Camels for Life

About karlacamellover

I guess I always knew I was little different from a young age. Suffering from depression as a teenager led me to the best gift of all - soul searching. 

Although I was born in New Zealand I consider myself an Aussie as I've lived here since I was 5. I grew up in the Perth hills and after dropping out of school at the end of year 11 I went on to do many jobs before finally finding the degree I wanted to study. I started uni when I was 21 as a mature age student and completed my degree in Health and Environment (BSc) after 4 years. It was while I was at uni that I got involved in spiritual awareness and developed my deep passion for the environment. I went on to do honours in Environmental Science but as fate would have it I never ended up finishing. 

I put myself through university and found it a struggle the whole way through. The education system baffles me sometimes in it's aim to conform people. On completion of my degree I no longer believed anything I read or heard, especially if it was science based (theory based), and instead started living through 'feeling' and using my gut as to what I believed right or wrong.

To congratulate myself for sticking out my degree I booked myself a holiday to Broome, Western Australia, during my mid year break of honours. Staying with family friends I had the most wonderful holiday and decided I loved it so much I would like to move to the tropics, somewhere north in Australia. Believing Darwin was cheaper to live than Broome I thought that would be a great place to start. Whilst sitting out the back of my friends house in Broome I also decided perhaps I could work in mining for a couple of years, just to get myself ahead. The next day my friend called me about a job in Darwin working for an oil and gas company for a maternity leave contract. Within a week of arriving back in Perth I was living in Darwin. 

I instantly fell in love with Darwin from the moment I stepped off the plane, it felt more like home than Perth ever had for me. My job was fabulous and I was able to achieve a life long goal of purchasing my own house. My sustainability roots never left me and I soon developed a permaculture garden (to the best of my ability) and loved to get out camping on the weekend. After 2 1/2 years I decided it was time to get back to what's important to me and set myself some new goals to lead by example and be the change I wish to see in the world. 

I quit my job on a whim after reading a fabulous set of books called the Ringing Cedar Series. Around the same time a work colleague gave me a book called 'Tracks' by Robin Davidson - the dream and goal was set instantly - I was going to travel Australia on camel back. I have an infinity with animals that has been deeply ingrained in me for as long as I can remember so camels seemed like such a fitting choice. 

This travel journal is my story of turning a dream into reality. Going from a suburban girl who's only ever drank water from a tap to learning about bush survival - trekking with camels through Australia. 

My Travel Map: