I posted this on Instagram: From our first day to our last day and some of the stops in between. 2 strangers who decided to merge their Aussie Adventure into one for a while and make dreams a reality. I’ll miss morning coffee and walking behind you so I can stare at your butt 😜.

I leave you with this Tanguy, “May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide your way home”.

Safe travels and may your journey be filled with adventure, laughter, and happy endings.

I am writer, so of course, I have more to say than what is posted on an Instagram post. I have a lot more to say. Most of the words will sit in my soul unsaid because I can’t find the order to put them in or the right words to express what a brilliant and amazing time was experienced. Some will be posted here to show my gratefulness that the Universe brought a wonderful spirit into my Aussie journey. I don’t know if I bettered his Aussie journey, but he bettered mine.

Maybe that’s why I came to Australia, perhaps not to live a life, but to help another traveler reach their destination, their goal, their dream…or maybe I came to Australia to learn that there is more to what I was living in the US and that life should not be working for a living but life should be lived to the fullest each day.

This post is a letter to Tanguy (duh, from the post title right?!?) who I met through Gumtree. He needed a ride from Darwin to Melbourne and though Darwin wasn’t in my original plans, I changed routes and made it so. Another few kilometers wasn’t going to hurt me or Hailey the Hyundai. It made me think of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and the lines: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”

Tanguy,
We have shared over 7288 km (4528 miles) in a car together and walked over 180 km (112 miles) together. Our paths crossed out of nowhere and I am grateful for that. I’m honored that I was able to share a huge part of Australia with you and that I could help you make your dream of seeing Uluru a reality. I hope the young kid in you, who studied Australia and fell in love with Uluru, is happy that he finally got to see that iconic image in person. I’m also glad we drove laps around Uluru to get that kangaroo sign photo too. I hope the soul in wanderlust in you is stoked about that!

We were able to cover drives most people in Australia only think about doing like the Explorers Way, Red Centre Way, 3/4 of the Great Southern Way, and the Great Ocean Road. We left footprints on the red dirt of the Northern Territory, the salt lakes of Southern Australia, and the sands of Victoria. You pushed me to see more than I had planned and it was fantastic. I would have never hiked Macdonnell Range on my own and would have never chosen the Pound Circuit as a hike. Thank you for being the captain of adventure in hiking and fun. I enjoyed every single moment even if I came across as if I was dying and not enjoying it…well maybe except Mount William. I know we both agree that was an unnecessary walk after the amazingness of the Pinnacle circuit and views.

You taught me that I like rap music in your native tongue, that escargot is fantastic, and that duck liver isn’t as disgusting as I thought it would be. Basically, you made me realize, I love French food and need to go to your country and experience it first hand.

Even after our “first horrible-baking-in-the-car-like-turkeys-night” in the “never-am-I-stopping-in-the-town-of-Elliot-again”, you held a smile on your face and that smile never disappeared once, even with me getting us lost, taking us the long way round on drives/hikes/walks, missing turns, getting nauseous on the passenger side, lagging behind on many of our hikes, and more.

Thank you for encouraging me to just jump from rock to rock, take a leap, take a step, take a chance that my foot would land on solid ground.

Most of all, thank you for your companionship on my Aussie journey and thank you for making the road trip of a lifetime one giant memory that will always be remembered as fucking fantastic.

I’m honored to have met you. I’m glad I took the road less traveled because it has made all the difference.

May 2016 gift you all the things you hope and wish for my friend.

Safe travels to you wherever your soul roams.

À yes souhaits et peut-être vous avez toujours la bonne vie.
(Hopefully that says bless you and may you always have the good life)