Covid-19 Travel update

Dear Walkabout Walkers and Friends,

Firstly, we are sorry that it has taken us this long to touch base with you all. We've certainly been thinking of you, it feels much longer than just 2 months since the Covid-19 Corona virus first appeared in Australia and it is unbelievable how the world has changed in this short time.

Thank you so much to those of you who have contacted us privately offering your love and support; it means a lot to us to know that our 'Walkabout Family' are looking out for us during these difficult times. We know that it's not just us who have been affected. We have all been impacted - we are in this together and we can all get through this together.

Our priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and our team and we shall certainly not be taking any risks. We shall be guided by the advice of our own government and authorities overseas so we cannot say at this stage when our first tour in Europe will operate. As soon as we get the "green light" we shall let you know immediately.

We are keen to support our partners; the hotel and restaurant owners as soon as we possibly can. These are tough times where we all need to look after each other, our families and our communities.

We have been in contact with our guides - they are all safe and waiting patiently at home and they know things will improve soon.

Gabriela recently made it back to France having just completed our Indian and Iceland tours - she is at home now in Forcalquier busy catching up on all those chores she never had time for before.

Back in Australia, Trish is fit and well in her home office in Sydney and I am keeping busy on the family farm in Gippsland - like everyone else I have no idea when I will be able to return to Europe. Our daughter Nastassja has joined me at the farm, which I am very grateful for - she was in Italy until the end of February before things deteriorated there and our son Serjosha is also safe in Australia.

We sincerely hope that all of you, our amazing guests, are doing well and coping under these trying circumstances - maybe you are taking advantage of this quiet time in your lives to do all those things you never had time to do before; making the most of the simple pleasures in life like reading a book, playing cards with your family, spending the day in the garden or baking a cake.

We have finally had time to sort out the thousands of photos we have taken since Walkabout was born so we shall be sending you a few reminders of our travels together in the coming weeks. Hopefully they will bring back some beautiful memories for you all.

We are lucky to live in a connected world where it is possible to continue to communicate virtually. While we are all in isolation it will be just the right moment to update you on some of our stories and we can travel and walk together in our mind… after the motto… Imagination can take you anywhere.

You can stay connected with us on social media (Instagram and Facebook) during this confinement and we will regularly update you on our news. If you have any questions, would like to share some ideas or stories, discuss any of our tours or just say hello, please join us. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

In the meantime, look after yourselves and stay safe - this challenging time will pass. Now we have the opportunity to reflect on the beautiful memories of our travels shared together. Hopefully we can all learn from this time and show more kindness, compassion and generosity in our daily lives.

Our very best wishes to you all and we hope to you see soon,

Graeme, Gabriela and the Walkabout Team