All roads lead back home

As the title of my blog suggests, I am a self proclaimed avid traveller. I moved back to Australia in May 2015 after living in Canada for 2 years. That move was one of the easiest and also one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. The calling of home was too much to bear after living abroad for 5 years and I found myself back living with my parents on the family farm.

A lot of people asked me - what are you going to do with yourself now you're home? Truth be told I was more than happy being 31, unemployed and living with my parents. Having moved out of home at 18, my parents weren't complaining having me home either. I spent 6 weeks at home before deciding I should be an adult and get my life together. Biggest question was - what the hell do I do? Having spent 10 years in the hotel industry and 18 months in the coffee industry what was a girl to do in Tropical North Queensland?!

I remember lying in bed one morning (sleeping in because I was living my the rents) pondering this question. Mum came in and laid beside me and asked what I was interested in. My only answer - travel. When I first moved to Canada I applied for a job with Flight Centre. I figured my passport full of stamps was enough to get my foot in the door. Turns out it was enough to get me a phone call. After that I landed an awesome gig managing a Starbucks store in downtown Vancouver so I figured it was their loss.

So I'm hanging out with mum and tell her how I want to combine travel along with my travel experiences for my ultimate job. So she says to me - what about Flight Centre? I reluctantly tell her I've been checking their page for months and Cairns jobs never seem to be available. Dismayed, she tells me to check again. Low and behold that morning was the start of what is now an awesome career because that Cairns posting miraculously appeared. Within 2 weeks I'd had 4 phone interviews and an in store exam and I was in!

Unemployment came to an end and I packed my bags once more and left the nest. Mum didn't cry this time (not in front of me anyway) and I can only assume it was because I was moving 1 hour up the road and not to a different time zone.

I'm now 6 months in, selling amazing travel experiences for people, moved into my newly renovated apartment I bought when I was 18 & met a wonderful man who got promoted soon after we started dating and is now my manager (lucky he knows who actually wears the pants...) and everyday my bucket list grow longer & longer.

It's funny how life works itself out sometimes. One minute I'm living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and then the next minute I'm back where it all began with the family on the farm, moving into my first apartment & living in good old sunny Cairns. But I wouldn't have it any other way. That doesn't mean the passport is put away for good. My travel bug is still alive and well! In fact here I am sitting on my balcony of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship sailing home from the South Pacific as I type, but more of that to come soon.

As I enjoy my last couple of days at sea I finish this post in the words of someone very wise - 

Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can. Life's not meant to be lived in one place.

Grizzly's gone wild

If I had a $1 for every time someone was surprised I travel the world mostly by myself, I'd have enough for a few rounds of G&Ts. One of the many drawcards of moving to Canada was the wildlife and scenery. Bears and Orcas were at the top of my to do list. I'd been living in Vancouver just over 12 months when I realized time was moving way too fast and I had to start ticking items off my Canadian bucket list.

I started researching bear tours in BC and came across a company that said it offered everything I was looking for. Remote location, abundance of Grizzly Bear sightings & an up close and personal experience. I was excited to say the least. Before I knew it, the trip was all booked and organized. All I had to do now was wait.

The weeks passed and it was finally time to set off on this adventure. After a small jet flight and an overnight stay in a small town on Vancouver Island it was onto the last leg of the trip. Being stuffed into a float plane along with the lodges' food supply, we were off flying over the picturesque views of what makes British Columbia one of the most beautiful places in the world. The sheer remoteness of this location is magical. No phones, no internet just peace and quiet. The floating lodge of Knights Inlet was the perfect base for the trip.

Upon arrival we were given the grand tour and shown to our rooms. We had just under of 30 mins to get settled before we were off on our first adventure. An estuary tour showcased why this place is so special. The abundant wildlife from eagles to otters to the occasional dolphin, words can not describe the serenity of the amazing place. We weren't fortunate enough to see any bears on this outing but our spirits remained high.

After lunch, we were out again for another trip. This time we cruised to the other side of the inlet by boat and were driven to 2 viewing stands that had been purpose built by the lodge. Once stepping off the boat it was a short 20m walk from the beach to the trucks. We had to walk in formation with guides at the front and back of the group as we were now in real bear country. Bears were regularly seen digging for food on the beach where we were dropped off so it was serious business to be safe and quiet. Fortunately we had no such run ins. Once we were loaded into the truck we drove through the forest slowly and encounted deer and bears leisurely walking across the path. This was all it took to get the excitement in the truck to sky rocket. We were all pumped and could not wait to reach out destination.

Once at the stands, the guides got out of the truck and surveyed the area. We could see bears only 10-15m away from us in the water. We quietly walked up the platform onto the stands where we had a million dollar view of these amazing animals. My next 2 days were spent at these stands in 3 hour blocks.

At the Wier stand, I got to see the national geographic documentary come to life. Bears standing on the edge of the rocks just waiting for the salmon to fly through the air as they swim up stream. Just awesome! It was really interesting to see the Salmons' life cycle for my own eyes. After travelling thousands of kms they return home having beaten the odds with fisherman & other marine life trying to eat them. The final hurdle is simply 4 or 5 massive grizzly bears waiting to just snatch them out of the water. If they are lucky enough to by pass their snapping jaws, they jump the barrier, lay eggs and die a peaceful death anyway.

During my visits I alternated with the Finger stand, named aptly for the finger of land on which it sits. From this vantage point I could no longer see the feeding frenzy on the rapids up close and personal which at first I was saddened by. After being there over an hour and not seeing any bears my group was getting a little antsy. Patience is key to this game and sure enough our prayers were answered shortly after decided to stick it out and wait at this stand. The biggest group to be seen so far on my trip approached our stand. A mum and 4 cubs. She knows where the food is and walked her cubs through the shallow stream, packed full of salmon, to the pool of water for them to feed and play. At one stage, 2 cubs were falling behind. We heard her call to them and they came running to catch up with her. With so many bears in the same stream, mumma bears were extremely protective of their cubs.

 Back at the lodge on the first night, I arrived for dinner in the communal hall and was in line getting my food. Travelling alone, I briefly met the people on the plane I flew over with. Majority of them were from Australia. I got to chatting to the person next to me in line and it turned out there was a group of 14 Aussies who had travelled over together and this was one of their first tours of their great Canadian adventure. Needless to say, they took me in and made me feel like part of the group for the rest of my trip. Just proves again how small this world is and the kindness everyday Aussies have.

On my last morning, I took the kayak out and ventured up stream to try and glimpse these precious animals one last time. We weren't disappointed. A mum and 2 older cubs came out to play and for me it was the perfect ending to what was a once in a lifetime experience.

As sad as it was to leave this tranquil place and these seemingly harmless animals, it was empowering to know that they had the means to get ready for the winter and their hibernation. With the visiting season almost over and winter soon approaching, these bears will go to sleep and wake up in 6-7 months to do it all over again. Conservation of their habitat and preservation of their livelihoods was such a big part of the educational experience I received during my trip. This is one world adventure I would do again in a heartbeat!

I shot a grizzly with my camera, not a gun. #stopthehunt   

 

Life under the water

When I was growing up I loved to dance. For 15 years I danced my little heart out and even travelled the east coast of Australia to compete. I'm proud to say I have a swag of medals and trophies back home. In my final year of school my desire to dance was fading. A few more years later, I knew I needed to find something that I was just as passionate about.

When I was in grade 11, I took a Marine Studies class. Why? Because my best friend took the same class. It turned out I actually enjoyed the class as well as the end of year excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. Majority of the trip was to snorkel the reefs and observe the marine wildlife. We had the option of doing a scuba dive and me, bored of looking down from the surface, put my hand up.
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After getting into the water, I held onto a bar just under the water to test my breathing. I remember to this day the sheer terror that took over me when I opened my eyes and only saw blue open water. After that initial freak out, my first dive experience was amazing. Our group was lucky enough to have our dive filmed and when I was later watching it with my family, we watched as I was eaten by a shark puppet the cameraman had on him unbeknownst to us. A little too close to home on that one....
 

Nevertheless I was hooked.

Years later I moved to Port Vila, Vanuatu, and became very good friends with local dive shop operators. After some initial reluctance, I started my course. My instructors were excellent and prepared me for most situations. There were the inevitable night dives which they were able to get me, semi hyperventating and worried I'd see the real version of the shark puppet, into the black water. I had to hone my compass skills and although the 'testing area' was a narrow stretch of sand in an otherwise coral area, I still seemed to have some troubles navigating. They slightly eased my fears of sea snakes but not first witnessing me unsuccessfully trying to swim backwards as if I'd just seen Jaws. Last but not least they gave me the confidence to be under water and handle myself in less than ideal situations.

Diving in Vanuatu had it's perks. The marine life I saw made me think I was swimming in an aqarium. Dive sites were second to none and it was here that I developed my love for wreck dives. I travelled to a northern island and dived the famed President Coolidge and what a beauty she is. Hitting my max depth and emersing myself in what life was like when she was afloat as a WWII warship is why diving is so special to me.   

While still in Vanuatu, I traveled to Cyprus with a friend not long after being certified, and made sure to take advantage of the diving opportunities in the Mediterranean. I found a company and booked 2 dives. This was my first real diving experience outside of Vanuatu so I was a little nervous. Having arrived at the dive shop, I got suited up and we were off. The site we were diving on was an old ship that had sunk not to far from shore due to the balancing system failing. After only ever diving in tropical waters, hitting the surface was a shock to the system. But soon enough, the eeriness of life under the water soon distracted me. We swan through living quarters finding curtains swaying in the current, viewed trucks/lorries laying to rest on the seabed, picked up bones of the animals who went down with the ship and found lots of new marine life now making the wreck their new home. 

When I left Vanuatu I moved to Canada. Scuba diving was not on my list of things to do here simply because of the water temperatures. But before long, I got that itch to get back in the water. I played it smart and waited for the warmth of summer. Well, that didn't end up mattering because after years of tropical diving I was now facing a 10 degree water temperature. To combat this I was loaded up with 2 wet suits, a hood, boots, gloves and on top of that was given a 15kg lead belt. I could hardly walk along the shore to start the dive I was so loaded down. But where there's a will, there's a way.

Unfortunately my first experience turned out to be a true test of my skills and ability. After reaching the buoy we would descend from, it soon became excruciatingly clear I was no longer in Paradise. In the past I was spoilt with visibility up to 20-25m maybe more. As soon as I was under I could just make out  movement no more than 2m away. Immediate panic set in when I couldn't see my buddy (who had only ever dived tropical too) after being under for less than a minute. Calming myself down I followed the rope to the surface of the wreck and once again joined my buddy, guide and group. Before long my buddy and I got separated again and again. On the third time I knew I wouldn't find him nor would he find me. After staying put and trying to find bubbles in the water, I decided to stick close to the wreck and continue in the same direction. Within no time I knew he was gone.

The buddy brief given to us for this dive was if you loose your buddy, search for a minute and then surface making appropriate safety stops. Well I did that. Throw into the mix an unknown dive site, visibility getting worse by the second and no buddy (who had our flash light), I drew on all my experience, teachings and metric conversions to remain calm and navigate myself to the surface. After waiting to see if my buddy would surface, I then made my way back to shore with more than half a tank of air. To say the crew were more than a little surprised to see me return, alone and so early, was an understatement. Needless to say at that point I was pissed enough to be done for the day. But I'm not one to give up, so after a lengthy chat with the crew, I switched groups and actually had a pleasant experience the 2nd time round. Cold temp and bad visibility aside, I discovered wildlife I'd not seen before which made my day.

Scuba diving is fun, fascinating and challenging and I love exploring the wonders of the ocean. It's not for everyone so I feel blessed to have been able to share these great experiences with friends and family along the way. Even with the poor conditions I experienced in beautiful Vancouver, this Country Girl (or should I say Country Mermaid) will continue searching the globe for the next exhilarating and magical dive site.

 

Sailing the high seas

I lived the first 7 years of my life in a small beachside town. The next 11 were on a sugar cane farm 30mins away from that small beachside town. My dad as always been an avid fisherman for as long as I can remember and my mum of late has learnt how to pull up the anchor. Being near and on the water represents so much of my childhood that it was exciting to upgrade my experience and cruise the high seas in luxury for my 30th birthday.

On their recent visit to my part of the world, my wonderful parents and I jumped aboard a cruise liner and sailed north into Alaska. After an epic 4 hour check in experience we finally made our way to our cabin to begin our adventure. 

After many Skype calls and emails, I let Mum loose to book the cruise she wanted to have. After all, they had cruised twice before so I was sure she'd find a good deal. Confirmation came through and everything looked set. Once we had boarded the ship and got to our stateroom we were excited to find our one day drink cards compliments of our booking agent among other included extras. We found the cards and hit the poolside deck for the bon voyage party. Cocktails were on the agenda and upon getting the receipt I noticed our free drink cards had a value of $745 each... (and were valid for 7days with a limit of 15 drinks per day!) Not only did Meg think she got a good deal with a 1 day drink card when she booked, we just worked out we could drink 15 drinks each for free per day for the whole trip. Can anyone say Mimosa?

Anyone who hasn't cruised before would be surprised what there is to do aboard a cruise ship while at sea. I, for one, was a little dubious about how I was going to spend my time. Considering the average age of the passengers was approx 65, I had some reservations. But as soon as we were settled and had consumed our first of many pool side cocktails, we found the daily schedule. What started as a relaxing holiday with the folks, turned into scheduled days playing (and sometimes winning at) bingo, loosing at trivia, watching dance shows & live bands and testing my vocal cords at karaoke. I particularly enjoyed our daily bingo sessions. Where else can you go to have some fun, throw back a couple of G&Ts and sit next to a nun while gambling your money away?! Yep you read that right - she was our gambling neighbor the whole trip.

Anyone who knows my father knows he can have a way with words at times. For years we've been hearing what fil-ems he's watched. On the ship we were at dinner and my wonderful, funny and lovable dad asks the waiter for a beef cappuccino! He ended up getting what he wanted - beef carpaccio. We enjoyed a seafood dinner later on the cruise and after I had ordered the lobster bisque, Dad proceeded to order the lobster bi-sque. We still love ya Dad!


Our ports of call included Juneau, Skagway (or as Dad referred to it ask Shagway) & Ketchikan. Not to take anything away from these towns, my highlight was Glacier Bay. To see a glacier up close and personal and then to see and hear it come apart was nothing short of magical. Waking up to see floating icebergs from our balcony wasn't too shabby either. There were a few Titantic jokes thrown around for fun but the eeriness of the place made it that much more surreal.


Cruising was such a great way to travel. People ask me what the best part of the trip was. I believe most adventures are about the journey and not the destination. The cruise itself was a whole lot of fun and something I would do again. We had an absolute ball in Alaska too. Dad got his fill of Alaskan Salmon, Mum took WAY too many photos of snow capped mountains and this country girl got to discover another corner of this amazing world.

 

 

A year in review

There are times in life that you need to stop, breathe and reflect. For me one of those times is now. 2013 has been a big year full of love, laughter, happiness with a little sadness thrown in for good measure. 

The year started off with a bang. Literally. Bringing in my 3rd new year in the island paradise of Vanuatu, I celebrated with friends and family watching the fireworks on the water. The multiple earth tremors and after shocks that came next gave the new year it's own version of the shake, rattle and roll.

Fast forward 4 months and it was time to say my final goodbyes to this beautiful place and my Vanuatu family. My team's farewell was so heart felt, amazingly planned and traditional there was not a dry eye in the house. They sang to me like angels and showered me with gifts - an experience that has forever changed me.

After 11 long years away, I suddenly found myself unemployed, 29 years old and living back with my parents. And let me tell you I LOVED it! Between the cooking lessons, the daily happy hour, being my father's coffee making slave (which would come in handy later on) and a surprise 14,000ft sky dive thrown in, I almost didn't want to leave. Those 4 weeks were the longest consecutive time my family had seen me since I first left home and it was awesome. But before I knew it my time was up, my bags were packed, I had stragtecially placed surprise notes around the house for my family to find and then I was in the car heading towards my new life.

I arrived in Vancouver at the end of spring, and the week long jet lag not withstanding, I was home. The scenery of this place is from another world. Before I knew it summer had arrived and life was all about sun, beach and drinks on the patio. No complaints here! A little thing called a job came back into my life and I was once again a tax payer. I challenged myself with a career change and what a journey it has been so far. Let me just say, I am a person who has never drunk coffee (and frankly doesn't like the taste) who now manages and runs a Starbucks store. Like I said, challenging.

Summer then turned into fall (aka Autumm) and I was officially in love with the city. I was obsessed with the burnt colored leaves and the image of them in and around the city. It was something from the movies. Throw in a Halloween party and Thanksgiving dinner to round out the season and I was a happy camper. With the cooler weather, shorter days and increased cloud cover, Autumm was giving way to winter and that's when the real fun started.

I was finally going to experience my first northern hemisphere, Canadian winter. After putting fake snow around our lounge room at the start of the holiday season, I was blessed with the real deal a week before Christmas. Just amazing! However, one of the many things you don't learn while living in the tropics is how to drive in the snow. This country girl had to learn fast and I now just chalk it up to another life skill.

Christmas Day came and went almost as fast as the rum & eggnogs were being poured. Feeling my first bout of home sickness, I spent the day with friends huddled around the fire place and skyped family far away who were enjoying the sun, beach & time on the water.  

2013 has been a year of happiness, risk taking, courage, bravery, strength, faith, sadness, joy, love and most of all adventure. I am blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. 2014 will only be bigger and better. Visitors will start to arrive, friends will be welcomed and farewelled and I will celebrate the dirty 30! And of course there will be more world adventures for this country girl.

 

In the words of Susan Sontag, 'I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.'

Happy New Year everyone!

How not to speak to a Canadian

One of the many things I love about travelling is learning and navigating foreign accents and words of the English language. If you feel safe travelling to a country that speaks English as it's first language think again! We Aussies are a rare breed from Down Under. At home in OZ it can be confusing for others too as we have been invaded by the Kiwis. To all my Kiwi mates out there, they will always be thongs.... not jandals.

So during my recent move to Canada, I've had a few situations where conversation abruptly stops mid way through and you basically have to play charades just to get the rest of the conversation out. Other times I find myself repeating the word in question over and over again until it feels foreign even to me. Do I have you intrigued? Ha well enjoy my somewhat embarrassing yet laughable experiences thus far.

One of the many draw cards for my move to Canada was the wildlife. I mean killer whales and grizzly bears are a normal part of life here. Not to mention the random deer that hang out on the side of the road. Who wouldn't want to experience that?!? So in my second week here I spent some time on Vancouver Island and bought my killer car aptly named Betty, Black Betty. The owner very generously picked me up the day I got her. He was asking me what I was doing on the island, where I was from etc. I told him I was on a mission to see killer whales and bears. He turns to look at me with a strange look on his face and says 'sorry what do you want to see?' So I said again, killer whales and bears. He's silent for a moment and then says 'biers?' 'No, bears'. 'Biers?'. 'No, bears'. 'Umm biers?'. 'No. Bears. You know grrrrr' (imagine me doing claw imitations with my hands). 'Oh! Bearrrrrrrrrs!' 'Yes. Bears.... like I said'.

I'm currently reacquainting myself with the whole cooking fad. I have my fall back dishes and being half Italian, Risotto is one of my favs, and I have to say I make a killer dish. So I move into my new place with 3 awesome Canucks (that's what they're called here don't ask) and this is something I make in my first week. One of them come up to me in the kitchen and asks what I'm cooking. 'I'm making risotto.' 'Reesotoe?'. 'Risotto.' 'Ree-so-toe?' 'Ri-sott-o. Italian dish'. Oh! that looks yum!'. Someone get me a wine!

I admit I was a little naughty during my travels and would randomly stop through McDonalds for a drink or an ice-cream. This one day I was driving through the drive-through and ordered a coke. OMG let's just say every other item on the extensive menu was added to my bill with me literally yelling at the speaker that I just wanted a coke. 'I'm sorry, you want a McChicken meal?' 'Ummm no a coke.' 'So that was 10 nuggets?' F*^K! 'No a coke. You know a soft drink?' 'Oh so that's a caramel sundae?' Really?!? About to get out of my car and hit something I try and remember all the American lingo I can from the movies I've watched (as charades wasn't an option to the speaker) and say 'OK I want a coke. You know - pop, soda  - does that make sense?' 'Oh you want a cola?' FML. 'Yes.' 'OK drive through.' I'll never get those 10 mins back.

I've got to say though I am loving the Canadian accent. I love it when people try to imitate the Aussie accent and say what they think is an Aussie phrase. Most of the time I have no idea what they think they are saying. One of my flat mates is currently working on how to say 'around the round about' in 'Australian' purely because we have a round about at our corner and she thinks its funny that I say that when I literally need to go around the round about. Confused but kept entertained.

As much as single words trip people up, our slang keeps 'em guessing too. I've just started a new job in the service industry. Talking with people is a passion of mine and I'm good at it. So being my friendly self I said to a guy 'Good Morning how are you going?' His step faulted only slightly and he looked at me like a deer in headlights for a split second. 'I'm going' he answered. Before I could laugh, apologise or explain (I probably would have just laughed),  he quickly followed that up with a 'You're obviously not from around here' while still trying to mentally work out what it was I was actually saying. Note to self: use that line more often.

So next time you think about learning an exotic language like French or Spanish, don't waste your time. Travel to another English speaking country. Trust me, some of it will be just as challenging! 

Stars and Stripes

It was with a 4am wakeup call that I began my epic 36 hour journey to my new life. I had meticulously tried to prepare as much as possible to ensure my journey was a smooth one. One thing I did not account for was an Asian group check-in on the same flight, arriving 1 minute after them and getting stuck in a ridiculously long check-in queue. After accepting my fate and graciously getting in line it wasn’t until a leader of the group thought he could squeeze in 5 more people in front of me that I laid down the law on my foreign traveler friends and told them in no uncertain terms that if he was going to try that then I would jump the queue and go straight to the front. Guess who got checked in first?

I had an uncanny dream about a month before this trip that one of my flights got cancelled and I missed my connecting flight. When I woke up the next morning I found Qantas had emailed me informing me that my first flight had been cancelled and it would need to be rebooked. All went well and I got a flight 30 mins later allowing a bit more of a sleep in. Yay me! Now on a 36 hour journey with 3 different flights, any well-travelled person would book a connecting flight so they didn’t have to deal with dragging luggage all around at each stop. So that’s what I booked…. Or thought I had. Due to the cancellation, my national carrier downgraded me to their low cost carrier, which in the beginning I didn’t mind, but as the check-in lady proceeded to explain to me that due to the different carriers I would have to transport my own bags in Brisbane.

Now I wasn’t upset that I had to get my bags. What made this traveler an unhappy traveler was that my connecting booking was no longer connecting, my 4.30am start was not starting the way I it needed to and 2 checked bags (46kgs) 1 carry on bag 1 laptop bag & 1 handbag did not equal ‘fun times’ to me as I hashed out a plan to move terminals. So I informed her as much. Upon arriving in Brisbane I tried my luck at International check-in, because let’s face it my trip wasn’t amazing so far, and after some checking the check-in lady Marji upgraded me which made the 13 hour flight more bearable.

It amazes me how people can board a flight at 10.30am and be asleep soon after take off. Didn’t you just wake up? Needless to say I didn’t sleep. The flight to LA was super smooth and other than 2 bits of turbulence you would never think you were over 30,000ft in the air. The flight was pretty non eventful for all on board but this is me I’m talking about. Where there is a will there is a way. Not that I wanted to but I somehow found myself red-faced and embarrassed midflight.

I made quite a few trips up and down the isle to stretch my legs and to the toilet. My first trip to the toilet, in my defense, was in near darkness. I went to the door that had a sign mentioning toilet and I assumed that was it. Well it wasn’t. What a nice surprise it was when the male flighty came over and in a not so quiet voice advised me that the door lead to the cupboard and I couldn’t go in there. Red faced, I turned around to see the door behind a curtain behind me. After returning to my seat I was putting my bag in the overhead locker when the same flighty stopped by and kindly advised me that the cupboard on the left (super small and skinny cupboard) was not a toilet either and I shouldn’t try going into that one either. Ha. Ha.

So I finally made it to LA, scanned all 10 fingers & thumbs on the customs scanner and seemingly registered myself with US Homeland Security, got some well needed sleep, skyped my family and got asked if my accent was English. Now I sit in the Alaskan Airlines departure lounge waiting for my next and final flight to my new home – Canada!