Nala's world by Dean Nicholson

As a thirty something knock about Scottish bloke, Dean had a comfortable life, living at home with lots of mates and few responsibilities but he felt there was a lack of direction in his life and decided to ‘hit the road to find the road' p19. He set out in September 2018 with a mate, Ricky, and started an Instagram account called @1bike1world to document the trip for family and friends back home. The travelling companions soon decided to go their separate ways and soon after they parted Dean picked up an abandoned kitten in rural Bosnia, smuggled it over the border into Montenegro where he found a vet to treat the malnourished kitten. The kitten provided the companionship and purpose Dean had been looking for and the pictures of the cat went viral online. 'Part of the point of travelling the world was to meet people and learn what made them tick' p68. and this certainly was helped by having a kitten riding the bike with Dean. It also meant he learned a lot about himself and what was important in his life. Through the online fame he was able to fundraise for animal welfare causes and made a difference in many small animal rescue centres along his journey.

The maps, cartoons and photographs of the trip add to the heart-warming story and the use of a co-author Garry Jenkins, ensures the story flows well. Like Anthony Sharwood's journey From Snow to Ash , Dean's trip is curtailed, not by bushfires but by COVID but in both cases they had discovered more about themselves than about the world.

Themes: Bikes, Travel, Pets, Adventure.

Sue Speck