As we make our way to the end of the year, I’m feeling reflective about the year that was.
Having just returned from a Darwin road trip followed by a solo New Zealand adventure, I realised that I managed to squeeze in a mammoth amount of travel this year! Here’s what 2022 held:
January: Coffs Harbour
Unsure about what the year ahead would bring in the travel department, my goal was to squeeze in as many short trips in as possible. We spent a long weekend in Coffs Harbour, going for bush walks, swimming in the ocean and exploring waterfalls.
February: South Australia
This is one of my favourite trips of all time. Jade, Syan and I hired a Jucy Campervan and spent ten days road tripping the coast of South Australia. We swam at the best beaches in Australia, saw the stunning pink salt lake and just had a freaking good time. The beaches in South Australia are unrivalled and I am desperate to return!
March: Port Macquarie
In March, I graduated from university. Mum, Dad, Jade and I road tripped up to Port Macquarie for another long weekend. This was a lovely mini trip where we went stand-up paddle boarding and ate delicious food.
April: Sydney
April was quiet except for my birthday where we spent a couple of nights in Sydney. We went indoor rock climbing, visited Luna Park, caught the ferry across the Harbour and had frozen margs at El Camino.
May: Melbourne
May called for a quick visit to Melbourne. I tagged along on my Mum’s work trip and spent a few days working from a hotel room, visiting the Science Gallery, drinking Matcha Lattes out of edible cups and checking out the Van Gough exhibition.
May – June: Europe Trip
2022 was the year we finally got to do (part of) ‘The Big Trip’. We spent four weeks exploring London, Paris, Zurich, Florence, Rome and Milan. This was the first trip that I properly vlogged and I will be forever grateful to have these memories to look back on! Highlights of the trip included meeting Jade’s extended family in England, the perfect Airbnb in Paris, day trips to Cinque Terre and Positano and spending our last day in Venice.
August: New Zealand
Mid-year, we were lucky enough to return to my favourite country, New Zealand! This was a fun trip with friends and family where I skied and snowboarded for the first time, spent a day solo exploring Queenstown and went back to the infamous Glenorchy hut.
October: Canberra
October called for another work trip with my Mum. This time, we headed to Canberra for the weekend to watch a colleagues TedX Talk. We managed to squeeze in a trip to the Floriade flower show and rode electric scooters through the city.
October: Darwin
Another highlight of 2022 was visiting the Top End of Australia with my Dad. We spent a week road tripping from Darwin to Katherine and Kakadu National Park. We canoed in Katherine Gorge, saw crocodiles and buffalos on the Yellow Water Cruise and swam in countless waterfalls.
November: Solo NZ Road Trip
My proudest moment of 2022 was achieving my goal of travelling solo overseas. I took myself on a spontaneous trip back to New Zealand to road trip around the South Island. Highlights of this trip included making new friends, getting my first tattoo, paragliding, taking photos of myself on the tripod and doing my first solo hike.
I will be forever proud of myself for putting myself out of my comfort zone to achieve this huge personal goal.
What an incredible year! I felt a bit lost career-wise this year after finishing university and trying to figure out what to do next. But with the borders reopening, I managed to fit in so many trips – both very long and just a couple of nights. It’s interesting to reflect on what I prioritised this year, and that was definitely travel.
This year I also spent a lot of time teaching myself video editing. I’m so proud of all the vlogs I produced and am excited to grow and learn more within this practice. I also feel like my photography has improved significantly, which is very exciting. In 2023, I’m taking a photography course to level up even further.
So what’s next? I don’t think 2023 won’t hold as much travel as 2022. Instead, I will be taking time to focus on my life at home, my career and getting back into studying. I have taken a new full time job, which I will do alongside my photography course. I intend to continue vlogging and will fit some smaller trips around work.
My 2023 travel goals include:
- Visiting a new country in August
- Returning to Japan at the end of the year
- Taking advantage of weekend for mini adventures
2023 is going to look very different, and I can’t wait to see what it holds!
You can check out my other travel guides for more inspiration. Follow my adventures on Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube.
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