Its been over a year since the last blog post so for those playing along at home, I thought I better fill in the blanks on our gap year in our own city. Although we were ‘home’ we didn’t live in our home, so the gypsy adventures have continued across Sydney, and taken us to some pretty sweet spots in the South Pacific too.
When we flew into town after our 2016 lap of the planet, we intended to be home for 9 months before we took off again, so rather than move into our home, we decided to embark on a journey of short term leasing and Air BnB locations to keep a roof over our heads. Having lived out of our suitcases since January 2016, the thought of moving around the city from place to place didn’t feel so foreign, and as 9 months ultimately became 15, we lived in no less than 16 different places.
It wasn’t always fun, and sometimes we just wanted to go back to our own place, but the idea of jetting off again soon kept the frustrations at bay, and on the plus side we have now seen more of Sydney in the past year than most will see in their lifetime! It’s a special (and increasingly impossible) city, that still tugs at our heartstrings.
So because we were home, and with no permanent commitment to employment or rent, we made the most of being in the southern hemisphere and snuck in a few random trips to some idyllic islands on our doorstep. Heading north for my little sister’s wedding provided the perfect opportunity to get some adventuring in, and cousin Lynn in town from the UK had her heart set on the islands of Papua New Guinea. So that’s what we did, departing from Cairns on a cruise ship.
Cruising is not our preferred mode of travel unless can offer a super economical way to see a random part of the world, or we are travelling with friends. This cruise ticked both boxes and the untouched beauty of the PNG islands was worth the claustrophobia of ship life for a few short days. The crystal clear waters, snorkelling and the always-smiling faces of the locals were the hallmarks of the South Pacific at its best. A few days post cruise in the Daintree and Palm Cove rounded off a lovely adventure with Lynn, before the entire extended family arrived on the Sunshine Coast for a wedding that went ahead in the middle of a torrential QLD rain storm. T’was an event to remember and the bride and groom could not stop smiling.
Then because one can never have too many holidays that include turquoise water, white sand and cocktails, we took a 10 day jaunt to New Caledonia in January, quite literally a piece of France just 2.5 hours from Sydney. Lounging by one of the world’s largest lagoons, eating baguettes and pastries, swimming with a manta ray and turtles, and taking the opportunity to brush up on our (limited) French, we truly enjoyed NewCal and recommend it as a destination for a quick getaway from the Sydney grind.
You would think coming home for a year is supposed to be the boring part between travel adventures but we have been busy! We met 2 new nieces Kodi and Aleah; we hosted a belated 40th party for Andrew and attended 4 weddings; we have added 2 new groups of islands to our travel adventures; and thanks to the world of contract employment we had access to some unique work opportunities that also brought us some new friends and future employment possibilities. All in all, its been a very successful gap year! Time now to head off again for a rest!
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