Moving On

I have some very exciting news to share with you all! In a couple of weeks I will be leaving Sydney and flying to New Zealand! I am SO excited that I am able to head over there as I didn't think I'd be able to afford it but thanks to a little help from my parents and some very tight budgeting I am managing to spend just under two weeks over there. I have a good few tours booked and will be traveling quite a bit so will hopefully be able to see quite a lot within the short space of time.

Although I am very excited to be going there I am also absolutely terrified. This is the first time I've gone traveling on my own and it's definitely not something which I wanted to do/ever thought I would do. I am a shy person and can often get very anxious in social situations so have always struggled to put myself out there, which means I have often missed out on opportunities through fear/nerves so this is such a big step for me and one that I'm not even 100% sure I'll be able to handle. I know a lot of people go traveling on their own and that it's becoming more and more common a thing to do but personally, for me, it's a massive deal and I am genuinely terrified. 

When I went to book it (I used a company called Peter Pans which I would definitely recommend) I almost chickened out and didn't bother. Even once I'd gone into the place I almost changed my mind and walked out again but I realised that I'm in such a lucky position to be able to go and that I've already missed out on things due to my anxiety that I wasn't going to allow myself do it again when it's such a great opportunity. I know I'm completely throwing myself into the deep end and often feel a bit sick when I think about leaving by myself but if I never try I'll never learn...wish me luck! 

Iona x

Unusual Miss's

When leaving for Australia there was things which I knew I would miss; my family, my cat, my godsons, my friends...etc. But since being here I've discovered other things which I didn't expect to miss quite as much;

• Monthly trips to Asda with mother
• Having more than four possible outfit choices
• Home cooked food
• Having clothes for every weather condition
• Being able to easily find irn-bru at all times
• Having baths
• Home radio stations
• Knowing my way around a city well 
• My dvd collection
• Being able to afford fruit and vegetables
• Being in the same time zone as everyone I know so everytime I want to talk to someone I don't have to work out if I'm about to wake them up/then have to wait until they are up
• Central heating (I currently can't feel my feet)
• Having different mugs for different types of hot drinks (a little OCD but I like it!)
• Scottish tap water

I'm not trying to paint a sob story of my life in Australia, I am having such a great experience and I'm enjoying every aspect of it. However, this year has definitely made me realise I took so much for granted back home and I will be appreciating it all much more when I return.

Iona x

Whale Watching

For my birthday this year my sisters got me a voucher for Michelle and I to go whale watching. We had to wait until the right time of year for the whales to be migrating but last week we finally we able to use the voucher and board the boat.

Luckily the weather was fairly good that day so we were filled with nothing but excitement in the hope of seeing Humpback whales (most common in the area), Orcas, Sea Turtles, Dolphins and any other sea creature. The boat ride last around 4 hours and during that time we manage to spot 4 humpback whales and some dolphins decided to swim next to the boat at one point as well. The first whale we saw was SO close to the boat that it literally took our breath away. We were almost too scared to talk in case we scared it away! I don't know what it is but there's something so amazing about seeing wild animals in their natural habitat. Due to them being wild and out at sea it resulted in it being very hard to capture on camera so I actually only managed to get one photo of the whales and completely missed the dolphins! However, it was definitely an experience I'll never forget and would recommend to everyone. It was also such a great gift idea as it wasn't something which I would struggle to carry about while travelling and also something we possibly wouldn't have done otherwise due to money. An absolutely amazing day!!!

Iona x