Travels of Shepp

I tend to always feel guilty about something. If I go out, I feel guilty for wasting money or drinking, and if I stay in, I feel guilty for being lazy and wasting my time doing nothing. If I spend my life travelling, I feel guilty for not having a 'real job'. But if I got a 'real job', I'd feel guilty for wasting my youth and not seeing the world. I'm always worried about wasting time. And for me it's always been about time. Obsessing over the dates of things, how long they've gone on for, how long I've got to go. I struggle to let go and just be present in the moment. But the irony is, spending all this time worrying about wasting time, is wasting time. I don't want to look back on my life and see someone who didn't do everything she wanted because of anxiety. I'm actually not that person. Hindsight's a beautiful thing, and I know I would have enjoyed the first half of my East Coast trip more if I'd have stuc...

Acknowledging how bad the lockdown in the UK is now, I've been considering how blessed I am a lot recently. The majority of the travellers I've met in Australia so far have gone home and had to cut their trip short. Most of my friends and family are at home and I'm really feeling for you guys right now, not to mention the essential workers, medical staff and many more who are working extremely hard right now to keep the country afloat and the world safe. Thinking of these people reminds me that I'm so lucky to be where I am. I'm fortunate to be in a situation where I'm able to stay in Australia and continue my trip, even if I'm not travelling right now. I'm certainly in a country where things aren't as bad as other places in the world, as we still haven't gone into full lockdown and this weekend just gone has seen a relaxing of some restrictions. We can now travel up to 50km outside of our homes for recreational purposes and go for picnics. On Su...

As time in isolation ticks on, my wanderlust grows stronger. It's strange being a traveller who can't travel, so my mind often wanders to past travels! Australia is known for its beaches, and rightly so. I'm currently in Brisbane which unfortunately doesn't have the best beaches of the whole country, which leaves me reminiscing about all the stunning Aussie beaches I've been lucky enough to see so far. Here's some of the best to name but a few. Lorne Lorne is a small surf town in Victoria that was one of our stops on the Great Ocean Road. It was a beautiful spot to enjoy the fluffy white sand and gorgeous blue water. Port Campbell Another stop on the Great Ocean Road trip, the beach at Port Campbell was a small bay with beautiful clear waters. One of my favourite memories of the trip was swimming in the sea here and messing around in the water, standing on each other's shoulders. Tallow Beach It goes without saying that By...

Social distancing obviously means I'm spending all my time with the family or by myself and seeing only a few people outside of that. It can be a little dull being by myself a lot, but overall I'm enjoying my own company. When I'm not looking after the kids, I'm watching lots of Netflix, reading and writing a lot, going for walks, and doing all the other bits and pieces everyone is trying to busy themselves with during this time. I'm trying to see as much of the area that I can with everything closed, so the best things are walks and hikes. There's a lot of natural beauty in the area. Now I've done a bit more research into the best spots surrounding Brisbane, this week I want to make a point of visiting a new place every day (where I can when the kids are at kindy). Today was Cameron Rock Reserve, a nice 40 min walk away from me. And it was really beautiful! The walk there wasn't too bad either. I'm lucky enoug...

I'm very lucky to be living and working in a house where I can stay safe from the pandemic. It means I can continue to stay in Australia while even earning some money at the same time, and while nothing is open and social distancing is needing to be practised, it's a good time to save money. Plus, Australia is not on full lockdown (yet) and may be one of the much safer and less affected countries, especially compared to the UK. However, it's still difficult to not be concerned for the future. I'm a big planner, and it's hard to not know what will come in three months time. I'd love to plan some travels for when I'm done here, but it's impossible to tell when, or indeed if, that might be possible. Settling down to work in a family home was always going to be a strange adjustment, and now I can't go out as much it's even harder to get used to a change that drastic that fast. When compared to the typical backpacker life, this is compl...

I always say time is different for travellers. It seems to go slower, but in a fantastic way that means time is stopped and you have all the time in the world to explore. 3 days pass and you look back and everything you've seen and done and think, was that really only 3 days ago?  So even though I've only been out here for under three months, it feels like I've experienced enough for a lifetime. Multiple lifetimes, actually, as with every turn and change of direction I feel like I've started afresh yet again. Life #1: Travelling Finally starting my trip was so unbelievably exciting, that I had planned it for 1 year and a half and it was all finally coming to fruition felt amazing. I didn't know what was coming next or where I would be in a month and that felt like I was starting a whole new life. My few days in Singapore were magical, and I really fell in love with the city. I'm so glad I did that because that was my first time in Asia and I'd lo...

Unbeknownst to me, my last stop of my East Coast trip was the beautiful beach town of Noosa. It felt good to be out of the city, especially when I arrived at the YHA which was gorgeous old pale blue building. It was pretty but I was not happy about it being at the top of a very steep hill After getting settled here (and having a phone interview with an au pair family), I went for pizza and a pot of beer for a tenner with a German couple from my room. What can I say, every backpacker loves a good deal. During this meal I got the happy news that I was offered the job as an au pair! I think getting this news at the start of my time in Noosa really made me relax and enjoy it more, as I knew I had something to go to after my trip. The next day, I got up and went straight out to do the national park walk with the Germans and my good friend Leah from Byron Bay. Noosa is situated right by a National Park, with stunning coastal views and natural surroundings. I love when you can s...