Our soapbox

We love life and are passionate about a number of things. We thought it might be best to get up on the soapbox now and share these passions – you can choose to read on or not. We strive to live within these principles – but we don’t, and can’t, always get it right. You might find something here that will enhance your life in some way. That’s what we hope.

• A healthy life – we eat a diet based on whole foods (seasonal, organic (where possible) and local fruit/vegetables, eggs, meat, dairy, wild caught fish) which are mostly cooked medium/slow and/or eaten raw. We have reduced our intake of processed/packaged foods, sweet foods, takeaways and supplements to a minimum and don’t cook with poly or mono unsaturated fats. It’s eating the way our grandparents may have – with a cow, chooks, fruit trees and vegies in the back yard (no supermarkets, cooking oils, margarine or take aways in those days).Whatever your ideology  – be it vegetarian, vegan, raw or meat eater – our message is just stick to the fundamentals (fresh, local, whole, not processed) to achieve that undeniable sense of well-being and vibrancy for yourself. You’ll know when you get it right but we’ve found it is a journey and will take time. A healthy life also includes exercise – every day if possible – again tailored to your abilities and life commitments but always given high priority. And time, each day, to be quiet and relax – however you want to achieve this. You’ll be rewarded with more energy and a greater appreciation of life. Most of us need to look after ourselves to ensure we don’t become diseased and lose quality of life (well, I don’t want that to happen to me, how ’bout you?). As we travel around Oz, we’ll attempt to stick to these health guidelines but acknowledge this won’t always be possible. Regardless, we’ll share our thoughts, activities and hopefully some recipes as we go.
• Support local farmers’ markets/co-operatives – we source our whole foods directly from local producers at our weekly farmers’ market. You may not be lucky enough to have one close to you although you can purchase through buyers’ co-operatives or online organic stores. Farmers’ markets are a wonderful, fulfilling way to shop – and as a bonus, you get to know and support those salt-of-the-earth, hardworking souls who produce the food you are eating. And shopping outdoors, under market umbrellas, beats shopping indoors under flourescent lights any day! We’ll be trying to buy through local markets as we travel but acknowledge, again, that this will be a challenge.
• Stay away from Coles/Woolworths and their related companies where possible – we want to reverse the growing stranglehold that the duopoly of Coles and Woolworths appears to have on us, as consumers and producers. We believe that allowing this duopoly to dominate will lead eventually to a lack of food variety and security – foods will be in-house branded and/or sourced overseas (cheaper). A bleak, unhealthy future for Australian consumers and producers. Vote with your dollar and stay away from the duopoly and it’s associated businesses if you can.
• Appreciate and care for the amazing Australian landscape – we are looking forward to travelling around, and learning about, the beautiful country that we are lucky enough to have been born in. We appreciate the fact that we are free to make the choice to give up work and travel without any constraints (other than our own). From what we’ve heard (as we start this journey), the number of people travelling around Oz has reached plague proportions – we’d like to encourage all travellers to act as custodians of the land and look after it wherever they are.
• Oz communities, people and way of life – we are also looking forward to meeting people all around Australia, not just fellow travellers and like minded souls but people in the communities through which we travel. We hope to become involved and help where needed. One organisation that springs to mind is BlazeAid. This is the Australian way – helping each other through difficult times. It happens everywhere, we love that. We have already received kindness from others on the road – now we want to give back to others as we travel and we look forward to being involved in as much as possible.
• Music – we love it. Born in the 50’s, we were lucky enough to grow up listening to some legendary musicians. We’re hoping that we can hook into some music events – festivals, concerts etc – as they happen around the country. We’ll share these with you if we can.
• Wine – should I have listed this under ‘a healthy life’? You bet. A glass (or two) of red wine each day is known to be beneficial to health. Try organic and/or preservative free when you can. Andrew believes that the same health benefits are derived from a glass (or two) of beer. Hmmm… We hope to discover some local beauties as we travel around the Oz wine (and beer brewing) regions. We’ll share (photos of) these with you.