Robyn Fox = Silver Fox

Can you speak a little bit about that, uh, reintegrating with society, please, Foxy?

Yeah.

Well, I think sometimes, uh, something that probably draws me to the outdoors is the, is the simplicity of being i- on a trip.

Uh, and you're in the zone with those people you're on the trip with, and you're that little community, and you don't really need to think [chuckles] outside of that community.

And often you have all your food already packed 'cause you've been shopping and you've procured all that.

Uh, and yeah, it's just a, it's a nice sort of way of being in the moment and just living life as it unfolds in front of you, as opposed to probably our daily routines where we've got deadlines, um, we've got-More responsibilities perhaps to partners or to family or other friends, work, sports, et cetera.

And those long trips that you speak of where you're actually in the natural world for sort of, shall we say, more than a week, do you think they're different to perhaps trips where we only go into the natural world for a shorter amount of time?

Well, I, I suppose when we talk about the natural world, we're always in the natural world because there's no, uh, delineation between this world and that world.

Uh, but when we're on, I suppose, outdoor education trips, uh, journeying maybe in more, mm, places of natural vegetation, uh-

Less developed, perhaps we should call them

... yeah, less, less human developed-

Yeah

... 'cause the natural world is very developed, and it's, [chuckles] it's very complex actually.

Uh, a lot more complex than we take, you know, we take it for granted all the complex ecosystems and, uh, biodiversity that happens in nature, and even the other systems, geomorphology, hydrology, um, you know, everything.

But getting back to your question, Pete, I definitely think, uh, longer journeys for me, uh, one, are often a reset.

You know, they take us away from our normal routine, and they give us an opportunity to slow down and reset, and, uh, often we get to connect with that place in a different way, and we get to see the nuances of that place, whether, you know, it's the running water or the mountain peaks that we're passing, um, day to day, or the sunsets, the sunrises.

I think all those things re-energize me, and then it's the relationships with the people, uh, as we're journeying.

You know, you get time to have conversations and get to know people in different ways, um, and hear their stories, and also connect and form a story with that place as you're journeying through it.

And that does remind me of a story actually on the Corroed Track in Victoria, uh, years ago.

This trip was for 33 days with a, a year nine group of students, maybe 12 students, and myself, and a teacher, and then we had some specialist people come in at different points.

And we had this book, and it was called "The Poetry in Motion" book, and the idea was that you took this book with you when you went to the toilet to undertake a motion.

And initially, you know, it was a bit of toilet talk, you know, burping, farting, weeing, and pooing.

But as the trip went on, the students suddenly realized that this time was the time where they got to be alone, and it started to become a bit of a phil- philosophical memoir of the trip, and, uh, they'd start to philosophize about journeying in nature and relationships.

Um, and then all of a sudden, the toilet each night became more and more elaborate.

They'd find a spot which was a little bit more remote, or they'd decorate the toilets with some wooden tree branches, or get some flowers and decorate around the toilet.