybe it will change one day.

But all that truly matters is what's happening now, and now is so full of possibilities beyond the life I had 3 years ago, or the life I might have in another 33 years. 

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Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

 

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6 Months of Travel In 6 Stunning Photo's

6 Months of Travel In 6 Stunning Photo's

March 26th, it all began in Melbourne. City life was all we knew of Australia for the first fortnight. By that time we were ready to see something a little different, and a little bit more special.

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Port Stephens

...is a beautiful place that we had the pleasure of staying at for 10 days. Having broken away from the pace of Sydney and Newcastle, we camped beside a kangaroo at an awesome bush hostel, and spent an evening on the deserted beach, which was when the above sky happened. Some nights later a brutal storm hit, causing a power-cut and widespread problems across New South Wales. We were trapped, although in no hurry to leave this quiet yet beautiful spot.

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The Blue Mountains

...were our first taste of one of Australia's natural wonders, and they did not disappoint. Swathes of green as far as you could see, with peaks of mountains meeting the clouds. It was peaceful and unforgettable. Katoomba was also great, such a quintessential mountain town, with the Flying Fox hostel being our most favourite hostel in Australia yet.

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Bellingen

...was somewhere we were recommended by the hostel owners at Port Stephens. A small but lively bohemian town, situated on the edge of the Waterfall Way, this place was breathtakingly beautiful and yet a fairly well-kept secret. It's national park-land had lots of waterfalls nestled amongst it's hilly rainforests. It did rain a lot in Bellingen, but we will always remember it fondly; we met some great people and experienced a truly eclectic hostel.

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1770

...is a super small beach community, but attracts a large crowd for its gentle crystal waters, perfect for fishing or dolphin-spotting. We camped at a great site, right on the edge of the sand, and took some of our best photographs with our go-pro. Travelling with our Brisbanite mate Rachel, she brought us on a mini-road-trip that allowed us to see this special spot.

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Macadamia farming

At the end of July we settled on our WWOOFing location in Queensland, working towards a 2nd year visa whilst getting to experience rural Australia. Kangaroo's outside your window each morning, utter peace and quiet (apart from the cockatoos), and working amongst the trees, it's been different to the rest of our travels, but really rewarding at the same time.

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Rainbow beach

...was a Saturday escape from the farm, where we could let our hair down, and paddle in the warm spring seas. Turquoise waters, sand dunes leading up to stunning panoramic views, and all followed up by a cider and fish and chips; we had such a fun day here. We also visited Tin Can Bay which is just down the road, where we fed wild dolphins their breakfast!

We've had plenty of moments in the past 6 months where we've stopped, taken a deep breath, and stared in silence (and that's not just in the middle of an argument). 

Beautiful has been the most over-used word to date on this blog, but we really have seen some stunning sights, taking them in patiently, trying to capture each and every detail in our memories. 6 months doesn't seem a long time; it really it feels like we've only just found our stride, and yet we've been amazed time and time again.

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Thanks for reading!

Taran here, one half of NomaderHowFar. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, forcing Hannah to do crazy things, and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know us here!

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Feeding Wild Dolphins [Tin Can Bay And Rainbow Beach]

Feeding Wild Dolphins [Tin Can Bay And Rainbow Beach]

Farm work in the rural hinterland of the Fraser coast is turning out to be way more than just hard graft and dust...

Since living here we have been able to tick off some major bucket-list type activities, including whale-watching at Hervey bay. But there's much more to the Fraser coast than just whales. There's dolphins too!

Saturday morning, awake at 3.30am for a drive to Tin Can Bay. For only $10 you can watch wild dolphins, feed them and listen to expert volunteers talk about their fishy friends.

At around 7 am, Patch the dolphin rolled into the bay, slowly coming up to the waters edge to say hello to the volunteers. They know each dolphin by name, and spend most mornings with them, so Patch happily sat right in front of us, but always beside the volunteer, who it clearly knew and trusted. But these are wild dolphins so they are not to be petted like dogs.

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We weren't encouraged to do anything other than observe, although they do nuzzle your hand if you put it down in the water. I tried, but it was a bit too shy.

The dolphins feeding is a monitored and sanctioned activity; they are not dependant on the humans, just in the habit of visiting that spot and putting on a cute little show for visitors to get some breaky.

Its so important people have the opportunity to see dolphins in their natural environment and be able to interact in a respectful way, just like when we went whale watching. I don't feel like I want to disturb creatures like this. Maybe some enjoy petting the tame ones and holding onto their fins, but dolphins aren't performing monkeys; they aren't here for us to interfere and interrupt.

People that visit the likes of Sea-world, I get that they're just curious which is understandable, but if we can see these wild beauties in their own habitat, then maybe people will respect the need for them be wild and left to thrive that way.

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Shy but still friendly and quietly interested, the dolphin sat in front of us for an hour prior to feeding, occasionally swimming a little bit, often getting people a little bit wet clearing its blow-hole. They call it a 'kiss' when the dolphins squirt you, so I was kissed by a dolphin that day, but basically just squirted with a little bit of snotty water!

Something really adorable happened when a lady in a wheelchair came onto the beach. Patch made a beeline for her. The volunteer expert explained that dolphins get excited and very interested when they see babies, or people with disabilities.

Instinctively they will nudge or touch such people. It was so beautiful to see it rush towards her then gently stop before her. I can't imagine how it might feel to be regarded by a wild animal with such polite curiosity. It definitely made us all appreciate and respect Patch even more; he's a wild animal, but he has manners, something we can all learn from.

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The other attraction was definitely the pelican birds, much tamer than most, they hang around getting quite close to people, because they always get a sneaky fish!

By 9 am the dolphins had filled their bellies. Patch was the one Taran and I hand-fed, but a few more turned up afterwards.

We then headed out of this tiny town and onto Rainbow Beach. Rainbow is kind of like a much smaller but equally busy Byron bay, with a stunning turquoise beach, and 4x4's running up and down its sands.

We walked around the Saturday market, and I went into the animal petting zoo. Me and a toddler were lapping it up.

It was so good to be back in our favourite setting. As much as we love the rolling green hills that we live amongst, the beach is always something we always long to return to.

We played in the sea and ran up a ridiculous hill to get the best views across to Fraser Island. All that really made me crawl up this steep sand dune was Taran's promise of a cider, it was definitely a motivating factor...

I couldn't get over the colour of the sea. I mean Aussie has some great beaches and we've seen a few but this was just such a burst of colour having been in the middle of the hot (and often very yellowy green and dusty) countryside.

A long day away from home for us, but just more memories captured of this beautiful slice of Queensland. It was the best day.

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Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

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Crying Over Big Fish [Whale-Watching on the Fraser Coast]

Crying Over Big Fish [Whale-Watching on the Fraser Coast]

We have gone and done the first real tourist-type activity since arriving in Oz 5 months ago, and paid for a 3 hour speed-boat trip at Hervey Bay to watch the Whales that come into the bay between May and October.

We weren't sure if we would definitely see some (although that would be an expensive watching of the sea), if the Whales didn't feel like being followed that day. But lucky for us and about 10 others, they came out in force.

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Speeding out of the harbour on a baking hot day, we hit the windy extremes of the open sea, coming up alongside Fraser Island (which looks as cool as we imagined it might), we headed out to find them.

About 30 minutes in, in the distance, a giant shining white and grey arm flailed about in the horizon. We had found them!

Slapping their monumental fins, coming down heavy against the ocean, i found myself getting a little bit teary-eyed at the sight. Seeing these majestic gargantuan creatures in their natural environment, just letting us roll up alongside them.

We all found ourselves chasing each and every sight of them, as they'd disappear and then reappear very close to the boat. Jaw agape, we just stood marvelling at them.

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Their skin looked smooth, solid and like it had seen a fair few fights.

Eventually these guys got bored of being watched by several gormless humans, and we set off to find the next group. This time we just caught a whale breaching as we raced up toward them. 

And one point the two of the second group we found seemed to be sleeping, or sitting still, staring in our direction under the water. Ominously planning our demise, or considering whether to come closer and inspect. And that they did. Yet again sinking below the deep blue water and coming up again only a few foot beside our boat.

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It was a really amazing way to spend an afternoon, just observing these peaceful giants in their element. Whales should always be watched and appreciated in this respectful way. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing nature thrive in its natural habitat. 

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Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

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Is it Worth Quitting your Job To Travel?

Is it Worth Quitting your Job To Travel?

Some people spend years climbing a career-ladder, or studying, all in the pursuit of their dream job.  Many of them invest a lot of time and energy into this pursuit, some foregoing other things, like families, relationships, and of course, travel. For many people the sacrifice can seem worth it.

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The Blue Mountains, Australia

This isn't the case for us however. Having both quit our jobs to travel the world, starting with exploring Australia for 2 years, we didn't feel like walking out on our jobs was the hardest thing to do, unlike others our age might feel.

We were not in careers that earned us much money; my job was working a few days a week making just enough money to pay rent, feed myself and save a little bit on the side.. I knew that I wanted change soon.

Hannah was in a different position, she ran her own dog walking business and loved it! But she too didn't like the thought of doing it for the rest of her life..

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Crystal Falls, Australia

So leaving our jobs wasn't a big deal for us, but for many other people our age it is a different story. Once you get to your mid 20's most of us will have moved out of our parents homes and will be either paying rent or locked into a mortgage which makes things way harder.

That being said almost half a year in and we have managed to keep our expenses way down, which has meant we have had more time to explore without having to top up our funds with part time jobs. Our relatively small savings have been stretched to the limit!

We still cringe when other backpackers tell us how many thousands of dollars they have spent over the last few months on alcohol and partying..

That's not to say we don't like a drink, we just do it differently; a beer/cider from the bottle shop on the beach has always been a better option to us than a drink in a bar.

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Plan!

★ When it comes to saving, you don't have to follow the crowd and take out a loan to travel the world.. In fact you don't really need that much at all! Depending on your style of travel of course.. We have a taken every opportunity to save money; we hitch-hike, camp, couch-surf, drink tap water and eat cheaply! If you follow these tips and use your own common sense you should be able to make about 5000 AU Dollars last 6+ months easily!

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Mike from NZ couch surfing with us!

★ Setting a date will cement things in your head and will really help you ramp up the saving and will also help you mentally plan for it. You're about to make a great decision that will change you forever.

★ Start couch-surfing via your current home (if possible). We started having people stay with us before we set off on the road. Its a great way to meet amazing people currently travelling and will also get you excited to get on the road!

Change!

Does hitch-hiking along a dusty road, backpack on and thumb out sound better than a safe drive to the shops and back, does setting up camp on a beach under the stars or meeting amazing people from different cultures sound like your kind of thing?

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1770, Australia

If you truly want something in life, you will work your hardest to get it.. And if travelling the world is something you long to do, then there is no doubt that whatever your situation, you will eventually reach your goal and live out your dreams!

Our 2 years in Australia started in March 2015 and we have had an absolute blast taking in everything that it has to offer, but there is still so much to see! And that, my friend, is the beauty of it all, there is so much to see in this world and many adventures to come, which will surely be filled with exploration, tales of peril and awe-inspiring views that will continue to take our breathe away!

We feel like we made one of the best decisions of our life.

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Thanks for reading!

Taran here, one half of NomaderHowFar. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, forcing Hannah to do crazy things, and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know us here!

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