Pet Friendly Travel: The good and bad

Like every good retiree we decided to head North for some more sunshine and where the days are warmer, however this time we decided to take Teddy and see what a pet friendly holiday was like.  Why?  We feel pretty horrible leaving him every time we go away - he gets the shakes every time we get the suit cases out, he knows we are leaving him and now that D2 doesn't live at home anymore, it was a case of what do we do with him, so we decided to give it a go, see what it's like and if it works for us.

Travelling with a pet is less spontaneous than we like it and we did have to do a lot of research on pet friendly accommodation in the areas we wanted to go to, and obviously book in advance. Beware though if travelling with your pet because not every pet friendly place is created equal.  There are lots of rules associated with pet friendly travel so ensure you check these out prior to making your booking.

I was amazed though that places that are pet friendly generally don't provide some sort of enclosed  veranda area on the room or fenced grass areas were pets can easily roam in a safe environment unleashed - so while they have the rules for you and your pet, they don't help generally in making this easier to abide by.  Open verandas mean you either have to keep your dog inside even if you are out on the veranda soaking up the sun, views etc while there - obviously making mishaps more likely , or on a lead.  Even taking them for their you know whats in open yards means leads when you have a dog like Teddy who will have a go at anyone, or anything it makes for your well behaved pet rules difficult to uphold. Obviously I also felt more comfortable in places that had tiled floors and not carpets just in case there was an accident.  So I would highly recommend you check out these things with the establishment if they are important to you and they were not things I thought about while booking - as I had assumed the rooms themselves would be more pet friendly.

I must admit I had never really noticed before how many people do travel with pets before, but let me assure you its becoming quite a common thing.  Even Virgin now are providing "Points for Pets" and one establishment we stayed in said they had to restrict rooms for animals to 2 only at any point given the amount of people now travelling with their pets, or otherwise the whole place is full of dogs - interesting.  

Road trips for me should be something where you meander along, stop and take in places you haven't been to before, take that turn off that 40kms off the highway and have a look so the advance booking does make this more difficult, and of course anyone who has traveled the road from Brisbane to North Queensland will tell you, its a long drive at the best of times.

Travelling with Ted though was difficult, and it did seem like all we did when we stopped was to try and get him to pee, eat, have a drink etc - to some extent it was worse than travelling with a baby.  He was excellent I will say and slept most of the way each day, but trying to find the right place to stop where he could get out and wander on his own without being on a lead also made the travelling tedious.

He was much better in the places we stayed at for more than 1 night, as he got use to the conditions, found is little routines and learnt his boundaries, but I would say for a dog like Teddy, the trip was probably more stressful for him than being at a kennel where he might well feel shaky for a day or two but not all the time as he seemed to with the road travel.

After a big morning out on the beach at 1770 where the weather was perfect I found myself needing to take Ted back to the room for a sleep, and again it reminded me of when the kids where babies, so that was somewhat annoying as well.

If you have an older dog and one that doesn't have a need to bark at everything, one that can just go to sleep anywhere it might be OK, but with a dog like Teddy who won't relax anywhere out in the open, who can't help himself from barking and growling at everyone he meets, and who is not keen to leave his scent anywhere it was a hard holiday.

The other thing to take into consideration if travelling with a pet is while the accommodation may well be pet friendly," is the general area?". We stayed 3 nights at Airlie Beach and while the accommodation here was the most pet friendly we came across - the area generally was not ie:  No Dog signs everywhere even on the main walking trail around the foreshores, (we resorted to putting Teddy in a bag which of course he didn't mind at all, just so we could  walk the beach area) something we didn't take into consideration and of course that made going anywhere hard and made the stay far less enjoyable.

You will pay more at each place you stay for cleaning, and that's OK, however none explained what exactly they did extra - which made me a bit suspect, I was happy to pay extra and in fact felt that this was more than fair and reasonable, however when their rules say no dogs on furniture I wondered if they properly cleaned down the furniture just in case, or if they took doonas off the beds and washed these in case.  

Top Tips for Travelling with a PET

• Check out the accommodation prior to leaving - establish if veranda areas are enclosed, if the internal areas are tiled or carpeted if this is important to you
• Book in advance and ensure they know you have a pet and let them know what type of pet you have
• Check out the pet rules and ensure you are happy with these prior to booking
• Be prepared to pay extra for cleaning
• Establish if the general area you are going to is pet friendly

Will we do the PET FRIENDLY holiday again, I doubt it - we ended up paying more in extra cleaning fees than a kennel would have cost, most of the places while pet friendly in so much as your pet could stay, where not pet friendly in their layouts for us and I really do not think Teddy enjoyed himself all that much and it definitely cramps your style if you want to eat out, go to places etc.  If you are just going to one place, and its layout is for you and your pet and you don't really want to do anything but sit somewhere its probably OK but for us we like a bit of action and Teddy was definitely an impediment to achieving a great holiday status for us. 

Getting in the groove

Next week marks our 1 year anniversary to tendering our resignations and the start of our NINKER (No Income No Kids Earlier Retirement) journey.  Whilst we both handed in our resignations the same week Derek was finished up almost immediately in a very ungrateful for your 3am starts and 10pm finishes, 7 days a week for 14 years service while I had a 3 month handover period and a very lovely departure and  presentation/party even getting the Rolex in thanks.  

This milestone however started me thinking of the various changes we have been through over the last 12 months, the emotional changes, the physical changes, the financial changes and of course the mental changes.  While we holiday, while out walking on the beaches , picnicking or at cooking schools etc, we seem to come across a lot of early retirees like us - not the aged 65 plusers, but the 50 somethings who have gone we want to make that change, cross that line and take some chances, however most of us when we have our 10 mins of conversation talk a lot about the changes NINKERING and early retirement brings.

This started me thinking about the various changes our NINKERING early retirement journey has taken us though.

So 12 months ago I was feeling somewhat scared to tender my resignation after 9 years of service, friendships and the change it would bring to my life- for those who know me I am not afraid of change in fact I have always tried to embrace it have always tried to push both family and colleagues to change - after all if we never changed we would never achieve and to quote Price Prichett - "Change always comes bearing gifts" is something I have always truly believed in.  Nevertheless you still get that sinking feeling when resigning, never quite sure how it will be taken so this time last year I was feeling scared, apprehensive and of course a little giddy.

In the first few months of NINKERING you can't help but want to start with a bang, and show the world and all the doubting Thomas's exactly the freedom you are experiencing - you wake up in these first few months ready to go where you have never gone before either via travel, learning, doing nothing - but it seems like everyone generally wants to travel without being time bound, without thinking about work (alas technology has robbed us in the last 10 years of ever getting away from work) and of course without thinking about going back.  You feel foot loose and fancy free and you don't really think too much about finances etc at this point, its about doing and going for it.  You feel alive and free, you feel a sense of satisfaction with your choice and of course you just have a general feeling of happiness.

Once the initial euphoria rubs off and you get into the head space well this is life now as a retiree, I can begin to slow it down a little I don't have to be globe trotting everyday and of course for most of us we can't afford to, so after about 3 months you sort of start going back to some basics and begin to look at your finances.  Everyone I speak to seems to have the 3 month time bomb or bugger me moment when you look at what you spent in the last few months and come to that realization that there is no money or not much money coming in anymore and think to yourself " how do we sustain this?"  At this point you change again and tend to get a little scabby and start looking at the things you can do that don't cost anything, you start looking at your bills and shopping habits (no more I will get that just in case, or I love that dress must have it) and get frugal - again this is what we experienced and what others have suggested was about their time line (obviously it may be less or more). Its a bit like a period of morning I suppose as you grieve for a steady income and at times you feel a little sad as you wonder how do I keep this going for longer - can I keep this going for longer.  Its also about the time people start calling you wanting to know if you are ready to go back to work, offering jobs etc - its seems like the 3 month time period is what people think will bring you back to reality and maybe in our new fast paced world long service leave should be shortened from 10 years to 7 or 8 years so that people can get that break that is needed.  At this point you feel financially you probably should, but you don't feel emotionally its right - so its a time where you have mixed feelings - financially probably should, emotionally probably shouldn't.  Some people do go back at about this time because they can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Don't worry though this period only lasts a short while 2-3 months maybe.

Of course this period  doesn't last forever because after being scabby you go was this what it was about, and of course the answer here is NO, so at about 6 months or so you work out the balance.  You begin to think about downsizing some assets ie house, boat etc to cash up a bit more, up-sizing others ie:  for us we up-sized the car so that road travel would be more comfortable and really started to think of things you wanted to achieve, places you want to go to and begin to start thinking outside the box - finding that fine balance between feeling more comfortable about your lot, what you have and that I can do this - as long as we don't do that.   You start to look for the best value you can get from things and just like a corporate balance sheet you learn how to blend in the important elements into your plan.

So we are now getting in the groove of retirement - some days well we don't do much, other days we don't stop.  We have learnt to be comfortable with what we have and we have become better at stretching our dollar further (that will be another blog) - become better hagglers, better at waiting and being more patient for that travel deal, learning to live on less when we need to so we have more when we want it.  We have begun new thought journeys for the long term and changing the status quo slightly to ensure we continue to mix it up and continue NINKERING and early retirement longer.

Getting into the groove takes a little time no matter what you do, and retiring is no different you will go through change no doubt about that.  You will have ups and downs, and then you will find that happy medium that place where you feel the mix is right for long term enjoyment.

My thought to leave you on is:  "the thing about plans is everyone has one until they take the first punch".

The problem with pets

For those who follow my blog you will know that D1 gave us a dog to begin our NINKER journey - Little Teddy the chihuahua.  Now we love Ted dearly, and to be honest he provides us with a great deal of motivation to often get out when maybe we wouldn't have and of course he tends to keep us active.  He has provided us thus far with so much entertainment and laughter which is good for the soul.  If you haven't watched - The most fabulous adventures of Lil' Ted  One of Teds adventures on youtube, then you should you will see what I mean.

When D2 lived with us, we always had a baby sitter for Teddy when we went off on our journeys and of course we take him on the boat which he loves but now that she has moved out we have to either take him or put him in a kennel, which I am not sure is fair on him, so we have decided to do a road trip with him.

Travelling however takes on a new perspective if you want to take your pet.  While lots of websites have pet friendly accommodation listed (wotif, stayz etc) when you travel with a pet you have to be well organised and do a lot of communication with people prior to leaving to establish exactly how pet friendly they may be - because like a lot of things pet friendly has a wide range of different meanings.

So taking possession of our new SUV this week, we wanted to head North where the days are that 4-5 degrees warmer, try out the new vehicle and we wanted to take Teddy so we understand the process of travelling with a pet.  Generally when we do a road trip we just go and head in the general direction and stop where ever we feel is good for as long as we want to be there - and when its just two of you this is quite easy at this time of the year.  You don't really have to pre-book and generally you can get cheap rates.

It took nearly two days of web searching to establish pet friendly accommodation in the approximate areas we felt we would go to taking into consideration comfort stops etc and the amount of daily travel, we definitely wanted to be on the beach, so Derek could do his metal detecting and I could do some photography, go on walks with Ted and enjoy the beach.  Sounds too easy doesn't it!

I will say after finding the right places, everyone was quick to reply to my emails regarding their particular pet rules and after a weekend of back and forth we finally planned our trip, which ended up changing given there wasn't as many establishments along the journey that where actually pet friendly so while we were planning on going up to Townsville via the coast and back inland there was not much in the pet friendly area after Airlie Beach and nothing inland at all - so my advice would be if you are travelling with a pet and don't have your own caravan 

• check it out prior to leaving - don't just get a list of pet friendly places and hope you can get in as often they only have 1 room that they use as pet friendly, and often they are not allowed inside etc
• communicate with properties and then make your booking
• be prepared for additional costs over what is advertised on websites for cleaning - which I do think is fair enough I wouldn't like to think these places where not properly cleaned after animals had been in there - but it does add to your overall costs

I suppose in a few weeks I will be able to tell you if travelling with a pet is good or bad and no doubt there will be a blog, photos and videos of our trip.  So here is to a new adventure, one I would never have thought I would be doing 12 months ago - but hey nothing we are doing now was in the plan 12 months ago - live dangerously I say and try new things.

Reflection & Perfection

Ahhh week days on the Broadwater in winter - Perfection!  There is nothing better generally than boating in winter, and I say generally because like all things there are the odd moments when things happen, but more on that later.

One of the things I do love about boating in the winter months especially when the days are warm and waters like sheets of glass is that everything is reflected on the water and it just looks so beautiful, I seem to take a lot of photos on days like these because there just seems to be so many beautiful shots to be had and I always want to remember them and of course share them.  We of course have this at home as well on these lovely days which is great to sit back after a hard days laboring work. Even rainbows look better on the water!Click here for the full reflections album

I feel so lucky on days like we have had over the last few weeks when you can find that lovely little spot, not too many people around you, one of the many great things about week day boating,  take a refreshing and I mean refreshing dip (it certainly lets you know your alive) because the days are warm enough to dry off quickly and to meander along the beach.  

We have spent the better part of the last 3 weeks out on the boat to enjoy these types of days, only coming home on weekends to entertain family and friends and put the finishing touches on our building works (like painting and tiling).

We generally choose to go out during the week as the water ways are quiet and you have space unlike weekends and its peaceful.  Our days are filled with our little hobbies and things we enjoy doing that fill in the day - which generally go too fast at this time of the year with the sun setting so early, and we generally hit the sack about 8 pm exhausted for what can only be some of the most restful night sleeps with a gentle rocking.

So what do we do all day? 

Teddy of course keeps us on our toes taking him out for long beach walks and runs but this is good for us as well and if it wasn't for him, there might be days when I didn't get off the boat - but he needs to get out for you know what and the more exhausted he gets the better he is on the boat.

I take photos and can quite often walk and sit on the beach for hours watching the birds, boats and views while Derek of course loves his metal detecting and fishing - he does quite well on these beaches and most days finds up to $10 or more in coins and the odd piece of jewelry.

Having a swim, reading a good book on the back of the boat in the sunshine with a nice glass of wine seems to fill in the rest of the day and feels so decadent at this time of the year to be sitting with your togs on, enjoying the sunshine and totally chilled out watching the magic of nature - birds, fish, kangaroos, sunrises and sunsets and the other funny things you see out on the water - like a flying boat!

Given the last 9 years I have spent working the June long weekend I was intent on staying out over the weekend which started off perfect, we moved from where we had been for the week which generally gets crowded on weekends and decided to get a good anchorage in a channel further up where we are generally well protected from winds etc and lots of other boaties.  Friday was great with one or two other boats moored there, but by Saturday it seemed like every person on the water had decided to join us in our tranquil spot as the weather started to turn a little nasty - the joys of boating I suppose, its part of it. So much though for red sky at night sailors delight.

Saturday night I just couldn't sleep as the winds got up to 60 knots and torrential rains started - while I let Derek sleep about 10 pm our lovely peaceful little channel turned into chaos as boats started to loose their moorings and binamis started to be ripped off - I woke Derek up as a house boat that had come loose charged down the channel collecting 2 other boats along the way and of which we were lucky to have escaped.  All of a sudden boats where going everywhere and by now we had also dragged and where sitting in the mangroves (not a good place to be).  What to do?  Given it was high tide and while in the mangroves we did had water around us at this time so we decided the night wasn't going to get better and decided to up anchor and come home.  Doesn't sound too bad you are thinking, except we had never driven the boat at night before (but we tried to keep a cool head and think of the things we needed to do before leaving like setting the nav equipment to night view, ensuring the spotty was working and we had a Thermos of boiling water for coffee) and getting out the channel was made all the more difficult given boats where now loose and going all over the shop.  With the rain in our faces as we had to have our heads out of the windows to see, freezing cold and especially dark we slowly made our way home and at 2 am we pulled into our dock and tied off, wet, freezing and adrenaline high.  As we pulled in and I jumped off the back to tie us up my only thought was "legs don't leave me now".  The waterways were very dark and with the rain it was hard to get your bearings - but we know these channel well and between us we where able to slowly navigate our way back home for our first night travel.  Now we can truly say we are sailors as we have now been there and done that!

Cooking up a storm (of a different type) last weekend kept me busy for a few days as we enjoyed the company of good friends with a fabulous Indian Banquet all made by yours truly.  Including:

Malibu mango lassies with spicy nuts and poppadoms with cream and mango chutney

Laksa and prawn shooters

Tandoori chicken and beef samosas

Pepper chicken, beef madras, lamb korma, mango chicken curry plus all the good sides

Date and cream crepes

Impi cream and fig ice-cream

This plus finishing off our patio - painting, tiling and major clean up job of the deck and patio after 3 months of it being ripped apart and tradies everywhere kept us busy with honest hard work, but again we did it ourselves to save money something we would never have done in the past as well as keeping fit and rounding off our last few weeks. 

A Food Fest

We seem to be eating our way around the Gold Coast lately, with all the major holidays now over, tourist season completed for yet another year and restaurant deals aplenty.  Yesterday was a perfect example of NINKERS waiting for a lovely day and ready to take on a bargain at Paradise Point, all the restaurants in the street were full of 50 plusers as the $17- $20 lunch deals where taken up - and to be honest you really can't go past them - 2 courses and a wine in a perfect location on the beach.  Great value, great location, good food!

Then

Now

We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and wanted to go somewhere a little more special so headed to one of my all time favorite places The Sheraton Marina Mirage at Main Beach.  They still have one of the best buffets around and right now they are doing their lunchtime winter specials at $45 a head.  Its hard to find any where in the world that has a view like this place and during the week there are not a lot of people around so the atmosphere for lunch is perfect.  Left there feeling a lot fatter than I arrived.  It was lovely to see them bring out our Happy Anniversary platter even though we hadn't arranged for it, when we arrived they just asked where we celebrating anything special and at the end of our gorging they arrived with yet another plate of yummies (I probably would not have had a plate full of delectable deserts if I had know this was coming).  So do you think we have changed much in 25 years!

Loving the High Tea we took D1 to Choccolato at Harbourside Markets for a 22nd Birthday lunch where once again we where filled with fabulous tastes and flavors.

Honestly if you think you will loose weight when you retire, I would think again!  

We had been planning to take our 3 month UK trip today but have been caught up in getting some major repairs done on our home which started to appear during the wet wet wet days in January.  I could easily begin ranting here on the inadequacies of BSA (Building Services Authority) and also of APIA the seniors insurer who to be honest both let us down - I have to laugh every time that APIA add comes on saying "call us for a chat", as communication is not a high point for this lot, but after nearly 4 months of trying to deal with both groups above, we just got on with the task of repairs so our house looks a bit like a war zone at the moment and of course having builders etc around for the last 3 weeks has meant we have not had as much time to get away as much as we would have liked and that we had to cancel our trip to the UK for now anyway, we really need to get everything fixed before we can embark on any major travels.  I can however feel a cruise somewhere in a warmer climate coming on as the days here begin to get too cold for me, but until these works are finished I can't really book anything.

It's Sanctuary Cove Boat Show weekend now so will be heading down there for a few days of great  fun - even if you are not into boating I have to say it is a great day out if you live in this area and always full of great food, shows and of course boats to drool over.

Hopefully by my next blog all the building will be completed and we have gone further afield than we have recently.

Stunning Stanthorpe - Queensland's Wine Capital

The past few weeks have seen us very busy with some great road trips and of course with the fantastic weather a lot of boating. Click here for the full Stunning Stanthorpe Album 

Toasting Marshmallows - Yumbo

Todays blog though is all about Stanthorpe and its surrounding areas, which make for a great short break at this time of the year, the days are so glorious with the nights being just chilly enough to enjoy a fantastic fire in the late afternoon.

It's a place I have always wanted to go to because over the years people I have known to go there love it so much and I can understand why, it really is such a great place for a long weekend and you do feel a million miles away - very similar to the Italian and French country areas we have been to with plenty of different things to do, see and experience.

After scouring through websites, we decided to stay at  Honeysuckle Cottages - taking my 81 year old Mum with us for her birthday, we wanted a 2 bedroom possie, plus why go and stay in a standard Motel , we wanted somewhere quaint and charming plus enjoy wood fires to ensure the break had all the trappings.  Honeysuckle Cottages didn't disappoint it was fantastic, their website and booking services are also outstanding allowing you to pre-book dinner at their own Restaurant The Rocks, order cheese platters and wine tours so costs where kept under control.

A short break in the rest area

The drive from the Goldy was great, even going through Cunninghams Gap seemed to be significantly better than it was years ago - the roads have been well upgraded in this area making the drive much more comfortable than in times past.  With the rain etc the countryside was at its best with lush green grasses and autumn reds, yellows and oranges everywhere. Simply Stunning!

Taking our time to meander to Stanthorpe with some nice short coffee breaks in parks our cabin at Honeysuckle Cottages didn't disappoint - we even got a free bottle of wine for Mum's birthday.  Then along came our breaky basket - we weren't anticipating this but WOW heaps of bacon, sausages, about 2 dozen egges, milk, juice and a basket of spreads - more than enough to keep our strengths up over the days.  Its the small things like this that ensure guests have a great value for money time.

Being mid Friday afternoon by the time we got there and settled in we decided to hit the town and the museum to fill in the rest of the day before our dinner at the Rocks that night.  Must say some fabulous clothes shops in town especially if you are looking for something special in the jumper/jacket area.

At this time of the year it does start to come in chilly by about 4 oclock, so off we went back to our snug cottage to partake in toasted marshmallows and smores at the fire place - yummy!

The Rocks Restaurant a short stroll on the property from our cuddly cabin and was fantastic with a lot of ambiance, good service and food well worth it and of course fully included through our booking.

First Wine Tasting at Symphony Hill Wines

Next morning off we went on a full days winery tour of the region, with Filippo's Tours, good group of people and a great host in Tony for the day. We learnt a lot about the area, tasted fantastic wines everywhere we went, stopped at a few good specialty food shops (Mt Sterling Olives, Cheese Factory and a few others all with good sampling available) and of course a terrific lunch at Sheraz.  There is no shortage of wineries in this area with some 50 odd  of which we visited 7 so a full on day finishing up at around 5pm. There is plenty to do in this area - but be aware most places are not open during the week so it is really a long weekend town.

Having had the Town and Country experience, the Wine Touring we decided on Sunday to head to Girraween National Park for the bush experience.  There are some great walks in this area some difficult right up to Bald Rock, and others that are not so onerous which is of course were the ones we did.  The day was perfect for these nice easy bush walks and the views, scenery and landscapes where beautiful and refreshing.

Mum & Derek doing some Metal Detecting

On the drive back from Girraween we detoured via Storm King Dam - yet another little treasure in this area with beautiful picnic areas, lovely water and generally just a great outlook for a nice afternoon tea.

I would highly recommend Stanthorpe for a weekend with a difference at this time of the year.

200 Days of NINKERING

So today marks our 200th day of NINKERING!  YAY!  As I sit here writing this blog I started to think about how I feel and what we have done and have we used our time wisely, and also contemplate some of the questions I have fielded from friends, acquaintances and obviously ex work buddies given this small milestone in our journey.  What would we do differently if we knew what we know now?

So in answering a few questions that have been posed to me which may help other NINKERS.

Are you bored yet?

Sure there are boring days, but there always was and no doubt always will be.  Days when it pours with rain day in and day out get boring but again they do for everyone.  Other than those types of days where its just hard to do anything, go anywhere generally there haven't been too many boring days.

What do you miss most about working?

The salary of course!  The real issue for me on this for me is not money itself, but it's about not being able to be so generous and obviously needing to be more frugal.  I have always loved being able to be generous to friends and family in many different ways and spoil those I love and cherish.  Without a salary this takes a little more thought and you tend to loose the spontaneity.  In saying that there are ways you can be generous and time is one of those things - like helping Mum clean out her cupboards - once upon a time I probably would have paid someone to do this for her, but I have time on my hands now so off I went and did this job myself for her so the generosity just comes in a different format now and I got to spend a few hours having a chat to Mum which was nice.  So giving time to help others out is now the form of generosity we provide.

Are you sick of each other yet?

No not at all.  We always have some project on our plate, we are always organising something, planning things and of course doing - so there is always much to talk about and so far so good.

What do you hate most?

Large bills and especially those unexpected ones - we have had a couple of these and they can certainly destroy plans and make you nervous, however expect the unexpected I suppose and move on - they are what they are and they are there to remind us that being foot loose and fancy free has its moments.

What would you have done differently in planning for NINKERING?

Rid myself of money sucking assets and investments.  Negatively geared properties are great as a tax deduction when you are earning money, but they are money suckers when there is no income coming in - take your money and run would be my advice.

This leads me to the boat - an asset we get so much enjoyment out of, something we have had so many great weeks away in ...... but I would think about this asset more if I had my time over.  Don't get me wrong we love to go out for days at a time, waking up to beautiful mornings, fishing, swimming and long beach walks but it is in this style expensive.  Before NINKERING we didn't think too much about filling it up - but $1000 to fill up is expensive and when anything goes wrong it is always expensive ie:  when the fridge died it was $2000 to replace it (yes a small bar type fridge) boats are a bit like weddings everything costs more when its for a boat.  The jury is still out on the boat - when you are using it it is fabulous to be able to just get away but when its wet, raining and windy and you can't get out it seems like a big investment.

What do you love most?

Freedom, waking up everyday and feeling invigorated, never feeling sick and tired, never feeling like what battle will I be facing today and being truly happy every day - smiling and finding the funny side of everything.  I do feel the best I have in years like a burden has been lifted, but more importantly I am able to be the person I wanted to be - the fun loving person, the carefree person, the happy person and not the bitch, not the toe cutter, not the cranky bum.

So reflecting on 200 days - what have we done and have we used the time wisely?

Boating:  about 30 nights out, plus several day trips, fishing, swimming, walking the sand dunes so lets say 40 days have been spent boating.

Brisbane to Cairns 8 days of great fun and adventure and probably the best value for money week we have had.

Vanautu - 6 action packed days, pure fun and exhilaration - kayaking, snorkeling, jet skying and trying lots of new things.

Cruise Bangkok to Sydney:  20 days experiencing new cultures, new places, making new friends.  Bangkok touring, Veitnam, Singapore, Burnei, Darwin, Port Douglas and Sydney and of course that Harbour Bridge Climb - all things that evoke the senses.

Tassie 10 days of driving around Tassie and experiencing some of Australia's best landscapes followed by 3 days in Melbourne at it absolute most sunniest and spending time with good friends.

Day Trips:  20 days of general day trips around SE Queensland, going to the beach, metal detecting, going to the mountains - all things that are good fun, cost little especially if you pack a picnic but often you find the best little places for lunch that don't cost the earth which is nice, fun and adds to the days adventure.

Family Events 14 days - with Easter and Christmas shoveled in here we can say we have over 2 weeks served up at least 100 meals in just these 2 events - something we have really enjoyed so much, the ability to do this at your leisure and not hey I have to get this done in between working and then get it all cleaned up before going back to work.   

Lunches, Dinners and Parties 20 days - we have really enjoyed going out to nice places for lunch on beautiful days and entertaining friends or going out to dinner and or parties like Cup at the Cove, High Teas at Tea42 and other great days and nights out.

On wet days we have really enjoyed "Cheap Tuesdays" at the movies and cooking schools.  10 days

One area we have spent some time on is our health - after all this was what NINKERING was all about, doing and experiencing while we were young and healthy enough to do it, but also understanding our own health.  So about 10 days has been spent in getting blood tests, Mammograms  going to the dentist etc.

So that rounds out about 160 days out of 200 and at some point you do have to be at home to clean etc, but  have we used our time wisely - yes I think so!  I think we have done some great things but at the same time being comfortable with being at home and enjoying at home days as well catching up on things we had wanted to do for a long time - and while sometimes these seem mundane they are also good for the sole and you feel like you achieved something that had been annoying you forever.  

Has it cost more than expected, well yes and no, our day to day living is good, our holiday are in budget, we have enough thing that keep us busy without costing the earth, but bills are the things that are grey, but we always said this wouldn't last forever, but we would let it last as long as we could without leaving us broke - we will definitely see a year out and possibly more

We are now planning our UK trip (well maybe, but that's another story).

Are we having fun yet?  You bet and looking at this small collection of photos I think the smiles speak for themselves!