At the age of 22, a young couple from Port Macquarie decided there’s more to life than working long hours each week in the hope of being able to afford the occasional long weekend away.
Nurse Elenya Dixon and builder Nicholas McKechnie, who recently told us at Wild regarding their big decision, said it all came down to a simple, 10-minute decision making process.
“After finishing another 14-hour day of work, we sat in bed and decided that there is a lot more to life than this,” Dixon explained. “We are so young, but life is too short, so we decided to write down everything we wanted to achieve in our lives.”
Completing their education was first on the agenda, and Dixon now holds a Bachelor of Nursing, while McKechnie has qualification as a builder. They’ve also ticked a third big project off their bucket list: building a house together.
“The only other item left on our list was to start living our dream of travelling Australia, with no time limit – just leave everything behind to start a new adventure together while working and travelling our way around,” Dixon said.
“Our choice was a very scary and exciting one where we both got positive and negative comments from a lot of people.”
The couple report they are three months into their journey and “loving it”.
“We’ve rented out our house and packed our lives into a tiny, five-metre off-road caravan.
“We’ve just completed the red centre, where we were able to realise our dream of visiting Uluru – Australia is such a beautiful country that so many people just don’t take the time to see.”
Now heading to Townsville, the pair aim to continue exploring, saving money by staying at free campsites or national parks, which they say allows them to see many areas most holiday makers would not.
“We can’t live without the camp oven,” said Dixon. “Nothing beats being able to sit outside and eat dinner under the stars.”
In making their big move towards a more outdoor, nomadic existence, the pair believe their story may inspire others to do the same.
But it doesn’t come with some sage advice from the adventurous pair.
“A little bit of hard work and preparation goes a long way,” said McKechnie.
“Life is too short not to be happy, so you should do whatever you want to achieve in life,” counsels Dixon. “It might be scary and seem impossible, but I promise you it will be worth it.”
You can follow the couple on their travels around Australia on Instagram and Facebook.
Instagram & Facebook : elnick.adventures