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Little Lion Man

Little Lion Man lyrics

Weep for yourself, my man,
You'll never be what is in your heart
Weep little lion man,
You're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rape yourself,
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your
own head

But it was not your fault but mine
and it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?

Tremble for yourself, my man,
You know that you have seen this all before
Tremble little lion man,
You'll never settle any of your score
Your grace is wasted in your face,
Your boldness stands alone among the wreck
Learn from your mother or else spend your days biting
your own neck

But it was not your fault but mine
and it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
didn't I, my dear?

The Art of Travel

How to go on a journey, instead of just being a tourist - by Nick van der Leek

The best laid plans...

Okay I admit it, my plans for Australia, an island continent I've always dreamed of visiting, were ambitious. Very small margin for error. The plan, in broad strokes, was to circumnavigate Australia's coastline, starting in Perth, taking in the coastal belt south of Perth, then Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast as far as Cairns, Darwin, Broome and then the remainder of the west coast of Western Australia [including Ningaloo] before returning back to Perth. Here's the rub - all this in 5 weeks. Lonely Planet recommends around 6 months.

I started off well. But then, in Melbourne, the third car hire place turned out to be an unlucky number three. The manager at Thriftys said she wasn't going to recognise my driver's license. This in itself was dramatic, but no catastrophic. It meant the Great Ocean Road [the epic 12 Apostles] was under threat. Worse, it meant the 70.3 triathlon in Geelong would have to be visited by train. I'd have to lug backpacks and bicycle around without the use of the car.

Then things worsened. After being turned down at Thriftys I caught 2 consecutive taxi's in Melbourne and during this process managed to lose both my credit card and driver's license.

Now those 5 weeks of chockablock travel were under threat because all the little bits in-between that were supposed to be non-negotiable were now being squashed together or removed entirely. Removing the car hire option means a lot less flexibility.
Which brings me to the following question - how do you experience travel as a journey, rather than as mere camera toting tourism.

The answer is to have a general framework for what you want to do. Take a few tips from lonely planet. Crystallise a country or destination into a handful of memorable experiences. But allow for spontaneity and flexibility in execution. Tourism is ticking off places on a map just so that you can say you've been there. The journey involves a richer experience, actually being there. And to be somewhere you need to slow down, smell the flowers, close your eyes, listen to the sounds around you. Sometimes a quickfire trip can give you a sense of a place, but often you can't get a real sense.

When shit happens, you have the perfect opportunity to absorb. Rather than resenting your circumstances, enjoy them. Embrace the space you're in and the time. Reach out to those around you. And allow the world to mould your experience. Often it is when we don't have our way, that nature intrudes - and in the best possible way. Give it a chance, let go, and let your cup fill with that singular substance that is the lifeblood of a traveller - meaning and context to go with the pictures.

Lost In Australia - an Introduction

Apologies to those of you who have made a few visits here to update yourselves with my doen en late.

At the moment I am in Melbourne, specifically a backpackers called Urban Central.
I arrived in Australia on the 25th of January and have made a whirlwind trip - taking in Perth and the area just south in WA, then the world's longest section of railway track [across the Nullaboor Desert].

For the past few days I've been in Adelaide and over the coming weekend I'm competing in another 70.3 race [a half Ironman].

Travelling is a wonderful elixir for the human spirit, and I have felt like, over the past few years, a cancer has taken root and I have felt myself feeling increasingly like the walking dead. In part this was as a result of working for an incredibly stifling company and incredibly stifling boss. I have a few other pressing concerns but won't raise these just yet.

I am obviously taking hundreds of photographs during my travels and will put these back as soon as I am on home soil. I have to admit though that I have realised of late that not only am I not proudly South African, in fact the opposite, I will be making every effort to get out of a country I am increasingly ashamed of. A president with 5 wives and 20 children? Really?

If I can I'll try to make Australia my home. It's modern, sophisticated, progressive and very well organised. The government cares about its people, and about issues that matter. Like climate change.

I've also have a few ideas whilst on the road. One will involve a re-design of this blog into something more cohesive, and in a word: inspiring. Stay tuned.