Up Up and Away (again)

Lauren –

Well it’s been quite the year. Our last blog entry was as we were escaping Brazil amongst the pandemic panic. After weeks (and weeks) of isolation in both New Zealand and Perth, we made it to Canberra and settled back into our lives, but we knew the next adventure was just around the corner! We loved our short six months in Canberra – catching up with friends, heading down to the coast for weekends away and enjoying the beautiful surrounds.

Amazing weekend on the NSW South Coast – shame about the shark that we spotted about 10m from us

It was actually a blessing in disguise that we were able to spend so much time in Canberra. We initially were only supposed to have a 4 week turn around, but the extra time gave us much needed space to settle back in from our 6 month adventure and prepare properly for our next.

Lots of zoom family chats, learning how to make bread and home style haircuts!

After six months of Canberra life we got the green light to pack up our bags (again) and head off to Papua New Guinea! I am posting to the Australian High Commission. We spent a lot of time (and money) buying sporting equipment, camping gear, non-perishable foods that might be hard to find in PNG and packed up our lives (again).

We said bye to our amazing little apartment and practised setting up our new tent on our lawn

After an extremely boozy bottomless brunch with the gang on our last weekend in Canberra we set off to the airport and entered the crazy world that is air travel in the time of COVID. A very familiar and exiting experience for us was turned on its head – we had gotten very used to exploring airports and duty free when on our trip. We had a quick stop over in Brisbane for the night before departing Australia for PNG!

So glad we got to say hello to little Solo before we left, Canberra put on a last spectacluar show and the airport was like an apocolapyse had hit!

Arriving in PNG was a whirlwind. We could feel a tropical warm breeze from an open window as we waited for our bags. Our masks became uncomfortable as we felt the familiar humid air.

Teary goodbyes in Canberra, beautiful Brisbane skyline and finally on the plane to PNG!

Our car was waiting for us as we walked outside and whisked us to our new apartment. We darted through the bustling streets (passing a few scary scenes along the way!) and arrived at our new apartment complex where we would be spending the next 7 days in isolation.

Our new home! We can’t wait for all out belongings to arrive so we can decorate!

So i’m sitting here now, on our last day of isolation waiting in anticipation to explore our new home. We both are really excited to see what PNG has to offer, experience world class diving, surfing and kitesufing, make new friends, immerse in new cultures and enjoy every second!