End of the Beginning

Emails. Rain. Reading. Clouds. Highlighting maps. Torrential winds. Sleeping in a 2-man tent. Endless cups of tea. More emails. Laundry. Once. New friends. Macpac. Swazi. Bivouac. Kathmandu. Mud. Even more emails. Auckland. And so it has begun…

We are FINALLY coming down the home stretch. Alex and I can feel it. It has taken months of endless planning, working multiple jobs, numerous hours on the internet and countless restless night thinking up the next great idea on what we are going to do for the trek. And we are here. We can taste it. Smell it. The list – the never ending list – has final begun to shrunk. It’s a good thing too as my notebook is coming to the end of spare pages available for list-making and other written plans.

Within the last week Alex and I have attempted to get a better feel for Auckland as a whole. All the new people we have met along the way continue to ask what exactly we have done since being here in Auckland and we truthfully answer them in return – not much. We’ve been to New Market – the local “it” shopping area of town… of which we focused our attentions on the four outdoor gear stores of Macpac, Kathmandu, Bivouac and Mountain Designs. To the point of which we know the managers by name.

But we have started to branch out. We managed to explore the Domain Gardens, pop into the local museum and head to the other side of the city to visit Alex’s friend for dinner (delicious!). It’s been great – amidst weather that continues to change every half hour – or quicker. And today we went to our first day of outdoor first aid training.

Much thanks to First Training who has provided us with the ability to attend this 2-day course. We managed to find our way to the location and plopped ourselves in between AUT students in order to settled down and hopefully learn a few skills that will help us in situations we hope we won’t need to use on our trek. There was fake blood. There was a video clip from Mr. Bean. There was everything one would hope to find in a first aid course. And that was just the first day. We still have tomorrow.

On the outside – Alex and I are making headway in contacting people and businesses all over New Zealand to see if they would be willing to be used as a food drop for us along the way. Most people we have talked to about this have been incredibly helpful and even some offering us hot showers as we pass through. Stayed tuned as we collect an official list of those involved in helping us with this portion of our journey as we will not be able to do our trek without your generosity!

Two days from now Alex and I will set out to do a trial run of all our gear. Hopefully heading west from here we will trek on the Hilary Trail and be able to test out our gear in “real” conditions. So far everything has done well in the major and continuous weather changes of Auckland, but it’s different when the weather turns crappy and one has the ability to go inside, curl up on the couch and read a book. Things are a little different when all you have is a 2-man tent to keep you comfort. Alex and I will head out into the wild to test just that.

And that all said, I am still left with a whirlwind of thoughts – the main one wondering why I ate too much today and why I didn’t go to sleep over an hour ago (even though it’s only 8:30pm) – I am reminded of why we are doing this journey. To promote women’s adventure travel. To promote environmental sustainability. To raise money for Indigo Foundation. $10000AUD is 2 years of funding. $5000 is one. $417 = 1 month of funding. $96 = 1 week. $14 = 1 day. I thank everyone who has helped us get as far as we have to date and I hope that people continue giving. Every little bit helps. Every little bit helps this community in the Solomon Islands in ways that we can only imagine. And yet together we can help. May mine and Alex’s trek along New Zealand inspire you.

Past, Present and Future

I feel it is about time to really get down to the nitty gritty of the situation here in preparation for Te Araroa Trail. There have been numerous people interested in who has actually trekked the trail and who is planning on trekking the trail in seasons to come. First off, I have to say that none of us would be able to even come close to completing such a journey without all the help and support of the Te Araroa Trust as they have been in charge of ensuring that the trail is even completed and accurately recorded on their website. Feel free to check out their website by clicking the link.

In the past there have been a handful of people who have completed Te Araroa, including:

Alfred Hamish Reed (1960/61)
http://www.teararoa.org.nz/index.cfm/pageid/99/ViewPage/New+Zealand+Long+Walkers
This would be the first person ever to walk the entire distance of New Zealand. Doing this at the prime age of 85, he made history as he leisurely worked his way along New Zealand's land mass, using mostly established roads as his route.

Geoff Chapple (1998/99)
http://tramper.co.nz/?148
Geoff Chapple has gone down in history as the person to bring inspiration to what is now known as Te Araroa Trail. In 1995, he wrote an article on his vision of a 2600km trail that would cross the distance of New Zealand. By 1998 he decided to walk his proposed route. He later wrote a book accounting his journey of which people can have insight to where his adventure took him. It was from him that Te Araroa Trail was born.

Dan Lewin (2004/05)
http://www.audio-t.co.uk/danztramp/walkdiary.html
Check out this man's account of trekking Te Araroa Trail. Yet another adventurer to take on the challenge.

Eric Martinot (2003-04)
http://www.martinot-nz.info/nztrek/main.htm
This is the man I initially came across in my search of good trekking in New Zealand. In seeing glimpses of his journey across New Zealand, I myself became inspired to do such an adventure.

James Lithgow & Paul McKelvie (2005/06)
http://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/file/downloads/pdf/file_211.pdf
These two gentlemen set off along Te Araroa Trail to raise money for the Mental Health Foundation. Though their official website seems to be shut down, this newsletter gives a glimpse at the adventure these two friends had.

Dennis Behan, Alice Smith & Lane Schaffer (2007/08)
http://www.nzunderfoot.com/
These three adventurers set out along Te Araroa to raise money for both Environmental Travel Companies (ETC) and Project K. Check out their website for more information on the journey they experienced. New Zealand must have gotten under their skin as for a vacation post Te Araroa, they decided to go trekking on Stewart Island!

John Tunnell & Corrine Early (2009)
http://newzealandtikitour.blogspot.com/
Obviously adventurers at heart, these two set off along Te Araroa Trail for the thrill of it and were so stoked at the end of it they hint at plans to tackle the Pacific Crest Trail in the USA. John also has been a huge help with me and Alex in bouncing ideas back at forth, helping us get the essential preparations underway. We definitely appreciate it!

*****

And though there has been many that have gone before Alex and I (I aplogize for anyone I have missed), there are so much more to come. Here are just some of the trekkers coming out of the woodwork to tackle New Zealand's newest trail this season - maybe we'll even spot each other along the way!

Landy Patton, Alexander (Andres) Ford & Damienmarc (DM) Ford (2010/11)
http://www.tastytrek.com/
These three young adventures plan to set off this season, raising money for Solar Light of Africa (SLA) and Wateraid. Check out their site and follow their journey as they tramp the same trail Alex and I are soon going to tackle!

Paul Goodsell (2010/11)
http://teararoaonveg.wordpress.com/
Another contact within mine and Alex's realm, we have recently been exchanging a multitude of emails comparin notes on our plans for Te Araroa. Between our plans for food drops and whether a GPS is necessary, it is nice to know that there are others out there as dedicated to the preparation side of things as Alex and I. Paul Goodsell will be a solo adventurer tackling the task of Te Araroa this season. Follow his journey online as he sets out to prove to the world that living the vegan life does not limit ones ability to follow their dreams.

*****

Without a doubt there have been and will be more trekkers, trampers, hikers and adventures that have and will set out to experience all New Zealand has to offer through Te Araroa. As Alex and I attempt to finish off our neverending list of things to do - as we try on clothes from our sponsors - as we map out our journey - as we plan out food drops - as we cozy it up in our new 2-man (and completely waterproof) tent out in the garden we find ourselves getting increasingly excited to leave. In a week we will complete our outdoor first aid course, thanks to First Training and in a few days we should have the remaining items from our sponsors and tonight we look ahead to the storm warnings that haunt Auckland and threaten the make of our brand new tent. But hey - if we can't make it out in the garden of a local hostel in Auckland, we will have serious issues on our 5 month trek.

In the meantime, we have come back to our mission for Indigo Foundation. We are well on our way to moving towards our goal of $10000AUD, but we need everyone's help to get there - $5, $10, $200 - whatever you can help us with, we greatly appreciate it. If you are representing a buisness of some kind and can donate $100AUD or more, then we will place your logo on our website under the Supporters section. Thanks again to everyone who has helped us this far. Thank you to all our sponsors who have worked hard to answer all our questions and make sure we get all the right gear for our trek. Thank to all the friends and family who have supported us in our decision to do this and encouraged us to continue pressing on.

Thank you.

Rain, Rain and Shopping!

Life in Auckland has come to a regular lull of waking up to a to-do list a mile long in order to get organized for the big trek. I have since met up with Alex and we both are now camping out on the front lawn of the backpacker hostel here in Auckland. And, yes, we have permission.

Our frist night in the tent proved to be one of adventure. As it has been raining quite regularly here the ground was rather wet.... or marshy, if you will. The mud was aching to squish between our toes as we aimed to set up the beloved two-man yellow-top tent. As soon as we positioned our tent where we wanted it and went inside to set everything up, we noticed that wherever we put pressure on the bottom, water would seep up, creating a wet spot on the floor of the tent. Not exactly a good position to be in considering the entire point of the tent is to have a floor in order to prevent all items from getting wet and dirty. Fortunately for us, the hostel had a good supply of rubbish bags that we made use of by lining the bottom of the tent with them in order to prevent our items from getting wet.

That night proved to be a chilly one as it poured down rain and the ground was wet. Not to mention that we still had yet to receive our items from our sponsors which included things such as thermals and sleeping mats. We had to make due with what limited gear we had at the time. By the time morning came and I crawled from my sleeping bag, still bundled in everything I owned, and noticed that the outside of the tent also didn't appear to be waterproof. Though no water had actually started dripping inside, the entire outside of the tent was soaked from the rain. There was no beading of water going on there. Bummer.

First thing to do was call a local outdoor gear store here in Auckland. They said that they'd recommend spraying the tent with a waterproofer. Only downside was that there was no garantee of how long it would last. Given we are looking ahead to 5 months of trekking along a country known for excessive rainy conditions, we weren't thrilled of the idea of attempting to carry enough spray to douse the tent every couple months, weeks or even days. So onto plan B.

I called Canada.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), where the tent is from, was gracious enough to agree that the faulty waterproof function was something under the warranty which meant I could get a new one. But that also mean we'd have to send it back to Canada (paying for postage and putting ourselves out of a home) and hope that they would be able to send us back a new one in time for the trek (a month away). When I informed the employee that we needed it rather quickly she told me that they don't actually even have replacement tents for me to have as that specific tent won't be in stock until February 2011. Practically when we're done the trek. Instead she wrote a note on my account stating what had happened and that when I DO finally get back to Canada I can exchange it then.

In the meantime, we still had to figure out what to do with the tent.

The whole purpose of me sending the tent to this side of the world was to avoid the situation of having to buy a new one here. They aren't exactly cheap here and those that are are not up to the conditions of being used for 5 months straight across a country. So we put our heads together and attempted to think only happy thoughts as we set off to see if we could get a tent worth $800, but more withn our budget range.

Fortunately for us, the employees at Macpac (our newest sponsor) came through with a tent sale they had on and had the perfect one for us. With a 10000mm floor coating, 2-person, 2 door and within our budget, it checked off all the boxes we had in mind. We only had to wait until the weekend to get it. We hoped that our current tent would hold up to the challenge.

That challenge averted, yesterday we set out bright and early to be there when the stores opened, armed with none other than a list and money. It was our official shopping day. We spent the day going through each outdoor gear store, trying on things, writing down prices, sizing things up and discussing with the staff our best possible option for each item. We wanted to get the best deal on our gear. Each store we went into at Newmarket we met the best staff ever and everyone was more than happy to help us out. After a much needed lunch we went back through the stores to pick up each of the items we figured would be best suited to our needs. Much thanks to Kathmandu, Macpac, Bivouac and Mountain Designs for all your help in the process as we couldn't have done it without you!!

And now we wait. Wait for our gear from the sponsors to come through. Wait for the rain to go away. Wait for the new tent. Wait for the days to come to do our first aid training. Wait for magazine articles to come out. Wait.

And while we are waiting, it has come time to sort out exactly where Te Araroa Trail will lead us. To sort out food drops and map options. To sort out where to do our trial trek. Sure, we have a month left, but with all we have to do it is going to fly by and before we know it we will be starting the trek of a lifetime!! Needless to say, we can't wait! As such, check out our new promotional video that will be used at Indigo Foundation's upcoming fundraising event in October:

New Country. New Adventure. New Currency.

So I have offiically made it to Auckland. Yesterday. And now that I am here I realize how much I was so focused on just getting here, on preparing to get here, on planning, thinking and dreaming of getting here that I completely missed the point on what it meant to be here. It never really entered my mind that I would be travelling to an entirely different country. Sure, I KNEW that New Zealand was it's own country, but it never clicked in my head of what that would mean once I put my feet on its solid ground... or as solid as it could be after fighting off a major earthquake in the south island.

Regardless, I have made it and the fact that I am in an entirely different country has begun to faze me. I mean, first off - I have to learn an entirely different currency. I'm just thankful we're still talking in "dollars and cents." But, yet again, I have to remember which color notes are which and whether the big gold coin is worth more or less than the smaller one. I'm at the point where I struggle to remember what color Canadian currency is. That being said - I do have fond memories of our Loonies and Toonies, if only for their names alone.

Just today as Alex and I regrouped at our temporary homebase and set up our tent on the lawn of a local backpacker hostel (with permission of course), we shortly discovered that the bottom of my beloved 2-man tent has worn away the waterproof layer and thereby all the wetness from the ground is now able to seep through. Not exactly a great start to our whole getting-all-the-ducks-in-a-row plan. Needless to say, we're trying to keep our cool hats on and not think about the pain and suffering that went into waiting for the tent to arrive all the way from Canad only a few months ago. For those who are questioning our ability to notice this beforehand - well, when the tent was set up in Broome, the ground was dry and stayed dry due to my tent's super ability to remain waterproofed on the outside. That being said, the floor of the tent rubbed against Broome's hard and rocky dirt surface for the past 4 months which is where our issue here-in lies.

As such, today I called Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), where the tent is from, in order to see what the options are. They said it would be no problem to fix should I simply drop by a MEC location and hand the tent over to them. I then informed the gentleman on the other end of the phone that I was calling from Australia. Apparently my trip to New Zealand has yet to set in.

So - as my brain attempts to refocus on the fact that I am no longer in Australia - Alex and I have our fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe the department of MEC that deals with warrenty's, malfunctions of products from overseas and all things related will be able to help us with a solution. Tomorrow. As there would be nothing worse than starting our 5 month trek with a tent that seeps water up from the bottom. Particularly when rapid weather changes and a large amount of yearly rainfall is known among these parts of the world.

On another note - tomorrow will be mine and Alex's Christmas. Tomorrow we will receive most of our stuff that our sponsors have so generously helped us out with.... I wonder if they've thought to tuck a spare tent in one of those packages.....................

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

Okay. So some of you may have heard that we (Alex and I) have been struggling with NZ Immigration on trying to get Alex a visa in order to get into the country. It is time to tell the whole story as we know it - no holding back.

It all started back in June when we were first planning our journey. Our trek. Our adventure. It first began when we used to meet at the "office" (aka: the Love Rug) at the caravan park in Broome and dream up where we wanted our plans to take us. It first started when we figured we should both apply for working holiday visas in New Zealand in order to maximize the opportunities we would have once in the beautiful country. Within a couple of days I had my acceptance letter in my email mailbox, giving me the go-ahead to press on full force with plans for Te Araroa. I was stoked.

Alex wasn't as fortunate. She never received word of anything - nothing. Days went by, one by one and we both became increasingly more anxious as to what was going on with NZ Immigration. Occassionally Alex would confide that she even struggled to maintain motivation for planning the trek while we didn't even know if she could get into the country. I secretly struggled with the thought nagging the back of my head that there was a chance I would have to face the 3000 km on my own.

As time went on and we became more frustrated, there wasn't much we could do. We couldn't advertise our struggles even as we updated our blogs, websites and Facebook group as it might tip off current and potential sponsors that our team sat on rocky ground even just to get into the country. Instead we shoved our fears down deep inside and tried to focus on all the good happening with our trek preparations. One by one the sponsors rolled in and each one we celebrated. We obsessively checked our donation tracker online to see if anyone had helped us reach our goal of $10000 for Indigo Foundation and were thrilled to find out what someone had even given $5 to the cause. All the while the termites were eating away at our confidence on how all our hard work would pan out come to the time when we would have to meet in Auckland.

Then one day Alex received an email from NZ Immigration. They had picked up on the fact that Alex had travelled extensively through SE Asia a couple of years back, hitting up a few countries where the risk of TB is a concern. They requested that Alex get a chest scan done and forwarded to the NZ Immigration office in Sydney to confirm that Alex hadn't picked up the contagious disease. The catch being that Alex couldn't get it done in Broome. It had to be in a specific type of clinic - the closest one to Broome being in Darwin.

By the end of July, it was time to split ways. Alex set off towards Darwin for her X-Ray on a roadtrip with some friends. From there she'd continue her way back home to the UK. It was there she planned to catch up with family/friends and be a part of a wedding. We said our goodbyes hanging onto the hope that one day we'd receive word that Alex would get into the New Zealand so that we could see each other again. Neither one of us recognized the fact that that day could mean goodbye forever.

Alex made it back to the UK and the days drifted into weeks and we still hadn't heard anything from the immigration office to indicate that they had even received the X-Ray chest scan that had been sent from Darwin to Sydney. But then, one day nearing the end of August, something happened.

I was just chilling out at the caravan park when Sam came up to me and told me that Nora had spotted some mail for Alex at the reception and it looked as though it might be her X-Ray. Wasn't exactly the news I was looking for. Alex was all the way in the UK and not exactly even within the same timezone to contact conveniently. And so I ran to the reception - as there was only 10 minutes until they closed. Sure enough, the package Nora had seen was in fact for Alex and did, in fact, look like it might be the X-Ray taken in Darwin. The only saving grace for my sinking heart was that the Sydney office had stamped it so I knew at some point the package had reached NZ Immigration. I only hoped that they were sending it back for Alex to keep. I only hoped that there was nothing wrong with it. No other hoop to jump through.

So I called Alex. I didn't know what time it was where she was. I didn't much care and didn't think she would either. Fortunately it wasn't some ungodly hour of the night and she picked up. I told her what happened and Alex instructed me to open it to see what was inside. So I did.

There was the X-Ray.

There was a letter.

It stated that NZ Immigration could not accept the X-Ray as it did not have a stamp from Health Services Australia. Apparently signed letters of confirmation from doctors and technicians in Darwin on letterhead titled with Health Services Australia didn't count. The letter went on to state that it needed the official stamp before NZ Immigration could process the X-Ray as being authentic. After much discussion Alex and I came to a solution and it was all in my hands.

The following morning I woke up early and trudged my way to the front of the caravan park to the pay phones. X-Ray, letter, pen and paper in hand I made the call to NZ Immigration's Sydney office. I asked to speak with someone regarding a chest X-Ray that had been sent back to me. I told them I needed to figure out how to handle it as it would affect my ability to get into New Zealand. So they asked for my name, date of birth and visa application number. I gave them Alex's. I became her and they gave me the information needed to figure out on how to proceed.

Now before anyone freaks out over me pulling an identity theft stunt - I did it after agreement with Alex. There wasn't much she could do at her end as she ws in the UK. I was the one holding the documents in question and there wasn't enough time to send it all the way to the UK for her to call immigration. So I became her stunt double if you will - and did such a good job they didn't even notice I don't have a hint of an English accent.

After I hung up the phone, I went back to my tent having some direction of what to do next. I had to write a letter adressed to the Health Services Australia office in Perth, informing them they needed to stamp the attached document and then forward the entire package to the Sydney NZ Immigration office. The reason the Darwin clinic never did it was that they were not authorized to give the stamp. Why no one informed us of that to begin with, I haven't a clue.

So after work I rushed to the post office in order to ship off the newly packaged X-Ray and attached documents to the Perth office. Express. I only hope it would get there quicker than my camping gear did coming from Canada. It was back to the waiting game - yet again.

And wait we did. It was back in Alex's hands and she hounded immigration until the day came when she was told that the X-Ray had reached the Perth's office. And then we waited to hear when it had reached the Sydney office. We were told this was the final hoop to jump through, but at this point (end of August) we were entirely skeptical of the truth behind these words. I was due to arrive in Auckland in only a few days and we didn't even know if Alex would be joining me - at any point.

And then today happened. 2 days from departure to Auckland and I received an email from Alex. She stated she was incommunicado for the present time and needed me to check on her visa application for her again as she hadn't heard for a while as to what was going on. So I immediately called Sydney's NZ Immigration office and was put on hold. All our lines are busy at the moment. You are caller 5. Thank you for waiting. Before long I was caller "1" and someone (a "real" person) answered the phone and asked how they could help me. I told them the situation - that I just wanted the check the status of my visa application. She asked me the same "security" questions as before and when I got to the birthday I screwed up the date and she caught on that it wasn't actually Alex calling. She informed me that she couldn't discuss details of the application with me as I wasn't the applicant. Even still, she let it slip that NZ Immigration had sent Alex an email just yesterday and didn't she have that?

I hung up and immediately went online to the world's largest social network and let loose the situation. On Facebook I wrote on Alex's wall, our Te Araroa Trek group's wall and sent messages to all our group members indicating that if anyone had any way of contacting Alex to let her know she had this email in her inbox that would be awesome. I relied on all the FB addicts out there that would immediately receive word of my messages via their blackberry's and other such devices - I had no way to contact Alex as she was not able to get to internet/phone.

And then I went about my day - completely, totally and utterly at my wits end that I am due to leave for Auckland Thursday and it is Tuesday. I am due to leave and didn't know what was going on with Alex.

But then I got back tonight and had about a million messages from people saying that they thought it was great fun as to how much effort I put forth in trying to get the message out there. Glad I could amuse someone. I was more concerned if Alex got the message and checked her email.

Sure enough - she had.

And the jury's no longer out. Alex's visa application has officially been accepted for New Zealand. That means she can finally book flights. That means I will see her again. That means there will most definitely be 2 of us doing the trek. That means I can finally tell this story without fear of how it ends. That means we can pursue our final leads of sponsorship and publicity with full force. That means so much. That means everything.

No longer are we the two strangers planning a crazy journey on a $10 Coles picnic rug. This is real. It's happening. And within 2 days I will be leaving this gorgeous country of Australia that I have known for a year in order to arrive at another that will take me and Alex on the greastest adventure of our lives to date.

3000 km.

5 months.

2 adventurers.

1 country.

Te Araroa Trek.

Full Circle

Well – I have made it to the Perth airport. I wish I could say that I know what I am doing here at this hour, but the reality is that it is past my bedtime and I definitely do not have warm enough clothes to be present in this part of Australia. You’d think I’d know better in being Canadian, but given I have spent the last 5 months immersed in daily temperatures within the 30s, stepping off a plane to go down the stairs to the tarmac in the middle of the night just doesn’t have the same appeal when it’s a whopping 11 degrees outside.

I knew it would be cooler outside in Perth and it will be just as cool when I arrive in Sydney. I just forgot the whole bit about the fact that I am arriving during the night when it is the coldest and that Australia prides itself on using the stairs whenever possible as access to and from planes. And as it were, on the plane ride to Perth here I got stuck beside a mother and her four girls. Yes, that’s right – four – all between the ages of about 2 to 12. Total sweethearts and total headaches to the fact that I just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep the flight away in order to remain in my bubble of denial that I had even left the realm of Broome.

I slept just the same - as well as one can when the seat only reclines a mere inch or two backwards and ones knees are pressed up against the seat in front - and I can only imagine what the little girl next to me wrote frantically with her chewed down pencil in her journal. She probably talked about how she got stuck sitting next to the window with me curled up in a ball on the other side of her constantly drifting into a world of sleep, all the while blocking her only access to the bathroom, isle, her family and other such necessities. Whether she did or not, I have the privilege of writing about her and how a 10-year-old girl was wearing more makeup than I do on a night out. She even had a nicer purse than I did. I just kept thinking of how I still had sand plastered all over my skin after the day on the beach – she was just lucky I had recently washed my clothes and I didn’t smell overly bad. But makeup? I continuously attempted to sneak peeks at her perfectly blended eye shadow covered eyelids in order that I might pick up tips on how to do mine the next time I have the urge to plaster powder on my face. My mission failed to be a success as my own eyelids just wanted to close off the entire world and wallow in dreamland. A land of which I could have taken everyone from Broome with me on my way over to New Zealand.

So between being crammed in a plane surrounded by crying, fidgeting, whining and overall quite lovely girls, drifting in and out of sleep, walking off the plane to be shocked by a drop in temperature of 20 degrees and getting my regular dose of being the randomly selected person for a bomb scan – I have done a fair bit of reflecting on what it means that I have now officially left Broome.

First off – it is completely and utterly weird that I have even gone. How does one say goodbye to people that have become like family within such a short time span of four months? It was like leaving home all over again and it was hard. I am completely excited for what is yet to come. And scared – for sure. It will be a great adventure, one of many unknowns and I am thrilled for that but it doesn’t make it any easier to let go of what was so great before.

I’d go on babbling about this topic, but the guy that has sat next to me at the airport terminal gate here has so nicely decided to play a video game with an annoying sound that repeats over and over and over and – well, you get the idea. So now all I can think about is how I can discreetly destroy his cell phone he’s playing it on without him throwing noticing. That and where’s the nearest shop I can buy some Ugg boots as I am having trouble imagining me being comfortable with the temperature once I arrive in Sydney. Only a mere 5 more hours to go.

Okay. So I have officially made it to Sydney. At precisely 6 a.m. the plane landed in the city that is overwhelming in size. I attempted to rub sleep from my eyes only to remember that I didn't really even sleep the entire flight from Perth to Sydney and instead found myself simply scratching my dried out eyeballs. I reckon they don't call them the redeye flights for nothing. My only saving grace was that Jetstar decided to, yet again, allow us to use the stairs running down to the tarmac so the balmy (in comparison to Perth) 15 degrees managed to make me feel a little more lively.

After grabbing my bag and making a quick dash to the bathroom I found a spot at the local coffee shop within the terminal and sat down for some breakky - I, afterall, hadn't eaten since late afternoon yesterday... a meal of which ended in a semi-emotional goodbye as it was my last meal at Zanders.

That meal was only the last in a string of things that was my "lasts" in Broome. There was my last shift which turned out to be the most chaotic shift I have ever had at Zanders, and yet Siobhan and I ran that bar like the A-Team that we were. There was the last staff shindig which turned out to be a hippie-themed party complete with retro flowers, peace signs, poi, hoola-hoop and about a million pictures of the entire extravaganza. Definitely a night to remember. But that wasn't all - there was the last sleep at the caravan park, the last sunset over Cable Beach, the last time I went to yoga and my last day on the beach. It was all so beautiful and none of it I wanted to end.

And yet it did. So here I am. Completely a full circle from when I first arrived in Sydney a year ago - not having a clue where my travels would take me. Not a clue of the amazing people I would meet, the incredible adventures of seeing new things, trying new things, tasting new thngs. Not a clue of how much Australia would become ingrained in my heart - forever to be a part of who I have become. Not a clue of how a year from the time I stepped foot on Australian soil, I would be leaving to go to New Zealand to complete my greatest adventure to date. And I can't wait. I wish it were tomorrow - or at the very least, I wish I could have access to all the great outdoor clothing Alex and I will receive from our sponsors as the stuff I have at the moment really isn't sufficient to Sydney's dreary days of rain. But what can ya do eh? It's all part of life's great adventure...