Explore with Fran

Looking around the apartment, you could be mistaken for thinking we had been burgled. No television. Bookcase bereft of reading material. And a patio area that now looks a lot larger without the outdoor table and chairs.

Picture of the living room minus the TV, in readiness for travelling — The evenings are much quieter

Thankfully, we haven’t been burgled. We are downsizing as much as we can in readiness for packing up our Sydney life, and starting a new adventure. What we don’t sell, or give away, we will put in storage. By the time we see our stuff again we will no doubt wonder why we paid to store half of it.

Bookcase, minus books — I hope I remember where I have stored them all

Once the removal van drives away from our little home in Mosman, we won’t be far behind. With what we have left, packed into a small backpack each, (Victoria is still in shock at just how small), we will pick up our hire car and head off on the start of our travels. A road trip, starting with a drive to the nation’s capital, Canberra, somewhere I haven’t been for over 20 years. Knowing Canberra, it is unlikely to have changed much in the intervening years. What I have discovered is that there are numerous wineries en route to Canberra, so we are sure to sample a few, in the name of research, obviously.

From Canberra we will head in the direction of Melbourne, breaking the 8 hour journey up with an overnight stop at Albury, for a slice of Australian country life. Pressing on to Melbourne, we will spend a couple of nights in beautiful, beach side St Kilda before (hopefully) picking up a campervan to explore the Great Ocean Road.

Koala at the wildlife centre in Hamilton Island — Who can resist these cuddly little things?

The wishlist for the Great Ocean Road is:

1. Koalas in the wild

2. Whisky from Timboon distillery

3. Beach front camp sites

4. Fresh, local produce

5. Sleepy coastal towns

Current plans have us overnighting in Adelaide, having dinner with friends, before heading over to the west coast. Our flight from Perth to Singapore is on April 3rd, and of course, in light of the ever evolving global situation, we are taking each day as it comes. Qantas is still currently flying into Singapore, a country that has seemingly managed to contain the virus due to early, strict measures. Travel advice seems to change daily, and we will change with it, as needed.

The impending change to our lives is bittersweet. Mosman has been good to us. We have loved living here. And we will be sad to leave. But a little sadness shouldn’t get in the way of starting a new chapter in your life. Change is needed if we are to grow as humans. We need new experiences. We need to learn new things. We need a new challenge.