Three years ago, on a Sunday morning, I left Melbourne and drove into my uncertainty about living on the road: letting go of a settled life, familiar friends and places, and leaving family.
Though I was excited, I was also terrified of what this new life might bring me. The call of the mountains in the distance as I drove west, invited adventure, yet I still shook with the fear of what I was about to do.
What would I discover?
What would I learn about me?
Where would I go?
Where might I end up?
Who would I meet?
Who would I become?
Today, after three years, I can answer many of those questions.
What I learned about me:
Doesn’t matter how many times I land on my feet when it comes to resources in this lifetime, whatever I need still comes to me, from the most unexpected places at times, and yet I still fret.
That my gut is a very specific guide for all things nutritional and journey wise.
I trust me more now, and in some corner of myself, when fear is not the overwhelming state of mind, I know I’ll handle anything life throws my way … I have and I will
I am not lazy as a writer, simply a woman who struggled to access creativity while raising children and fretting over finances and grieving.
Where would I go?
Shepparton was my first port of call – an homage to a long-ago memory of stability in that region with my aunt and uncle. But nowadays it no longer holds that appeal for me.
I loved staying in Smythesdale just outside of Ballarat. Green Lake, an hour from Ballarat, became a second home.
I traveled through the back blocks of NSW for three months away from Strahan in 2025 (September – December) and wrote heaps of blogs about my journeys.
Where might I end up?
Well, now, after my initial house-sit for a couple called Susanna and John in Feb 2023, they referred me for a one-month house sit in the same town, Strahan — an isolated harbour town on the west coast of Tasmania.
I went back to Strahan and worked at the motel from December 2024 – September 2025, managing the property alone for four months. This was an unexpected work role. But it also made me realise that doing practical, physical work requires time for creativity. It became essential for maintaining my mental and emotional health.
As of December 2026, I am back in Strahan, working and living at motel Strahan as a relief manager / housekeeper.
Am I settling in Strahan?
Maybe, though I like the idea of going back to Victoria once my youngest child and his partner begin their child raising years.
For now, I am here, and with a recent acquisition, the motel and its sister establishment will create a hectic high season.
Who could have known I would be in motel management when I first left Melbourne three years ago?
Who would I meet?
On the road, one meets all sorts of people. I stay in touch with two of those travellers who became friends over time.
Sandra had lived on the road for several years when I met her in Glen Innes, NSW. There was instant camaraderie and though we spent time in the same town for over a week, we shared very little time together, each moving to our own rhythms on the road. We still chat occasionally.
Gordon and I agreed to travel together for two weeks. We had a few laughs, kept an eye out for each other. After we parted, he persisted in calling me when he was “three sheets to the wind”. I now communicate with him only via Facebook.
Graham had just begun road life when I met him at Green Lake, near Ararat. I briefly thought there may be something romantic with him but that didn’t pan out, and I’ve come to terms with that. We chat once a month.
Who would I become?
Since being on the road, I have written more!
Way more …
I began songwriting in June 2025.
To date, I have written ten songs. I had so much fun using the artificial intelligence platform called SUNO.AI to hear those songs sung with musical backing.
Nonfiction
- Blogged for close to two and a half years
- Released a compilation of those blogs called My Road, My Life
- Edited and redesigned front cover for two nonfiction books
Fiction
- I completed a detective novel I’ve been working on since 2010 and released my debut crime novella Festival of Lies in April of this year.
- Completed the next book in the Murder in Ninety-five series, The Mayor Who died Twice, and started the fourth novel in this series.
- I also partially rewrote two memoirs.
Looking back at what I have done over the past three years, I am pleased with my body of work. Yes, I still have a long way to go to finish the crime series, then start on the fantasy novels awaiting completion. So muuch work and so little time. What a cliche, and yet in this case it is true!
Overall, living on the road, has oxygenated my creative spirit, and provided the space and time to indulge my creativity. I’ve met new people, seen new places, become a songwriter, longed for love again.
Who knows where I will be in another three years?
Will I still be here in Strahan managing this motel?
Or will I have grown my wings again and flown?
Maybe back to the mainland?
Or even further afield?
Only time will tell.
Christine C. Elliott 