Two years ago, we hugged and kissed our families goodbye at Auckland Airport and boarded the plane to Canada. This would be our first step on our journey Around the World in Four Jandals. Right from the beginning, we had it in the back of our minds that we wanted to be away for a minimum of 3 years.
We had a rough idea that we would spend six months in Jasper high in the Rocky Mountains of Canada working at the local Ski Resort before making our way across to the United Kingdom for a two-year working holiday stint before heading to Asia for a year to teach English.
White Water Rafting Guide – Jasper, Canada
However, the most incredible thing I love about travel is that plans constantly evolve. We immediately fell in love with Jasper and stuck around for the summertime. I secured a job as a White Water Rafting Guide while Adela worked in the hospitality industry. This allowed us to explore our favourite adventure activities, including Hiking, Mountain Biking, Fishing, and Camping in one of the most stunning areas in the world.
Ready to Road Trip
Sadly our year quickly ended, so we embarked on an 18,000 km road trip from Jasper across the width of Canada before driving back through America. What a fantastic way to see both countries, and we only wish that we had more time to spend on that once-in-a-lifetime journey. It was a once-in-a-lifetime journey, but it is fair to say we plan to come back to North America and spend some quality time driving through all 50 States of America and exploring more of Canada’s wonderland.
Edinburgh Castle
With one year down and Adela’s British Passport, it was a no-brainer to follow the Kiwi tradition to work abroad in the UK, and securing the working visa for myself was relatively easy. Fortunately, we decided to move to Scotland and settle in Edinburgh rather than London. We love that we can walk everywhere and just 20 minutes drive from our house, we can be Mountain Biking on some single world-class tracks. And they have a freaking Castle in the middle of the City!
Marrakech Markets
Oktoberfest Celebrations
The primary reason we chose to move to the UK was that the benefits are that we can travel throughout Europe very easily. So far, we have knocked off Paris, Marrakesh, Ireland, and Munich for Oktoberfest. We also have several trips to Brussels, Bruges, Egypt and Amsterdam, and a future Cycle Tour along the River Danube and the Euro Velo 6 route.
One of the essential things to note is that there is no way we would have been able to enjoy the amount of travel or the length of the journey we have so far if we were not working in some form or another. We plan to break down all our jobs, savings, travel tips, and experiences in posts to come, so keep an eye out for those shortly. However, the best way for you to be kept up to date is to subscribe to our email list and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
So to wrap up, we are only two years in, and with only a few items on our Bucket List ticked off, we are already predicting we won’t be back to New Zealand for at least another two to three years (sorry, Mum and Dad) but we can’t wait to see what is next!
Let us know below in the comments if you have travel plans, are already travelling (and for how long), or have just finished up that trip of a lifetime. We want to hear from YOU!