Two years in Australia

At the end of September 2014 we packed up our lives and made the move to Western Australia.
One year on I wrote a re-cap about our first year in Australia, the first year was most definitely a rollercoaster of emotions and adjusting to living in a new culture, but by the end of the first year I had just started to find my feet and was starting to feel settled in Perth.

So what was year 2 like?

As we finished our first year in Australia we both were working pretty good jobs and had just moved in to a beautiful old cottage in Wembley with a swimming pool and beautiful tropical garden for the summer. We packed up our bags for a long weekend and head to Sydney  (psst click for sydney blog posts) where we got to know some of Australia's most iconic landmarks like the Opera House and Bondi Beach. We had an awesome time, but felt much more at home when we got back to Perth. 

It was relatively plain sailing counting out the rest of the year, we got to know Perth city a little better and at the middle of December welcomed Dan's family for a month. We celebrated christmas with the English family and the family who already live in WA, spent time on their boat, playing on paddle boards and watching dolphins in Mandurah. 

Not long after Dan's family flew back to England we hopped on a flight to Brisbane and explored the tropical Gold Coast. We teamed our flights to land not long after my mum, who was visiting a friend from England, and after a week in Brisbane we all flew back over to Perth. The timing was impeccable (I can't lie it was totally planned) as mum was able to help us pack up our short term rental to move up the coast into a longer term rental. We had a few short days with mum in the new house before she went back to the UK. It was heartbreaking as ever waving her goodbye, knowing she's so far away. Whilst mum was visiting I gained a clinical nursing position in the community.

At the start of March we welcomed number three in to our mini family, Jessie the border collie. Our lives changed forever and we fell totally in love with our crazy little ball of fur. The next few months were filled with walks, puppy school, crate training, obedience training and doggy day care (yes, it's a real thing). There were some horrid nights of being awake all night, but slowly Jessie somehow made us feel more and more at home, and after a camping trip for my birthday in April, where we spent the weekend watching her run up and down the beach, I thought I really really like living here. There was a love forming like nothing I had ever imagined, for a four legged friend, so unconditional that all the sleepless nights, peed on carpets and chewed shoes seemed so insignificant. 

The next few months were a total blur, and I grew to totally neglect blogging and social media. Our lives became balancing acts, but we formed amazing new friendships with people at work, started taking the 4WD out more and generally started to feel like Perth was becoming home. Almost in sync, both our careers took off and we expectations at work increased, we saved every cent we earned   and our evenings quickly became consumed with working from home. 

After a few months of work, work, work I realised I was beyond unhappy in my job and despite it sounding incredible on paper I was unsupported and over worked. A break was much needed so when an email landed in my inbox from a hotel in Bali we realised it was a sign we had to go and not long after we were floating in a pool with a Bintang in hand, the holiday flew by and on the way back I turned to Dan and said 'where are we going?' and he replied 'home'. 

When we got back we spoke at length and crunched numbers and realised the stress, the toll on my health and the lack of free time at my job just wasn't worth it..so one Monday morning, not long after getting back from Bali, I bounced in to my managers office resignation in hand. 

I felt a new wave of motivation and creativity. I threw myself in to new hobbies, jumped out of bed at 6am and felt a fire burning inside me that had been put out months before. The stars obviously aligned quite quickly, because before I had even worked my notice I had landed an incredible new role with identical pay but a lot less hours. 

I started my new job at the middle of September and was able to maintain my new hobbies, my twice daily dog walks and occasional stops at the gym for spin class. By the end of September we decided that Perth would be our home for a good few years, so started researching buying our first house together and hope to be in to something new in the next 6 months.

Once again, it's been a total rollercoaster, however we have grown umpteen amounts. We are no longer young people, but young adults with career paths and yearly plans, we have our own fur child who is the most incredible ray of sunshine on the darkest days. 

xo

Top 5 packing hacks

There's nothing I hate more than not being able to fit everything I could possibly need in my suitcase for a trip away. I've learnt so many sneaky ways to make the most of my luggage over the years so thought it was about time to share them with you.

1. Write a list of what you need before you go. 

It sounds super simple but it avoids a) packing too much and b) leaving an essential at home (you know like your toothbrush, makeup wipes or emergency box of tampax)! Packing a capsule wardrobe filled with simple pieces makes mixing and matching much easier and saves so much room- I'm also fond of doing a 'test run' before my holiday to see if I've got any spare room in my case for an extra pair of shoes. If you're not great at list writing, there's hundreds of 'packing lists' available online! 

2. Roll or bundle your clothes.

Without a doubt, rolling clothes is the most space efficient way to pack and reduces wrinkles en route. Simply lay clothes flat and roll up before packing into your case, making sure to pack them in tightly to prevent them unravelling whilst on board. There's also the 'military roll' which is great for t-shirts or if the roll technique isn't for you, try bundle or 'clown car' packing. This space saving technique whereby you lay clothes in your suitcase with some overhanging (i.e the arms of the shirt), layer other items over at a right angle and tuck it all in over each other (google it- it's much easier than it sounds).

3. Make the most of your carry on luggage.

Most airlines offer between 5-10kg of carry on, make sure you check your entitlements including dimensions of bags, whilst packing. If allowed, I try to take one larger bag and one smaller one for airport essentials like my passport, purse, book and phone. In the larger bag I like to pack more essentials- a change of clothes, spare undies and toiletries. Great for freshening up mid-flight and in case of a bag loss emergency when you arrive at your destination.

4. Layer some tumble dryer sheets in your bag. 

Simple, but so good! Grab a couple of dryer sheets from your cupboard and pop them in your case before you leave, your clothes will smell fabulous when you arrive and throughout your trip, even after a couple of wears. It's also a life saver if the hotel room and wardrobe don't smell the greatest when you arrive.

5. Pre-book excess baggage before you get to the airport. 

Getting caught at the airport with excess baggage is every traveler’s nightmare, so weigh your suitcase in advance and send your excess baggage through World Baggage, the leading Australian excess baggage company. Doing so could save you up to 70% compared to airline fees and they offer a pick up service from your front door and the ability to track your belongings throughout their journey. Using it is simple-- enter the details of your bag(s) on their easy quote tool and receive a quote instantly online, you can choose different options to get your baggage to your destination safely and on time, either before or after you leave home.

What are your top packing hacks?

This post was written in collaboration with World baggage. Picture via pinterest. 

hiring a driver in bali

In Bali you have two options when it comes to getting around, hiring a scooter or hiring a driver. Hiring a scooter (around $5 a day) is probably not the best idea, the roads are ridiculously busy and your travel insurance probably won't be valid for starters but it's also hot, sweaty and just a bit of a pain in the bum. Hiring a driver however gives you a locals expert knowledge of the roads, secret spots and gets you an air conditioned car for the day, a full day with a driver starts at around $40 AUD depending on how many days you book and how well you know the driver, but realistically you can expect to pay $50-60. I'd also recommend throwing in a tip and offering to buy your driver lunch. There's literally 1000s to choose from if you scroll through tripadvisor you'll find some incredible reviews, make sure you book well in advance. We used Semiton Bali Tour on our recent trip and the guys were incredible. 

Knowing we were pushed for time on our trip we asked the tour company for some advise on things to do to get the right mix of culture, history and natural beauty. The driver picked us up from our hotel reception just after breakfast and we set off on our journey into Bali.

Our first stop was at a beautiful old temple, we paid the temple guards for sarongs (donation) and spent time wondering the temple grounds. I didn't take any photos or write down the name- bad blogger.

From there we set off to Tegenungan waterfall, we totally underestimated the steps to get down to the falls so decided to take the chance to grab an ice cold beer in a shop looking out over the falls instead. It was a pretty sensible choice given the heat! 

From there we head out to Ubud, we made a quick stop at some rice terraces on the way however they were ridiculously busy so we were only out of the car for about 20 minutes.

Once we arrived in Ubud we decided it'd be a good idea to spend a few hours wondering around, we agreed on the pick up time and place and set off on foot to explore the town. I spent time in Ubud (Ubud, Bali blog post) the first time I visited Bali and fell in love with the mix of arts, culture and hustle and bustle.

We made our first stop at a local warung to fill up on food, from there we head to the Ubud monkey forest for a few hours and then walked in to the town centre to explore the shops and markets.

When we were finished it was almost the end of the day, so we asked to be dropped in the centre of Seminyak. We bid our driver goodbye and decided to walk around before heading to the beach..

From the beach we had a lovely walk back down to our hotel (Double Six Hotel blog post). 

Have you been to Bali before? What's your top tip for hiring a driver?

xo