"I couldn't just quit work - I'm needed...." "We'd have to wait a few years til Jack finishes school..." "We could only take a few months off for long service leave not enough to do the whole trail.." "We'd need to wait til we've paid the mortgage off at least..." "Ok, bugger, we'd be in our early 50's then..." "Do you reckon your knee would hold out ya old fart..." "Ok so let's head back then. It'd be great though wouldn't it?" "Yeah! fucking awesome." It's funny how things work out. If I look back at the number of times an idea has entered my head, turned into something I really want, dismissed as a pipe dream, but then eventuating, well I won't list them and sound like a wanker, but there have been more than a handful of big things in my life that have materialised like this, and being in a position to tackle the BNT is one of them. I think I was starting to rust at work, just going through the motions, and the days where I felt "Wow I love my job, I've really made a difference today" were becoming far and few between. In the past, changing jobs and setting new goals worked wonders as the cure for this, but nearing the 10-year mark, the longest I had ever worked for one employer, I had it in the back of my mind that it would be good to stick around and clock over this big milestone. Taking three months off for long service leave was also lurking around in the back of my mind. The company I worked for was also one of Australia's largest corporations which, over the 10 years, also provided opportunity for changing roles whilst staying with the company - this thought was rattling around in my head too, as the cure-all for my lost mojo. I think ultimately what was holding me back was the thought that I needed a real "tree change" in my career but not quite knowing what that would be or being brave enough to just take the plunge. So back to my point about how its funny how things tend to work out. The decision was made for me and I won the corporation's "Redundancy Lotto". I saw it coming but I didn't. I knew there was a restructure happening in my area, in fact I was working on it and thought I'd land on the right side of it and get the recharge with a refreshed role I was looking for. Ultimately it was fortunate for me this wasn't the case. Let's go back to that earlier reality slap - Wow, some of those hurdles don't look so big now, I could do this. I decided its now or never. I figured I'm not getting any younger, the redundancy buys some financial peace, and I need to recharge and figure out what I will be happy doing next. After a pile of research, copious hours doing budgets and spreadsheets, to demonstrate this would stack up, I floated the idea with my wife Beth first. I am amazed how supportive Beth and my family have been - initially the idea was for me to take a few months out and do Healesville to Kosciusko; however, the time I could realistically start meant it'd be winter going over the Victorian highlands which I figured would be a little too challenging. Plans began to form doing the full north-to-south attempt as the season timings seemed to align . As they say "go big or go home" and, in November 2016, I shared with family and friends my intention to tackle the BNT and taking a year out to do it. Serious planning started at that point - that's when I got my second reality slap... but that's a story for another day.
10 Comments
sue cumming
24/4/2017 03:01:48 pm
getting on track, look forward to reading of your journey, one of Australia,s great natural assets, BNT.
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Chris
26/4/2017 06:14:31 am
Thanks Sue
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Chris
25/4/2017 04:06:22 pm
Looking forward to following.
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Chris
26/4/2017 06:14:09 am
Thanks Chris.
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Jennie
25/4/2017 08:43:26 pm
Just do it. Stop thinking and make it happen. I did that and the experiences and memories were worth every bit. Even took the kids along. Believe me, you won't regret a single day, or maybe one or two!
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Chris
26/4/2017 06:13:30 am
Thanks Jennie. Yeah I can't wait to hit the Trail. Flights are booked and less than 20 days to go.
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Chris
27/4/2017 05:34:48 am
Thanks Mark! I'll be living vicariously following your adventures, South America looks amazing. Go team Earth Soul Images!
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Kara
27/4/2017 11:39:36 am
I've really been enjoying watching your smaller adventures thus far and I'm excited that the time is nearing for your BNT adventure to begin, even more so that you're going to be able to share bits of it with us along the way.
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Chris
27/4/2017 06:22:36 pm
Hi Kara, my big spreadsheet shows me getting back mid March 2018, but that will be subject to lots of change along the way. I've mentally and financially set aside a full year. My trip up to Cooktown will certainly be a lot quicker - I set out from Healesville bright and early on the 15th May and get to Cooktown late afternoon. I've got a direct flight to Cairns and then a connecting regional flight to Cooktown.
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AuthorAt 47 years young, Chris Anthony, who is married with 3 wonderful kids, tried his hand at being an adventurer for the 12 months tackling the BNT. Archives
May 2018
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