THE UNIT IS LESS INTENTS THAN LIVING OFF GRID

Post 62 - Friday June 12th, 2026

And just like that I am a townie again. My off-grid life at Lake Burrumbeet has been swapped for life in the unit on Marigold Street Wendouree. In the blink of an eye it changed, and everyone will tell me that for the winter months this is a smart move. I am not convinced, but apparently this is in my best interest. Town life is less intense, or so I am told.

My tent has made way for the bricks and motor of the unit. And sure, that sounds like a great swap, and maybe it will be but leaving my camp behind has been a major test of resolve. Back inside the four walls of normality is now what I have, what I live, as normal, but I don't crave to be that normal dude anymore. I really thrive being outside living off grid.

However, in my favour, there is a long-term plan, by the October long weekend I will be back on the shores of Lake Burrumbeet, I will be home. That's 113 days to survive, ok, I can manage that, well I have to manage that I guess, in my best interest I have to manage that. Choice is not always what one chooses, apparently. 

With my Lewy Body Dementia progressing I feel the walls of life closing in. I understand only so well that to those watching they wrongly see my health issues as going along ok, but privately, to me, I know how tough it gets and I do mask so much of the pain and discomfort. And I am ok with that, I work through it all, I manage fine, but it certainly gets harder and harder as time ticks by. And as we all know, this does not end well.

For that noted I have already accepted being at the unit comes with some clear life advantages. Like continuous and reliable power, living off grid as the short days and rain became the norm in winter the solar power did present a challenge, here though that is resolved. Power is power, I like that idea.

Showers are everyday again, not once a week with a scrub in-between, TV is there, I am not a big TV buff at all but in the three nights here Ruth and I have binge watched all 10 episodes of Lincoln Lawyer Series 3, that's 9 hours of program. Yeah, seriously it is! Did I miss having TV, oh definitely, most certainly not but I can allow myself a few luxuries in here. Right?

In this day and age with the internet then all I need is a phone and a laptop and I stay connected to the world. I have that off-grid. For entertainment, footy, racing, news and fun I can watch whatever I like on the net, I like that idea. But, ok, another plus with the unit, I do have unlimited internet and yep, it is faster and more reliable that out at the lake despite the lake campground only being 20km Northwest of Ballarat.

Probably there are other advantages to being back indoors but there is also so much I miss. People talk to me about cold, Ballarat winters blah blah but in all fairness to me I was ok with the cold. Sure, it was bitter and testing, but the cold was not my real issue being outdoors. 

I was able to navigate the cold and stay warm, I had perfect bedding, warm and cosy, and hot water bottles saved the day, oh, and gloves, yeah, I know, John and gloves should not be mentioned in the same sentence but I did cross to the dark side and gloves helped, really helped. Even the hoodie on my jacket was used, again, yeah so odd for those who know me. I hate hoodies but for warmth, yep, at 71 I learned some new ways to stay warm.

But for as cold as the cold was, the rain was far worse, but even the rain was just something you had to accept as coming with the territory. And I learned to minimise the impacts of the rain, how to ride out the wet days and nights living in a tent, and I did that pretty well I reckon. 

But the wind, oh my, the wind, I would think the wind almost got the better of me, it was relentless, strong, annoying and very hard to handle, it was no fun. From the north the lake and trees offered some protection, that was by design, but when the wind switched to the South and blew in across the paddock, wow, that was more than difficult. The winds were damaging, just a pain in the backside.

So, the unit. Physiologically I can feel I will get crushed living in here in town. The first few nights have been ok, very ok as I adjust my living style and as pointed out, I am enjoying the advantages of the unit. Ruth has done all in her power to ease me back into the unit, she knows my issues and really helps by making things as easy and manageable as possible. Ruth is a key in me getting this right, she understands and she helps so much. She gets me to focus on positives; to laugh often and to understand this is only for a season. 

Sadly, with my recent history and the LBD problems coupled with my own idiosyncrasies around depression and anxiety this shows me that the unit life will likely turn toxic. The enclosed living and the boundaries of the proverbial 'four walls syndrome' will get to me, and I will mentally struggle to stay focused. I will get depressed and down, emotionally and mentally as the weeks tick by. Watch this space.

So, is life better or worse living here in town at the unit? To me the answer is complex, unit advantages versus the off-grid living. Out on the lake off grid was so liberating, the freedom and dare I say, the serenity was like a magic potion in my mind, out there in nature I relax, I walk with a strut, I am mostly able to think clearly. 

Sure, some major handicaps, the toughest being the isolation and uncertainty of not having transport. As you will know I have had my licence medically removed and that will not change. Driving is something I will never do again so being out at Lake Burrumbeet without transport could have been a real deal breaker. Naturally there was a plan, a safety and support plan if things went really off centre.

For the time I spent there I have managed, with help. Clearly Ruth was my transport lifeline and despite a couple of personal hiccups that has mostly worked very well. Meeting other campers played an important part, I craved isolation and the lake camp provided that, but meeting people was all ok, I enjoyed making friends and the occasional chat was fine with the emphasis on occasional. But I was able to control contact for the most part.

But really, I was blessed to have help from those people I met, transport, shopping for me in town during awkward times and generally the fact they checked in on me was massive. It showed human decency and it helped logistically to get by without my own transport. There are some very good people in the world, people who do care and show that care in spades. I was blessed on many fronts; I thank everyone who made my 192 days stay manageable.

But one thing I do know is that long periods of solitude out on the lake make me feel so much more self-reliant in many areas and as a result I feel less need for anyone else to be a constant. In normal life that may not be a plus but for me with my cognitive issues it works great because my social interaction is less likely to cause me embarrassment. 

Like talking to myself or my latest problem, forgetting the people I really should know. It is not about going blank, it is not about having a clue who you are talking to, what you are talking about and for me, that is devastating. I have some real sad examples of this happening but for my own sanity I will not list them here, right or wrong they are upsetting, emotionally.

And of course, there were times I got things wrong with the LBD issue. I wandered away a couple of times, like my afternoon and night trek around the lake in the wrong direction, that was a blooper of epic proportion. Unfortunately, what started as a 10-minute return walk to the lake for water ended with me having 8 hours walk away from the camp, I got lost, totally and utterly lost, but finally found my camp at 10pm that night. Thankfully I had help from some really kind strangers who took the time to figure out I was an old man lost, they took time to figure out who I was and where I was trying to head, and yeah, I did get back to camp. 

The next two days were emotionally hard as this really rattled my confidence and I knew I had messed up big time. I sat on my bed and did not move, literally, I was really shaken. But given time I evaluated what I had done, worked out how it happened, the why and when of the situation and once I had made sense of where I went wrong, I was able to see this mishap as just that, a mishap, one that I allowed to happen and one I can learn from.

And I had a walk to WA. Ok, I headed off walking to Perth, yeah, I know I can't figure that either, but what was a hard day and awkward night ended well, I found my way back. What was I thinking? Who knows? But again, given time to process this mess I never tried it again. A few days later Ruth and I retraced the walk out across the paddocks heading in the Warrnambool direction and we sort of figured out what I did, and thankfully we did see the funny side, we made a joke of the incident and to this day we often laugh about the night I walked to Perth. Mmmmmmmm, yeah, I know.

But as I often say the strategies I have in place to make sure these types of incidences don't happen generally work. With the two I mention here the plus side is I did learn from the mistakes and was able to improve my personal security and safety to make sure the wandering off was not something that happened often. On these two times I did go off from my camp without my phone in my pocket, that is a major no no and one I need to fix. As Ruth will say, 'JonnyG, did you have your phone' because clearly if I take the phone help is just a phone call away. It is a no brainer. I just need to remember to take the phone, always!

Anyhow, just like that I swap off-grid camp for the unit. Time will tell how this plays out across winter, but I will give it a go. I will try to make the unit work to the best of my ability. But whatever happens my plan is still to return to Lake Burrumbeet come the October long weekend.

Having the unit as a fall back is clearly an advantage and I really feel grateful for having this place. Missing life on the lake is a given, at this point I crave a return however on wet drizzly days like this the unit certainly has a plus side.

And at this point, I have slept ok at the unit, I haven't tried to wander off and I am finding I can sit and relax. Naturally I am writing this post which is a plus because my ability to concentrate long enough to write much has been tested in recent time at the lake. Cognitive impairment.

Ok, that's this JonnyG Remembers post complete, I will leave things here. This makes 62 posts over 41 months of penning my blog, and I have learned so much from having the chance to write as my journey unfolds. This is the best therapy; it is getting harder to focus and concentrate but I still love writing and getting my thoughts down. I am writing less often but still managing to do so. 

So to everyone who reads my blog, as always, I thank-you so much. I am continually surprised by who reads my posts, it amazes me to think so many care to engage. There have been 57,900 views and that is just magnificent, to think so many show interest is so important to my psyche. Thank-you, folks.

And if my old NT News sub editor Phil Jackson is reading this from beyond the grave, mate, I apologise for the spelling in the heading on this post. But I can hear you laughing as you edit my copy, the newsroom often erupted in laughter as my writing was being subbed, apparently my spelling is a little off at times and I was often the bunt of newsroom jokes ... Miss you Phil.

Now, to end with a JonnyG funny ... clearly times are darn awkward for the most part but having a good laugh is still important so here is my funny for today ... 

Last time I was down in Melbourne I walked past a homeless dude sitting on the footpath with a sign that read, 'One day this could be you' so I quickly put my money back in my pocket just in case he is right, financial planning at it's best ...

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THE LAST MONTH OR SO IN PIC

CAMP BEET AND WENDOUREE LODGE

Moving day on Monday and Tuesday ... we hired a high-top van from Budget in Ballarat and did the move in two loads, it all went smooth and with no real issues, Ruth collected the van Monday morning, drove out to the lake and we worked hard to get everything done and then unloaded at the unit ... by Wednesday morning we had the van returned, $255 hire and $20 fuel, just on 100km travelled, really happy with the result, time was not an issue, we took it easy, worked at our pace and the prognosis is that we did really good ...

Ruth had a birthday on May 31st, she turned 66 ... I was able to surprise her with a trip into the unit, some camp friends drove me in, we stopped at Woolies in Lucas and I arrived at the unit with lunch, cake and plenty of goodies ... Ruth is going through her own tough time medically and I know the visit helped make her birthday better, we had a good day, even watched a movie, ate lots, enjoyed cake and chocolate and in all the years Ruth and I have been mates, we have never missed sharing her birthday so to get this done in 2026 was so good ... Happy Birthday Ruch C. Hall 

Campfires were not an everyday thing at Camp Beet ... my LBD cognitive problems meant I was a risk having the campfire when on my own so they only happened when Ruth was out visiting or staying over ... and I loved the fires, off grid and campfires add to the enjoyment of being out there ... but I am a lumberjack at heart so I still had fun cutting and organising my wood, all with my $5 Salvos Op Shop hand saw, no chain saw for this bloke, and yeah, the lumberjack time caused a few, well, falls, cuts and bruises but it was worth the effort ...

Have shared the concept of this pic before, but here I go again ... cooking out at Lake Burrumbeet living off grid was generally by using gas, but because of my LBD tendency to wander and forget I would tie myself to the gas cooker so as not to wander away when I was cooking ... and it worked well, now at the unit I don't have this problem so I guess I will enjoy cooking better ... this bizarre idea is a sad side effect of the LBD problem and my cognitive issues ...

Ruth was my helper in so many ways when I lived off grid, she was always riding shotgun ...  Ruth was my transport, my medical adviser, my life coach, my med distributer, she was always just a phone call away and sometimes just a zoom call away, and she made many trips to the camp to help me over the 192 days ... and she did stay over of course, she loves camping so being out on the lake at the camp also meant she got to enjoy the great outdoors and nature, oh and me of course ... tent number three, the dome tent at Camp Beet was actual called my Airbnb to accommodate my guests, like Ruth, who came from the big smoke ...

My oldest boy Bradley James had a birthday on Thursday ... he was born June 11th, 1983, at QEH in Adelaide, 5pm on a Saturday and now just like that he is 43, wow ... some shots from across the years, he lives in Adelaide, runs his own business, is going good and has made a real go of life, so proud of him ...

The camp on Lake Burrumbeet always gave something different with the view, every day and every night was unique ... my front yard was the lake, my back yard the massive gums, the birds, the farm paddocks out across the hills, it was amazing in so many ways, God using nature to make my off grid stay so complete, ah, the Serenity ...