The sun is out, a bright halo in a brilliantly blue sky. The air is crisp, cold enough to refresh the lungs but not so cold that I can’t feel the sun’s warmth on my face. The light is bright behind my closed lids. My cheeks are flushed, maybe from the wind whipping my face as I rode down the mountain, or maybe from the third aperol spritz I just finished. »

It’s been almost two years since I was on a plane. In February 2019, we were snowboarding in Japan. Coronavirus was spreading around the globe but it still seemed like an “overseas” problem. After Japan we were going to Europe for 4 weeks, first to Prague, then Italy and St Petersburg. At the time, Italy was one of the countries - along with China, Japan and South Korea - that was experiencing an alarming increase in case numbers. »

I’m languishing. This emotional and mental state has become common parlance in the frequent conversations where we discuss our fading mental health during the pandemic. This word describes that ever-present feeling, lying murkily between thriving and depression, that repeated lock down and social isolation has forced upon us. The dominant emotion of 2021. In response to a prolonged period of languish, where a rotation of tactics had failed to work (online shopping, more exercise, less exercise, binging Netflix, reading, more alcohol, no alcohol, mindfulness activities, good food, bad food, buying plants), I decided I needed a change. »

We had two weeks off for a holiday to Tasmania but inevitably a coronavirus spike in greater Sydney closed the borders and we were facing the third cancelled holiday in 12 months. Somewhat fortunately though, we had bought a car only 2 weeks earlier and so a road trip around NSW wasn’t such a bad alternative. After a life-sized game of tetris, the car was packed to the brim of camping gear and 4WDing equipment and we headed north. »

I read an article the other day which explained how, as a result of the global efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus, the planet is literally moving less. It said that the increase in people working from home and the reduction in transport movement and use of industrial machinery has created a noticeable drop in seismic noise - the hum of vibrations in the planet’s crust. This fall in human-induced noise could improve the ability of scientists to detect activity like earthquakes, volcanoes and waves in certain locations. »