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My mother is a genius. She’ll never tell you, she’s not one for blowing her own trumpet. But she’s bloody brilliant. And loving and kind and creative. She’s dusted me off each time I’ve fallen down and shown immense patience as I’ve described the ways in which my world is ending (not overdramatic at all). Mum is a traveler too – the other half of the indomitable two that are my parents. A wild spirit in her own right. In time for International Women’s Day, here’s some of the best things Mum has taught me about love, life and travel.
How to pack a suitcase, and the importance of rolling your clothes.
My mother is the undisputed queen of packing bags. From our holidays when I was little, to the epic trips she and Dad and embark on these days, she has the amazing ability to pack, quite literally, everything you could think of. As an added bonus – she packed so well, that clothes never wrinkled! If I didn’t know any better, I would swear it’s witchcraft.
There’s a formula. Heavy fabrics, such as denim, should be packed on the bottom and lighter items packed on the top. Rolling clothes means you can fit more in, and it stops them from wrinkling. Pack day-wear for each day, and one or two versatile outfits for night. Flash sneakers go with everything, and you only really need one pair of ‘good’ sandals.
I haven’t quite mastered this admirable art, and some of things are a little bit wrinkled when I arrive at my destination. Thus, I have developed an affinity for fabrics that don’t need ironing – another one of my Mum’s favourite things!
There’s no such thing as too organised.
There’s really not. Mum can reel off exact where to find items in the house, plates and mugs are perfectly ordered, and the life admin is so amazingly filed, it makes me jealous. But it doesn’t stop there! Mum’s camp kitchen is also organised AF!
I spotted it while camping with Mum and Dad at Cape York. Food and kitchen items are packed into large plastic tubs for easy packing, and each tub is labelled. Inside the ‘pantry’ tubs, is a laminated list of food items and a whiteboard marker. Each time an item is used, Mum crosses it off the sheet. When its time to shop and stock up, Mum just pulls the lists out and notes down what they’ve run out of, and how many she needs. No need to go digging through each box, and nothing is forgotten when they go through the shops – the list pretty much writes itself. Is that not the most genius thing you’ve ever heard of?!
I immediately started doing the same for our own camping gear, especially the kitchen tub. The list ensures I know exactly what should be in there, and we are never caught bush without a can opener.
The Shower Bag.
When you camp as much as my family does, you learn some pretty handy tricks. Camping means shared bathrooms almost all of the time, in various states of repair and disrepair. Wet floors, questionable doors, a distinct lack of hooks, and the nightmare of your clean knickers escaping your clutches on your way to the block. Enter my mother’s brilliant solution: the Shower Bag.
Inside a waterproof bag, pack your clean clothes, towel, washer, bathmat, soap and whatever else. You can hang it from the hook, off the door handle or put it on the floor – hooray for waterproof! No risk of dropping your stuff everywhere, no soggy clothes, no one-legged balancing in the cubicle.
I honestly thought this was just the done thing; that everyone did it. But after watching a lady at the Yulara campground chase her shampoo up the footpath, I realised this was another of my mother’s bloody genius ideas.
Can we also take a minute to appreciate that ‘bathmat’ is something that Mum includes in this bag when camping? What a woman. No damp feet in our camp!
Shoot often, collect much.
Look, my Mum will absolutely disagree with me here, but she is a creative soul. She sewed when we were little, she crochets and knits, she scrapbooks and makes jewelry. Mum is also a keen photographer and has even started branching into videography with her GoPro. I live in hope that one day she will take the plunge, and start a travel blog/vlog of her own. I would watch the shit out of that.
After spending so many years watching her and pouring over her photo albums, I shoot as much as possible. Landscapes, portraits, close ups, fine details, abstract stuff, nightlights and random candid shots. I take photos of temples, tiles and my feet on the floor. Mum’s philosophy is to capture as much as you can, everywhere you can.
Mum has also inspired me to collect various ephemera while we travel. Ticket stubs, brochures, maps, luggage tags, business cards. Not only do these things help me remember places and costs when I’m blogging, but in years to come when I finally sit down to scrapbook all of my travels, I will have plenty of things to add to the pages for each destination.
Pick your battles.
One of the most important lessons Mum ever taught me. Pick your battles, because chances are you won’t win them all. This isn’t to say you should roll over at any sign of conflict; it’s about putting things in perspective and considering whether its worth the effort or drama of the argument. It’s part self-care, part self-defence.
Does it really matter that the airline has plonked me two rows behind where I wanted? Will getting to the airport right when check-in opens (like Husbando always needs to) disadvantage me that much? Chances are, it doesn’t really matter. There’s no point getting upset about it, it’s really not that much of a big deal.
I’m still trying to practice this one a daily basis. I’m thin on patience, so sometimes its a real struggle. But I try to stop and think “what would Mum do?”.
Never underestimate the power of a good kaftan.
This goes back to the suitcase packing formula. Never underestimate the power of a good kaftan. I’ve always admired how beautiful Mum looks in her kaftans. She looks put together, but relaxed – a real beach-boho babe. Its a style I envy.
Kaftans are super versatile. Easy to pack, easy to wear, glam it up or dress it down. Wear with sandals, heels or flashy sneakers. They fit most body types, and hide a multitude of self-confidence zapping areas. You can wear them out for dinner and drinks, or to a destination wedding. They’re cool but cover you up enough to be restaurant appropriate.
Honestly, I’m fully on board with Mum in her affinity for kaftans. They’re a bloody dream – I’ve started collecting my own! Every woman should absolutely have a kaftan in their arsenal.
Cheese platters are a necessary accompaniment to sunsets.
If you’ve never sat outside and watched the dying embers of the day fade into the horizon, with a glass of wine and cheese platter, have you even really lived?
Mum even breaks out the cheese platters while camping. I fully support this dedication to deli-themed snack plates. Even in the dustiest, furthermost flung places in their travels, Mum has a selection of cheese, crackers and deli meats ready for cheeky platter as soon as the sun starts to set. It’s usually signalled by the popping of wine corks or the sharp hiss of fresh stubbies being opened, and Mum asking “shall we have some eats?”
It’s a tradition (I’ve declared it so) that I’m proud to carry on, and will eagerly break out the sundowner platters on our own camping trips. Complete with fancy-ass cheese board. Just because you’re camping, doesn’t mean you should go without you know?
I can do anything
Mum has cheered me on in every single endeavour. She has been a continual source of support and has never faltered as I have leaped head first into each challenge. Hell, she’s even pushed me to go out and find my own challenges to take on. This mentality has gotten me through some shit, when I was ready to give up and chuck it all in. It’s also gotten me into some shit too. But I’ve gathered a confidence in myself that I chalk up to my Mum.
She’s a stand out role model – an adventuress in her own right. A problem-solver, champion organiser and professional suitcase packer. She’s traipsed more miles of this country than I have, and held shit together even when it sucked – like blowing a trailer tyre on the Plenty “Highway”, or the non-stop days of rain on the Cape trip. Mum can do anything.
And Mum has always made sure that I know that I can do anything.
