Rich East from Hobart, Tasmania, and his rescue cat Willow have been living in a homemade campervan and traveling across Australia for the past two-and-a-half years.
On their website vancatmeow.com, Rich explains that he had been working in a soul-sucking, corporate job for 10 years and was beginning to feel like he needed a change. In what he describes as the “most well prepared mid-life crisis in history”, he decided to quit his job, build a homemade campervan, and travel the whole of Australia.
Rich knew he would never be able to leave his cat behind while he went on this amazing adventure, so he tried to ease her into the idea. From what can be gathered though, Willow definitely didn’t need the convincing!
Rich writes, “I took Willow away for weekends, then whole weeks, and not only did she cope, she thrived. I soon realized that what I thought was a house cat was in fact a van cat, an adventure cat!”
Since embarking on their adventure 2.5 years ago, Willow and Rich have visited every state in Australia, sleeping together in their campervan every single night of their journey.
In an interview with The Dodo, Rich says, “Willow enjoys exploring all the different places we go, but to be honest, she would be happy wherever.”
“My favorite part about traveling with Willow is seeing the world through her eyes. It slows me down and makes me enjoy the moment more. I really love the time we spend in the evenings exploring.
“Travelling with a cat is awesome because you always have that companionship,” Rich says. “No matter how far from home you are, you have your best friend with you to snuggle up on your feet when you go to sleep.
“It’s hard to feel lonely when you have someone else to take care of like that. It’s just an absolute joy to share this experience with her.”
On the vancatmeow website, Rich says he and Willow have traveled thousands and thousands of kilometers around Australia, often only managing 60 kilometers a week. Still, they have managed to gain over 45.5k Instagram followers. People just can’t get enough of the pair’s adorable adventures and photo shoots.
“We have no regrets, Rich tells The Dodo.”Life is so different now and I’m happy again. I think it will be a long time before we settle down. I can’t wait to see what Willow and I will discover next!”
If you’d like to see more of Rich and Willow’s adventure, be sure to check out the vancatmeow Instagram page!
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