The good, the bad and the ugly. A summary of our trip in... 2000 words or so πŸ˜†

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(Edited)

Yesterday we got home from the longest holiday we've taken in the (nearly) four years we've been together. I am tired and happy to be home but also immensely grateful for the trip we've had. And despite my fatigue, I have already been planning out details for the next two trips πŸ˜…

But before I get ahead of myself and tell you anything about those I want to reflect on the epic trip we've just had. Although, trying to share almost an entire month's worth of experiences in a single post is just sheer folly. So instead I thought I'd do an unconventional sort of summary; a good, bad and ugly of the 25-night, 2-country, 6-location, long-service-leave-for-the-mister holiday we've just had.

This way I can write out, for you and for myself, the things I loved and definitely want to repeat in future trips, the things that were fine and could be done again, and the things that sucked and I want to avoid if at all possible in future.

Oh, and really, I probably need four categories to make this really work well and be genuinely useful, so let's do this:

  1. The great

  2. The good

  3. The bad

  4. The ugly

And I think I'll start with the last one first because... well, my post, my rules πŸ˜‰

The ugly:

There were only a couple of nights I slept really badly on this trip, which was lucky really because I've had issues sleeping really well for years now. As it turned out these two nights were two nights in a row and our very last two nights on holiday. I can only guess that the fluoro lights in our cabin and the very hard uncomfortable bed and the very cold air temperature sneaking into our poorly insulated accommodation were the reason.

➑️ Too hard beds πŸ›οΈ
➑️ Too cold a sleeping space 😴
➑️ Stupid fluoro lighting πŸ’‘

Boo! To all of you!

So, Caroline, what can you do to avoid this in future?

Well, for starters I don't think we'll be booking that place again the next time we go to Canberra. But I guess how hard a bed is we won't always know in advance. But we can probably guess that a cabin in a tourist park is going to have cut corners to keep the price down. So, maybe let's limit the time we spend staying in this sort of accommodation.

Okay, now I'm wondering if there were any other things to whinge about...

Ah! The march flies on my bushwalk in Canberra on the first day we arrived there. Those f*ckers bite and it really hurts!! My legs still have multiple itchy bite sites from where they bit me a few days ago. So boo to march flies!

So... what are you going to do differently to avoid this?

A little thing called insect repellant. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that.

Okay, I'm sure there's more I could whinge about but that's enough. I don't really like whinging... except for when I really need to get it out of my system πŸ˜†

The bad:

So, I'm sure this is more whinging but I guess these are the slight irritations as opposed to the things that I want to boo and hiss about.

Hmmm, bruising my right big toe as we ran-walked down Ben Lomond (a massive mountain) in Queenstown (on New Zealand's South Island). That is more like a "boo-boo", an "ouchy", a "silly me" sort of a thing.

What could I do differently next time since I know I am still going to tackle physical challenges that are a real stretch for my physical ability at the time?

Actually, what comes to mind is just listen to my body sooner and take action earlier. I knew my toes were banging the front of my shoes. I knew that if I tied the laces tighter they would help to hold my foot further back in the shoes but I kept putting it off for a few more k's and a few more k's. So that's what I'll do next time: notice when my body is giving me feedback and stop as soon as it is safe to do so and do whatever needs doing to fix or lessen the problem.

Hmmm, I wonder what else would fit in the "bad" category?

Oh, I really disliked wearing masks as much as I did. It was my choice; there was nowhere we went that it is required anymore but if I'd caught Covid-19 (which I have not had at all during this whole pandemic) then it would have messed with our plans royally! So I chose; I chose stifled breathing, I chose difficulty seeing in all the directions I'm used to seeing, I chose weird looks from the vast majority not wearing a mask anymore almost every time we were indoors close to other people. I chose.

And in hindsight, I'm glad I did because I seem to have come home free of said virus (even though there were people coughing on every plane trip and in almost every shop we entered, in almost every location), plus I got to hug and kiss and hang out with several immediate family members, including my baby nephew.

What to do differently?

Well, it may well be that the next time we're on a plane again that the risk of catching CV-19 is even lower again, but if it isn't (or if there's some other so-called deadly thing we are told we really don't want to catch) then I may simply choose to wear a mask again. But what I can continue to do are all the great things I've been doing for years to strengthen my immune system and maybe I won't catch said things anyway πŸ˜‰

Alright, enough of that. Let's go to something more fun πŸ‘‡

The good

There were so, so, so many good things about this trip that I'll happily include in future planning for our upcoming travel. This could easily be its own post but since I've just hit 1000 words on this here post, I think I best whittle it down to the two "good" things that first come to mind.

Catching up with fellow Hiveans in New Zealand. We had a great chat and lunch with JosΓ© (forykw) in Wellington and in Auckland we had the wonderful pleasure of accompanying Vince (run.vince.run) to his first-ever parkrun. If you've ever caught up with friends from Hive in real life then I know I don't have to tell you how much fun it is to see virtual mates in the flesh. It's rad.

Is this easy to do on future trips, Caroline?

Some trips, probably. Others, maybe not. But what will help is to know where people are. If we ever make it to the Philippines I know several people there I'd like to see, first and foremost, @indayclara. If we ever make it to the UK, then @samsmith1971 should expect a visit. And if we get our asses into gear and get to the NE of the USA then I'll be seeing if I can track down the legendary @traciyork. Of course, there are a million other places we want to go and so many Hiveans we want to see. If you'd love a visit and we haven't already spoken written to each other about where you live in the world, do tell me in a comment below. I can't guarantee we'll get there (as much as I'd love to visit you @monioluwa I'm not sure I'm ever going to feel safe travelling to Nigeria... but who knows!) but if I don't know where you are then I certainly can't ever come to visit you πŸ˜„

So, one more good thing and then onto the greats...

Successfully climbing Ben Lomond.

I mentioned this huge mountain hike above (when I hurt my right big toe) but really, hiking up and then run-walking down this huge mountain was one of the most epic things I'd done in years. It was a stretch for both of us physically and it was so fun to achieve something this challenging.

Also, did I mention that it was epically beautiful? Ridiculous. Gorgeous. Breathtaking.

We were extremely lucky with the weather; it was cold but not scary dangerous cold and it was windy but not out of control and it was a bit cloudy but the clouds brought no rain. So good.

We made it up and down over 1500 metres in elevation gain and loss, over 18.5km of distance covered, in just under 7 hours including all small breaks. Amazing.

So Caroline, you had a good time climbing this mountain. That's great. But... what are you going to do about that in future? It's not like there's a massive peak to climb in every town you're ever going to want to visit πŸ€”

Good point. We do love climbing mountains (or "hills" depending on your definition of such things πŸ˜†) but we also love beautiful hikes, and coastal walks, and any chunk of bush or forest where we can run or walk and see gorgeous views and/or waterfalls. So we'll just (continue to) keep this love of beautiful outdoor places front of mind when we're planning and I'm sure we'll find all manner of opportunities to explore.

Finally... last one...

The great:

Queenstown.

If you've ever been there you'll know why it gets to be one of the two "great" things I mention in this post. I know that's hard to replicate in future trips that don't go to this location, so let me break down why I felt it was so awesome and maybe I can replicate those parts in future trips.

  • It's a tourist town filled with happy holidaymakers
  • It overlooks a huge lake (with lots of birds)
  • It is surrounded by huge mountains, with trails you can walk or run up and down
  • Our accommodation was luxurious and great value for money
  • The weather was tolerably cold, not too windy, with barely any rain
  • There was a parkrun we hadn't done before
  • There were lots of options for meals within easy walking distance

Can you replicate all of these somewhere else, Caroline?

Probably not all of them, all together, all in one place (although Jindabyne in New South Wales comes close!) but we can definitely get some or most of these in several other locations. And now that we both realise we love these aspects of a destination so much we'll actively look for them. (BTW, do you know anywhere in the world that has all these features? It could be anywhere that the weather is tolerably hot too. If you know somewhere, pop it in the comments!)

One more great thing (although I'm sure there are many, many more)...

Hugging my loved ones.

This one is great (haha!) because it encompasses hugging my darling mister who was with me every step of the way, hugging my aging mum who I adore (when she's not driving me nuts πŸ˜…) as well as my "little" sister (who I miss a lot and is too busy to do phone calls most of the time).

It also includes my 6-year-old niece, who seems to be turning into more and more of her own differentiated human every time I see her and my ultra-cuddly giant of a younger brother who probably misses my hugs as much I miss his, and my now 11-month-old, ridiculously cute as heck, nephew.

Hugs with this little guy were even more special because it's the very first time I got to hold him since he was born, and thankfully we got along extremely well... something about me crawling on the floor and playing with him, methinks πŸ˜‰

Finally, I got big hugs, several times with a dear friend who I wasn't sure I'd get to see but ended up seeing twice in three days while in Canberra. She's one of my fave humans, a soul mate I see once every few years and a darling woman who makes the world a better place by simply existing. Oh! And after much hassle and many attempts at planning, I also got to see and hug another dear friend in the Mornington Peninsula area, south of Melbourne. That was fun because I talk to this friend semi-regularly on the phone and in text messages but so rarely get to see her in person.

So many hugs! With dear loved ones! I'm so blessed. Truly. And maybe I've realised what makes a trip the most special for me, over and above the adventures, the new parkruns, eating at yummy restaurants, staying in lovely places... it's pressing my loving heart against the heart of another human I love and remembering that love is really all there is.

{All photos in this post were taken by me except the very first and the very last ones, they were taken by my darling side-kick, Brad, aka @new.things. Photos may not be used without express permission from us.}



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(Edited)

This is pure gold. I'm going to come back and edit this comment and reply in details.

First of all, I'm glad you got the chance to go on a vacation and enjoy some time with your loved ones. It' important to visit them as, you know, life is short, literally and time flies.

You show us some wonderful places we may never visit as we're at the other end of the world. So this is how we travel these days, especially when we wake up to -8C πŸ˜‚

What I like most about your post is how you analyze things and also provide the solution. There are constant complainers everywhere, but complaining without trying to find a solution takes you nowhere. You on the other hand are asking yourself what can you do better? What can you do to avoid getting into the same situation? This is a lesson to learn for many.

Thank you for this piece, it's the best post so far. πŸ˜˜πŸ€—
I hope you get some sleep and recover from the trip.

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Oh, bless. Thank you for your kind and generous reply, Erikah. Yeah, I get sick of people whinging too so if I allow myself to whinge I figure I darn well best be looking for a solution too, or at least open to receiving one if I don't know how to solve it myself.

-8'C !!! Eeeeeek πŸ₯ΆπŸ₯ΆπŸ₯Ά In that case, I'm delighted that I get to share some sunshiny pictures with you 😁 And I agree - hearing or reading stories from other people from other parts of the world is a great way to "travel". I love travelling with you too πŸ˜‰

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Oh wow Caroline! I just love to read your adventures πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€— it's really entertaining and educating to follow along your thoughts 😍

Your vacations were quite the adventure I see! I'm so glad you enjoyed them and even took some learning out of the bad stuff that happened 😁 living and learning right? Hehehe and the hugs?? Omg they feel so damn good with the right people 😍πŸ₯° If we ever see each other in person you know there will be a big big hug πŸ€—πŸ€—

About other places to visit as soon as I read your post I thought about a portuguese Island called AΓ§ores. It has 9 island in total if I'm not mistaken (oh my geography is so lousy πŸ˜…). So far I've visited 3 of them, Pico, SΓ£o Jorge and Faial* and it was my favourite place to go so far. I'm planning on going there again as soon as I'm able πŸ˜†

The Pico Island has the highest mountain in Portugal and it's known for being a difficult journey. At the time, me and my boyfriend ended up skiping the Pico Mountain because on the previous day we did a 10km trail on the Island of São Jorge and it was my most beautiful adventure so far! It was totally unexpected because we thought we were doing a 45 min simple trail. But the taxi driver left us on the top of the mountain an it turned out to be a 3h trail, always going down. You can imagine our shock when we realise how far we are after 1h30 walking 🀣🀣.

It was my most happy random thing and it turned out beautiful because we saw watterfalls, cows in the middle of nowhere 🀣🀣 Don't need to say that the next day I was so sore that I didn't even get out of bed. I never had so many muscular pain either 🀣🀣🀣 well, but at least it gave me a super cool story to tell!

Sorry for the long comment , but I strongly suggest you check out some pictures of Pico Island 😁 I think you will love it!

Much !LUV and hugs 😊

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Omg they feel so damn good with the right people 😍πŸ₯°

With the right people, absolutely!!

If we ever see each other in person you know there will be a big big hug πŸ€—πŸ€—

Yesssssss!

About other places to visit as soon as I read your post I thought about a portuguese Island called AΓ§ores. It has 9 island in total if I'm not mistaken (oh my geography is so lousy πŸ˜…). So far I've visited 3 of them, Pico, SΓ£o Jorge and Faial* and it was my favourite place to go so far. I'm planning on going there again as soon as I'm able πŸ˜†

Noted!! @new.things - here are some gorgeous places for us to visit in Portugal!

Don't need to say that the next day I was so sore that I didn't even get out of bed. I never had so many muscular pain either 🀣

!LOL I know what that's like!!!! Ouch!

Sorry for the long comment

You never ever have to apologise for writing a long comment on one of my posts. Okay? I love reading all the things you want to say to me. !LUV

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I think we have watched a you tube show about people running down Pico Island mountains. It looked great.
!LUV
!ALIVE

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Hello @new.things πŸ‘‹ I think I never had the pleasure of interacting with you heheh

It really is beautiful, the landscape is breath taking I assure you 😁 the most turistic Island of Açores is São Miguel but considering yours and Caroline's taste I think you guys would love to go visit the top of Pico Mountain 🀩

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You never ever have to apologise for writing a long comment on one of my posts. Okay? I love reading all the things you want to say to me.

Noted!! 😁😁😁 If you guys ever decide to visit somewhere in Portugal let me know!

!LUV and hugs (oh, they have to create a token for hugs!!)

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πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—πŸ€—

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The Q&A was so fun to read. πŸ˜…
What a very long trip summarized into a "short" post!

So I see, in that part of the world, masks are not required anymore. And many people aren't wearing them. Well, it's still good to be cautious so even when it's kinda bad or annoying to wear one, I guess you just gotta think of its advantages, right.

And it's so nice to meet fellow Hiveans! OMG! That's really super cool!
I haven't met one in real life except of course the people I have already been friends with before Hive.

Love the photos by the way! Love the view from the top! I don't like hiking TBH but if hiking to see that beautiful view, I think I'll start liking to hike now. πŸ˜…

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The Q&A was so fun to read. πŸ˜…

It was fun to write too, @wittyzell πŸ˜€

And it's so nice to meet fellow Hiveans! OMG! That's really super cool!

I really was so good.

Love the view from the top! I don't like hiking TBH but if hiking to see that beautiful view, I think I'll start liking to hike now. πŸ˜…

!LOL It is pretty awesome πŸ™Œ The effort is worth it when you get great views.

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Wow 😳 trips has all sides of it whether good or bad you both quite had an enjoyable 😜 trip πŸ™‚

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Yep! I think that probably all our experiences in life have good and bad parts. We can probably learn from all of it.

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It has all parts indeed and we learn Everytime

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I'm humbled with your mention as to me being that person you would love to meet (and dance our ass off πŸ˜‰) here in the Philippines. You know, you'll also be my first person to meet up if I ever head over to the land down under!

25-night, 2-country, 6-location, long-service-leave-for-the-mister holiday

Wait up! Didn't know you were on a long trip coz you still got time to blog here all the time... But seems like you had one amazing, memorable and joy-filled adventure minus those 2 unfortunate sleepless nights and march flies!

I certainly agree too that wearing masks is bothersome and hopefully we can finally get rid of such "protocols" sooner (coz who doesn't want to look gorgeous in my photos.) because its just nuisance especially for someone who wears glasses. πŸ˜‚

I'm definitely going to borrow your idea of meeting a Hivean in every country/place I will visit in the future! You included. It's different and amazing when you get to meet them in person thats for sure.

Also excited to read of those breathtaking places you and @new.things visited. Just seeing that photo of the pathway filled with trees just blew me. Wishing I was there with you (or perhaps with my future life partner) walking down that beautiful scenery.

remembering that love is really all there is.

Lastly, I am truly truly happy for you that you get to hug those amazing people in your life! I've been spending time with my family lately and that feeling to be able to just be with them and share that love and joy with them is just immense, irreplaceable. I can feel the joy and love you have from the last paragraphs you wrote.

P.s. I would never tire reading a 2000 word blog if I knew it comes from you.

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Ah, bless. What a generous post, full of love! (!LUV)

Totes to dancing our asses off in PH. πŸ’ƒ

Yes! I'd love to see you here in AU. πŸ€—

Masks with glasses = boo! 😫

I'm definitely going to borrow your idea of meeting a Hivean in every country/place I will visit in the future! You included. It's different and amazing when you get to meet them in person thats for sure.

Good! I think there's so much more depth we can reach in our relationships by meeting people in person. Plus it can be hella fun! πŸ˜ƒ

Wishing I was there with you (or perhaps with my future life partner) walking down that beautiful scenery.

Oooh, good imagining. Love it !LADY

P.s. I would never tire reading a 2000 word blog if I knew it comes from you.

Bless. Thank you, babe. You propel me forward as a writer and encourage my expression when you write things like this. Thank you so much. xxx

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What wonderful pictures! <3

I'm so sorry about your finger.

How funny to imagine you being the only one with a mask in the place hahaha :D

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It looks like an awesome experience :) For the hard beds and cold rooms, why not pack foam sleeping mats, and an extra blanket or one of those mini electric heaters?

This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project

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Thanks for the curation, @wrestlingdesires. And with a multi city trip like this there was definitely no room for extra things like foam mats and mini heaters. Definitely something to consider for road trip where we have a whole car!

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Hellooo. 😁

Just getting to see this. I've been away for quite a while.

I'm delighted your trip went well. I enjoyed going through every part of your account of events. πŸ˜…

(as much as I'd love to visit you @monioluwa I'm not sure I'm ever going to feel safe travelling to Nigeria... but who knows!)

I totally understand. The security issue here is a bit concerning, but things are starting to get better in most parts. The men and women of the armed forces have been intensifying their efforts lately and they're doing a pretty great job. We still have a long way to go, but I believe we're heading in the right direction.

You should know that it means a lot to me that you'd even consider visiting me. Thank you very much. 😊 I'd definitely drop by to pay you and Brad a visit if I ever get to travel to Australia or anywhere nearby.

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The security issue here is a bit concerning, but things are starting to get better in most parts. The men and women of the armed forces have been intensifying their efforts lately and they're doing a pretty great job. We still have a long way to go, but I believe we're heading in the right direction.

Yay for progress! Fingers crossed it just gets better and better. Even if we were never to visit I would still wish for a more peaceful and safe place for you and your family to live.

You should know that it means a lot to me that you'd even consider visiting me. Thank you very much. 😊

That, my friend, is called being friends ☺️ Even if we only get to chat this way it doesn't matter. I have the feeling that if we were ever able to sit over a table filled with Jollof rice πŸ˜‰ we'd have a fabulously long conversation that went for many hours πŸ˜„

I'd definitely drop by to pay you and Brad a visit if I ever get to travel to Australia or anywhere nearby.

If you ever manage that please do come and try to visit us. But be forewarned, Australia is BIG πŸ˜‚ So if you're ever travelling to this part of the world do look up where we are. Until further notice, unless we're travelling our home is Brisbane (Queensland).

Hope your studies over Christmas went okay??

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Hi. Apologies for taking this long to reply. It's almost two months and I really do hope it's not too late to have a discussion about Christmas in February. πŸ˜…

Yay for progress! Fingers crossed it just gets better and better. Even if we were never to visit I would still wish for a more peaceful and safe place for you and your family to live.

Thank you very much. The situation is actually better than the last time we spoke, but elections are coming up soon, and there's a wave of mixed feelings across the nation. Despite contrary predictions, I'm looking forward to a violence-free election exercise.

That, my friend, is called being friends ☺️ Even if we only get to chat this way it doesn't matter. I have the feeling that if we were ever able to sit over a table filled with Jollof rice πŸ˜‰ we'd have a fabulously long conversation that went for many hours πŸ˜„

I feel that way as well. πŸ˜… We never can tell what fate has in store for us - we might eventually get to have that conversation. πŸ˜‰

If you ever manage that please do come and try to visit us. But be forewarned, Australia is BIG πŸ˜‚ So if you're ever travelling to this part of the world do look up where we are. Until further notice, unless we're travelling our home is Brisbane (Queensland).

Thanks for the warning. πŸ˜… I'd definitely do that.

Hope your studies over Christmas went okay??

It did actually. Made me realize how much I had to cover in a very short amount of time. Had to do away with lots of non-academic activities to catch up and I'm glad I did.
Just finished exams a couple of days ago, so I'm back here on Hive (at least till I have to write another exam).

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It's almost two months and I really do hope it's not too late to have a discussion about Christmas in February. πŸ˜…

!LOL Definitely not too late 😁

The situation is actually better than the last time we spoke

Oh good!

I'm looking forward to a violence-free election exercise.

I will pray with you for it to be so. πŸ™

We never can tell what fate has in store for us - we might eventually get to have that conversation. πŸ˜‰

That would be fab!

Had to do away with lots of non-academic activities to catch up and I'm glad I did.

Good!

Just finished exams a couple of days ago, so I'm back here on Hive

Yay!!! πŸ€Έβ€β™€οΈπŸ€Έβ€β™‚οΈπŸ€Έ

(at least till I have to write another exam).

πŸ˜‚ Hahaha. Makes sense. I'll look forward to seeing what conversations we can have on here until then.

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