Surfing the sparkling waters off the far North Coast of Australia, or getting lost amongst the colourful wares of vendor boats floating on the murky waters of the Mekong in Thailand.
Perhaps it is the glorious smells of the spring time air and the march flowing Orchids of Godavari in Nepal that makes you feel like a hero as you set off to conquer the Himalayas.
Whatever it is, we all have that one "special" place, the place that makes us feel like we are safe, the place that inspires us to do better, the place that arouses our senses and forces us to take that one step further, and enables us to achieve what we once thought impossible, empowering us, turning us into heroes, some of us like to get lost in the wilderness for days, and some of us prefer the hotel life, whatever it is we all have a wanderlust, a need to investigate, we all have that little curious kid inside us, somewhere, hiding…...
I am a nomad, I am Callum this is me, searching forever exploring, I have been to many places, too many to mention, and all I want to do is go home.
Dorothy from Kansas said it all to well, "there is no place like home".
So with I swiftly clicked my Scarpa boots together and transported myself to the one place that I could truly feel like it all means something. Home, Queenstown, New Zealand,
the crisp cold air on my face, picturesque snow capped mountains, and the crystal clear lakes, the wineries of Central Otago, everything is here, I can unwind and relax by the Arrowtown river, and when I feel adventurous I can hike to the top of Coronet peak and throw myself off a cliff side, paragliding into the rolling hills.
Hiking the summit on a beautiful spring day I realised I had been homesick, and as I looked over my house down below, it dawned on me, I was looking for a "better" life and I had missed my own backyard, so many people travel, they leave home, they want to find some thing better, but have never explored there own home, more than half of Australians have never witnessed the beautiful sunset at Uluru, nor have many Americans been to the grand canyon, yet the same Australians and Americans have been to the beaches of Thailand, or the snow fields of Japan.
My own place, a place that I can call home, my safe place, I am a hero at home, I am inspired at home, as I look out my window, I am inspired, Inspired enough to write this, my first ever travel article, my first ever piece of writing, I have many more places to visit, and countless years of travel ahead of me but for now Otago will be my muse.
We will never be to old to travel, nor will we ever be old to find adventure, but as everyday passes, every step gets harder.
Callum Dawson
