Nextup...I’mheadingon
mybooktour,andthelast
stop will be Tauranga.Justbackfrom...Waiheke
IslandinNewZealand,for
a mini getaway.I hadn’tdonethatmuchtravellingbeforeI had
children.I didn’tleaveNewZealanduntilI was
15.I startedpractisinglawat 21andhadmyfirst
childat 26.WhenI hadmythirdchild,shewas
quiteunwellandI stayedat homefora while,
andthenwestartedgoingonthesesailingtrips.
Werealisedit wassucha greatwaytogiveboth
ourselves and our children a way to see the world.I dida year-longsailingtripacrosstheIndianOcean
withmyfamilyin2014.Mythreechildren,my
husbandat thetimeandI setofffrom Thailand
andendedupinSouthAfrica.
Therearesomanydifferent
culturesandlandscapesalongthe
way.WewenttotheMaldivesand
destinationsI’vewrittenabout
inmybook,including Thailand
and the Seychelles.Oneofourfavouriteplaceswas
theSalomonAtolloftheChagos
Archipelago.It’sanuninhabited
atollthatcanonlybevisitedby
yacht.Youcanonlystaytherefora month,and
youjustlivethisRobinsonCrusoelife.Thewaters
areabsolutelyteemingwithlife.Sharkscircledour
boatbutwe’dstillgoswimming,eventhoughthey
werebiggerthanourdaughter. It seems crazy now,
but that’s what we did.Atsea,youbegintoseeyourchildrenascapable
intheirownright.Youhavenochoicebuttotrust
them.Theylearnthere’snooneelsetohelpthem,
perhapsotherthantheboatnextdoor.It’sso
interestingtoseethemlearn.It’salsoamazing
howbusyyoucanbewhenyou’rejustanchored
inparadise.We’dgetonwithhomeschooling
andcookeverymealbyhand.We’dsnorkel a lot
and we’d go to the beach and exercise.You’dthinkwe’dliveoffnoodlesandtinnedfood,
buttravellingona yachtis somuchaboutmeal
timesandcooking,evenif you’reinthemiddle
ofnowhere.There’ssomethingaboutthesea
airthatmakesyouhungry.We’dcatchfishand
makeThaifishcurries.We’dalsobakecoconut
chocolatebrownies,using coconut flesh we’d
just scraped out.WealsocircumnavigatedNewZealandinoversix
weeks.It’squitechallengingbutit’ssobeautiful,
pristineandunpopulated.Youseesomanywhales
andseals, it’s an incredible part of theworld.I thinkoneofthebigthingsI’velearnedfromsailing
is thatwhenyouputyourselfinextremesituations
yougainsomuch.Yousailoutofportandyoulose
cellphoneconnection...Youfretfora second,and
thenyouembraceit andendupfeelingsomuch
moreconnectedandalive,despitethefactthat
you’re disconnectedfrommuchoftheworld.
There’salsosomethingabout
travellingasa family– even
thoughyoucangetliteralcabin
fever,yougetthroughthat.
Alsothere’snothingasgood
as landfall breakfast!I alsolovetravellingonsleeper
trains.I’vedonetheTrans-Siberian
andtrainsthroughZimbabwe,Sri
LankaandIran.Whenyoucatch
a trainyoucanoftenmeetthe
localsthatarejustusingthetrainas a waytotravel
withintheirowncountry.There’sthismagicof
a bygoneage– there’sspaceandprivacy,compared
toa plane.It’salsoa formoftravelwhereyoucan
takea goodbookandreallysettlein.I lovetheslower
pace of travel, and I hope they have a resurgence.WhenI wrotemyfirstnovel,I wasnewlydivorced
andraisingthreeteenagers.It waspre-Covid,but
I wasalreadyina positionofnotbeingableto
travel,soI reallyusedfictionasa substitutefor
travel.It allowedmetoreturntotheseplacesreally
vividlyinmyimagination,toplacesI hadbeen.
There’snothinglikefictiontoputyouwithin
a scene,whetheryou’rea writerora reader,often
moresothana movie,andthat’swhereI’ll be
escaping to until we can travel again.●RoseCarlyle’sdebutnovel,TheGirlinthe Mirror
(Allen & Unwin, $29.99),is out now.Oneofthebig
thingsI’velearned
fromsailingisthat
whenput yourself
inextreme
situationsyou
gain so much.GOURMET TRAVELLER 33How I travel
INTERVIEW JORDAN KRETCHMER. PHOTOGRAPHY JANE USSHER.