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Thoughts of a Solo Traveler I had only a few more days in Australia before I was planning to fly back to America, and as I drove out of Coffs Harbor that morning heading south on Highway One, I thought about my travels during these past few months. I was glad that I came over here to see this country that I've idolized since I was little, and traveling around Australia has been one of the most memorable experiences of my life. That's partly because, as I've discovered, Australia is in many ways a friendlier, gentler and more civilized version of America.
I'd had a great time seeing Australia, but my trip, both here and in New Zealand, wasn't always rosy. There's a big difference, as I've learned during these past four months, between traveling alone in your home country and traveling alone in a foreign country.
If you've been reading my website, you know that I really enjoy traveling alone. I like doings thing that I like to do, when I like to do them. I don't enjoy being tied down to someone else's schedule or being told what to do by a traveling partner, especially if they don't want to do or see the same things that I want to. So yeah, I guess that makes me a crusty curmudgeon (guilty as charged!) I especially love driving alone around the U.S., because I'm familiar with just about every region, having traveled through all 50 states and having lived in many of them, so there's a comfort level there. Wherever I go in the U.S., I'm always within a day's drive of a friend or relative if I ever want companionship or assistance (and indeed, visiting friends is one reason I love traveling around America).
In Australia and New Zealand, though, I was totally on my own, things were a bit different, and I didn't know anyone. This past fall before I left Bellingham, I spent several weeks preparing for the logistics of my overseas trip: buying clothes, doing research, making reservations, etc. What I didn't adequately prepare for, though, was the emotional part of it: the prospect of being completely alone and having to be totally self-reliant for the next four months. While I really enjoyed my trip overseas and am glad I went by myself, I was surprised by how difficult it was to travel 1). alone, 2). overseas, and 3). for a long time. That triple combination was a real challenge at times. Fortunately though, I'm a person who enjoys his own space, so I dealt with it better than most folks probably would have. But please do think about that beforehand if you ever plan such an extensive trip. I certainly hadn't.
Although challenging, traveling alone does have its advantages over traveling with a partner because it exposes you more to your surroundings, since your focus is on the place you're traveling through and not on your companion. Furthermore, I think solo travelers are more approachable than pairs or groups, and consequently I met many more locals than I would have if I'd gone with someone else. Many times during my trip, locals would walk right up to me and start talking, something they may not have done as readily if I were with someone. In those respects, then, I certainly learned more about Australia and New Zealand than I would have if I'd gone with someone else – and that was the main point of my trip. So while traveling alone overseas can be a lot more challenging than going with someone else, it can also be far more enriching.
One nice thing about traveling with someone else, as I've learned from previous trips, is that you're having a "shared experience." But on the other hand, I figured that I was "sharing" my solo trip with my website readers, so I didn't need someone with me to provide that. I actually had a chance to visit Australia with another person – a cute woman, no less, whom I met shortly before I left Portland last spring. Traveling with another person (and a person I didn't know very well) would have been interesting, I'm sure, and the experience would've been a lot different, for better or worse. She was a nice person and I think we would've gotten along all right. But overall, I'm glad that I decided to come over here by myself.
Despite the challenges I faced, not the least of which was being an introverted person who was constantly thrust into extroverted situations (as well as occasional bouts of homesickness), I had a great time traveling alone overseas and that was largely due to two things. One was e-mail. The messages that I received from my friends and from people who stumbled across my website, taking a few minutes out of their day to send me a note made a big difference, and those encouraging words kept my spirits up during the whole trip. I won't forget the kind messages that folks sent to me while I was overseas, or the people who sent them.
Second, the hospitality of the Kiwis and Aussies who I met during my four months of travel was overwhelming. I'm thinking back now on many of the pleasant conversations I've had with folks in both countries, and there are just too many to describe. I was constantly amazed by how total strangers would go out of their way to help me. I don't know if that was because I was a solo traveler who looked like he was lost (which I often was), or if that's just the way folks are here. Either way, I'm very glad that I chose New Zealand and Australia as my first overseas countries to visit.
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