Tag: trip

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 #2 – Coronavirus Crisis – On A Flight

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Yes, you read that right. We are on a flight. Completing the full trip home still seems uncertain but maxed cards later we are on a plane.

After waiting in line for hours a Flight Centre worker came down the line offering business class flights leaving today via Japan. We had minutes to consider it as it was leaving in less than two hours. We spoke to parents, tried to weigh up options. And decided to risk it.

The Flight Centre worker typed at lightning speed. We ran for the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal. And now I am writing from the plane so don’t have long to write.

We are flying to Sydney, then to Tokyo then to London. We are praying Japan doesn’t cancel their flights before we board in Sydney. We are praying nothing more stops us from getting home. We are praying we have made the right decision.

  • Stay safe
  • Stay isolated/social distance where you can
  • Keep washing hands and sanitising
  • Most importantly be kind to others

Coronavirus Update – Getting Home

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I woke in the middle of the night and as I was trying to get back to sleep, Joey went downstairs. Both of us aren’t sleeping well with constant worries on our minds so I assumed he was watching the news or researching and just not wanting to disturb me. After a while I started to worry and felt like something was wrong. I went downstairs and when I asked if he was ok his no told me that the worst had happened.

Just two days ago we decided we couldn’t wait any longer and booked flights. Things were closing down, flights weren’t departing from Brisbane after the end of March, we knew we were running out of time. Earlier in the evening we had been worrying about borders closing and how we would get from New South Wales to Brisbane, Queensland for our flight. In the early hours of the morning Joey had been browsing his phone and just happened to spot a comment on facebook about Emirates flights. Sky News confirmed our worst fears, Emirates are suspending flights after the 25th March. Our flight was booked for the 26th.

I don’t think I can begin to explain the constant state of anxiety of being out here with the uncertainty of when or if we will make it home. The fear that if we are stuck here something could happen to our family, the isolation of being in a different country away from friends and on a different time zone. Many people out here have an air of confidence as if they are untouchable in Australia or if somehow it will affect everyone less out here. Covid-19 is spreading rapidly and what will happen here will be the same as in every other country, especially if people continue to ignore social distancing and isolating. It upsets me to see comments online of people shrugging it off, saying things like wouldn’t you rather be stuck in this beautiful country than elsewhere in the world? And suggesting that it would be easy to just get some farm work and wait it out. Not everyone has or wants that option. We just want to go home.

So on Mother’s Day, the two best mums in the world have helped us out enormously. Joey’s mum has offered us a place of our own to stay when we return and my mum has helped us rebook flights at an astronomical cost to fly home on Tuesday 24th March instead.

We’ve had no word from Emirates themselves, not even an email to announce the shut down of flights and so far they are still showing online as available to book. We couldn’t get through to anyone on the phone to help and so we were left in the dark with this decision, simply booking what we could no matter the cost. I at least have some knowledge on how flight changes work and it was fairly easy to do online but still this lack of clear information will throw many people into panic. At the same time I feel for the airline workers and travel agents who are fielding calls and desperately trying to help people, please remember to be kind to them as they will be doing all they can, also probably on limited information and still trying to follow both airline and government rules.

I still won’t feel secure until we are on the second leg of our flight. At this moment we still haven’t sold our car. Right now we are feeling pretty broken by this trip.

I know that there are many more people out there desperate to come home who might not be able to. My heart breaks to think of all the suffering and loss and fear going on in the world right now. But I also hear stories of acts of kindness, of people coming together in extraordinary and unique ways while social distancing, of people doing anything and everything they can to keep each other smiling. Please, at this time remember to be kind to those around you, to reach out to those who need help, to follow rules about social distancing, wash your hands and take this seriously.

I hope my next update will be coming from the UK.

Our Trip vs. Coronavirus – How The Pandemic is Affecting Us

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I had a blog written out ready to post explaining how we were being affected by the virus out here, what our fears are and what our possible next steps are. Within the two days it took for me to get round to posting it some of those concerns are already happening.

For a while coronavirus has been something going on in other parts of the world. We have followed the situation and felt concern for people all over the world suffering but have felt very much in a bubble ourselves. Other than the toilet paper and pasta shortages hitting us and some health and safety signs appearing around the hostel, life continued on pretty much as normal.

Then it seemed like overnight everything changed. I had people coming in to the Peterpans office asking about cancelling trips as they were being advised to return home ASAP, a friend at the hostel who planned on staying out the next few months changed his flights to leave first in two weeks time and then in two days time. I was hearing about people’s tours being cancelled, others were coming in to book things only to cancel them the next day in order to fly home.

Yet UK has still not issued the same warnings yet and so we felt stuck with what to do. On the one hand it felt like we would be panicking to leave suddenly straight away but on the other hand being prepared for the possibility of having to leave very last minute seemed a sensible idea. Our biggest issue is being here on the WHV means that, unlike most travellers, we have commitments here and a life here that we can’t just drop. We have a car, have just started renting a room, a collection of camping gear and surf boards we have accumulated over our time here all of which would need to be sorted before going home.

One of our biggest concerns was losing our jobs. Both being on casual contracts meant our hours could disappear overnight and although we would be able to keep going on savings for a little while this set back would certainly put our travel plans to continue on to New Zealand and do a WHV there unlikely. And two days after trying to sum this up in the original version of this blog, I got a call from my manager to say my hours have been cut for the next 2-3 weeks. Work may pick back up again but for now they are only keeping one manager in each store to keep things running but couldn’t afford to be running at full capacity. Many colleagues were already looking for alternative work just in case. Within half an hour of learning this news I received a text from my second job cleaning to say that in order for Joey to keep his hours (I was cleaning his bosses house while he worked as a housekeeper for their luxury guesthouse next door) she would have to let me go.

Our plans went from: lets stick it out here until we lose our jobs then sell our stuff and travel where we can and head home to completely questioning this. After a long talk we decided to put our New Zealand plans on hold and come home around late May. At this point we were still hopeful that we might be able to do some travelling while here to make the most of our time.

Today we woke up to news about airlines reducing flights or cancelling their international flights. It was enough to make us re-think yet again. Although Australia and Byron Bay is currently safer than the UK, we certainly don’t want to get trapped over here, so although we aren’t rushing and trying not to panic, our plans to leave are definitely moving forward. We spent the day listing every item that we want to sell and currently our plan is to come home as soon as our things have sold, most importantly that the car has sold.

However, everything could still change. New information is coming through everyday and if the UK start recommending we return home our plans may speed up even more.

For now, luckily, Joey still has work and in fact is covering for colleagues who have returned home so we don’t yet have to rely on savings to live out here. Luckily we have just moved into a house and are away from the hostel and mix of people. We feel fairly stable in our situation here for now at least. Yet the situation is stressful and I found myself feeling extremely anxious today. All we can do is keep making plans and sticking to them until the situation changes again.

This trip has been a mixture of incredible highs but also some intense lows. We are so so sad that right when everything seemed to be coming together and we were enjoying living in Byron Bay so much, had plans for future traveling and working, that things have taken a turn for the worse again. But this trip isn’t the same anymore and this pandemic is bigger than this one trip, it changes everything. A part of us is happy to be going home, despite the circumstances, because we do look forward to seeing family and friends (after the necessary period of isolation of course) and being home for big life events that are upcoming in the next few months. This is the silver lining.

It seems no one can predict how things will go from day to day so we continue to monitor the situation and put our plans in place for now. I will post more updates as I can but sad to say for now, it will be making the most of our time left in Byron Bay before we say goodbye to Australia.

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.

150 Days On The Road – Expectations vs. Reality

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Strictly speaking not all 150 days were spent on the road. Some of those days were spent on boats, in aeroplanes, on beaches, on farms, riding bikes, travelling by foot, working in fields, swimming in oceans or swimming pools and a whole load of other places and ways to travel in between. But it makes for a catchy title and it is true that we have now been away from home for over 150 days.

This is the longest either myself or Joey has been away for and yet, though we have moments of missing home, friends and family, surprisingly neither of us feels ready for the trip to end yet. We’ve found that where the working holiday visa works really well for us is being able to stop and work when we are craving stability and move on when we are getting itchy feet again. In that respect the WHV has been what we expected and hoped for but in pretty much every other way it has not gone how I imagined it would at all. As someone who often has high expectations, a fantasy version of how I imagine everything will fall into place perfectly, it has been a steep learning curve to be more flexible and accept that I can only make decisions based on my current situation. In fact I feel like I’m still learning that there is no place for regrets on this trip, that I need to live in the present and accept that I can only make decisions for the next steps based on my current situation. That being said, I thought for 150 days I would run you through my expectations for this trip and what it has been like in reality.

Expectation: Australia is expensive.

Reality: Australia is expensive.

There are plenty of ways to keep costs down in Australia from free campsites, house sitting, work aways, cooking cheap meals for yourself and other tips and tricks but it is unavoidable that Australia is an expensive place to travel. There were definitely points of this trip where we could have travelled smarter or cheaper but I also know we have spent money on some amazing experiences that I wouldn’t change for the world, as well as finding plenty of free ones too. However, owning a vehicle, especially a camper van, has been the main expense. I didn’t expect so many repairs, I wasn’t adequately prepared for the costs of rego and insurance and general set up and I definitely underestimated not so much the price of fuel but just how often we would have to fill up because of the distances travelled. If you think you’ve saved enough for Australia, save more.

Expectation: We’ll find farm work easily and find something cool and unique.

Reality: Lots of terrible Gumtree ads, more experience needed than we thought and cool, unique places not being what they seemed at first.

There are plenty of ways to find farm work in Australia but finding something that doesn’t sound dodgey, isn’t impossible to get to or doesnt require farm experience was harder than we expected. We thought we had hit the jackpot when we got a position in the Adelaide Hills on a beautiful farm less than an hour from the city but the reality of being the only two workers there meant it still felt isolated. We had wanted to find something different from fruit picking if possible but at least fruit picking with other backpackers gives you a sense of community we felt was missing from our experience. Basically it had all looked picturesque and too good to be true on the surface and definitely didn’t live up to expectations. However I still enjoyed working outside, having time off to explore the local area and learning some new skills.

Expectation: We will spend the majority of our time on the East Coast.

Reality: Halfway through our visa and we haven’t even reached the East Coast yet.

The plan was always to travel through central Australia really quickly and end up working and spending the most time on the East Coast, when we accepted the farm work and backtracked to Adelaide this changed everything. The downside of this is we feel we have met less backpackers on the road than we thought we would as we have been travelling less popular routes. On the plus side we have been travelling less popular routes. We would never have ended up on Kangaroo Island if we hadn’t been looking for a way to fill our time being farm work and au-pairing. I never imagined that the little town of Hahndorf we admired while passing through on our way to the Red Centre would be somewhere we could pop into for lunch on our days off from the farm. At times it feels like we still have so much left to see of this vast country and other times it feels like we have already seen way more than we expected.

Expectation: We’ll meet lots of other backpackers in campervans.

Reality: Not so much.

We’ve met and seen plenty of grey nomads (retiree Australians with fancy campers and trailers) but not so much other backpackers. Maybe this is due to the places we’ve travelled to so far and maybe this is due to staying on paid campsites more often than we thought we would. It could also be the season we are travelling certain areas in. Whatever the reason we are often left thinking where are all the backpackers? Sometimes we like the time to ourselves and sometimes we crave company. Our recent trip to The Grampians did change things though when we got chatting to an Ozzy bloke traveling with his girlfriend who turned out to be from the UK, who in turn also got chatting to another van life couple from the UK. We spent a couple of nights swapping stories round the campfire and one very adventurous hike together and it did wonders for lifting our spirits.

Expectation: Freedom and Flexibility.

Reality: Constant decision making but also more opportunities.

I thought I had always wanted to do a trip that was completely open-ended with no plan in sight, however this trip has made me realise that I definitely prefer to have a plan. I might not always stick to it but I feel a lot happier and more secure if I know what our next steps are. One of the things I have found hardest about this trip is the constant decision making. Trying to judge whether we are doing the right thing or not is not easy. I mean I can’t even decide what to order at a restaurant let alone where, when and how we should travel the next part of our trip! Yet not having a plan, or at least not having anything booked ahead of time that we have to be somewhere for, has meant that when an opportunity has cropped up that sounds really good, we can go for it. There is no wondering ‘what if’ because we just move things around, reassess our current vague plan and make a new one. It is what led us to au pairing in Tocumwal, where we are currently at, a rural town three hours north of Melbourne we would never have expected to be but living with a lovely family and learning about the Australian way of life.

There are so many more ways I expected this trip to go but these are the big ones. At 150 days in it is hard to say Australia has exceeded my expectations as I still feel we have so much more to do, but it has certainly been unexpected in some of the best ways possible.

I have some major catching up to do on the trip posts so hang tight and expect a flurry of updates on what we have been up to. I’ll link them here as they come out too so all expectations and realities will begin to make sense.

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.

Welcome to the Blog

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Hello and welcome to Jess’ Journal of Joy! As the name of the blog suggests, I am Jess, and this will be my journal for all my travel adventures. You can learn more about me on my about page but to really understand why I’m starting this blog I thought I’d start by telling you what it’s all going to be about, my three main passions in life: Travel, writing and charity.

 

Travel

Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to go to some amazing places, from visiting family friends in South Africa to backpacking (minus the backpack…but that’s another story) around Australia and New Zealand. I’ve swum with dolphins, ridden camels, done the Nevis swing, got my PADI Open Water certificate and have so far seen 3 of the 7 Wonders of the World but I’m still greedy for more. Travel is addictive, the more you see the more you want to see and I’m an addict.

Every step of the way I’ve kept journals of my travels and now this blog is my journal. It’s my way of sharing my adventures with friends and family. It’s something cool to look back on for me. And if you’re a fellow travel addict then maybe you’ll find some useful tips and inspiration for your own travels! This is the section where I’ll tell you all about the places I’ve been, let you know my travel preparations for the future and keep you updated while I’m on the road.

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Swim-throughs in Cozumel

 

Writing

For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It’s only been through studying Creative Writing over the past four years that I have come to realise I don’t want to be a writer – I am one and I always have been.

Whether it has been writing my travel journal, scribbling poems, trying my hand at novels, telling stories or  creating imaginary worlds I am never happier than when a pen is in my hand.

I love it because I love sharing stories. I am in awe of how words can change a person. It can be as simple as reading a line that makes you laugh or cry, or as epic as reading a book that changes your life. I can’t claim that this blog will change anyone’s life but it is a chance to share my stories, so I hope you enjoy!

 

Charity

In my second year at university I started writing for my friend’s online magazine, Pie Magazine and in 2014 he asked me if I would be interested in managing the charity section, Give Pie. I’d always wanted to do some charity work but had never known how to get started and thought this was the perfect opportunity. What I didn’t realise is that it would open up a whole new passion I didn’t know I had.

Now I’ve worked with Teenage Cancer Trust and continue to work with Macmillan, both charities I have huge respect and admiration for. I’ve also entered a swimathon for Sport Relief twice and donned a fake moustache for Movember, raising awareness and money for Prostate Cancer UK.

The charities I’ve supported and continue to support are amazing at what they do. The funds I’ve helped raise will make a difference in people’s lives. They were fun! But best of all, each of these experiences challenged me as a person. I think an important and frequently overlooked part of charity work and volunteering is how it can make you grow, teach you to push your limits and discover new aspects of yourself.

I’ll continue to do charity work in the UK but I hope that with my travels I can take these experiences global, sharing them with you here, and maybe inspiring you to get involved and volunteer too.

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Team Pie about to run the Glow in the Park 5k for Teenage Cancer Trust

Jar of Joy

The Jar of Joy is something I started at the beginning of 2016 after a really tough year (you can read the full story here). I needed to change my outlook on life and bring back my positive view of the world. I’m a big believer that positive thinking can have a huge effect on your emotional wellbeing and so far this year my Jar of Joy has made a big difference.

Of course keeping a jar full of good memories is not the only way to be happy in this complicated and messy world so this is a little extra section of my blog where I hope to share my thoughts on mental and emotional wellbeing.

So that’s my journal and why I’ve started it! Stay tuned for some posts about my past travels and my plans for the future and finally I hope this journal lives up to it’s name!