The Travel Bug

When I was four years old, I wanted to dig to China. I didn’t really know what China was. I had a vague notion that it was a place full of broken pottery, shards of blue china tea cups and cracked saucers. But I thought if I dug a hole deep enough in the muddy sandpit out the back of our house on our cattle property in South-East Queensland, I would probably get there. I was thrilled one day when I was digging around and found a little shard of blue and white pottery. I thought I was getting close to finding an ancient city full of tall buildings made out of cracked vases with tea pot spouts for chimneys. Somehow, it wasn’t as exciting to find out that China was a country on the other side of the world and that I couldn’t possibly dig my way through to it. Still, it was clear from an early age (in my own mind at least) that I was searching for adventure.

I suppose the travel bug was etched into me ever since exploring Europe with my family as a young child. At the age of 25, after doing the sensible thing, getting a degree and working professionally for a year, I realised I would have to start being a bit more reckless if I wanted to see the world, because travel (the endless, on-a-budget, down-to-earth kind that I wanted) doesn’t seem to fit into the 9-5 schedule that people have worked out for themselves. One sunny day, I was lying on a beach in Perth with an old uni friend discussing travel dreams (none of which I had fulfilled). I realised how quickly time passes and suddenly, my gut instinct was so strong that I went home that night and booked a plane ticket to London. From the moment I booked that ticket, the world lit up and life began!

Since then, the travel bug has taken me to some magical destinations! I hopped around 12 different countries in Europe for three months, soaking up the food, the culture, the architecture and history. On my return to Perth, I packed all my belongings away to begin a musical adventure across the tropics of Australia. I took my backpack and guitar and decided to explore my own country (including the beautiful Broome, the Red Centre, the rugged north and the tropical paradise of Cairns and beyond). After settling for a year in Melbourne, I was getting itchy feet again. South-East Asia was the next destination, where I spent three glorious months backpacking through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. I will cover some of those adventures in future blog posts.

I knew on my return to Melbourne that I would not be staying for long. I am not quite ready to establish myself in one particular place – there are far too many spots to choose from. So, after casual teaching for a good two terms in my favourite schools, I am almost ready to set off again. This time, in a four-wheel drive van with a lovely German man who I met in Laos, up the East Coast and then, who knows!

And that is the excitement of limitless travel. It is a journey with no end and it can take you to some incredible places you wouldn’t have even dreamed about (like zip-lining through a jungle in Laos, or learning how to make chocolate croissants in the heart of Paris, or climbing down waterfalls in Vietnam). You also meet the most amazing people – I met some of my closest friends travelling and we have some beautiful shared experiences to look back on. And living in this day and age, travel is the easiest it has ever been. Of course, there must be work along the way, but it all seems more exciting when you have something to look forward to and like-minded people to share it with.

Lets see where the next adventure takes us!