Travels of Shepp

I've found my new favourite way to travel. Especially for Australia, which has big open roads, plenty of public toilets and even free showers on the beach, and lots of free camping sites and rest areas as long as you know where to look. It's made for road tripping. Plus, I struggled with anxiety on my first East Coast trip back in March before the rona, and I was constantly trying to overplan everything to the minute. But living in a van forces you to be more spontaneous. Many nights we don't know where we'll sleep that night until we get there, and with the rest areas it's just a matter of if there's a space when we turn up. You can't plan where you'll get food all the time, where you get petrol, or even what you'll do at a location. We'll often stay somewhere longer if we are enjoying it, or move on quicker from somewhere if we aren't too bothered. (Like staying in Bundaberg for not one, not two, but three nights to drink wi...

I think this was the best thing I've ever done, let alone the best birthday I could ask for! Ryley and I had a glamping tent booked, and we found out that it actually had the capacity for 6 people. So we invited along Siân, one of my friends, and posted an ad on Facebook for the other 3 spots.  We were joined by a group of 3 guys travelling together; an Aussie called Alex, and two Germans called Janek and Yannik (pronounced the same which we found very funny). It was the nicest group of people and I feel so blessed that they came along for the trip. I had been excited for Fraser Island since March as I was due to do it but it got cancelled due to covid. And I was even more excited that it landed on my birthday! Day 1 We got up early on my 22nd birthday and headed to the office to pick up the 4x4 vehicle. We signed a lot of forms and watched a safety video, and off we went on the hour and a half trip from Noosa to Rainbow Beach to access Fraser Island. We got on a barge which was a ...

About a week into my road trip up the east coast with Ryley and I'm absolutely loving van life. We're really living the Australian dream that I came out here for. Got our tunes on, our snacks, the open road, sunshine and laughter, and we couldn't be happier. Stopping off at tourist drives, scenic spots, and small towns to stop for petrol or use the bathroom. (We're also rating each bathroom we go into; national parks and nature hikes often have very interesting compost toilets which is all part of the adventure) Only wearing a bra when I'm in a bikini (and even then sometimes not, peep my insta- free the nip ammarite). Being barefoot most of the time. Sleeping in the back of the van and not knowing where we'll park up every night as we drive north. Seeing new beaches, forests, and landscapes everywhere we go. Meeting new people, having fun and drinking, making connections with people from all over the world (and some from just d...

Just a little update on my plans and what will be happening in the next few weeks. There seems to be a lot of change in the air at the moment. My time with the family has now (almost) come to an end. I've enjoyed being here so much, I've been so lucky to find such a great family and I absolutely love the kids. I'll always find a home here and I'm sure whenever I'm in Brisbane in the future I will come and visit. I can't express my gratitude enough for the last 4 months and I'll always remember my time here. My last day is Friday and then I'll be leaving on Saturday for my big road trip up to Cairns with Ryley. Once I'm back from the road trip, I'm due to work another week with the kids. I'm hoping to use this opportunity to recharge my batteries as well as earn a little bit more money. When I leave, my plan is to start looking for farm work! (For those of you that don't know, backpackers on a working holiday visa need to ...