The different styles of nomad travellers
Nomads are just like everybody else, except that the nomadic lifestyle tends to bring out the more extreme version of who you already are with all the advantages and disadvantages that that implies. There are a few broad approaches to life, and they’re all represented in the nomad population.
Mr and Ms Spontaneity
No planning, no forethought, no thinking ahead, just impulse. This is the nomad who wants the ‘ultimate freedom’ without bounds and limitations.
Advantages: serendipity and surprise, because anything can happen anytime and there’s a certain feeling of romantic adventure to everything that happens because, when you live like this, everything is just so fresh, new and surprising.
Disadvantages: unpreparedness, which, in Australia, when combined with unfettered impulse, might result in clueless and fatal forays into genuine danger. Having said that though, unpreparedness more often than not just leads to unnecessary headaches and drama.
Best suited: for those who stay somewhat on the beaten track where more, shall we say, ‘conscientious’ people who think things through more thoroughly can rescue them if Mr and Ms Spontaneity get into too much trouble through lack of forethought
Mr and Ms Prepared-for-Anything
The possessors of lots of ‘things’. This nomad is extremely well- equipped for a broad range of eventualities and often has the latest state-of-the-art camping paraphernalia and creature comforts.
Advantages: if there’s a problem, they usually have the right tool, piece of equipment or supply to fill the need or solve the problem.
Disadvantages: since there are so many things that might happen, or things you might need, it usually means lugging around a lot of stuff and you need to have a vehicle that can handle this and the budget for the increased petrol costs.
Best suited: for those who seek security in things and who don’t feel that they have to compromise on comfort or security when they’re away from civilisation. It also helps to have deep pockets for all the extra expenses incurred in lugging around so much stuff.
Mr and Ms Organised
While ‘the spontaneous’ should be prepared to live on beans (because they’ve run out of anything else) and ‘the prepared’ won’t be able to do without their portable television sets and frozen, gluten-free bread, ‘the organised’ prefer to have the best of both worlds, but this means having to think ahead and doing some research.
It’s likely if you're reading this that you’re an ‘organised’, or you have an organised friend who has given you this book in the hopes that your adventure won’t hurt you or kill you unnecessarily.
The prepared will have this book, just in case, but have never read it and will only read it when they have to, and the spontaneous might have bought this book on impulse, but they have misplaced it and forgotten about it, because they got distracted by some shiny thing somewhere, which could be why you’re reading it now, having picked it up where they left it behind.
Advantages: they’ve done the homework so are less likely to get into trouble and are less likely to have to carry around so much.
Disadvantages: might fall into the trap of being over-organised, with a timetable that has no flexibility or give. You might then get upset if you don’t get to that music festival right on time. Or you might miss that spectacular sunset because you’re too busy looking at the map.
Best suited: for those who have confidence in their ability to do the necessary research and planning, but who also know that they can improvise if something doesn’t go exactly to plan. We hear this a lot about people who micro-plan their trip, then put so much pressure on themselves when they fail to see things, or don’t allow much time to enjoy simple things or to stop and smell the roses.
The Big Pluses of the Nomad Way of Life
There’s no doubt that nomadding is very attractive to a lot of people, otherwise there wouldn’t even be a term for this way of living. Some of the pluses include:
- You’re not tied down to any particular place because you have a lease or a mortgage that you’re obliged to maintain.
- You’re not tied down to any time because you’re retired or have a super- flexible job, either because you can take your job anywhere (it can all be done on a laptop) or there’s a need for you even in more remote or far- far flung places (you’re an agency nurse or a freelance electrician).
- You’re not answerable to anyone, because you’ve either freed yourself from relationship obligations (boss/employee) or your relationships have evolved (parent/grown-up children). There are so many amazing experiences that you could have, but they won’t come to you, you have to go to them and this lifestyle helps you do that.
- The opportunity for personal growth is there if you want it. You’ll often find yourself doing things you never thought
you would do or were even capable of doing. You’ll discover potential that you might not have known you had. You’ll become a different, and, if you do it right, a better version of yourself – more resourceful, more resilient, more capable and more confident. - One of the best things you can do to boost confidence in this whole nomadding, camping thing is to do a bit of rehearsal, in fact, a lot of rehearsal. Practice makes perfect, especially if you’ve never done anything like this before.
Credit: The Grey Nomad's Ultimate guide to Australia, New Holland Publishers, RRP $32.99 available from all good book retailers or online at www.newhollandpublishers.com.