Another New Years’ Eve is on the horizon already, and while time seems to fly when we’re on the road, we’ve gotta say, this year in Sydney has disappeared faster than we can say, ‘where to next?!’
In some ways, it’s felt like time has stood still for us in 2018, as we’ve adjusted from two years of almost full-time travel to being weekend warriors and short break adventurers, with a home in one place, a wardrobe rather than a backpack, and a regular coffee haunt.
Which makes it all the more amazing when we consider that it’s been nearly twelve months since we stepped off a plane in early January into a hot, bright Sydney summer’s day, ready to embark on our next chapter.
We’ll be honest, we’ve missed the excitement and freedom of being constantly on the road, making each day up as we go. But we’ve also made a real effort to explore our own backyard, and appreciate the beauty and diversity on our doorstep.
It’s been a different style of travel for us, but looking back on the year that was is a happy reminder that 2018 has actually been a jam-packed ride of local discoveries, weekends away and nature adventures, with a couple of international bucket list revisits, an offbeat journey to the middle of nowhere and, best of all, quality time with the people we love.
So where to next!? Time will tell. Our bucket list isn’t getting any shorter. And like the herbs we’ve been trying to grow on our kitchen sill this year, we’re really no good at putting down roots. 🙂
For now though, here are our favourite moments and memories of 2018:
Snapping Sydney
It’s easy to take your hometown for granted, and we’ve definitely been guilty of that in the past. When we arrived back in January though, we swore we’d make more of an effort to get out and about in this speccy city.
One way we’ve done that is through our camera lenses: the perfect opportunity to practice our photography, and gain a new appreciation of our beautiful gateway city.
2018 saw us out and about at dawn, dusk, daytime and night searching out various viewpoints, different angles and special spots around Sydney, finding new experiences, and reconnecting with the place that, these days, we call our ‘mostly home’.
Wine-Ing With The Best
One thing we always miss when we’re abroad is Australian wine. Sure, you can pick up the random, big brand bottle here and there overseas, but our very fave wines – better even, dare we say it, than our much loved Argentinian malbecs and Chilean carmeneres – are the big, beautiful, earthy reds to be found in some of the wine regions not far from Sydney.
Both of our birthdays in 2018 were vineyard celebrations. We toasted a milestone for Dan among the vines in the Hunter Valley, with bush fires turning the sky vivid shades of purple, pink and orange.
Then for John’s birthday, we set out for the higher cool climate wine country of rural Orange, a place we hadn’t been before (and which, ironically, doesn’t grow oranges), but where we joined an excellent wine tour and discovered a cheeky Shiraz Viognier to rule them all.
Getting Under The Waves Of The Great Barrier Reef
We’ve been lucky enough to dive in places all over the world, but it was a treat to retrace our steps (or should I say fins?) this year to one of our earliest dive experiences, with three days of diving on a liveaboard on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Despite some obvious impacts of climate change and tourism, the life and colour on the reefs we visited was magical, especially at dawn when the first light of the day reached the sea floor and the coral outcrops would come alive with sea life emerging from their safe places.
A wild night dive with pinging bait fish, stealthy giant trevally and the occasional thrill of a cruising reef shark sealed the deal: this trip was our diving highlight of 2018.
Digital Detoxing On A River Houseboat
Houseboating has long been on our ‘backyard’ bucket list, and this year we finally had the chance to cast off the ropes and set out for a couple of days’ peaceful relaxation on the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney.
The chill of early winter meant there were few other boats out, so it was blissfully quiet and low-key. Nothing to do but watch the trees, listen to the birds, read, eat antipasto and drink wine.
With nowhere to be, and no internet to trawl, we had to work at slowing down and tuning out. It was no mean feat. We challenge everyone to try it out at least once a year, it’s definitely good for the soul. And a houseboat surrounded by water with no reception is the perfect way to do it.
Rekindling Memories In Vietnam
Vietnam was the first country that we travelled as a couple. It was our first overland journey, our first adventure in each others’ company 24/7, and the place where we realised travel would be a key part of our lives together.
We’ve been back to Vietnam a couple of times since, but this year, we made a point to visit three places we particularly love – to see how they’ve changed and to try and explore them in a different way.
In Hanoi, we sought out the more offbeat experiences. In Hoi An, we swapped fabric shops for neoprene and went diving off Cham Island.
In Halong Bay, we travelled to the far reaches of Bai Tu Long Bay, to see if a quieter, less touristed corner of this spectacular place still exists. It does too, but don’t tell anyone.
Exploring A Stunning Coastline On Foot
We rediscovered a love for hiking on the trails of Patagonia last year, and we kept the dream alive by stretching our legs on some of the spectacular trails in and around Sydney in 2018.
Harbourside trails with breweries at the end, walks along rarely opened tracks through pristine bushland and rainforest, bird-nerding along scrubby clifftop tracks; we’ve revelled in the ability to leave the concrete jungle behind and immerse in nature without even trying – another bonus of living in a city surrounded by national parks.
Our fave trek of the year though was an overnight hike-and-camp along the breathtaking Royal Coast Track, south of Sydney. Two days, blue skies, incredible views up and down the coast, a spectacular dawn, humpback whales breaching offshore, and a clifftop pub lunch at the end. Epic!
Returning To India’s Vivid North
In 2011, we road tripped for a month through the colour, chaos and cultural vibrancy of India’s north. It tossed us around, wrung us out and left a mark. It’s a trip we’ll never forget, and one that left us with a mixed bag of emotions. At the time, if you’d asked us would we return, we might have thought twice. This year though, the chance to go back came up. Of course, we jumped at it.
Dan flew over first, travelled around the Golden Triangle on behalf of adventure travel blog, NOMADasaurus, and visited an elephant sanctuary outside of Agra, before meeting John in Delhi.
Together once more, we joined a Delhi street food tour, and learned about the work of a local NGO in one of the city’s vast camps, meeting some amazing young locals along the way.
In Agra, we milled with thousands of others at the world’s greatest monument to love, then watched the sun set over it from a nearby rooftop, with a Kingfisher beer in hand.
It was just as frenetic, overwhelming and irrepressible as the first time, and we loved every second.
Here’s one of the videos Dan made for NOMADasaurus:
Feeling Like Castaways In The Remote Andaman Islands
Google Maps calls them ‘far-flung’ and that they are. Closer to Myanmar, yet Indian territory, more than 500 islands form the archipelago of Andaman & Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal. Some islands are still inhabited by neolithic people, left alone by the outside world (until a sadly fatal attempt at contact just after we were there).
We’ve always been intrigued by this fantastical sounding place, and its allegedly world class diving. So we flew there from Delhi for a two week adventure on three of the islands.
A nearby cyclone, a recent ban on most boat diving, and a bizarre embargo on beer put an interesting spin on our stay.
But nothing could really dampen our spirits as we wandered, swam, scootered, dived and photographed our way around the islands of South Andaman, Havelock and Neil.
It’s a special feeling, being properly far-flung. More of that in 2019, we say!
That’s A Wrap For 2018! Thanks For Joining Us For The Adventures, We Look Forward To Sharing More Travel Fun With You In 2019!