06/09/2024
Thanks to years of accumulating Qantas airpoints on Visa, we have taken a wee vacation to China via Melbourne. Tripadeal had an amazing 10 day trip all subsidized by the Chinese Tourism Board to help boost tourism in China post covid. It has been on Chris bucket list of countries to visit so we head off tomorrow. My trip started with a weekend in Tauranga to attend a 1 day meeting with all the tour managers for NZET (New Zealand Educational Tours). It was a fantastic day enjoyed by about 15 of us as we mapped out the upcoming tours, participated in a Tikanga Maori workshop and got to know each other better. I then flew to Wellies and picked Chris up and we flew on to Melbourne where we decided to squish in a 3 day roady on the Great Ocean Road before we fly out to Beijing tomorrow. Had the best time out in nature with a very rich immersive experience of the senses. Amazing ocean smells, the noises of different bird species and the ocean roaring below high wind swept cliff tops. It was a visual masterpiece with very little room left for anything but awe, joy and gratitude. We stayed in 2 sweet towns with lovely rooms and hosts and just enjoyed every minute of it. Topped off with an incidental private tour of a wildlife park as we turned up at Warnambool this morning to a session where no one else was booked. So cool!
I realise in a day and age where cucumbers are $5.99 and rates are up 15 percent on 2023, that we are not all in a position to enjoy holidays like the one I am having. And whilst many of you say you enjoy my posts and adventures, I acknowledge that it can be hard to watch others doing things you can only dream of. I encourage people to find ways to have "pocket adventures" in your own back yard. Take a stroll down a path you wouldn't normally go and stop for longer to look for eels or birds. Say yes to an invite that scares you a bit, invite someone you admire over for a cup of tea, bake your neighbour a cake, take your dog to a resthome, have McDonald's for breakfast with kids before school one day, or drive to a beach you have always wanted to explore. Sometimes the very best adventures are the ones in your back yard.
I thought twice about sharing this trip on Facebook and have decided I will record my travels over on my page Pocket Adventures just so that those interested can follow me and those not so keen can just see any regular posts I put up. I do enjoy recording my travels and started this page ages ago. It had a wee hiatus (even though the adventures never stopped), so I will get active again on the page. Here's a couple of photos as a teaser but follow my page for more. :-)
