The ‘van life’ is becoming increasingly popular, with many travellers seeking out this alternative lifestyle of trading a brick home for one on wheels. This was also true for Michael Monk and his partner Acacia Denison when they decided to stop renting a home.
Their production company, Salty C, would frequently take them on the road. Ultimately, they decided to go all-in for life on the move.
Michael and Acacia gave us a look behind the scenes.
What made the two of you decide to hit the road?
Due to the nature of our work, we found ourselves on the road more often than at home. So we decided to stop paying rent, and to explore our country full time. Our goal is to find the hidden gems this country has to offer and showcase them to others to find and enjoy.
What are some of the practical challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?
With our camping setup, we are very dependent on the weather. Rain, wind or snow and electronics in a leaking tent don’t go well. This was something we would have to think about and plan around on the regular and often caused us to skip a location or head back to our hometown to regather. We have just made a step to overcome this challenge, by purchasing a high roof van to convert into our new tiny home on wheels / mobile office, rather than just having to rely on camping out of our Jimny.
Do you travel everywhere with all your gear, camping equipment and clothes?
We travel with everything we can fit in, as most of our trips are over a month at a time. We can say that the one bonus to having everything on the road, is that you can’t really forget anything behind because everything you own at this time is right with you.
How do you decide where to go next?
Work mostly decides what direction we are going in next, and then we find other places in the area when we have some downtime.
How does a life on the road impact your social lives, including friendships or involvement in a community?
It is always nice to have your set group of friends, but we have found that the community living on the road is very welcoming and seems to build strong relationships over a short period of time.
What are the best parts of living on the road?
Waking up in new places with new views from the same window. The freedom of being outdoors most of the day. Choosing how our own schedule works and not according to others around us.
Do you have any interesting stories or people you came across since you started travelling?
We have always had this dream to camp in the snow, and we heard there was a big storm approaching when we were near the Drakensberg. We decided to change plans last minute and headed to Bushmans Neck area, where we woke up covered in snow at Silverstream campsite. Like we said it was a dream come true… for the first few hours.
Then all the snow started melting and it started to rain, causing water to flow directly through our campsite and flooding us out. Having to pack up in minus-degree weather, no gloves and soaking clothes made packing up a dreadful affair.
Pictures: Michael Monk and Acacia Denison
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