It's all fun and games..

Taking the plunge to travel Australia for a year was one of the most crucial and biggest decisions I've had to make in my life so far. Quitting my job, leaving my friends and family and challenging mine and Peter's relationship to a level that it had never seen before. Backpacker forums and blogs could not prepare you for the hardships that travelling brings. I have loved travelling these past 3 months and I truly believe by getting to experience that with someone that your close to whether that be a friend, family member, boyfriend/girlfriend, in my case Peter my boyfriend. It makes it all the more magical and I know that for years to come me and Peter will still talk about the people we met, the places we have seen and the things we learnt throughout our trip.

Before travelling I used to cringe at those cheesy quotes about travelling and finding yourself but now having started my travels, I can tell you I have never reflected more on my life as I have now. I've learnt a lot about myself, about Peter and about us as a couple. I've took a lot of time to think about my future, whether that be starting a career or future travels. Travelling has opened my mind to all kinds of options. I've definitely learnt that I'm not the spontaneous person that I like to tell myself I am. In reality I'm a perfectionist, who loves planning and organising and would crumble at the thought of not knowing where I'm going or how I'm getting there.

Travelling is for everyone, just because you do it differently to others does not mean it's not for you. It has it's struggles no matter what kind of traveller you are, the main struggle for most being money.


Money is a huge factor and accounts for a lot of silly arguments and whilst money may not always make one happy, it certainly makes things easier. Australia is one of the most expensive countries to live in the world, but until your here, living the lifestyle and I mean even the basic lifestyle of just paying for somewhere to stay and food, it's quite hard to grasp just how quickly money disappears here. Myself and Peter have always been really responsible when it comes to money. My goodness we had to be in order to even contemplate moving to Australia for the year but when money starts to dwindle away and there is no job on the horizon of course it's a worrying time. At home we were both in a steady job and living pretty much rent free at home so it was a big change coming here with no job and just our savings which everyday seemed to be disappearing on mundane things like food and a campsite. Money makes a lot of decisions a lot harder. Decisions whether to stay in a certain place and work and pay an extortionate amount for rent and try and save for further travels, or to take the rest of the money you have and run and when it runs out, it runs out. The struggle most definitely is real and when the struggles weigh in, so does missing home.


I've been away from home for just over 3 months now. It feels like a long holiday up to now, so I wouldn't say I'm homesick but when times have got tough I couldn't wish for more than to sit on the sofa with my best friend, my mum and listen to the advice that always settles and reassures me and makes me feel at ease. At 22 years old and living at the other side of the world I will still tell Peter that I need to FaceTime my mum and dad first before I make any rash decisions and I have a feeling that it will always be that way. I'm so thankful that I am travelling at a time were there is such as thing as FaceTime.

I will always miss home and I'll probably miss home a lot more 6 months down the line but these experiences and opportunities come once and my little family circle will always be waiting for me back home and that's what keeps me going. Plus after experiencing all these amazing places the next best thing is being able to go home and tell everyone about them. So just keep swimming, even when you think home is the best option at a time of hardship.


Before booking Australia I never really contemplated the challenges that mine and Peter's relationship would face. We had a pretty dreamy set-up back home, we both had steady jobs with a good income, our own cars for independence and we both lived at home which meant no money worries or responsibilities. We have never had to depend on each other as much as we do right now. We have had to make decisions on where to travel and how to travel. Peters money and my money is now our money which means making decisions about money is our problem which can be extremely stressful. We both have to decide on how to spend the money and how to budget, things that we never had to do at home. It's called real life. It's been hard sometimes. Spending every second together causes silly arguments and when one of us is worried or stressed it reflects onto the other one and thats what creates a big ball of raging fire.

It's not all bleak though. I'm the luckiest girl in the world to experience this amazing trip with someone that I treasure so dearly. We've laughed, we've cried, we've been silly, we've been spontaneous, we've been happy, we've been sad. All these emotions that we've been through show what a stable, strong and committed relationship we have. It gives us a realistic idea of what life will be like together in the future and that if we can survive out here on on own, sometimes not having an absolute clue of what were doing then we will be just fine.

We've been tested, but I think we've passed. By experiencing new places you discover a whole new part of someone, something wonderful that I believe flourishes through experiencing new places, meeting new people and understanding new cultures.



Before writing this blog post I did think to myself, "is this a bit of a bleak topic?" but after finishing this post I say absolutely not! These experiences, issues and worries have brought out the best in me. What I have learnt so far will carry me through for the foreseeable future. These 'what seemed to be bleak and hard times' have had pretty positive outcomes, you just gotta see past the negatives and enjoy the moment, after all you may only get to experience it once.