Am I excited? Hell yes! Am I scared? Definitely! I did mention the excited part too didn't I? And solo trip, why a solo trip I hear you ask? Because I need this. I need it for me. I need time to grieve and heal, time out from my life here, time to feel right with my world again.
But it's also more than that, much more than that. There are things I want to achieve on this trip of mine. I want to find my place and settle into this gorgeous part of the world that has a hold on my heart and is going to become home to me for a while.
I want to immerse myself in this little community, learn more about it's ways, take part in it's day to day life, it's culture, it's celebrations and it's festivals. For a relatively small place, it has a lot to offer.
This is going to be the adventure of my lifetime. It may be on a small scale compared to the adventures of others, but for me it's a big one and it's all about exploration on a variety of levels.
Not to mention that having the opportunity to explore more of this land I've come to love fills me with joy and a sense of anticipation.
The temptation to go technology free is huge! The thought of no phone or internet and just living in the moment, using pen and paper for capturing thoughts and communicating holds immense appeal.
Alas, it's not the world we live in today and at the very least, technology is needed for that little thing called work. So perhaps it will be about setting some boundaries and having some technology free days. I'm not sure what it will look like yet, but I sure am looking forward to it.
I've always loved letter writing (you know, that somewhat old fashioned method of communication that has fallen by the wayside as technology has taken over) and I will no doubt continue to keep in touch with my loved ones this way.
The thought of doing that from wherever I am makes me smile. I have visions of letter writing from the outdoor café in the snow at the top of the ski slopes where the views are magnificent or sitting by the lake among the lupins. So many possibilities!
So how close am I to doing all of this? Very close! It's just 3 short weeks until I fly out. I have less than 2 weeks up to pack up my life here in the tropics and start making my way back to Brisbane to spend some time with loved ones before I head off on my adventure.
Yes, I still have a LOT to do. Thank heavens for lists eh! This weekend will be a hive of activity, focused on sorting and packing, making sure I downsize to fit everything into my little car for the trip back to Brisbane and ensuring I can fit my life for the next year into a couple of suitcases.
So long as I have room for my essential oils, my camera, pen and paper, and maybe a couple of books, I'll be happy. Oh and some warm clothes, given it will much cooler there than it is here at the moment.
I have found somewhere to live in NZ and while I don't have a job to go to as yet, I do have a fairly solid lead on one. I'm looking forward to a little down time first though. I think I will need it after all the hectic activity leading up to my departure.
I'm thinking of doing something a little special when I arrive to mark the start of this adventure. I have a couple of ideas, but one seems to be resonating more than others.
In the meantime, it's back to sorting and packing. Finding new homes for some of my belongings, storing others and giving away some things that have brought comfort and joy.
When Mum passed, the motel where my sister and I were staying gifted both of us with gorgeous little flowering cyclamen plants. While I love outdoor gardening and seem to have bit of a green thumb with them, indoor plants are a whole other story and I have fatalities with them more often than not. The cyclamen has survived for the last 4 months and is filling with buds once again so I've decided to gift it to a work colleague who has also recently lost her Mum.
In April last year when I moved into the little unit I'm in now, another colleague gave me an orchid and included in the instructions were don't kill it. My previous two orchids that I'd bought on my arrival up here had a short life sadly, hence the instruction. This one has not flowered in the 16 months I've had it until now and it's absolutely glorious. It currently has 9 flowers with another two buds likely to open in the coming days. So it seems fitting and will be with much pleasure I return the orchid to the colleague who gifted me in the first place.
So for now, it's all systems go as I go about packing up my life here ready to take this big step into a new adventure. I can hardly wait!
The temptation to go technology free is huge! The thought of no phone or internet and just living in the moment, using pen and paper for capturing thoughts and communicating holds immense appeal.
Alas, it's not the world we live in today and at the very least, technology is needed for that little thing called work. So perhaps it will be about setting some boundaries and having some technology free days. I'm not sure what it will look like yet, but I sure am looking forward to it.
I've always loved letter writing (you know, that somewhat old fashioned method of communication that has fallen by the wayside as technology has taken over) and I will no doubt continue to keep in touch with my loved ones this way.
The thought of doing that from wherever I am makes me smile. I have visions of letter writing from the outdoor café in the snow at the top of the ski slopes where the views are magnificent or sitting by the lake among the lupins. So many possibilities!
So how close am I to doing all of this? Very close! It's just 3 short weeks until I fly out. I have less than 2 weeks up to pack up my life here in the tropics and start making my way back to Brisbane to spend some time with loved ones before I head off on my adventure.
Yes, I still have a LOT to do. Thank heavens for lists eh! This weekend will be a hive of activity, focused on sorting and packing, making sure I downsize to fit everything into my little car for the trip back to Brisbane and ensuring I can fit my life for the next year into a couple of suitcases.
So long as I have room for my essential oils, my camera, pen and paper, and maybe a couple of books, I'll be happy. Oh and some warm clothes, given it will much cooler there than it is here at the moment.
I have found somewhere to live in NZ and while I don't have a job to go to as yet, I do have a fairly solid lead on one. I'm looking forward to a little down time first though. I think I will need it after all the hectic activity leading up to my departure.
I'm thinking of doing something a little special when I arrive to mark the start of this adventure. I have a couple of ideas, but one seems to be resonating more than others.
In the meantime, it's back to sorting and packing. Finding new homes for some of my belongings, storing others and giving away some things that have brought comfort and joy.
When Mum passed, the motel where my sister and I were staying gifted both of us with gorgeous little flowering cyclamen plants. While I love outdoor gardening and seem to have bit of a green thumb with them, indoor plants are a whole other story and I have fatalities with them more often than not. The cyclamen has survived for the last 4 months and is filling with buds once again so I've decided to gift it to a work colleague who has also recently lost her Mum.
In April last year when I moved into the little unit I'm in now, another colleague gave me an orchid and included in the instructions were don't kill it. My previous two orchids that I'd bought on my arrival up here had a short life sadly, hence the instruction. This one has not flowered in the 16 months I've had it until now and it's absolutely glorious. It currently has 9 flowers with another two buds likely to open in the coming days. So it seems fitting and will be with much pleasure I return the orchid to the colleague who gifted me in the first place.
So for now, it's all systems go as I go about packing up my life here ready to take this big step into a new adventure. I can hardly wait!
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