Guide: How to cope with being indoors when you want to be outdoors!

With more stricter regulations and policies being put in place by international Governments in response to the Coronavirus, this has heavily affected the world of travel and adventure. Love Her Wild has compiled together a list of suggestions and ideas from our very own members for what adventure seeking enthusiasts can do indoors when they want to be outdoors!

Two months ago I was planning a trip of a lifetime in Sri Lanka starting this week, where I would be going hiking and basking in the beauty of tea plantations and national parks.  It was something that me and my partner had been looking forward to for so long, with both of us be outdoor and adventure enthusiasts.   After months of planning, researching and packing (then unpacking and packing again), Sunday 15th March was our day to fly and explore a new country…….…..that’s when we saw the announcement from the Malaysian Government.   

An international lockdown has now been imposed, with no interstate travel and only essential shops like banks and supermarkets remaining open.  Everyone has been told to stay indoors and only to leave if it’s an emergency.  Oh shit.  Now I’m sitting in my apartment with a cup of tea, having nearly finished off a packet of biscuits and watching a whole boxset of Louis Theroux documentaries.  

All of our lives have somehow be impacted by the escalation of Government policies in response to the Coronavirus, no matter which country or side of the world we are currently based now.  Plans have been temporarily disrupted or put on hold for the time being, making us all adjust our own choices and decisions.   And if you’re an outdoor fanatic like me, you may be slightly losing your marbles.

Fear not ladies!  There are many ways of coping with this situation, and many of our Love Her Wild women have shared their own ideas and strategies for being confined to stay indoors.

Here is a list of contributions and ideas that our very own Love Her Wild members:

Arts and Crafts

• Create a big collage of trips and adventures that you have just been on, as this is a great way for your to reminisce on any amazing trips that you have been on.  Use old maps, extracts from guide books, photos, postcards, tickets – even use a pen and write down your favourite quotes from the trip.  Complete this for as many countries that you have visited, or climbs and treks you have done.  The more you add the better!

• This can also be done in a scrapbook that you never had time to finish because of being too busy.  Now you can!  Stick all of your collections from previous adventures in a book, and use colour pencils and pens to decorate your book.  Use the time to really invest in recording your amazing travels and memories.

• Renovate and decorate parts of your home to make it even more of a home!  This does not need to be expensive and shouldn’t cost a lot of money.  Use old fabric to make drapes or bunting for your living room, or collect old jam jars to paint patterns on and use as candle holders for your garden.  If you have a balcony, turn this into your own little haven where you can relax and make it your own space.  Invest in some plants and garden furniture so that you can make it your own project.

Recreational Activities

• If you kept a travel diary on any of your trips, now is a good time to sit down with a cup of tea and read them again.  This is a fantastic way to remind yourselves of those fun and exciting moments (and possibly stressful ones that we laugh back on!)  If you have a family, what a better way to inspire their adventure bug by telling them of your adventures.  

• Pick up and wipe off the dust from that instrument you have been meaning to learn to play for so long! Whether it’s a guitar, flute, recorder, drums or ukulele, now is a great opportunity to learn that new skill.

• Organise your photographs that you have collected over the many adventures and travels that you have been on.  Have them on display to remind yourself that you will go on many more adventures.

• Make your list of little projects and start doing them!  Start a new or old hobby that you haven’t done for a long time, such as knitting, embroidering, sewing, drawing, painting, carpentry; anything that really inspires you!  

• If you are a knitting queen, this would be a great time to knit a piece of clothing that you can use for your next booked trip, especially if you’re going to a cold place!  Knit some socks, a hat, Aran jumper, gloves – even leg warmers!  Anything that will be super handy and helpful for when you go on your adventure.   

Health and Fitness

• Move your butt!  Youtube will be your best Personal Trainer if you are unlikely and are unable to go outside of your home.  Renovate one room in your home to become your own exercise space, a chance for you to work out and sweat!  If you don’t have any dumbbells or weights at home, use some cans or bottles of water to help make your workouts a little tougher.  A skipping rope is great cardio for fitness.  Popular workout videos and channels to follow include BodyCoach, Fitness Blender, The Fitness Marshall and POPSUGAR that range from 15minute to 1 hour workouts.  Let’s sweat, sweat sweat!

• If you’re not wanting to sweat too much when exercising, you can do Yoga, Pilates and Meditation in your own space.  This is a space for you to unwind and focus on your body, so make it your own nest.  Use incense or candles and background music to help create that tranquility and calm atmosphere.  Again Youtube will be your best friend if you’re a beginner or wishing to follow a trainer.   For meditation you can use the app Headspace which has a Basic package for free if you would like to try it before subscribing.

• Find a new recipe and cook it!  Try cooking that dish that you’ve always wanted to attempt but just didn’t have the time.  Maybe it was a stew that you ate when hiking in Nepal, or that sweet dessert that you couldn’t get enough of when trekking in the Alps. Research and recipe and see if you can recreate that delicious dish!

Travel and Technology

• Although future travel is a little unpredictable at this time, that doesn’t mean you have to stop planning for any place that you wish to visit.  Plan your next outdoor adventure!  Use this time to really plan and research into all options available so that you can make the most of your next big trip.  Like the suggestion of doing a collage for past adventures, you can also do this for your future plans, and share this on everyone on LoveHerWild!

• Planning a next adventure with friends?  Plan together online!  The wonderful world of technology has opened up many doors for us to be able to talk with family and friends from around the world.  Make a cup of tea (or a glass of wine in my case), sit down with a notepad and video call your adventure friends.  Technology platforms such as  Skype, Whatspp and Zoom allow users to video call multiple people at the same time.  Perfect for anyone wishing to chat and plan their next adventure together!

• For cycling and running enthusiasts, you can still the experience the outdoors through virtual reality!  If you research Cycling or Running Virtual Reality videos, there are thousands of videos that take you through many different landscapes and settings, such as National Parks, the coastline, the countryside, and even through the Alps!

• Start your very own Travel Blog!  A perfect opportunity to share and detail your own adventures and travels to the world, and to inspire others to pursue their own adventures.  We are always wanting women to contribute to the Love Her Wild blog page, so if you do have any ideas of would like to write something, please get in touch!

• Museums may be closed during this time, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t visit them!  Many world famous museums such as The Louvre, The British Museum,  NASA and The Vatican Museum are offering virtual online tours 

Home and Garden

• Now that the Government have ordered schools to be closed, many children and students will be staying indoors and having to complete schoolwork at home.  Although challenging, there has been an outpour of help being offered to make home education more stimulating when stuck indoors.  Naturist Steve Backshall has offered to help answer questions live on his social media centred on wildlife, animals and geography; this will happen on Wednesday 25th March at 1pm.  TedTalks offer an incredible array of talks and videos that can really help inspire and educate your family.

• Got some weeds that need pulling?  Get your gardening gloves out of the shed!  Use your horticultural skills to tidy up your garden, plant some flowers or paint your fence that colour you’ve always wanted, or start growing your own vegetables.   If you don’t have a garden, buy some hanging baskets or planter boxes and grow your own vegetables and fruit from inside your home.  Personally I’m attempting my first tomato and orange which have started to sprout green leaves!

• Who says that you have to cook in your kitchen at home!  Invest in outdoor cooking equipment if you don’t already have any, such as a BBQ, a wood burning stove oven, or an outdoor fire pit.  These will help cater to your outdoor cooking needs!

• For nature lovers and bird watchers, buy some bird feed or a bird house, or leave out some food in your garden for wildlife to eat.  Then you can sit in your garden, or look out from your window and watch the world around you come alive.

Family and Friends

• Nothing like having pets to give you company at home!  Whether it is a dog, cat, hamster, rabbit or goldfish, this would be a wonderful time for you to bond with your pets.  If you enjoy challenges you could even try and teach your pets new tricks! 

• Stay in touch with family and friends, especially if they live far away from your home or you may not talk to that often.  This is an opportune time to reconnect with people that you may have lost contact along the way.  Search for your old address book, pick up the phone and have a good catch up.

• Create a quiz about your travels and test your family and friends! If you have been on a trip with your family or a friend, make a quiz with questions about where you went, what happened, or any funny memories or events. Test each other and have fun in remembering the adventures that you did together!

Thank you so much to the following Love Her Wild ladies for their contributions to this guide: Mel Shubert,  Heather Walton, Jenny Baker, Taffi Tom, Katya Wolfram Lisa Marx, Louise Barker, Caerbannog Eiddew, Karrie Fox, Felicity Turnbull, Riann Parker Sheehy, Emma Downey, Hannah Metcalfe, Janice Barrett, Carole Dobson, Use-a-Hen-trike, Lynne Tyson……..and our very own Love Her Wild founder Bex Band!

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