What a crazy ol shit-storm we're rolling through this year.
According to the calendar hanging over my side of the bed, today I should be kicking off my Northbound hike of the Centennial Trail in the Black Hills, South Dakota.
After a week of stomping around in Dances with Wolves country I was planning to camp out for a while in Badlands National Park to the East.
Sounds like a marvellous romp to begin my annual trip to the USA. Or it would have been right...
I bailed on this years mission to Colorado, South Dakota and Florida (sorry Uncle Gary) at the end of February after progressively twitchy information regarding the coronavirus signalled a no go this year. With all respect to my American relatives and hombres, the States is not the location I would want to be jammed in during the panic and shelter in place antics going on.
As the Covid19 monster gathered size and made it's way around the globe I first I looked at changing my travel destination to Peru... then that didn't look like a great place to get stuck in either so I tentatively planned a hike on the Heysen Trail in South Australia then the shit hit the fan on Thursday March 19 and everyone was designated to 'hunker down and keep the hell away from one another' status. I got off easy- full refunds on tickets and cancellations. 1000's of travellers are still going nowhere in remote locations all over the globe even now a month onwards.
Life here for me in Launceston has been surprisingly, well... business as usual. If you still have a business. Or employment with one.
I am fortunate to be working on a farm in the primary industry sector and am very much isolated whilst located in a rural area and our processed products are in heavy demand. So that's that.
There isn't a true lockdown situation in Tasmania however our State government sealed the borders which means no one in, no one out. Same for Australia as a nation. For the first time in my life international travel is prohibited and all citizens are banned from exiting the country. Add to that an almost complete shutdown of the airline industry and Safari isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
National Parks and public lands managed by Parks Tasmania are closed which kinda sucks big time as all the few remaining dog parks and river side trails around Launceston are jam packed most days with families and mountain bikers and walkers pushing past each other...short sighted but I get why the decision was made.
Ree & I are fully supportive of the stay at home order and keep the fuck away from everyone else. We're getting on with it as usual by going to work, doing badass workouts, walking and running the same 3 walking trails over and over and over again.... Definitely want to see Australia and New Zealand come out of this as soon as possible and with minimal life lost. The economic damage is already truly horrible but as I have alluded to; we are in a better place than most and fortunately I held off on pulling the trigger on my cheap & cheerful cafe business idea last year. Phew!
Have I been baking? Actually, yes. Not because I have extra time or am bored or following the herd (not me!), more to do with continuing a habit I started up when up on the cattle station I worked at last year as a cook. Banana muffins and bliss balls baby! Oh yeah, and nude Jenga.
We know no one is going to rock up these days so that's safe.
Am I planning an adventure or 2 for when this piece of shit virus abates? Kind of. Everything is so fluid and changeable at present I'm being a bit corny and twee and 'living in the moment' for the first time in yonks and not really worrying about the future.
It'll happen. Time rolls on.
'beware those who seek constant crowds for they are nothing alone'
Charles Bukowski
Meanwhile there are movies about hobbits and Italian/ American boxers and old Kelpies that need walking to distract me and my job absolutely wears me out physically on top of all the road running I'm doing so again, being a tad corny; feeling grateful for my lot in life and good health.
Big thanks to anyone and everyone who has messaged me and positive thoughts to all reading this. It's not the zombie apocalypse but shit I wash my hands an awful lot now. 😀
According to the calendar hanging over my side of the bed, today I should be kicking off my Northbound hike of the Centennial Trail in the Black Hills, South Dakota.
After a week of stomping around in Dances with Wolves country I was planning to camp out for a while in Badlands National Park to the East.
Sounds like a marvellous romp to begin my annual trip to the USA. Or it would have been right...
I bailed on this years mission to Colorado, South Dakota and Florida (sorry Uncle Gary) at the end of February after progressively twitchy information regarding the coronavirus signalled a no go this year. With all respect to my American relatives and hombres, the States is not the location I would want to be jammed in during the panic and shelter in place antics going on.
As the Covid19 monster gathered size and made it's way around the globe I first I looked at changing my travel destination to Peru... then that didn't look like a great place to get stuck in either so I tentatively planned a hike on the Heysen Trail in South Australia then the shit hit the fan on Thursday March 19 and everyone was designated to 'hunker down and keep the hell away from one another' status. I got off easy- full refunds on tickets and cancellations. 1000's of travellers are still going nowhere in remote locations all over the globe even now a month onwards.
Life here for me in Launceston has been surprisingly, well... business as usual. If you still have a business. Or employment with one.
I am fortunate to be working on a farm in the primary industry sector and am very much isolated whilst located in a rural area and our processed products are in heavy demand. So that's that.
There isn't a true lockdown situation in Tasmania however our State government sealed the borders which means no one in, no one out. Same for Australia as a nation. For the first time in my life international travel is prohibited and all citizens are banned from exiting the country. Add to that an almost complete shutdown of the airline industry and Safari isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
National Parks and public lands managed by Parks Tasmania are closed which kinda sucks big time as all the few remaining dog parks and river side trails around Launceston are jam packed most days with families and mountain bikers and walkers pushing past each other...short sighted but I get why the decision was made.
Ree & I are fully supportive of the stay at home order and keep the fuck away from everyone else. We're getting on with it as usual by going to work, doing badass workouts, walking and running the same 3 walking trails over and over and over again.... Definitely want to see Australia and New Zealand come out of this as soon as possible and with minimal life lost. The economic damage is already truly horrible but as I have alluded to; we are in a better place than most and fortunately I held off on pulling the trigger on my cheap & cheerful cafe business idea last year. Phew!
Have I been baking? Actually, yes. Not because I have extra time or am bored or following the herd (not me!), more to do with continuing a habit I started up when up on the cattle station I worked at last year as a cook. Banana muffins and bliss balls baby! Oh yeah, and nude Jenga.
We know no one is going to rock up these days so that's safe.
Am I planning an adventure or 2 for when this piece of shit virus abates? Kind of. Everything is so fluid and changeable at present I'm being a bit corny and twee and 'living in the moment' for the first time in yonks and not really worrying about the future.
It'll happen. Time rolls on.
'beware those who seek constant crowds for they are nothing alone'
Charles Bukowski
Meanwhile there are movies about hobbits and Italian/ American boxers and old Kelpies that need walking to distract me and my job absolutely wears me out physically on top of all the road running I'm doing so again, being a tad corny; feeling grateful for my lot in life and good health.
Big thanks to anyone and everyone who has messaged me and positive thoughts to all reading this. It's not the zombie apocalypse but shit I wash my hands an awful lot now. 😀
