There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after

J.R.R. TOlkien

We’ve made the decision to leave New Zealand. We tried to find a job in our field of expertise, but we were unsuccessful in that part. Not a second have we regretted our endeavor. Spoiler: you will be spoiled by quotes.

An Unexpected Journey: Down under

Perth was always on the top of our bucket list. We had never been to WA. Since we were only a bus stop away (5050 km) it was for us the opportunity to cross it off our list. But it was too expensive. We couldn’t leave without seeing a wild kangaroo, so we did a road trip around Sydney instead.

But first another quote:

If you decide not to climb all the way up the mountain and instead return down (for whatever reason), it will never be regarded as a failure, but rather as a wise decision.

A norwegian saying if I remember it correctly

In other words: If we had pushed through (let’s say eventually landed a job in Christchurch) even though we knew we would be struggling (to pay rent and other expenses) all along, That would have been quite ridiculous.

He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich

This might have been the best part of our Aussie holiday. We listened for hours to the song from Men at work. Only on our trip to the Blue Mountains did a guide explain the lyrics’ true meaning. But you can also google that. Anyway, We spent a couple of days in Sydney and then hired a rental car for only 7 days. Just in time to be back in Sydney for ANZAC day.

7 days all-in

From beaches to rainforests and deserts to snow. Aussie has it all. We opted to drive to Canberra in the South and Port Stephens in the North, stopping only at the best spots we could find. We hadn’t left any footprints between Sydney and Canberra when we were last here (about 5 years ago). It felt only natural to do it now.

On our way, we stopped at one of the whitest beaches in the world (Hyams Beach), the largest moving coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere (Stockton Bight sand dunes), went for a snorkeling trip close to one of the best breeding spots for sharks in Australia (Port Stephens), In order to conclude our stay in one of the country’s pre-eminent wine regions (Hunter Valley). Oh, and there was Pebbly Beach. Legend says there are still kangaroos out there surfing at night.

The summit is what drove us, but the climb itself is what matters

We don’t regret going on this adventure because not only might this trip have been the best time of our lives, we both learned a lot about the world and have spent a lot of quality time together. Meeting people and sharing travel stories have made us realize again that anything is possible. And you know what they say: If you can travel together, you can live together. Or something like that.

Let us end with: you must try stuff in your twenties. Well, we definitely did that one!