014. Solo Travel: Australia

Episode 014 - Solo Travel – Australia: where I discuss my 3-month trip to Australia and New Zealand and the forever friends I met there.

I worked for the same company in the DMV (that’s Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia) for 26 years but then I did something totally out of the ordinary. What did I do? I volunteered to be laid-off. 

The company was hurting financially, and they were laying off groups of people every month so… I volunteered at the age of 50 to be laid off. My upline was, of course, shocked but I figured that for 26 years of loyal and dedicated service, I deserved to be treated with respect as I walked out the door, unlike most people who get laid-off and are literally dragged out the door and can barely get their purse or their keys. And respect is what I got. I planned this lay-off exit over eight months…

So what does this have to do with Australia? Well, one of my lifelong travel dreams was to visit Australia. However, I knew I wouldn’t get my fill of the continent in a 2-week run-through as most people do, so I plotted for a longer stay.  I retired with nearly three million points and miles all for my 3-month Australia and New Zealand retirement trip.

 Almost every flight and hotel to and between Australia and New Zealand cost me slightly less than two million points and miles and because of my consulting strategies, I had high status in the four major US hotel groups and two of the three major US airline alliances. 

 So from February 1, 2018 through April 29, 2018, I visited the following cities and met some incredible people:

(1) Sydney, Australia;

(2) Launceston, Tasmania;

(3) plus a 10-day escorted tour around Tasmania;

(4) Hobart, Tasmania; 

(5) Melbourne, Australia; 

(6) one month in New Zealand visiting both the North and South Islands; 

(7) back to Sydney, Australia again; 

(8) Brisbane, Australia;

(9) Cairns (Great Barrier Reef), Australia;

(10) Perth, Australia;

(11) Yulara (Uluru/Ayers Rock), Australia; 

(12) Adelaide, Australia;

(13) Canberra, Australia;

(14) Melbourne, Australia again; and 

(15) Sydney, Australia again

I was truly saddened to leave. After 55 years, the freedom of waking up and getting ready for the day (or not), going where and when I wanted to, and not worrying about being pulled over by corrupt cops or someone shooting me down because of the color of my skin was, to say the least, a huge relief. 

I truly made some “forever friends” on my Australia and New Zealand 3-month odyssey. We are all facebook friends but for the majority of them we also email and/or message each other on a regular basis, just to keep up-to-date on our lives.

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