Lets go on an adventure!!

Hopefully in one year's time when we return from our adventure - we will still be holding hands and smiling!

Ryan Gosling, my travel buddy, would like to reveal his true identity as Nick. I was going to do some hilarious photo shopping where I cut and paste Ryan’s face over Nick’s - I mean who wouldn’t want to go on a round the world adventure with your ultimate Hollywood crush - but seems that fantasy is over.

The adventure however has just begun. Right now, we are three hours away from Singapore, our first destination on our round the world trip. In the lead up to boarding this plane, it felt surreal that we were going to be away from my family, friends and life responsibilities for a year, and now, seeing the white mushroom clouds zooming past me, it’s only starting to feel real.

Feeling the excitement and nerves of getting on a plane together 

Some people think that it’s a mistake. Before I boarded this aircraft, I was fulfilling a two week contact at a newspaper in Whangarei and had some of the most exciting moments any starting out journalist could have hoped for. I thought I was there to lend a hand, but it turns out, I was going to be writing a large chunk of the community newspaper while the editor was away. The chief reporter became the acting editor and then I became the reporter.

A two week contract gave me the liberty to ask questions that I might not usually ask if I was fulltime. I was completely honest and open with the acting editor - if there was a story that I had no idea how to handle I had no problems going to her and talking to her about it. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer editor either - she was great and it taught me that a newsroom should be one where you feel supported. I did stories on crime, political scandals and human interest pieces. It was super stressful but I loved it.
One story about a farmer’s attempt to save himself after accidentally chopping off one of his legs was the lead story on www.stuff.co.nz and I received great feedback from the big boss.

So why, asks my dad, am I leaving a career that is opening up with opportunities to go travel? It’s hard to explain. I guess I have the mentality that I have my whole life to build a career but I only have limited years to be young and experience the world free from responsibility.  Traveling gives me a great sense of freedom that is hard to replicate.

I am also going to try and publish some articles so that travel and career don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

There is another reason that might be too personal to share, Nick. We are going to share the unknown together and have experiences that no one else is going to. I’m sure at times there are going to be testing moments, but about 10 hours into our travel, it’s going great. We are living like kings on the free food, booze and snacks (such a treat from usually flying jetstar).