We row hard in the bowels of the slave ship, doing lots of stuff we don’t want to, dreaming of the day we can afford to do what we really want. And when that day comes, we wonder why we didn’t wake up to the fact that life is short and that we should have chased our real dreams earlier.
John Ahern, Extract from On the Road…with Kids
John was born in Queensland, Australia and grew up in Redcliffe where he roamed the beaches and played backyard cricket with his mates. His working career spanned from mowing lawns and packing groceries to get through University, to being the global head of Corporate Real Estate, Branding and Acquisitions for a public listed company.
In between serious bouts of work, he has travelled through over 80 countries and been shot at, poisoned, tear-gassed, robbed at gunpoint and locked up in an African jail. He has also stowed away in a Colombian cargo plane, ridden across countries on the back of trucks and the roofs of buses, flown in an ultralight over the Zambezi, and been a passenger in two train derailments.
He now lives with his wife and two children in the comparative safety of the Currumbin Valley on Australia’s Gold Coast. He considers it their base camp for new adventures.
John's travel memoir 'On The Road With Kids' won the prestigious Queensland People's Choice Book of the Year 2015 at the Queensland Literary Awards.
Memberships/Affiliations
FAQs
Q. What are your main hobbies and any other interests?
A. This sounds like a Tinder question. I am obviously obsessed with travelling, although roaming with kids has its own unique challenges. Still, there is no better way for me to get lost in my head writing.
Q. How did you come to write the book?
A. I never intended to write a book. After returning from this journey, I found myself waking at night and scribbling down stories and thoughts that had happened, and linking them to how the trip had such an impact on my family life, working career and my connection with my wife and kids. I got lost in the writing. At the same time, wherever we went, people started asking me about our trip and how they would love to escape the rat race as well. I decided I wanted to share my ‘wake up’ call with others, and eventually my disjointed stories became a book.
Q. Did you keep a diary for this book while travelling?
A. No. My long handwritten letters home to my mother, known on this trip as ‘letters to Nana’, were the best 'in the moment' stream of thoughts I could have ever hoped for.
Q. No blogging?
A. Nope. To truly connect, I disconnected. I wanted to smell the flowers, not tell everyone what they looked like.
Q. Why should anyone buy this book?
A. They shouldn’t. It’s crap … No I’m kidding. Delete that. Can I be serious?
Q. You can be whatever you want to be.
A. Exactly; that's just what I keep telling my kids! My hope for this book it is that it acts as a 'call to action' for people to tap into their dreams and aspirations…and then chase them, hunt them down like a feral pig if you must. But it doesn't have to involve running around the world in an old camper wondering how the toilet canister thingy works. It might be anything. Just so long as it excites you...and is ahead of you.
Q. Are you a better father and husband for it?
A. I’d like to think so. We met so many Boomers, Grey Nomads and retired couples on our travels who consistently said their greatest regret was that they worked so hard through their children’s’ young lives, that when they finally had the time to be with them, they were gone. I won’t have that regret.
Q. What did the kids get out of the trip?
A. My grand hope is that a year with their parents has established a family foundation that will last the ages. Time will tell. I am however, on first name basis with all their teddies.
Q. Was it all smooth sailing?
A. Not even close. The first month was campsite hell . Try sticking a family of four into a shoebox on wheels, then take away their income , phones, email, internet, TV and all semblance of personal space. It was like some weird kind of intensive family interaction course, Big Brother on wheels.
Q. Do you have any big tips for writing?
A. Similar to travelling, be still in the moment, persevere through the hard times, and don’t buy bucket-bin discount wine.
Q. So should everyone chuck their careers, run out and buy a motorhome and take off.
A. Oh yes, I thoroughly recommend it. A gap year for parents isn’t a bad concept. Just taking time out to assess makes us gasp with excitement is the key. After all, we’re not here for a practice run.