No Regrets as a Nomad
Nomad Profile
Paula Dear’s Substack “Trailing Ivy” is a must-read for me. Not only do her tales of adventure travel (to many places even I hesitate to go) pull me in, but her photography is also breathtaking.
I still remember the first piece I read about their time in the Congo and their visit with the mountain gorillas. The article answered the probing question: Do gorillas pick their nose and eat it? 😂
9 Fun Facts
First Name: Paula
Age Range: 50s
Nationality: British
Nomadic Stance: Full-Time
Last Corporate Job: Freelance journalist
Current Job: Part-time comms writer
Favorite Country: Benin
Next Stop: South Africa
What do you like best about the nomadic life? Variety
2 Questions
1) You’ve driven all across the African continent in your camper van. What inspired you to launch this adventure? Any regrets?
We were frequently drawn back to Africa on backpacking trips after a budget safari honeymoon in 1999. There are some challenges in travelling this continent but the rewards are exhilarating and, I think, under-appreciated by many who seem to fear it.
It’s almost impossible to summarise – it’s the landscapes, sunsets and stars, the wildlife, history and ancient cultures. Humankind began here, after all. People were so exuberant in the way we were welcomed in West Africa in particular, that it’s been joyful to journey through, even if not always easy.
Why drive it though? During a five-year road trip in Latin America, from 2011-2016, we learned a thing or two about managing long-term travel and keeping a vehicle running (often the hard way!).
We love the lifestyle of camping with our own little house on wheels, and now couldn’t imagine maintaining such long periods of travel without it. After a few years of working and re-grouping after returning to Europe from South America, we decided we were brave enough to make Africa the next big trip and bought a small 4x4 truck, Ivy the Iveco.
From quite a young age we intended to make travel a huge part of our future. We were keen to avoid working full-time our whole lives and waiting for retirement age to start shaking things up. We’ll stay on the road for as long as we can and are enjoying it. We’ve made mistakes and had difficult times but have zero regrets about this plan.
2) How does traveling in a camper van change your perspective as a nomad?
The truck gives us an untold amount of freedom, especially to reach places that would be near impossible without it. This has led to some unbelievable interactions and experiences.
We rarely need to schedule or book anything and often wildcamp. Within reason, we can move away from bad weather; we can stay longer in places if we like it, or drive away if we don’t. One thing that we love is the constancy amid so much rapid change – no matter what has happened in the day, at the end of it we have our comfy bed and our own four ‘walls’.
So, the benefits are huge, but one thing that perhaps isn’t so clear from some ‘vanlife’ content is that Ivy is a constant preoccupation and focus, not to mention an expense in terms of fuel and maintenance. The vehicle is everything because it’s our home for the majority of the year so if there’s a problem, it affects everything. This can be stressful.
The plans must, and often do, bend to fit Ivy’s needs first. We’re pretty much continually planning and carrying out tweaks, repairs and upgrades, mechanically-speaking and in the camper. There is also extra paperwork to consider, for example you cannot bring a foreign vehicle across borders without permission and there are time limits similar to a visa.
We consider it well worth the effort, but travelling this way is not simply a case of buying a car and driving off into the sunset.
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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson has traveled to 140+ countries & all 7 continents. She is the host of the Nomad Life community, a self-defense coach, professional speaker, and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked Explore the World with Nomads.
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