Adventure is not in the guidebook

478km Dunedin to Geraldine

“Adventure is not in the guidebook
And beauty is not on the map
Seek and ye shall find”
-Terry & Renny Russell, On the Loose

dsc_7700.jpgWe saw this inscription on a stone in the tranquil graveyard of the Church of the Holy Innocents, near Mount Peel and not far from the South Island city of Christchurch. It was one of those phrases that just struck a chord. So often we feel our trip is less about the places we’ve been and the sights we’ve seen than how we’ve grown and changed as people as we’ve cycled down the road.

It’s hard to describe how free we feel, pedalling our bikes as we did this week in Otago, with the landscape stretching out in front of us, all shades of gold in the autumn fields and intense blue in the sky. This is something we never knew existed before we left, not the landscape but the pure joy we could feel in a place like this.

There we are, on the little dirt roads that have become our favourite spots to bike. They’re hard going sometimes but they take you through these marvellous gorges and over high passes, where you barely see a car and spend most of your day talking to the sheep (although they never talk back and maybe that’s the charm of it – they’re a good listening ear when you have to figure something out).

dsc_7689.jpgOur day is broken by the spotting of some mushrooms far off in a field (we’ve found about 20 of them now, all giant and delicious eating!) or an apple tree loaded down with fruit and we fill our bags with all the excitement of kids at Christmas and carry on.

And at the end of the day, if we’re in a really good place, we pitch our tent off to the side somewhere, like we did as we rode the rail trail between the villages of Middlemarch and Ranfurly, and listen to the silence of the evening descending. There’s nothing out there. Just the sound of the sheep munching on the last bit of grass and maybe our campstove being lit up for a late cup of tea and then, as the last rays of the sun sink beneath the horizon, just quiet and us and the stars.

DSC_7743.JPGIf we’ve come close to heaven on this trip, then it must be in places like these and you do wonder, when life can be so fulfilling with such simple pleasures, do we ever really want to go back to a 9 to 5 job? It’s been on our minds a lot lately because, after all, we’ve been doing this cycling thing for over 2 years now and in September we’ll be back where we started (or at least that’s the plan and you know all about the best laid plans but all you can do is make them and hope for the best) and then what? Do we keep going or try out one of those crazy schemes we’ve come up with on the road for refilling the bank account?

Or maybe we should just ‘settle down’ – whatever that means. We increasingly get the feeling that’s what we should be doing, according to the more conventional rules of life. “Do you really think you’ll get work when you get back?” comes the question now more and more often when people discover just how long we’ve been out of the loop. Yes, well, we hope so but who’s to say for sure? If we were adventurous and resourceful enough to quit our jobs for a life on the road in the first place we can only hope that we’ll somehow figure out how to do the same thing in reverse but nothing is for certain. This is an adventure definitely not in any guidebook and we’re still seeking the answers.

Comments

  1. Debbie Mill
    23rd March 2009 at 3:25 pm #

    Beautifully written, Friedel. I continue to enjoy your adventures. Thank you.

    Debbie

  2. Jayme
    23rd March 2009 at 5:30 pm #

    Well, there’s always our tea and handbag shop! 😉

  3. emiko
    24th March 2009 at 12:15 am #

    Hi Friedel,
    I am Emiko, from Brazil. I admire you very much and your writings have been one of my favourites!

    You will find the right job, don’t worry. Write down how you want it to be, with all details. It will come true, like this trip.

    Are you planning to come to Brazil one day? You can stay with me!

  4. Steve
    24th March 2009 at 4:07 am #

    It has been great reading your thoughts. Life is like that, one day you can’t imagine it getting any better and the next, rain is pelting down and the winds are against you. I don’t know where you’ll be in 10 years, but wherever it is you will be the richer for the experiences you are having now.

  5. Aaron Drysdale
    25th March 2009 at 12:26 pm #

    I’ve only just discovered your site through crazyguyonabike. Absolutely amazing and inspirational – and how on earth did you manage to put together such an amazing site on top of that? I will continue to read your posts with interest.

    And I’ve cycled the Otago Rail Trail – I agree some of the most amazing scenery NZ has to offer. I notice you skipped the Coromandel – wise decision. There you’ll find some of the biggest moutain ranges we have to offer!

  6. frank
    25th March 2009 at 3:59 pm #

    Good writing i am hopeing that where gooooood mushrooms make sure Andrew cooks them with butter sauce and a red wine and a bit of garlic yum bye from OZ

  7. Maria and Spiros
    26th March 2009 at 8:40 pm #

    Beautifully put! We feel the same. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventure!

  8. James
    27th March 2009 at 11:01 pm #

    Hi Friedel & Andrew,

    I’d say that you’ve not *that* much out of the loop when you can produce such a well written piece. I’m very much an envious green at the moment and wish I could just drop everything and visit New Zealand which is growing every more seriously prominent on my wish list. Then again I’m probably too tied to convention and property!

    It’s that time of the year again when thoughts are heading towards Cortina and the annual pilgrimage of fun & friends; you will both no doubt be toasted in abstentia!

    Catch up with you somewhen!

  9. Vicky Strudwick
    10th April 2009 at 12:06 am #

    Hi Friedel,

    Was just wondering where your plans and thoughts had got to… and here they are!

    I’m pretty sure that whatever you do once you’re back in N. America, it’ll be enjoyable and meaningful because you’ll make it so.

    Life on the road sounds amazing, but I know that you’ll find plenty of the positives and a different type of adventure if you do choose to ‘settle down’ (how about that veggie garden, for instance?).

    I look forward to hearing where your plans take you.

    Vicky.x

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