Nearly There

The Final Stages

Sometimes you think that you’re never going to get there.   That countdown app on your phone still shows a horrendous amount of days to go. Then suddenly ‘BOOM’, D Day is nearly here.  That’s right – Departure Day is only days away.  How did that happen! The final stages when everything starts coming together.

Holding Pattern

I work well under pressure I’ve decided.  Give me 48 hours to get a task done and I’m all over it like a rash.  This holding pattern has been ‘doing my head in’.  Too much time to think about things which leads to ‘over thinking’, which leads to pressure and stress.  I’ve not enjoyed this limbo time where there is still so much to sort out and it can get quite overwhelming.  I thought that it would be exciting times and it would be like waiting for that long awaited holiday that you’ve been holding out for.  It is quite a different feeling when there is so much at stake.

Ice Maker Fridge Freezer Sold. Fish bin filled the gap

Finding that one thing that’s going to stop you

So many people have said that we are brave and that they could never do what we are doing.  When we’ve asked why, they can come up with all sorts of reasons.  Everyone’s life is different and there are some really good reasons why people couldn’t or shouldn’t do what we are doing.  If you concentrate on just one of those excuses, it can stop you from achieving the same thing as what we are doing. 

We faced massive obstacles which could have easily stopped us in our tracks if we had let them.  We are also facing some sacrifices that all nomadic travellers face.  We will be missing out on major milestones in our friends and families lives but that is no different to what immigrants face when they decide to up sticks and move to a new country.  They too are in search of a better life for themselves which is exactly the same as what we hope for.

Stepping off the Treadmill

We were on that treadmill of life.  We had all the toys that made us happy but we were stuck in a situation that we didn’t want to be in, jobs that made a week feel like a month just so we could support our expensive habits.  When you would start counting down the days to the weekend on a Monday, just so you can have two days off to start all over again the following week. The more you earn, the more you spend so the more you have to work – and round and round it goes.  We have been amazed at how much better we felt as we started to get rid of all the stuff we had acquired over the years.  Although we suffered separation anxiety initially with some things, we have surprised ourselves on how much we really could do without.  Even living out of the fish bin has been manageable.

Not goodbye but see you soon

Farewell at Mr Yakitori. Great friends, food and sake

We very much appreciated everyone who made the effort to come to our final farewell in the city of Auckland.  Some had to travel a distance to get there.  It is humbling to have such great friends, acquaintances and work mates that have shown us such support.  You don’t know what you have until it’s gone, which includes a vehicle with a tow bar, a trailer, a sofa and even a place to live.  Thank you to all of those who have helped us out with these things to make our move into the final stages possible.

Even our street held a ‘leaving party’ which had everyone turning out to wish us well.  We have loved living in our little street and have made some great friends and enjoyed being part of a neighbourhood where everyone still watches out for each other and so keen to lend a hand when needed.

 

The plan is not to plan

Don’t plan anything – just wing it.  That’s what I keep reading and hearing about.  I get it – keep your plans fluid so you can stay longer or leave earlier.  Easier said than done when you are a ‘list person’, so I’m thinking that there will be some ‘bedding in’ for a while.  This will be the first time I’ve gone overseas and not had an itinerary to follow.  The first time I’ve not done a spreadsheet of things to do and see.

In saying that though, there has had to be some sort of initial plan to follow – just for tourist visa obligations such as proof of onward travel.  So here is the plan so far.

Our lives for the next years packed and ready to go.

We depart NZ on Sunday 19 February and head for the Gold Coast, Australia to stay with my brother Steve and partner Alan in their apartment in Main Beach.  We are there a week and depart for Denpasar, Bali on the following Sunday.  We head straight to Ubud where we have booked a 3 night stay in a guest house Rumah Ary Home Stay and Spa.  During this time, we will decide if we want to stay on there, find somewhere else in Ubud or to carry on.  We want to travel north and explore the less touristy destinations following the coast.  That is where the planning stops and the winging it starts.

For our tourist visa obligations, we need to have proof of onward travel within 30 days so we have tickets booked to Bangkok on 26 March.  We have spoken before about how we are keen to do some house/pet sitting around SE Asia.  We registered with a site called Trusted House Sitters which lists house/pet sitting assignments worldwide.  We have worked our way through all the levels including Police checks and now we are fully authenticated.  This will not only help to meet our budget goals but mainly to experience what it is like to really live like a local and to be able to stay put somewhere to recharge for a while.  We are wrapped to have confirmed our first sitting assignment.  We are looking after a very cute Australian Miniature Shepherd called Summit in Phuket for a young couple.  We plan to travel there from Bangkok but have a good amount of time to get there on the 13 April.  This will run through to the 20 April and then who knows where we will continue on to from there.

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