Postcards & Suitcase Life
A return to the wild, except it's 40-hour travel days and a European heatwave.
Dear friends,
I write to you from a brightly lit, bustling boarding gate at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 1am. The family snoozes in various uncomfortable positions on the floor and seats. I’ve been awake for 24 hours, our trip strewn with delays. Yet somehow I feel quite alive (but if I sound delusional, you’re probably right). One measly 13-hour flight to go and we’ll be melting in a 40-degree Paris heatwave.
This is a different kind of wild.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for joining me here on Substack over the past year. I adore reading your comments and sharing a deep appreciation and fondness for the natural world with you. I hope you won’t miss my Tasmanian sunsets as much as I will as we venture to the other side of the globe. Rest assured, we will return to our slice of southern paradise later this year.
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Week 1 - Between Worlds
It’s only been a week since we left our humble Tasmanian abode with that iconic view, yet it feels as though this journey began a month ago. We decided to move out of our rental and back into our bus-home while we’re overseas, resulting in a whirlwind of culling, sorting, and packing to fit a household’s worth of belongings back into a bus, two cars, and four carry-on suitcases. I love the process of downsizing and refreshing our possessions, but it carries a massive mental load.
We began this trip in my hometown in Queensland, with a week to sort out life admin, attend health appointments, and do the rounds visiting friends and family. I ticked a lot of boxes, but my nervous system was still operating at full throttle. I found solace in the familiar embrace of loved ones, tropical “winter” blooms, and my favourite childhood beach, but daily rhythm eluded me.
It’s easy to forget how far Australia is from the rest of the world until you take a 5:50am five-hour flight, only to find yourself still in Australia. From Perth, it was another five-hour flight to Singapore, and then 13 to Europe.
Despite being stuck in a tube at 10,000m with a few hundred strangers, I can finally relax for the first time in weeks. All of the planning and preparation is now stacked neatly into a travel box in my mind, ready to be archived so we can get to the fun part.
Next stop - Paris (and I hear it’s hot hot hot!) See you there.
Stay curious and kind,
Simone
I’m here to rewild the human spirit—gently restoring joy, presence and a deeper connection to nature in ways that feel easy to weave into life as it is.
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