Today we went for a walk near Ludlow and saw red deer, fallow deer, buzzards, kestrel and a truly enormous hare. Last week without particularly trying we saw rabbits, squirrels and a fox as well as woodpeckers, rooks, bluetits and gold finches that look like minature toucan barbets. So who says Britain has hardly any wildlife? I guess it’s a matter of perspective; none of these are uncommonly seen except perhaps the hare and presumably Australians are quietly amused by tourists gazing at their first kangaroo.
Anyway, the British countryside looks as bucolic and beautiful as I expected. And is still full of hay fever in summer. Nothing very much has seemed odd or astonishing about our return, except perhaps that we notice more wildlife on our walks. We did have a moment of ‘Wow, I remember these clothes! They’re all ours!’ when we opened the boxes back home, but otherwise we’ve just slipped back into the groove without a hitch. The urge to declutter has been strong, though, and a lot of clothes and books that we haven’t needed for a long time have been taken to the charity shop.
So there we go, we’re back home. We’ve got a few months to decide what to do with ourselves next, maybe experiment with different ways of making money, maybe end up back in a nine-to-five. It’s too early to say. In the meantime we’re gradually working through our list of “things we want to eat back home” that we made as we dragged ourselves through the patchy cuisine of South America.
The backpacks have been tucked in a cupboard and our year adrift is officially complete.
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Dear Matthew and Maureen
Its been great following your travels from here in the Tsitsikamma’s I hope you find direction but would urge you to seek continued fulfilment in nature as you begin another chapter of your lives. Your posts have been filled with admiration of the flora and fauna of the biomes you have had the good fortune to experience.
Carmen and I wish you all the very best and again would relay our thanks for sharing it all through thick and thin.
Best wishes
Robbie and Carmen
You make a very good point! We’ll definitely always plan our holidays and free time around seeing wildlife and natural landscapes… but wouldn’t it be so much better if we could find jobs that kept us in touch with nature all year round? Mustn’t forget that, as we start considering our options.
I hope everything is going well at Storms River, a place where you are most definitely surrounded by nature every day – lucky you! Best wishes to you both, and thanks for reading along.
Matthew and Maureen