What makes us tick? What’s our story? It began with leaving our jobs behind and looking to the open road of the vast and wonderful landscapes of Southern and Eastern Africa. Embracing a new lifestyle, new challenges and everything in between.
How it All Began
After living the high-flying fast life, we have slowed things down to explore a part of the world that so few have the opportunity to experience and is so often misrepresented and understood. We departed Pennington, South Africa and drove to Kenya and back – not knowing what we would find along the way.
It was no easy feat to leave everything that has become ‘normal’ behind. However, when your lifestyle doesn’t reflect your values nor your interests, change is necessary. There needs to be a new ‘normal’. Embarking on this year has allowed me to reignite my passion for not only travel, but living a lifestyle which encourages compassion, learning and cultivating mindfulness in all its forms.
Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy
There were plenty of signs that told us to stick with our jobs -indeed that sounds like the responsible thing to do. However, when your job doesn’t motivate you, inspire you or challenge you, something needs to change. I struggled immensely to remain motivated. And knowing that my role wasn’t actively working to improve our planet, was getting harder and harder for me to justify. While I had financial security and learned a great deal about myself, it wasn’t enough. On the one hand, it has gone against my better judgement to leave something that became so comfortable, so routine and so secure behind. However, I would have regretted far more staying put.
If there is something we have learned in our time living far from our homes, it is that taking a risk will challenge you; push you to grow and inevitably make you better at whatever it is that you decide to pursue. Adding travel to the mix forces you to question your perspective while also deepening your understanding of the world through the connections you make with the people and places that you meet. So here we are, sitting at the campfire, not quite sure where we’ll land but knowing we’ll come out on the other side a little bit wiser.
Our Ethos
Travel isn’t always a shinning star in the realm of sustainability. Nevertheless, we strive to travel a little differently. A little more ethically, a little more sustainably and a little more slow. What does that mean?
We pay particular attention to the waste we produce and the impression that we leave behind in the communities we are fortunate enough to visit. All the while maintaining an open mind and treating those around us with respect and dignity. Not all tourism activities promote equality and as travellers we need to work together to avoid supporting exploitive tourism. We are forever learning from the people we meet and the great outdoors we experience along the way; embracing new experiences with patience and compassion.
It all sounds lovely, but it is not always easy. Travel is a business and one that is often rooted in lists of top 10‘s or a great travel deal. But every deal comes with a price whether in the form of people or the planet. Taking the time to dig a bit deeper before choosing to do something is important. Engaging in locally derived, meaningful experiences is crucial. Our planet is suffering, there is no doubt about that. We each need to evaluate the way we interact with communities and the planet.
These ethics form the backbone of not only my travels but our day to day.
The Road Ahead
We hope you will follow our adventure to see how our story unfolds – we will be sharing our thoughts and experiences from the past year (& beyond) and how we try to incorporate sustainability into our lifestyle. We hope you will share your insights, tips and experiences along the way.
With love & the spirit of adventure,
Robbie & Erica
How did we get from place to place? Take a look at Our Home on Wheels.