Feature: Margie from Rules of the Road — Women Overlanding the World

“If one dives and returns to the surface inarticulate with amazement. . . then He deserves to go again and again. If He is unmoved or disappointed, then there remains for Him on earth only a longer or shorter period of waiting for death; there can be little worth while left in life for him.”

— William Beebe

My name is Margie and my Husband and I are overlanding the world with our two-year-old son Sebastian. We hope to spend the next 2-3 years driving from our home in Australia to the UK. I have a PhD in Marine Science but wanted to do something different with my life, so we quit our jobs, sold our house and all our belongings and hit the road. I was actually 37 weeks pregnant at the time we did all this, and we jumped in our car and drove the 5000km across Australia (its very remote and a little terrifying when you are that pregnant) so that I could have the baby closer to our families. A year after that we left Australia to begin our around the world overland trip. We have been on the road for the past 9 months.

Who or what inspired you to choose independent vehicle travel as your mode of transportation?

Many years ago we spent nearly a month riding scooters across Vietnam. One night I was watching that episode of Top Gear where they did it, and I texted my husband and said ‘We should ride scooters across Vietnam’, and he said ‘Sure’. We absolutely loved it. It was insanely hard and one of the most terrifying things I have ever done but I think this was when we fell in love with overland travel. We started planning what to do with our long-service leave from work, but it had to involve scuba diving, and motorbikes just wouldn’t have the space. So we needed a car. After 5 years of planning it all came together. And it is a good thing we have the extra space, we need it for our little man.

Everyone always asks a traveller what their favorite country is. Do you have a favorite country? If not, what is a place that is special to you?

Since we have only just started out, its hard to say. We have only visited a couple of countries so far. We have visited other countries in the past and loved them all. But home (Australia) will always be special to me.

Travelling has taught me…

Living in a developed country in the western world, we are conditioned to believe that less developed places are dangerous, and before leaving on this trip everyone and everything had me believing that we would get into some terrible trouble as soon as we touched foreign soil. We might get robbed, or sick, or who knows what but the list of potential traumas is long. The world is so different from that, my view has changed completely, everyone is friendly and kind and there is nothing to fear out there. The TV at home is so misleading, not everyone in a foreign country is out to get you; in fact, no one is, everyone just wants to be your friend.

Overlanding sucks sometimes because…

Of course there is a long list of things that can suck about overlanding, but everything is temporary and the amazing times are always just around the corner. There is a screaming, filthy toddler, pouring rain, no showers, no clean clothes, no food, vomiting with food poisoning in the middle of the night; but when I see the smile on my little mans’ face in some wild unexplored place, running around with the local kids on the beach, nothing sucks, it is all incredible.

I am a badass woman because…

I don’t feel like a badass woman, mostly I’m just a tired mother trying to keep it together. But maybe that is what makes me badass, the fact that I am a mother, dragging her little family on the craziest adventure of a lifetime.

One of the most common questions we get is about finances. Do you have any tips, tricks or advice on this topic?

We camp on beaches and in parks and cook our own food, we buy food from markets and hand wash our laundry. This keeps the cost way down. I cant think of any one suggestion. We have two 30L water tanks on our car, and in Indonesia and Timor they have ‘depot air minimum’, where they will fill a 20L bottle of water for about 50c. This means we have water for about 4 days for about $1.50 and we don’t make piles of plastic bottle waste. It’s the little things when you are on the road. Each little saving gives us longer to keep travelling.

How has this experience changed you?

Everywhere we have gone so far people flock out to see us. No one speaks English but they are all so excited and they just want to be with us. I am so used to filling the air with words and conversation and I am learning how to just be peaceful, to just sit and share this world with strangers.

What do you think is the biggest challenge for women overlanders?

Not to worry so much. Everything is fixable with time and patience. I reckon women are generally wired to worry and be protective. I know I am. If you can overcome your fears and preconceptions then you will be unstoppable. When your car has just broken down in the middle of a rice paddy in the back of nowhere, just take a few breaths. Eat that fried chicken you bought with you, put on your hiking boots and baby carrier and walk to the nearest village. They will have a motor bike, to take you to a car, to take you to a hotel, and a mechanic. It is all fixable.

What are your favorite overland resources (blogs, books, FB pages, etc.)?

I don’t know. There is no one place to look for this information. ‘Just Google it’ is probably the most common thing we say. You can find anything online. We also join Facebook ‘expat pages’ when we have been in major cities; they are great for getting help and questions answered, things like getting car parts, help with visas, finding English-speaking doctors and medical questions for the baby.

What is a simple life hack you’ve discovered while on the road?

Don’t plan anything. Its not possible to do a trip like this and run on a schedule. We have delays and mishaps constantly, and end up stuck for days or simply decide we want to see something we didn’t even know existed when we were planning. You will miss out on too much if you set goals and deadlines. Just go and choose your path along the way. Oh and always have toilet paper on hand, you don’t want to get caught out.

What advice would you give to someone with a dream to travel overland?

Just do it. Because there will never be a good time. We probably left at the worst possible time, quitting our jobs when I was 37 weeks pregnant and deciding to do this with a baby. But there will always be a reason not to do it, so just go. Right now.

How old are your children?

Sebastian (or Baz for short) is 2 years old.

How do you address education while on the road?

At the moment he is too little for us to worry too much about education. But we have discussed it. Depending what happens over the next few years, we will either head home when he is ready for school or slow down a bit, spend blocks of time in places where he can go to school for a few months at a time. While Michael and I are both well educated we are not so sure about home schooling.

How has this experience changed your children?

We can already see the differences. He is so adventurous, he tries everything. He is happiest when we are outside and seeing new things. He goes a bit crazy indoors or in the same places for long periods of time. Well he is a bit crazy anyway, but that’s ok. We love that he is a little weirdo. A brave, adventurous little weirdo.

Do you believe that travelling with children affects the way locals interact with you?

Absolutely! We have only been in South East Asia so far but the people here love babies, the culture is so different to ours and everyone adores children. He is a celebrity. It probably helps that he has ginger hair, people flock to see him. We must have had millions of selfies taken with us. They are so excited to pinch his cheeks and give him high fives. They bring us fruit and food everywhere we go. Everyone wants to talk to us and meet him. It is a completely different experience with him. One of the most incredible things is how often the locals with just quietly walk past and touch his cheek or his arm, so gently and peacefully. It’s a very special thing.

How do you deal with illness and injury while on the road?

So far we have been lucky and avoided any major sickness. Firstly Baz is completely vaccinated, for everything that he could get. Hepititis, tetanus, rabies, TB, Japanese encephalitis, and more. We have had quite a few colds, but I guess that’s what happens when a two-year-old licks public playgrounds. But nothing worse that that. We were concerned he was going to get a chest infection at one point so we went to a local hospital and they gave him a thorough check over and he was fine.

What are the challenges travelling with children?

Don’t get me wrong, while it is incredible it is so hard. It is worth it but there are many days when we wonder. Long hours in the car, dirty nappies, no food, everyone is wet and dirty and bitten by mosquitoes and cranky. Lots of sleepless nights. And when you get to the end of the day and prepare to set up the tent there are a thousand people gathered around all wanting to talk and take selfies. It can be exhausting and stressful. I think for me the hardest thing is the food. Feeding kids is hard at the best of times but when you are in these isolated places and all you can get is spicy chicken and noodles, and your baby is hungry, its hard. It really hurts your mumma bear instincts. We have had to have a few pringle lunches on the road. But he is so adaptable, we have a good store of food in the car, and as long as there is some space to play, he is happy.

What is your advice regarding keeping kids entertained/happy/busy on long driving days?

This is another big challenge we have faced. We try and travel before he is ready for his sleep, so we can chat and look around for an hour, then he sleeps for an hour. That gives us a good couple of hours of driving. He does watch TV in the car, we try to limit it but it is not always possible. There is a lot of stigma attached to screen time for kids and we worry about it. But we can only hope that the experiences he is having outside of the car, exploring the wilderness, seeing the world, experiencing the culture, meeting new friends, makes up for this.

What are your favourite things about travelling with Sebastian?

This is a long list too. I don’t even know where to start. We are creating a brave, tolerant, adaptable, and adventurous little man. He will never be like other kids, and that is ok. I think we all feel a pull to do something extra-ordinary in our lives, and this little man certainly has that, and is making our lives extra-ordinary too. There is a very good chance that the things he has seen, and will see, wont be around in another 20 years when he is old enough to travel himself. The creatures we have seen, and the wilderness we have camped in, may not exist for much longer. He probably wont remember it, but what a gift to give our child.

What is your advice to parents who are interested in overlanding with kids?

Do it. Don’t hesitate. It is hard. Without doubt. But it is worth it. This is the adventure of the lifetime and you are shaping incredible little people. They will always be different but also extra-ordinary. Just take a deep breath and remember, you are not just an incredible woman overlanding the world, you are an incredible mumma overlanding the world!