Sean Ronayne

So if I have a neighbour that's particularly noisy, maybe the average person wouldn't be so ticked off by it, or they might not even hear it.

But I do, and it's very disrupting to me.

So there's two sides of the coin with that.

It's a very difficult thing.

To find a location that's free from anthropogenic noise, which is noise made by humans and our things, particularly our mechanics, our machines, is a very difficult thing to do right now.

And the other thing about it is, if you ask for advice, most people will point you to a location that is still drowned in road noise.

It's just that people... Are deaf to it.

Yep, they've drowned it out.

They don't really hear it anymore.

which I think is a form of protection for their mental well-being.

Yeah, so that's another one of the reasons that this place was so important to me.

Of course, I didn't know I was autistic when I was coming here as a child, but I definitely found solace in these wild spaces where I didn't hear the hustle and bustle of our madness.

You know, and looking back now, of course, it's obvious why that was the case.

But, yeah, so, like, these places exist.

These places exist, but road noise can travel for, you know, up to four or five kilometres, depending on the speed of the average car on the road and the direction of the wind.

And to find these places is a really special thing.

Yeah, I try not to think about that too much.

Because if I do, it's not going to end well for me, is it?

It's not going to end well for my headspace.

I do go through periods of extreme burnout and periods of deep, dark anxiety.