Tag: journal

Being Home and Staying Home

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Yesterday I was out for my once daily walk, grateful for the fresh air after spending my first seven days in isolation at the house, and amongst the rainbow signs in the windows I saw one that read “When it rains look for rainbows, when it’s dark look for stars”. The phrase has stayed with me since. Though perhaps slightly cheesy, it sums up perfectly how I am trying to see the current situation.

I have been back in the UK two weeks exactly now. In the first week there was definitely a sense of being on edge. I waited to see if my cough got worse or if my exhaustion was merely jet lag or something more. I used separately plates, cutlery, glasses and I washed them up separately with my own gloves. There was only so much I could avoid touching and places in the house where I couldn’t keep the two metres distance from my mum and aunt but I turned lights on and off with the sleeve of my jumper. It was the same with doorknobs. I didn’t hug my mum, after not seeing her for over nine months, until I had been home around ten days. I kept my towels and toiletries in my room and wiped down the bathroom after every shower, the sink after every time I brushed my teeth.

Was it the right decision to come home despite the risks? One hundred per cent. Joey had said to me more than once when we were deliberating what to do that going home for us wasn’t just to be able to be with our families, or have greater financial security in our own country but that it was important to our mental health as well. I don’t think I fully accepted this, I think it seemed the most selfish reason at the time, but now that I’m no longer waking up every day feeling sick to my stomach, no longer restless to the point where the only things that would calm my mind for brief periods were walking or swimming, no longer feeling like my heart was pounding and everything was a rush, a race, now I understand. There are still anxieties, there is still uncertainty about the future but never have I felt so untethered as I did in those last weeks in Australia and never have I felt so solid being home.

Slowly, as no symptoms developed, I relaxed around the house. After eight days I went out for a walk, keeping my distance from everyone I passed. Yet when I’m in the house there is this strange sense of disconnect. I can almost pretend I’m just home for a visit or back for the holidays, then, as easy as flipping a switch, the news brings reality back into our lives. Many people still trapped abroad and, from what I can tell, not enough being done to get them home. There are nurses and doctors, their faces bruised and scarred from their endless shifts on the frontline of this coronavirus battle, as the news calls it. On social media they post tearful videos asking people to stop hoarding, to have some compassion, to appreciate them. There are carers battling just as hard and feeling under-appreciated and overwhelmed. For every day that goes by where I am grateful for not knowing anyone to have had Covid-19 there is a family mourning a loved one, their hearts breaking that they could not even be with them in the final moments.

However, there are moments that lift our hearts as well. I was watching Contagion the other night and although many phrases and scenarios seemed eerily similar to the reality we are now living in the film also depicted nightmare images of streets full of rubbish, riots, looting and violence. I am grateful we have not come to this. Instead we share videos of people singing in their living rooms, or dancing with their neighbours while keeping social distancing. Celebrities are speaking to us from their living rooms, wearing cosy jumpers and being interrupted by their kids, their cat walking in front of the screen or their dog barking in the background, a glimpse into their lives beyond the camera and a reminder of everyone being in this together. Jamie Oliver recording his cooking show on his phone, his kids wandering in to help or shouting in the background, his wife holding the phone after he tried to juggle close ups and stirring the pasta at the same time and his breathless gratitude to his film crew who are currently out of work. We hear stories of people delivering food to the vulnerable and the elderly. There are people turning their businesses around in a matter of days or weeks to be able to deliver essentials, make masks or sanitiser, to change their businesses to work online. There are gym trainers, dance instructors, yoga teachers who are re-thinking their whole business dynamic to be able to keep afloat and although the circumstances for having to do so are tragic, it will perhaps have a lasting effect and create new opportunities for them in the future.

I am amazed everyday at the positivity that has come along with these trying times and I am trying to hold on to that positivity too. Before leaving Australia we had plans to work in Byron Bay, a place I miss more than I thought I would, travel the East Coast and set up a life for ourselves in New Zealand for the next year or two. All those plans have crumbled now. In many ways I feel I am back where I started only worse off. I’m living at home, no job, the industry I have loved working in is at a stand-still but instead of dwelling on what has gone wrong I am trying to see this as an opportunity for change. Over the past year or so I have been thinking a lot about what is important to me and what I want out of life and this feels like the perfect opportunity to begin again, to ensure the important things take precedence and to shape my life however I want it. I hope this does not sound insensitive because please, don’t get me wrong, I am not in any way saying that coronavirus has been a good thing or that the pandemic has given me this opportunity. What has given me this outlook is my own personal situation that the effects of coronavirus has put me in, in the same way that people all over the world are changing the way they work, on how much time they spend with their families and on what passions they once didn’t have time for and now can indulge in.

I guess what I’m saying is that through the down-pouring of sadness, of loss and of fear we should still look out for rainbows. That even in these dark days our eyes can slowly adjust until we can begin to see the stars.

LIVE UPDATE #4 – Coronavirus Crisis – We’re Home

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We made it home. The rest of our journey from Tokyo actually went very smoothly. We checked the departures board obsessively and gave ourselves heart attacks more than once when we misread a cancelled flight departure for ours. When we asked attendants to check the flight status they simply said, ‘on time’ as if everything was absolutely normal.

It feels surreal to be back. I feel like I’ve been picked up out of one life and plopped back down in my pre-Australian one. Everything seems the same and like I’ve maybe only been on holiday for a few weeks and yet everything also feels completely different. It is a very different UK we have returned to than the one we left, but then it is that way even for people who haven’t left the country.

I also find I have a feeling of guilt for being home. Firstly because I know there were so many people desperately trying to get back and we were fortunate enough to manage to scrape together the cash and have support from family to be able to book these flights. Secondly because flying is risky and in doing so I may have come into contact with someone who is ill or I may already be ill (though I doubt it as I have kept away from people the last week and have no symptoms) and unknowingly passing it on. I would feel awful if I were to get sick now and infect my family and/or countless others I may have come into contact with in making my way back.

Because of this it still feels hard to explain why we were so desperate to come home but all I can say is in such uncertain times we felt we had to do what would make us feel the most safe and secure and for us that was coming home as soon as we were able so if it was possible we were going to do it.

Touching down on the tarmac Joey clapped (yes he was that guy) and I breathed a sigh of relief. The airport was practically deserted and for the first time on our long journey we saw signs about social distancing measures.

Our bags came through quickly because the flight appeared to not be very full – something that made us quite angry, it is understandable that seats need to be left for social distancing but there were only a handful of people in business class so I don’t understand why people couldn’t have been upgraded in order to free up more economy seats that would be more affordable for people to get home – and we headed out towards arrivals. I had thought I would cry on seeing my mum waiting there but I had dry eyes and a massive grin on my face. Not that my mum could see as we had been given masks by an air hostess just as we were disembarking. She even did a double take before she realised it was us. No hugs. No contact. Which is sad but necessary.

This is how you do a social distancing hug!

Now the self-isolation begins. Two weeks dodging my mum and aunty in my own home and Joey doing the same with his family. We’re keeping everything separate from towels to plates and cutlery and I won’t be heading outside anytime soon unless it is for a lap round the garden. But I don’t care. We’re home.

Big smiles on touch down.
  • Stay safe
  • Stay isolated/social distance where you can
  • Keep washing hands and sanitising
  • Most importantly be kind to others

Life In Byron Bay – Beach Days, Attempting to Surf and Hippy Vibes

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How to sum up living in Byron Bay? Byron Bay is a colourful place, with buskers filling the streets with music, boutique cafes, Mexican food, burgers bars, rainbow hippy shops, thrift stores and surf shops. It is not uncommon to see people doing their groceries or going about their day bare foot. There is a twilight market every Saturday and more scattered around town on different dates. Most people surf or at the very least are regulars to the beach and it is the perfect place to practice yoga and meditation. It’s chilled and built up and busy enough for there to be lots to do without feeling overcrowded or too touristy. We felt right at home straight away.

We had checked in to Wake Up hostel in a private room and it was lush. The hostel is right over the road from the beach, has free surfboard and bike hire, yoga lessons and is generally really pretty and clean. We could only afford to stay in our private room a week and then moved into dorms but even these were nice and the hostel is fairly chilled. There are definitely party vibes, especially on the pizza, free wine and cheese and BBQ nights but common areas close at 10pm meaning everyone is either out or in bed letting you get a good nights sleep, which is always a challenge in a hostel!

To begin with we struggled to make friends around the hostel, and the social atmosphere of being in hostels instead of the van had been what I was really looking forward to, but we quickly discovered most of the people we met were moving on while we were staying. So we had a few great nights out with people who were around for a few days but it wasn’t until some new hostel workers started and we met some other long term guests that we felt more like we had a group of friends here.

Day to day if we don’t have work we will laze on the beach (I finally have a tan so I can go home actually looking like I went somewhere hot!) or attempt to learn to surf. I try to go to yoga as often as I can and even enjoyed the local pool once. We like trying new places around town to eat; we loved the snapper burrito at Miss Margharitas, The Treehouse restaurant next door does amazing nachos and maybe the best calamari I’ve ever had and if you want burgers head to Main Street Burgers – their milkshakes are also amazing!

There are still a lot of Byron Bay activities we are yet to do as having opposite work schedules doesn’t make it easy to coordinate. We have checked out the lighthouse and hope to go back on a sunnier day to complete the walking trail that leads down to the beach. We also checked out Killan Falls, a beautiful waterfall just outside of the town. The water is cold and refreshing, with a nice area to swim after a short clamber over the rocks. There are a couple more waterfalls we want to check out, including Minyon Falls.

We’ve also taken two trips up the Gold Coast to Movie World and Wet ‘n’ Wild. The latter was Ashlie’s suggestion, we managed to cross paths with her again as she made her way down the coast and she messaged me to ask if we could go to Splash Park while we were there. I couldn’t find any mention of a Splash Park in Byron Bay or even up the coast, then she explained she heard about it on The Inbetweeners movie and I managed to connect the dots and find out they renamed Wet ‘n’ Wild for the film. We booked a pass that allowed us entry to four parks for less than the price of two entries and we could enter as many times as we wanted over the course of a year.

We met Ashlie at the park and had a great day floating down the lazy river, catching up on each other’s trips in the jacuzzi and screaming our heads off down the water slides. There was only one drop slide we chickened out off and one other we ran out of time to do but it made for a fun day out for sure.

The next day we drove up to Nimbin to check out this crazy little hippy town. It was raining most of the time so we had lunch and ducked in and out of shops selling rainbow clothes, crystals, books on tarot reading and witchcraft and of course plenty of marajuana paraphernalia. There were a couple of signs for hash cookies but whereas I remembered coming to visit and being offered cookies left right and centre it now seemed to be a lot more subtle. I was a little disapointed there wasn’t more to Nimbin, especially for the distance to get there from Nimbin but on a drizzly day it makes for an interesting thing to do.

We also made use of our pass to visit Movie World. I was super excited as I love rollercoasters but Joey… not so much. He is not a fan of heights or fast rides and unfortunately most of the rides were either big rollercoasters or small kiddies ones. I managed to convince him to join me on the Scooby Doo ride though, which was classed as a thrill ride but looked more family friendly on the posters so I figured would be perfect for the both of us.

It started out very serene with just a few bumps and very minor drops, then we went into a tunnel of screens and the whole track took us up to another level. I jokingly said, “what would you do if it suddenly dropped?” And Joey was like, “Don’t!”. We reached the next level and the cart started to move backwards, we figured it would swing round and start going straight again, then continue at the fairly sedate pace it had been at before but suddenly we speeded up, heading backwards and before we knew it the ground seemed to disappear for a moment and we were dropped backwards. I have never seen a funnier sight than the look of surprise and terror on Joey’s face! I couldn’t stop laughing and once he got over the initial shock, neither could he! The rest of the ride was a lot of fast twists and turns but nothing could beat that first backwards drop! It made our day.

We also checked out the very cheesey shows together but when it came to the DC Rivals Hypercoaster, the fastest and longest hypercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere I was on my own. I was scared while queueing but just tried not to think of it. I was terrified on the ride! But it was the most fun ever! My legs were like jelly afterwards from clenching them so much but wow it was exhilarating. I also went on Superman rollercoaster, which was just as exciting in terms of speed but this also meant it was over so quickly. Unfortunately three of the other big rides were closed for maintenance so we made note to come back another day to test them out too.

Other than our occasional side trips, nights out from the hostel and evenings listening to live music by main beach or hopping into town just for an ice cream fix, life ticked on in Byron Bay. We mostly enjoyed being at the hostel, especially for all the perks of living there but in the end we decided we had had enough of bunk beds, busy shared kitchens and people waking us up in the middle of the night and searched out a private room. We found an option in a share house with a German man, Tom who shared the house with his teenage son who visits on alternative weeks. The room was the cheapest we had seen to include an en suite, balcony and walk in closet – we were immediately excited for all the space we would have! We slept on the decision but felt good about the place straight away and signed up for it the next day. We’ve just enjoyed our last week at the hostel and check out today!

As we continue to explore Byron Bay and the surrounding area I’ll be able to share more tips and information. For now we are enjoying taking life slow with lazy beach days and saving some money through working again.

Coff’s Harbour and A Change of Plan in Byron Bay

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The rain had started and did not look set to stop anytime soon. We packed up, said goodbye to Janet and family and drove through the rain to Coff’s Harbour.

There isn’t a huge amount to do in Coff’s Harbour and I had always thought I would skip it out if I came back to do the East Coast but we figured it might be better to wait out the bad weather somewhere where there wasn’t a lot going on than head to Byron Bay with the great beaches we just wouldn’t be able to enjoy. So we booked into the YHA and cosied down for the evening.

It turned out to be an interesting evening. I woke in the middle of the night to giggling and the person below me seemed to not be in her bunk and there were two people on the bottom bunk opposite Joey’s. I assumed one of the girls had got back from a night out and was having a catch up with the other girl who was on my bottom bunk. I groggily stumbled out of bed to the bathroom but when I came back to the room, thanks to the bedside light that was perfectly highlighting the activities going on on the bottom bunk despite the privacy sheet they had hung up, I realised these two girls were definitely doing more than just catching up! I scurried up to my bunk, plugged my headphones in and grabbed my phone to see the disbelieving messages from Joey who had unfortunately gotten woken up by their fun times a lot earlier in the night. This hasn’t been my first experience of this but hopefully it will be the last!

While we had been driving the day before I had commented to Joey how much the weather reminded me of rainy old England. I then flipped through my Instagram stories only to see a similar comment on a video of the rain by an old friend, Sienna, I worked with at Nando’s. After seeing a few more pics I realised she must be on the same route as us up the East Coast and dropped her a message. I suggested if she was passing through Coff’s Harbour we have a catch up so we met for lunch at SOMETHING down the road from our hostel.

It was really nice to share our travel experiences with someone I knew from home. She has also had some incredible adventures through Africa, Bali and more on her way to Australia and was very much at the beginning of her trip but already had some awesome stuff planned. We shared our experiences so far and swapped stories about camping and road tripping as this is how she was traveling the East Coast.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and wondered whether we would cross paths again at another point on the East Coast. The rain was easing off so we headed to the boardwalk for a look out to sea and were rewarded by spotting a pod of dolphins swimming and playing in the bay. It must have been quite a big group and some with youngster, popping up out of the water here there and everywhere. We even saw some turtles surfacing too. So glad we decided not to hide out in our hostel all day.

On our way out of Coff’s Harbour we passed the famous Big Banana there but as the weather was still not great we only snapped a quick pic from the car and continued on our way to Byron Bay.

I was excited to see Byron Bay again and whether it was as lovely as I remember it being. The sky was overcast but a little sun was peaking through so as soon as we arrived and got checked into a beachside hostel, Wake Up, we went for a walk on the sand, revelling in the beach time we would be sure to enjoy here.

While checking in I had noticed something else, a sign at Peterpans travel shop saying Staff Wanted. I had joked about us finding work to wait out the rain and we knew we needed to find work soon enough anyway that after speaking to the manager I decided to apply.

We didn’t have any plans for how long we would spend in Byron Bay, we thought we might stay long enough to enjoy some sunny days then continue up the coast. Within a day of applying I had an interview, got a call to confirm I had the role that evening and by the end of the week I was in training. It was exciting to have such a quick turn around and also to be doing something I had been doing back in the UK and enjoyed so much there.

The only downside was going back to working so soon into a travelling portion of our trip, but being on the East Coast means we can easily plan side trips to other areas and do lots of exploring in our free time. There was also a lot of worry and stress in the first couple of weeks of me getting the job that, as great as it was I had found work so quickly, it appeared there weren’t many jobs going for Joey. Byron Bay is such a popular place for people to stop and work that many businesses, especially in the low season, prefer to hire residents who will be there permantly rather than moving on after a month or so. Our accommodation was also not the cheapest and with only one wage coming in we had doubts about making this work, were we just stuck here now, too scared to risk giving up a job to find work elsewhere but slowly draining our money if we stayed?

Luckily things turned around pretty quickly. Joey found a job as a housekeeper for 28 Degrees, a luxury high end holiday guesthouse. Though it seemed he would only get a few hours to start with he has already ended up working more shifts than planned so it finally started to look like living in Byron Bay was realistic for us.

And so far we are loving it. I’ll talk more about living here in my next post but it is great being so close to the beach, having the time to go to yoga every other day, a cute hippy town full of interesting shops and great restaurants. Byron Bay was just as awesome as I remembered it being. It wasn’t part of the plan to end up staying here, but that is part of this up and down journey through Australia, everything is constantly changing and sometimes it all works out for the best.

Wine, Beaches and More Wine

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After leaving our farm position we had a couple of weeks before our next opportunity working as au pairs in a small town called Tocumwal, three hours north of Melbourne. After looking into what we could do along the way we decided Kangaroo Island seemed right up our street. It is hailed as one of the best places in Australia to see wildlife so it seemed perfect for us. The ferry departs from Cape Jervis so we decided to take our time travelling there and stop off at a few places along the way.

Having not really experienced the beaches in Adelaide yet we spent the first few days after leaving the farm hanging out near Glenelg beach. The weather still wasn’t quite sunbathing standard yet but we enjoyed nosing around the shops, the small museum above the information centre that explained the history of Glenelg and how it is considered the oldest European settlement on mainland South Australia and spent the rest of our day sipping a cider and a beer, watching the world go by. It was nice to have a little extra time in Adelaide area but it wasn’t a place that grabbed us so we weren’t too sad to be moving on.

From here our next stop was the McClaren Vale, one of the best wine regions in South Australia. Our campsite was really pretty, an alley of trees leading to a secluded green spot amongst the fields of grapes. Almost immediately we ventured out to some of the local winerys. Within walking distance were two recommended ones, Oxenberry Farm Wines and Serafino. Both offered free tastings and funnily enough I preferred the wines at the first while Joey preferred the wines at the second. They might have only been small tasters but you could easily get tipsy from hopping from one winery to the other and though the tasters were little more than a sip or two for each wine there would be five or six tasters per winery so it never felt like your cup ran dry. At Serifino we decided to grab a full glass each though to truly relax and savour our favourite wines while looking out across the nearby pond.

The next day we headed to d’Arenberg Cube, a winery that is as much an art piece as a vineyard. The building is designed to look like a Rubik’s cube, representing the puzzle that is wine making. Corner balconies jut out, like the Rubik’s cube in motion, allowing for spectacular views of the rolling hills and grape fields for miles around. The winery has connections with art in other ways too and was currently showcasing a Picasso art collection. On the first floor there is also an art gallery full of weird and whacky sculptures from legs dangling from the ceiling to old wind up wooden fair ground toys. There was also a room featuring projections on every wall that showed just as whacky annimations with interesting names such as The Laughing Magpie and The Broken Fishplate. We couldn’t get our heads round it but took it to just be part of this eccentric aesthetic however when we got up to the top floor where the tastings are held we learnt the true meaning behind the animations. Each one was representing the wines on offer, which had the same unique names. We went for the classic tasting options but rotated in a Reisling to try too as it is a wine we enjoy back home and were curious what it would be like in Australia. The reds were a bit too dry for me but right up Joey’ s street. The white wines were fruity, crisp and delicious. Afterwards we grabbed a drink in the cafe to continue enjoying the laid back atmosphere and amazing views.

We had thought to end up there for most of the day but finished earlier than we thought and so decided to check out the nearby town and beach front. I imagined a beachfront pavilion with shops to explore and cafes to while away some time in but it turned out to be just the beach and one expensive restaurant. We didn’t really mind though as the beach was a really pretty spot and not too busy. Part of the joy of having the van with us meant that after a short walk to check it out we headed back to the van, changed into shorts, grabbed our camp chairs, some snacks and a drink to soak up the sun for the rest of the afternoon.

Being in no rush to get to our next campsite we returned to the beach in the morning and this time I even braved the water – cold but refreshing! We had a picnic lunch on the beach then set off for our last stop before Kangaroo Island. Joey had discovered a really cool campsiteto that wasn’t too far from the ferry port called Rapid Bay. It was cheap at just $9 per person per night and we got to park up right on the beach. This was what we had dreamed of when imagining our life in the van, being parked up so close to the beach we could take a dip in the water, walk along the sand to see the jetty at one end and the cave at the other then take just a few steps to our camp chairs to sunbathe the rest of the afternoon away. It was probably our favourite campsite yet.

Our ferry was departing in the afternoon the next day so again there was no rush and we enjoyed another swim and walk along the beach before packing up to go. It was only a short drive to the ferry port and super easy to get checked in and board the ferry. Joey drove on and any other passengers have to board on foot so I met him on board once the van was loaded on. It was just 45 minutes to Kangaroo Island and as we set off towards our campsite we were blown away by the beauty of this island and immediately knew we had made the right choice in going there. We would have plenty to see and explore over the next five days.

Kings Canyon, Alice Springs and Back The Way We Came

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We were coming to the end of our outback roadtrip and soon it would be time to turn our tails and head back the way we had come for an opportunity back in Adelaide. In the meantime though, there were still a few places we were keen to see.

Before we left Uluru we took one last morning to soak up the culture by visiting one of the art galleries on site there and happened to catch one of the free talks. This turned out to be such a good experience as, since first seeing Aboriginal artwork, we had wondered what the meaning behind the dots, lines, patterns and symbols were and this talk explained exactly that. Our speaker was a lovely young Aboriginal woman who explained that each painting depicts a story but only those within the tribe can know the full story, even she does not know the full meaning behind paintings done by someone outside her tribe and her own tribe’s stories were passed on to her only when she came of age. However, there are certain aspects of the paintings that everyone can understand and she taught us how to look for these symbols. For example, a “U” shape means a person and if they are arranged in a circle it means people sitting together. A circle with a dot or smaller circles within it means a meeting place and the marks that look like bird feet are actually kangaroo feet! Dot painting is probably the most well known form of Aboriginal painting but is by no means the only one. Sometimes the Dreamtime story is depicted beneath the painting as another layer so that it is woven into the artwork without revealing itself to anyone outside the tribe. The speaker told us a story about an obnoxious customer who had bought one of the artworks and then demanded to know the story behind it, believing that because he owned the painting he also had the right to own the story. Definitely not!

There were yet more talks and activities I would have loved to do in Uluru but our time there was up and we set off for Kings Canyon. There are a couple of camping options here but similarly to Uluru most of the land is protected and therefore other than roadside stops there are only two options. One is Kings Creek Station which is further away from Kings Canyon so to save some fuel and driving time we opted for Kings Canyon Resort, though it has stunning views of the canyon it is still a short drive to the start point of the hikes. On the first afternoon we did little more than get settled in and watch the sunset over the canyon.

After a relaxing afternoon I was hoping I would be all fired up for a day of hiking Kings Canyon but alas, our hiking mojo was gone. It had been a busy past couple of days, even weeks, and we were starting to feel it. We hadn’t come all this way to sit in our van though, so dragging our heels just slightly we set off regardless. We chose to do the iconic Rim Walk, a 6km hike to the top, around the rim, a visit to the Garden of Eden, an oasis tucked away within the canyon, past the domes and back to the bottom again. It was supposed to take 3-4 hours but we did it in around two. There were some incredible views and I’m very glad we did it, at the same time maybe our reluctance to hike was simply that it is a slight anti-climax after Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We were happy to finish up earlier than expected and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the shade of our camper van as we relaxed.

We had only planned on spending a couple of nights in our next stop, Alice Springs, yet when we arrived Thursday we were told about the Henley on Todd regatta happening on Saturday and decided it was a sign that we should stay longer. Living near the Henley on Thames regatta back home, though we had never actually been, it seemed too weird and wonderful an opportunity to pass up going to the Henley on Todd and seeing how on earth a regatta works in the middle of the desert! It would also give us a longer break from driving for a while, something we were in need of after the long distances we had traveled.

There were a few other things to explore in Alice Springs as well. First up we decided to mooch around Todd Mall, which turned out to be a single street of a few random tourist, charity and other shops. In the afternoon we checked out the Royal Flying Doctors of Australia Museum. The name is a bit of a mouthful and so is the information provided! There is lots to read but also a lot of displays of old medial equipment, radios used, an aircraft you can get in to explore, virtual reality headsets that let you “sit in”on a real medical flight and a holographic presentation to start the experience off. Even if there was a lot to take in it was very interesting. The Royal Flying Doctors of Australia is a service used to this day for people in rural communities to receive the medical care they require. It was officially started by John Flynn but the idea arguably came from himself and two other men. One of which was a man who was hit and trapped under a cart, he was suffering internal injuries and had to be taken on a harrowing and bumpy journey over miles to the nearest doctor to then also have to wait for a surgeon to arrive separately to perform an operation and in the end he died the day before the surgeon arrived. He was an inspiration for the desperate need for medical care to be able to reach these remote places. And so the idea of flying doctors was born. It was also brought together by the use of radio. This allowed people in remote communities to talk to a GP and have a consultation without having to travel.

Although I would have loved to visit the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs at $80 per person and having been to Josephine’s Kangaroo Sanctuary and art gallery in Coober Pedy, we decided to give it a miss. The next best thing was a visit to Desert Park. This is kind of a botanical garden / wildlife centre mix. As you make your way through the park you’ll visit different types of desert environments and get to explore and learn about the flora and fauna that grows there, as well as the eco-systems they support. If you’re an avid bird watcher this is the perfect place for you with many mini averies along the way. The highlight for us was the Nocturnal Centre and joining onto the guided tour made it even better. Lots of the creatures were really active in their darkened enclosures. I had no idea how many similar but at the same time very different types of marsupial rodent type creatures the Australian outback had! The Bettong looks like a rat, only bigger, with furry tails and a more rounded face, then there are Bilbies that look like a mix between a mouse and an anteater, with grey fur, long pinkish ears and a long nose and the Northern Quoll has a rodent-like face but with big rounded ears, brownish fur with white dots and long claws – just to name a few! My favourite was the Hopping Mice who raced about so quick they looked like a blur. When they do pause long enough to look at them properly they have big ears and kangaroo like legs that make them so quick! We finished our visit at the bird show which is one of the more impressive bird shows I’ve ever been to as the focus was more on demonstrating each birds unique skills as they would use them in the wild as opposed to simply doing tricks for the audience. The black-breasted buzzard uses tools to break open eggs. In the deomnstration the bird picked up rocks and repeatedly threw it at the egg to crack it, revealing a treat inside.

On the day of Henley on Todd I still didn’t know what to expect. We were about to watch a regatta on the dried up riverbed of the Todd river. I shouldn’t have doubted the Australians though as a little drought was never going to hinder them. The day started with a parade of the boats. These turned out to be self-made, carried, shells of boats in all shapes and sizes which, when the events started, would be held up by teams running races across the sand to see who could come first. There was much silliness, cheating, laughing and good fun. The races had different categories and were broken up by other challenges and events reminiscent of a British sports day obstacle course. There was also a prize for the best boat and this rightly went to the man dressed as a barrel with a baby on his front and a toddler on his back, the three of them making up the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. They won the hearts of the crowd and joined in every event, they were brilliant!

The sun was out, we were finally feeling some real heat on this trip, there were plenty of food trucks to scurry off to and we were loving the festival vibes. Throughout the day the three main teams of the bigger boats (vehicles dressed up) egged on the crowd for support and frequently broke out into water fights and scuffles between the teams. This was all in the lead up to the grand finale which was a massive battle between the three teams: the Navy, the Vikings and the Pirates. If I thought the day had been worth it so far things were about to be taken to the next level as the teams climbed aboard their vessels and the battle began. Suddenly all hell broke loose with canons firing what looked like dust and confetti, water balloons being hurled and water canons being fired. The boats chased each other round and round the arena and often ended up with one poor team in the middle, desperately spinning and hurling water bombs in every direction as two other teams circled them, equally ferociously fighting back. When the bedraggled teams did one last lap and lined up to have the winner chosen you wouldn’t be able to tell who came out best from looking at them. However the reason for the teams throwing sweets into the crowds all day became clear as we discovered the winner was to be chosen by the loudest cheer. My favourites were the vikings who seemed to have endless energy and really threw themselves into the days events all day long but it was the Navy the crowd seemed to love more, even if it was a close call. The whole day was a bit strange and a bit fantastic and definitely worth extending our time for.

Originally we had planned on travelling all the way into the Northern Territory and to Darwin before continuing on to the East Coast however, all the way back in Hahndorf we had found an opportunity to do our farm work in the Adelaide Hills. This meant a massive change of plan but to be able to tick off our farm work so soon was a massive plus to us and we felt it was worth the effort of turning tails and coming back. At the time of writing this we’ve actually come to an end of our time here so I’ll tell you all about it in the next post. The journey back was a lot shorter, though with the lengthy drives it didn’t feel like it! We drove from Alice Springs to Coober pedy to Port Augusta and arrived back in Adelaide on a wet chilly day, already missing the outback temperatures. We had loved our time in the van and now we could set up and pack up in a few minutes. Although the van was beginning to feel like home at last we couldn’t help but crave some stability of being in the same place for an extended period of time – not to mention having a proper bed to sleep in! That first night on the farm I was nervous as to what the experience would be like, feeling out of sorts in a new place that would be our home for potentially the next few months and a little excited to be in the beautiful and peaceful Adelaide Hills. Our Outback Adventure was over but (and please excuse the cheese) a new chapter to our trip was just beginning.

The Outback Roadtrip – German Food, Kangaroos and Underground Homes

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The road trip had only just begun but already our van was running into problems. It was jerky and struggling to get up hills or change gears and though it had started along the Great Ocean Road, by The Grampians we had to admit we couldn’t go any further until it was sorted. We called the mechanic who had done our roadworthy in Melbourne and though he tried to diagnose the issue over the phone there wasn’t much he could do. He knew a guy in Adelaide who could take a look at it for us if we could get it there but we didn’t want to risk the long drive. We asked around for a local mechanic and rocked up first thing to find out what was going on. Within minutes he knew it was an ignition misfire and luckily said he believed we could nurse it to Adelaide and get it fixed there as he was booked solid that day and we wanted to avoid staying somewhere so out of the way.

With the road trip at least temporarily back on we set off straight away but before Adelaide we had one more stop to make. Back in Melbourne we had spoken to two different people who recommended a German town outside of Adelaide called Hahndorf. They said there was good food and cute shops and it sounded like our kind of place.

We arrived late in the afternoon and once we were all set up at the campsite we ventured out into the rain to find food. There are a few German pubs in Hahndorf all of which do these huge sharing platters of German food, which as soon as I read about I knew we had to try. The Hahndorf Inn had the best reviews and straight away we had great service, being offered to sit by the fire and getting wine recommendations. The German Platter was piled high with pork shoulder, the meat falling off the bone, pork chops, sauerkraut and a variety of German sausage plus two pretzels. It was all a bit too much even for us! Tasty, but very stodgy too. No room for dessert!

The next day we got to explore the town a bit more, ducking into shops selling handmade soaps, candles and honey. We admired the expensive imported wooden trinkets made in Germany and realised it would be cheaper for us to fly to Germany to buy something there than to buy here. We also tried out one of the other German restaurants called Haus, this one had more of a mix of cuisine on the menu so was a great place for breakfast, serving some of the most delicious pancakes and poached eggs we had so far on the trip.

When we reached Adelaide it was too late to get the van looked at that day and we happened to have arrived on a weekend so we extended our stay and waited until Monday to get the van seen to. In the meantime it was a good opportunity to catch up with Ashlie, a friend of a friend who had started her working holiday visa a few months before us and happened to fly across from the East Coast to Adelaide in search of farm work. It was so nice to commiserate on finding work and share the ups and downs of travel. We got to chat to a few of the friends she had made in the hostel too and gain some travel tips from them and her. More than anything, I think for both of us, it was nice to have that little piece of familiarity from back home and I hoped our paths would cross again while in Australia.

Finally we managed to get the van looked at and the ignition misfire confirmed. As much as we love the van it has been a struggle and a cause for some low moments when our plans seem halted to get things fixed or paperwork needing to be ticked off. It had been a huge worry for us that if the repairs set us back financially it would change the course of our trip, or even lead us to have to give up the van entirely, or if not now then it could become a constant stop start on our journey and possibly even leave us stranded in a tricky situation if we broke down on the road. It is something we had accepted when we knew we wanted to buy a vehicle and road trip Australia but when the reality hits it can be a different story. Thankfully the costs were less than first quoted and it was all sorted in a day putting us back on track for the next leg of our journey.

Along the Great Ocean Road the drive times had been relatively short at 2 – 4 hours per day. Now we were heading into the outback those drive times would mostly be 6 – 8 hours long. Port Augusta was our first stop and this was mainly to break things up a little bit. It is definitely a hub for different road trips, whether you are heading north, south or west, it is a good jumping off point and quite a pretty place in its own way with a huge river cutting through it.

After resting up and enjoying the first evening of the trip so far that we were able to sit outside our van for a little while, it was an early start to Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town whose residence have a unique way of living. Most of Coober Pedy’s homes are actually underground! This means that the houses stay cool in the hot sun and it makes expanding easy as you simply dig out another room whenever you need one. Even our campground was underground…well… sort of. We opted to stay at Riba’s Underground Campsite, which is just outside the town and offers people the chance to pitch up their tents underground for a campsite with a difference. Unfortunately we couldn’t park the van up underground so we had to live with the dust and the wind up top but we did join in with the mining tour the owner runs on site.

We gathered at the entrance with quite a big group of other guests at 7pm and were taken down into the cavern where various pieces of equipment were set up to demonstrate the method of opal mining in Coober Pedy. Our guide was a little odd, trying too hard to be funny at times and getting quite short with people (verging on rude) if anyone asked any questions as he clearly had his speeches and ways of explaining things that he didn’t want to be interrupted or thrown off course. It was $26 per person but meant we got 50% off one night stay but to be honest we saw better and cheaper mining tours around town so I wouldn’t necessarily be suckered in by this deal.

Still, it was interesting to learn how miners would follow certain veins in the rock to where the opal was most likely to be. Most of the mines were dug out by hand but slowly machinery began to be brought in and huge blowers would be used to suction out the debris creating the iconic mounds of dust and limestone that you’ll see scattered across the otherwise flat landscape as you arrive in Coober Pedy. If you are lucky you may even find some opal shrapnel by noodling (sieving through) these piles, something we saw several people doing while we were there.

The next day we visited Josephine’s Gallery and Kangeroo Sanctuary and met Judy, an incredibly knowledgeable woman both on aboriginal art and kangaroos. To begin with we had time to look around the gallery. There were some gorgeous art pieces but all too expensive for us frugal backpackers! Though we did treat ourselves to some smaller, cheaper prints of the original art. Once enough of a crowd had gathered we were taken out back to where the kangaroos were. They currently have three adults and many more joeys. We were handed some wasabi peas (apparently kangaroos like spicy food! They even eat the plants in the wild that have a spicier taste that other animals don’t eat) and all stuck our hands over the fence expectantly. But they were too lazy and remained where they were, collapsed in some interesting positions…

The little joey she brought out next was much more friendly. After having some milk Clyde clambered out of his pouch strapped to Judy and hopped around, exploring the little courtyard area, licking the wasabi peas (he was still to young to eat them but liked the flavour anyway) and sniffing at everything. He liked reaching up to give Judy a cuddle and let us stroke him too – he had the softest fur! Judy told us so many facts about kangaroos but one that stuck with me was that kangaroos actually use their hormones to choose the sex of their offspring right before birth. With most animals the sex is random or if it is affected by hormones it happens much earlier in the pregnancy but kangaroos can wait until the last moment to judge whether the ratio of male to females is right before the joey is born to keep things in balance. Pretty cool!

Although I could have had cuddles with little Clyde all day long, eventually we had to let him hop back into his pouch for a nap and head out exploring. We stopped off at the Big Winch View point, which is no more exciting than the name describes but did gives us a Birdseye view of this strange town. Everywhere you look there are junk piles or sculptures made from abandoned cars and rusted metal. It seems almost like an abandoned post-apocalyptic landscape, which may be why it was chosen as a location to film the Mad Max films. To get a real sense of what is going on beneath ground it is worth checking out Faye’s Underground home.

It was only $10 per person to look around the house and $15 to see the mine as well. We were taken through each room and told more about underground living and about Faye and the two other women she lived with who helped build the house. Faye came to Coober Pedy in the 60’s and decided to start opal mining, she hand dug her house, which became known for parties, as was evidenced by the liquor cupboard there. As their mining company became more successful they even built an above ground pool, which was a major luxury seeing as they had to have the water driven up from Adelaide to fill it! But they were always welcoming guests and neighbours to make use of it. They sounded like pretty badass women.

Coober Pedy is probably one of the strangest places I’ve ever been and for that reason alone it is worth visiting, even if it isn’t somewhere you would want to linger. Our next stop was to be a big one though – Uluru. It has been a place I’ve always wanted to visit and I couldn’t wait to get there.

Bali Part 3 – Broken Roads, Manta Rays and Surfer Pros

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Spending the past week in one place was a really welcome break but with so much to see and do in Bali we started to get itchy feet to explore some more. We were enjoying island life and had heard good things about the Nusa islands so we hopped back on the ferry and left the gorgeous Gili islands behind.

Day 12 – To pick up where I left off we arrived in Nusa Lembongan and had booked a stay at Taos House. While checking in our host told us it was her birthday and invited us to join in the celebrations later that night. We were immediatly made to feel welcome with home cooked food and ice cold Bintang beers, which mysteriously kept replenishing every time one was finished. Once the Bintang ran low we were offered vodka in a small martini glass and from there graduated to a strong Balinese liquor that came from a plastic water bottle. Apart from the fact it tasted like nail polisher remover, it didn’t seem all that strong but that being said we only had a bottle cap full. It was a fun and unexpected experience – the party as a whole, not just the alcohol!

Day 13 – Our main reason for coming to the Nusa islands was because we had heard we were basically guaranteed to see manta rays there, something which had become a bucket list item for us after hearing it was a possibility in Bali. So first on the agenda was to find a dive centre and book in a manta dive. We asked around at a few places before settling on Two Fish divers and booking in for two dives the next day.

With this underway we stopped for lunch by the sea and then continued on our way the Mangrove forests. You can book boat trips, snorkel trips or kayaking through the forest. When a guy we were chatting to knocked the price down to 100,000 IDR we were tempted but having lots of cameras and bits with us we didn’t trust leaving them behind or potentially getting them wet. I had also read up that there wasn’t a huge amount to see in the Mangrove forest, that being said though the only way to see them is to take a boat trip. We went to the edge thinking we could at least see a little bit or venture part way in ourselves but the way is pretty much blocked by restaurants and places to arrange tours. Being able to bargain down to £5 for a couple of hours trip though isn’t a bad deal if you do want to explore.

From the mangroves it was on to the neighbouring island of Nusa Cenigan. I had heard of some beautiful spots, such as Blue Lagoon and Secret Beach. They were a bit tricky to track down and to be honest Blue Lagoon was pretty but nothing spectacular and after rattling down a dirt track and going through a resort to get to Secret Beach, I was disappointed to see it was nothing special. The wind and waves were too fierce to swim there and it was a rocky beach with very little sand to chill on. The photos I had seen online looked more impressive. It is something which has been a topic of conversation recently that many typical instagram spots in Bali turn out not to live up to expectation and I have to say this is something we encountered a lot. Many places looked nice but less impressive than the edited photos online and for these photos to have zero tourists in they must have had superb timing in visiting places as it was a constant struggle to get photos without crowds. Aesthetics aside the other disappointment is that many of these picturesque beaches are too dangerous to swim in and generally, views aside, there are not a lot of activities to do on these islands.

That being said, simply watching life pass by from the back of the motorbike, zipping through villages, past bustling markets, serene temples or even the beautiful blue ocean, on our way to these view points and beaches was an experience in itself and made the day all round worth it.

Day 14 – An early start for our dives this morning but it wasn’t long before we were on the boat speeding round to Nusa Penida. After some research we discovered that although Manta Point dive site is off Nusa Penida, most dive shops are based on Nusa Lembongan, although more are opening up on Nusa Penida now too, and they will charge an extra fee for the manta dive sites (150,000 IDR per person). On the way we saw a couple of dolphins jumping out of the surf and I took it as a good sign for the days dive.

The water was a lot colder than we had been used to in the Gili islands as manta rays prefer colder water. We were diving down to a known cleaning station where other fish come to eat parasites and other icky things from the rays, keeping them nice and healthy and feeding the other fish at the same time. I was expecting we would be lucky to see a couple on our dive but almost immediately we saw our first manta ray and it was stunning. I knew they would be big but their size still surprised me and so did their grace as they glided through the water. I could have watched them all day. The most magical moment was when a particularly dark one, black almost all over, came straight towards me. I hovered in the water as it moved closer, feeling completely at peace and in awe of this incredible creature, before it swerved away into the ocean depths. One of my favourite moments of the trip.

After that experience the second dive was a bit of an anti-climax however it was still a beautiful reef, teeming with fish. We managed to see a couple of moray eels and I even spotted a lobster that had recently de-shelled, the poor naked lobster looked very startled and scurried under a rock!

Day 15 – We checked out of our AirBnB and headed to the Yellow Bridge to get a boat across to Nusa Penida. The journey is just 10 – 15 minutes and costs 40,000 IDR per person each way. It was simple to get a ticket, there was a guy with a stall, he handed us a yellow ticket with the names of the boats on the back for us to look out for on our open return and then took a seat and waited to be called up. Our next Air BnB picked us up the other end and a kind local even helped us out by calling him to let him know we had arrived when he saw us trying to track down wifi to message him.

The rest of the day was spent chilling out and in the evening we hopped on a scooter hired from our host and headed to a popular restaurant I had read about online called Penida Colada. If you are a big group it is best to book ahead and I think most tables are reserved after 8pm as there is always a queue. But the wait wasn’t long and it was most definitely worth it! Penida Colada is a stylish beach side restaurant with a mixture of tables and more casual beanbags, benches and sofas, in case you want to wander straight off the beach, and is great for watching the sunset. It was started by a Balinese guy called Pak Wayan and his Australian wife, Liz, you can usually see him helping out around the restaurant and keeping things running smoothly. They only hire locals and cook with local produce, which is great in itself, but they also make it their mission to get involved in community projects, run beach cleanups you can join in with and sell eco friendly bits and bobs such as bamboo straws. The menu is quite small but there is only one thing you need to order – the honey barbequeue prawns. We ended up coming back a second time and I couldn’t resist eating them again. Joey had major regrets and food envy both times. If you are on Nusa Penida definitely pay them a visit, it is a great way to support the local community and eat some amazing food.

Day 16 – Around lunchtime we headed to the nearby Crystal Bay, the same bay we had done our second dive at, to chill on the beach. We were hoping it would be a bit more built up so we could grab lunch, wander through some shops and then relax on the beach but it turns out to be a few shack shops selling cheap lunch and not much else. So we chilled for a bit and then hit the road again to find the Guri Putri Cave temple.

When you arrive you can hire sarongs from a shop over the road, then head up the stairs where at the top you’ll receive a blessing and provide a donation to enter (40,000 IDR for two of us). The entrance is a very small hole you have to climb into. It isn’t too tight a squeeze and as soon as you are in the ceiling is low but it all opens up pretty quickly then you can walk through these huge caverns. It was very humid and there were several alters and statues in the different chambers we passed through. A few people were at prayer but otherwise when we visited it was very quiet.

At the end as we left there were some monkeys outside the temple, only I got completely caught off guard by one on a railing that I seemed to have also startled. He bared his teeth at me and then made to lunge forward, I took a step back and lowered my gaze, trying to appear submissive, and at the same time one of the men from the temple chased him off but it was a scary moment!

Day 17 – Today was our big siteseeing day. We were driving over to the other side of the island to see Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong, Kelingking Beach and Waterfalls. As we were leaving our AirBnB host warned “broken beach, broken road” and he was not wrong! I expected some uneven ground, potholes and dirt tracks, what we got was mile stretches of all of these things combined to the worst possible standard you could imagine, plus going up and down hills, plus going round tight bends sometimes and as there were plenty of big cars taking other tourists there, we also had to occasionally dodge these too. “Hold on”, Joey was yelling repeatedly as I gripped the back of the motorbike and rattled around so much I swear my brain was bouncing about in my skull. But eventually, we made it.

Angel’s Billabong is a rock pool that creates a natural infinity pool overlooking the sea. If you come at low tide you can swim, enjoying the crystal clear waters, but at high tide the waves crash over the edge and it is too dangerous to enter the pool. We had tried to time our visit for low tide but seemed to have gotten the wrong information as the pool was cordoned off. There were so many people surrounding it to get photos that I was almost glad I wasn’t swimming with them in a small pool where everyone would be trying to get the over the edge shot.

Around the corner from Angel’s Billabong is Broken Beach, so called as it is encircled by land that has an opening, creating a kind of bridge on one side and an enclosed beach to look down on. You can’t get down to the beach but it makes for some stunning pictures from above.

Next was KelingKing Beach, so well known as the rocky outcrop next to it looks like a t-Rex head from above. Again it was a bit of a battle to get photos without people in (how they do it for instagram I have no idea?!) but it looked gorgeous. The beach is accessible here… if you fancy climbing down approximately one thousand steep steps. We went part way down for a better look but didn’t much fancy the climb back up and to be honest we would be glad we saved our energy. This is another beach that isn’t great for swimming, though as long as you don’t go too far out in the surf you can actually get in the water.

Final stop for the day was Waterfall and if I thought the steps at Kelkinking were bad I was in for a surprise! The blue stairs leading down was more like a ladder at points and the gaps between the stairs themselves were enough to make my knees weak. The fact that the old, collapsed and rusted previous stairs still lay directly underneath these new ones didn’t help either. However, it was worth the journey. At the bottom is a temple so you need to wear a sarong t visit. When we reached the rocks at the bottom there was water cascading over them and it was a little slippy so you had to be careful. We passed through the small temple gates and down the rocks, with nothing more than natural footholds to climb down, to an area where you can bathe. There is a set of mini infinity pools that offer a beautiful look out to sea as the waves crash just below you. For the first time that day there were not many people around, we reached the bottom not long before sunset so everything had a slight golden glow and the water was cool and refreshing after a humid hike down. It was so peaceful. I took a moment just to be.

Unfortunatly it couldnt last too long though as we were nervous about getting caught on bad roads in the dark so as much as I would have liked to sit and watch the sunset we got going on the long climb back up and luckily didn’t come across any broken roads on the way back.

Day 17 – The end of our trip was approaching fast and we had decided to spend our final days back in Canggu. We loved the food, it was nice to go back to somewhere we knew and we were still keen to give surfing a go. It took us retry much the whole day to get back as it involved getting the short boat trip back to Lembongan first, getting picked up by Scoot at the Yellow Bridge, a bumpy boat journey back to mainland Bali and then a long taxi ride mostly in traffic from Sanur to Canggu.

Day 18 – Canggu is known as a good place to give surfing a go as the waves are great for beginners. I had only tried surfing once before and loved it, so was keen to give it another try. We booked a lesson for 350,000 IDR per person but we went with the first person we spoke to so it is worth asking around for the cheapest price.

The instructor didn’t have the best English so I felt like I missed some of the finer points of surf techniques but once I got the hang of it in the water he was very encouraging. It was slightly disappointing that Joey had a different instructor and was taken off separately but he really needed bigger waves than me to get the best experience. We managed to cross paths though when I looked up to find the surfer in the white rash guard was my boyfriend, my first thought was ‘amazing! He’s standing up!’ And my second, as he came straight towards me was ‘please dont kill me!’ Up to that point I had been struggling to stand, always losing my balance at the last moment, but I think seeing him made me more determined than ever and on my next go I stood up on the board. I was amazed that I managed to ride a wave a fair while and only jump off when I was either losing momentum or heading towards another surfer.

It was a great way to end our time in Bali and we sat talking over our trip and reminiscing about our favourite parts as we sat on the beach, cold drinks in hand and watched surfers more pro than us. Our next adventure was about to start and although I hoped there would be more times like this I knew that we had a lot to do when we touched down in Melbourne. Bali was the perfect break we needed to soak up the sun, let go of past stresses and find our feet traveling. There were times this country surprised me, times it didn’t quite meet expectations and times it exceeded them immensely. Above all I can see why people come back again and again and I knew as we lingered another moment longer on that beach, that we too would be back again one day.

Bali Part 2 – Turtles, Reef Sharks and Sunsets

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Gili Trawangan is an island off Lombok known for a party atmosphere but even if partying is not your thing there are a host of other activities to enjoy. We had barely dipped our toes into the ocean and now we were off to the gorgeous white sands and crystal clear waters of Gili T for diving, snorkelling and more. If you want to hit the strip and hop from bar to bar there are cheap drinks to be had and great live music to get the party started. However, our scene is a bit more laid back and we discovered there is still plenty of more chilled out spots, fresh local seafood to try and amazing ocean life to experience.

Day 7 – We travelled to Gili T on a one way ferry ticket for 500,000 IDR for both of us, which is around £28. There may be cheaper deals to be had if you book a return ticket or even with a bit more haggling but since we had heard of return tickets for one going for 600,000 IDR we didn’t think this was too bad. It’s always hard to know what is a fair deal for the locals and a cheap price for yourself.

It was an early start to get to the dock with an hour transfer there and then a lot of standing around in the heat waiting for our boat. You need to have your wits about you as a guy who seemed to be taking us to our boat left us waiting and never came back to collect us when it actually turned up. Luckily the local hawkers on the pier were very helpful and let us know we needed to get a move on to catch our boat. The journey was fine if a bit hot and stuffy and we were soon piling out onto the white sands of Gili T.

Just seeing the hustle and bustle of holiday makers and backpackers, the array or restaurants, shops and bars along the beach front and the dive shops everywhere you looked we had already decided we were glad not to get a return ticket and to extend our time here. Having a 4* hotel also helped! Villa Ombak was stunning and we stayed in a traditional Lumbung room, with our own private terrace and balcony plus outdoor shower to bathe under the stars. We wanted to stay forever.

Day 8 – Knowing our days in luxury were numbered we took full advantage of the facilities today and spent most of the day swimming and sunbathing. In the afternoon we went back to one of the dive shops we had checked out earlier and booked in to dive the next day.

Day 9 – There are a lot of choice with dive shops but after ducking our heads into a few we went with Dive Central as they made the dive sites sound most exciting and seemed pretty chill about us getting back in the water after quite a break from the last time. Only downside was we did feel at times they were selling the dive packages and courses a little too much. This is surely down to competition from other dive shops and partly also because we seemed to speak to a different person each time but as we dropped in a few times over the course of the week to chat about what dive sites were coming up this got a bit repetitive.

Selling aside they were great to dive with and we headed to Turtle Heaven for a mid morning dive. This certainly lived up to its name! Within 5-10 minutes we had spotted our first turtle. They have a mix of Green and Hawksbill turtles and I’ll admit I’m not sure I could tell the difference. I was impressed by the size though with some stretching up to my shoulder if we were laid down next to each other. We lost track of how many we saw in the end but we loved every minute and along with turtles we saw a stonefish, trumpetfish and humphead bannerfish. Along with, of course, many of the regulars you see on tropical reefs, the yellow, black and white bannerfish you would recognise as Gill from Finding Nemo, clownfish too, many bright blue and neon fish, anemones and so much more. If you want to see a video of the dive you can check it out here on our facebook page @ThereAndBackAgainJJ.

Day 10 – As if we hadn’t had enough of turtles we started our day with a snorkelling trip. If you are on a budget then you can join the group boat trips from as little as 150,000 IDR (around £8) but these trips can have up to 30 people on them, so a great way to meet other backpackers but also expect crowds. We opted for a two hour private snorkelling trip so we could choose a time when the sites would be less busy and went early in the morning, which I would definitely recommend. We paid 600,000 (around £34), which in hindsight was more than it was worth for 2 hours, especially as they had advertised it as 4 sites and we only went to 3, however the first place we went to had asked for 900,000 and we had talked the one we booked with down from 750,000 but we were told the prices were high because of peak season.

Regardless we had a great time! Our first stop was Turtle Heaven again and this time the turtles were a lot more active, coming up to the surface to breathe so that we could swim right alongside them. It felt magical to dive under the waves and float along next to them as they munched on coral.

The second site was not great visibility so we didn’t see a huge amount of sea life and didn’t stay long. The final site was the famous ring of statues that is also a popular instagram spot and this was my least favourite of the day. It was pretty cool to dive down and swim amongst the statues but dodging the flippers of other snorkelers trying to get that perfect shot in the water was not so fun. The way everyone was splashing about in clusters reminded me of a net of fish on dry land, flapping about, not really sure which way to go. It has the possibility of being such a peaceful spot but after a while it got a bit too much and we gave up and hopped back on the boat.

To end the day we hired bikes from our Air BnB (by this point we had moved to Lumbung Cottage Air BnB, a huge step back to basics after our gorgeous hotel but it would do the trick or the next few days and the staff were very helpful and kind) and set off to see more of the island. We stuck to the coast and some of the paths were pretty tricky, stony or too sandy to ride over at all, when we cycled back we had more luck cutting across the island where the roads weren’t cut off by sections of beach. The sunset side of the island is a completely different vibe, very quiet and dining and drinking options a lot more spread out but I have to say some of the accommodation we passed looked lovely. Definitely a good shout if you want some peace and quiet. We settled down right in line for the sunset and although slightly obscured by the clouds, it was gorgeous and the perfect way to end the day.

Day 11 – Joey wasn’t feeling a second dive so opted to do research on our next stop but as you can’t keep me out of the water I booked an early morning dive to Shark Point. Dive Central explained that with the water temperature drop recently and the sharks enjoying cooler water there was a good chance of seeing them and I was in luck! This dive was deeper than the one before and the currents were strong so it was a bit of a battle at times but as we were drifting along, letting the current take us, our guide pointed out two white tip reef sharks sitting on the bottom. Neither were huge but one was bigger than the other and both darted awake as us divers went past. I wasn’t nervous of the sharks at all, they really just look like big fish, but I can’t say I would be so chill if it was a great white!

Along with the sharks I saw a sting ray and blue spotted eagle ray, an octopus hiding away in the rocks and a cuttlefish that was so well camouflaged I had to look three times to spot him! It’s incredible to see this animals in their natural habitat and I’m always recommending people give diving a go to enjoy the same wonders. It may not be for everyone but it certainly gives you a whole new perspective from snorkelling alone and actually a lot of the time the breathing is easier (if that’s something that worries you) as there is no chance of accidentally sucking up water. You won’t notice the depth either because there is just so much to see! It really is an amazing experience I feel privileged to be able to do.

Day 12 – As I write this we are sitting in a cafe not far rom the ferry port waiting to catch a ride to Nusa Lembongan where we will stay for a few nights before heading on to Nusa Penida and finally back to Canggu for a final couple of nights. There are lots to do on these islands so I feel our chill out time is coming to an end but having the luxury of three weeks to explore means we’ve been able to do everything at a slow pace and not cram a lot in. The Nusa islands offer some amazing beaches, cliff top lookouts and swimming with manta rays (fingers crossed for us and this big bucket list item!) so lots to see and do. We managed to get a direct ferry from Gili T for 600,000 IDR for both of us which also included a ferry on from Nusa Lembongan back to Sanur, Bali and a transfer from there to Canggu, so even better value than our outbound trip. And apparently boats between the islands are pretty cheap.

I can’t believe we have reached the end of our second week in Bali! I can feel that now we are more energised our attention is beginning to shift to Australia and all we need to prepare for our Working Holiday. It is exciting to still have so much to look forward to but for now I can’t wait to get to Nusa Lembongan and plan our next week of adventuring.