I was nervous and excited about what lay ahead of us…..ok more excited than nervous. I’ve never been much a winter lover after all. And my wanderlusting ways were about to be unleashed within my own backyard.

So I was sure, that living as a digital nomad (with a dog & at 50!), would be something I would love sharing along the way…..so why not write a blog?!

I even got started a couple of months earlier, when we’d taken the first step that was moving out of our home + listing it on airbnb & starting the nomad thing. See last 4 posts.

Buuuuut, as it turned out, once we were fully on the road…….given my work involves a whole lot of content creation (and yes that means typing into my laptop)……I think I kind of resisted making time for more typing into the laptop.

Makes sense right?

That said, regardless of the timeliness, I’ve decided our adventures DO need to be captured. There are so many lessons, travel tips and funny stories, it would be criminal not to share.

So I’m back.

I’m unsure how regularly, or exactly what catching up on these last few months will look like, but it IS HAPPENING!

And I thought why not, cast back to our very first week….it was interesting to say the least.

Right from the start, the decision was made to mix up the accomodation. Firstly because, travelling with a dog in tow can limit options. Secondly, because this is an adventure after all. So, for every over indulgence, there’s a sort of counter balance.

Which is where we started.

In a tent!

I’d been hearing that South West Rocks was an idyllic spot on route to the Byron area, so that was the ‘search query’ I put into airbnb.

Turned out there was precious little in the area, and the one thing that did catch my was a Macadamia Nut farm, featuring an organic garden and a comfie looking tent for Chilli and I. Yes, it was a rustic start to the drive North, but why not?!

The first couple of days were great. I discovered I sleep well in a tent. Yay.

And honestly there was a lot to appreciate about the macadamia nut farm. Including.

• it’s Valla Beach locale (stunning)

• fresh from the tree macadamia nuts

• a passing visitor (so wonderful to catch up with the gorgeous Clare)

• the lovely hostess, who was actually staying off premise and took me on a trip to see her incredible mountain side views

• proximity to Nambucca Heads, South West Rocks and Coffs Harbour, all places we visited for walks and meals

• buckets of fresh country air and lovely views

Of course, it wasn’t all beer and skittles and I knew in an instant this was possibly not my finest move!

The house turned out to be a kind of half way house, where electricity was discouraged and the house itself was a hot mess. The wifi wasn’t going to win any awards either….which meant that it was a super unproductive work week.

All good I thought, it’s week one, I’m clueless, lets just make the best of it!

Which is about when the rain came in…..

And OMG, staying in a tent 200m away from the closest bathroom, became less appealing with every drop of rain and every breath I took..

After 3 nights, I was like, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

We persisted.

Which I kind of wish we hadn’t, because on the final night things took a turn for the worse, as I experienced a sleepless night…..it turned out nobody on the entire property was in residence. The moon was full. The tent was pitch black (duh). The rain was coming down and we (ok I) laid inside it thinking OMG GET ME OUT OF HERE.

Actually Chilli did have the same thought. Early the next morning, for the one and only time I zipped her in the tent as I went to the house to pack up some things.

She howled.

Then, next thing you know she was standing next to me.

How strange I thought……you guessed it, she’d ripped through the tent to come and rescue me (ha!). Not ideal….

So there you have it.

In conclusion….we wont be staying in any more tents.

Next stop: Mullumbimby Creek, for a month in what could be described as an estate = and about as far as you could get from a 2 man tent.

ox

PS it only rained for one night, but 3 months later I recall it being most of the week :)