Writing is part of my life, part of the adventure

Springvale-Camp – 04.10.2002 – 07.10.2002

During the day I take the opportunity to use the writing space offered by Robert and in the evening Tanja and I sit around the campfire. Tanja has a good time despite her camel herding. She can spend time reading or painting in between or simply enjoys not having to repair or pack anything. Sometimes I envy them when I spend hours and hours on the computer recording our life story and my thoughts. The so-called rest camps are often more strenuous than the running days. I sit in the camping chair in front of the small screen for up to 10 hours. It is my world at this moment. Although I don’t have to walk, this world is also exhausting. I basically experience our adventures twice in this way. I go through every dodge, every thought again to see whether the stories are negative or positive. Often, while writing, I soon suffer as if I were actually being kicked by a camel at that moment. Sometimes I cry or start to sweat or my hair stands on end with fear. But in contrast, I hear the birds chirping, feel the breeze brushing my face, laugh heartily at a funny incident and rejoice in our successes.

It is not unusual for me to digest what I have experienced in this way, to come to terms with the past and to learn more than I think at the time. As I have already described, I experience an adventure while writing that takes me deep into my own psyche. Writing has become an instrument for me to connect the spiritual world with the outside world. It is an instrument to unite the physical adventure with the senses and feelings of my inner world. Ultimately, it is a tool for me to bring many inexplicable things into a form in order to explain them to myself and our readers. Even though this writing work is often incredibly exhausting, it has become part of my life, like our camels, like Rufus, like the outback, it is part of the adventure. In the end, I would like to say that writing is an adventure in itself, which can hardly be separated from the events of the expedition. The two go together to make the ball go round…