Imagine tossing out pretty much everything stable in your life and taking a leap into the great unknown, without actually planning ahead (yes, some people do that) – for Greg and myself, moving out of the city and into literally the wilderness was more exciting than scary, and certainly promised great adventure… we got that and more.

How did we ended up living wild? It happened almost quietly. We lived in suburbia in Darwin (Australian Northern Territory) and had all the usual trappings, a mortgage, a car – I had a motorbike – jobs. I’ve been a writer all my life, but only in the background, and I was a long way from being published. I had no time to write, which was one of the things stacking up against me at the time.

The job I was doing was taking its toll because I hadn’t learnt how to leave it at work. It consumed me, and felt like I was there 24/7. While the people were fine to work with, the pay was poor and the hours long and awkward, being mainly split shifts, which meant starting early, having a big gap in the day, and ending late. On top of that, I needed to be fit and healthy, so I’d rise at 4:00 am, six days out of seven, and do aerobics and weights until 7:00 am, then get ready for work. I looked good, I felt good, but I wasn’t getting what I wanted out of life, and mentally, I was losing will and motivation.

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