Rich and Katie's Adventures Abroad

11/03/2023

11/03/2023

11/03/2023

Great Ocean Road! (End of December...We're getting there people)

We spent a few days travelling the great ocean road and it did not disappoint! We drove almost to the end of the road the first day, where we were able to crash on a friend of a friends farm for the night before heading back the next day. It was quite an experience, full of "are we on the right property?" and "this doesn't feel like the spot." We did manage to touch base to figure out we were in fact in the right location and it turned out really great.

The road was pretty incredible. Forever winding, and about as close as you could get to the ocean without actually falling down into it. Katie had a meltdown trying to drive the van for pretty much the first time, as she found herself stuck on a hill and having to merge into traffic. We got her through it unscathed.

We stopped at the Salty Dog for some fish and chips on our way through Lorne, spent some time at Bell's Beach near Torquay, and checked out some cool geology sites for Katie at the Three Sisters. It seemed to fly by, was a bit stressful, but overall a great way to start life on the road in the van.

It was not long before we were passing through Melbourne, saying our goodbyes, and spending the night in a rest stop parking lot. Lot's more adventures to come and we will share more frequently what we have been up to.

Rich and Katie❤️

04/03/2023

Our first road trip to Wilson’s Promontory! (Late December. Turns out we are not good at blogging)

So for our last week in Melbourne we decided it would be good to take the van on a test run. We landed on Wilson’s Prom basically by chance. We looked at the map, saw some gorgeous beaches, and decided it looked nice. And boy it did not disappoint!

It was only a 2.5hr drive and everything ran quite smoothly. Within minutes of entering the park we saw our first kangaroos of the trip. We arrived at the campground and started unpacking and setting up. Everything on the way was working great. It was quite a comfortable set up.

The next few days we just enjoyed the beautiful white sand beaches, gorgeous stars at night, and encounters with some cheeky wombats. It was a great way to get ourselves used to living in the van, and surely gave us a good sense of how beautiful the country is.

Rich and Katie

04/02/2023

Melbourne pt 2

We are nearing the end of our stay in Melbourne/St. kilda. It’s been just over a month now, and we have been able to relax and also spend lots of time touring around this beautiful city. We both joined the local health club, where we like to spend mornings doing the various classes they have to offer, and finish with some time in the pool and hot tub. The gym is right on the beach and it seems sort of surreal that this has been our life so far! Katie has enjoyed doing the different yoga classes, and I have loved diving into the beginner boxing classes and getting back into the gym to lift weights. Definitely has helped keep the pounds off from all the baked goods we are eating.

We have found some local spots that we have sort of become regulars at which is cool. One of our favourites has been The Banff, which used to be an old army barrack for Canadian soldiers back in WWII. They have a great pizza and beer special which we just can’t say no to, especially when we don’t want to cook. Curry and a pint down the street at Freddie Wimpoles has also been one of our favourite things to do on a Wednesday night, and we can’t forget about the Friday afternoon power hour at The Fifth Province, where we get crispy cold pints of Guinness for only 4 bucks!

The city has had so much to offer (mostly their food and coffee culture). We spent an afternoon exploring the aquarium, which definitely did not disappoint. We were like little kids in that place and it was more fun than we thought we would have for sure.

For Christmas this year we treated each other to a ticket to Hamilton that was playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Christmas Eve. Absolutely incredible show. Katie cried three times. We had perfect seats, and relaxed as we sipped a complimentary glass of champagne and ice cream cone before the show. We finished the day off with an amazing steak dinner at the Mitre Tavern. It is the oldest establishment in Melbourne and has been there for over 100 years. It was an amazing end to our stay in St. Kilda.

Currently, we have just finished up purchasing our campervan which we will be living in for the next few months as we work our way up the coast to Brisbane! (We did already take a trial run with it to Wilson’s Promontory, which had some of the most spectacular beaches we have ever seen. Pictures to come!).

It is definitely bittersweet having to leave this place in a few days. Although we have spent our fair share of days doing nothing but laying around watching Netflix in the AC, we also have made such fond memories in our first month in Aus. We are excited to really get our adventure going, but are so thankful for the month we have spent settling into our year off, especially in city we are now so fond of.

The first few days on the road will be tackling the Great Ocean Road. Stay tuned.

We miss you all,

Richard and Katie

08/01/2023

We made it to Melbourne!

It is late November (24) and we have made it! We will spend the next 5 weeks getting our feet wet in Australia in a smaller area of town about 15 mins from downtown Melbourne called St. Kilda. We found a perfect Air BNB on Fitzroy ave that is loaded with lots of great food and places to grab a crispy pint! We are even a short walk to the gym that we signed up at for the next month. The last few days have been filled with wandering around town and trips to downtown (where we again walked aimlessly for hours) trying to get a feel for our surroundings. It’s quite beautiful here, despite the weather not quite being what we expected yet as it is not yet summer here. Stay tuned and we will update you after our first few weeks in St. Kilda!

05/01/2023

Bula from Fiji!

We are coming to you from our hotel on the beach in beautiful Nadi, Fiji! It only took 24hrs of travel time but we made it! We had to spend 15hrs in the L.A airport after taking an early morning flight from Vancouver. We decided it would be best to spend a bit of money to be able to kill the time in the airport lounge. It did not disappoint. Free coffee, alcohol, food, access to showers, and several places to lounge around. Definitely worth the money if you are ever stuck for an extended time in the airport 👌

Our 11hr flight was pretty comfortable, considering Richard never fits on planes. We opted for extra leg room and he was quite content. Lots of movies and naps helped pass the time, and before we knew it we were there.

It was still very early after taking the red eye, so when we got to the hotel we had to wait a while for our room. We sipped coffee and then a cocktail by the ocean and got our feet wet our first few hours on the island. We were about 20 mins from the main port in a small stretch of hotels on the beach, so it was quite quiet as we walked.

After we got our room, we fought as hard as we could to stay awake, but after fighting the jet lag for too long, we called it an early night (4:30pm...evening i guess) and went to bed. We didn't wake up until the next morning...

Our first full day, we decided to wander the neighbourhood we were in to grab a few groceries for our room, and just spent the day relaxing on the beach. Nothing too exciting but it was just what we needed.

Our second day was a Friday, and we planned an excursion to a beach resort called Malamala Beach Club. It was short taxi ride to the port, where we caught a 20 min ferry to the island. It really started to set in where we were once on the clear blue water with islands surrounding us. The beach club was absolutely gorgeous. We pulled into the dock which stretched out 100m from the island over the water. It was paradise. The island had cabanas, snorkelling gear, infinity pool with poolside bar and restaurant, and plenty of white sands to walk and relax on. We felt a bit out of place (mainly because of how pasty we were from the lack of sun the last few years lol) but we slowly settled in. We sipped a few cold local beers beachside, then decided to grab lunch and hop in the pool. The weather was perfect and we could have sat in that pool all day long for sure. We then headed out to the dock to dive into the crystal clear water and try our hand at snorkelling. Richard was struggling because the goggles kept flooding, but we were able to see some colourful fish and sea stars! Before we knew it the day was over, we were sunburnt, and hopped onto the ferry.

Day three was another excursion out to a small floating pizza bar in the middle of the ocean. Surrounded by islands (one of them we think was the filming location for the show Survivor), we got the chance to dive straight off the top of the bar and right into the water. It was absolutely incredible. The music was good, pizza was solid, and we just couldn't believe we had the chance to do something this cool. The pictures definitely don't do it any justice. The ferry ride back was even fun! The entire boat decided to erupt into a dance party and keep the party going. Some partied a bit too hard and ended up bent over the railing the entire ride back. A fun way to cap off an even better day.

The rest of our trip was pretty low key. We tried a few restaurants, some local dishes, and hung out in the pool at the hotel. One of our favourite dishes was ika vakalolo, which is a Fijian dish with local fish in a coconut cream stock, with fresh vegetables. Simple but delicious.

Fiji was overall a very cool experience. The people are quite nice, the scenery is amazing, and there is tons of stuff to do if you feel like an adventure. For us it was just a pit stop before Australia, but we were still able to find lots of things to enjoy for not that much money.

It's on to Melbourne now, where we will spend the next 5 weeks in St. Kilda, a smaller area of town about 15 minutes from downtown. See you there!

***See "Fiji" Album for pics**

04/01/2023

We made it to Salt Spring Island!

After a week in Regina, we were ready to move on to our next location! Our journey started navigating the trials and tribulations of the Canada airline system. After two flights, we made it to Vancouver with just the money in our pockets and the clothes on our backs! Literally, as both our bags were nowhere to be found. Definitely frustrating, however we tried not to let it bother us as we were treated by Katie’s long time friend Caitlin and her partner Alex. They started our time off with some great Mexican food at a spot near their place. Las Margeritas had fantastic tacos and burritos, and of course beer. Katie enjoyed a couple margaritas as she and Caitlin laughed and caught up after not seeing each other for a while. It was great.

We spent the night at their apartment before heading out to catch the ferry to Salt Spring Island early in the morning. Unfortunately, I was starting to feel quite ill, but I never complained….I swear…..

The ferry ride was long but quite beautiful. It slalomed through the various gulf islands in the Straight of Georgia. Definitely a fun experience.

From the ferry it was only a short ride to where we were staying. It was a beautiful home right on the water. The pictures don’t do any justice. The girls started the afternoon with some cocktails while I had a very long nap to get over whatever was plaguing my body lol. But soon. After a day or so I was back in action.

First day there, Caitlin and Katie spent some time touring some local shops and stopped into a cidery for some sampling. I spent the day in recovery. That night I was feeling much better and joined the group for some board games and Mario kart!

Day two was spent mostly hanging around the house, drinking cocktails, and once again playing too much Mario Kart and Overcooked. There were rivalries on the racetrack, but in the kitchen we were a well oiled machine.

Day three we started the day fuelling up with smoked meat sandwich at their famous Buzzy’s Luncheonette! Unreal smoked meat sandwhiches and the owner has a cool story as well.
After that we took a beautiful hike that definitely paid out with a breathtaking view at the summit. It was a pretty difficult hike, but well worth it. Since we did so much walking we figured it was only fair we stop at the Salt Spring Brewing co. on the way back 😊. Katie recommends the crème brûlée vanilla stout. I had a simple golden ale which was just fine for my simple palate.

Day four we took a trip to the driving range which was entertaining for more than one reason. It was a nice little morning with a bunch of laughs, more than a few shanks, and a couple cold drinks. Finished the rest of the day gathering some things to cook a nice dinner that night, some heated ping pong battles, and enough drinks to put down a horse 🍻

All in all, this part of our trip definitely provided some amazing memories with some great people. The island was gorgeous, the company was better. On to Fiji!

**Check out the Salt Spring album for pics

https://www.saltspringbrewing.com/beers

https://www.buzzys.ca/story

OUR STORY IN 2017...our family left Los Angeles and moved to Salt Spring Island B.C., where we opened a Jewish Deli on an Island with more bears than Jews. BUT LETS GO BACK A FEW YEARS TO MONTREAL, CANADA... ……where Howard (Buzzy) was born, and learned to love Montreal Smoked Meat s...

03/01/2023

Hello from Regina, Saskatchewan!

We started our journey from Yellowknife in early November with a brief stop in Regina, Saskatchewan. Here we were able to spend some time with Katie’s family. Although there was not much to do in the booming metropolis of Regina (let’s just blame it on a snowstorm that battered the area for most of the trip), we spent some quality time with her brother and his wife, and their new baby girl. We spent most days adjusting to life without work, which included many casual day beers, the occasional at home workout, and lots of late mornings sleeping in.

We did get out of the house the rare time, only to enjoy some self care. It started with a tour of a few breweries in town. Pile’O bones was the first stop. It had a great menu of simple yet well executed classic bar items, and a laundry list of tasty beers. I tried the Scarth Street Blonde, and eventually the coconut porter. Huge fan of both. Katie dove head first into a flight of 5 different options….She can’t remember anything she tried (classic). We also had a beer at Rebellion which was not far down the road. Cool environment and pretty good selection as well. The Cerveza was my choice and it was fantastic.

We took some time to get some well deserved pedicures, just us girls (Myself, Chelsea, and Katie). I will never complain about getting my feet rubbed. A quick hop over to the bargain bin store for a lot of rummaging through the piles and piles of random returned Amazon items, and we left with a decent sized goodie bag of things.

Throughout our 6 days there, we enjoyed several home cooked dinners, and some very heated and frustrating games of Crokinole. Katie’s family was nothing but welcoming, and despite her rather bitter attitude towards the city of Regina in general, we can say that the last 6 days have been a good way to kick off what will certainly be a crazy year of travels and adventure.

Next, we are headed to Salt Spring Island to catch up with some old/new friends! See you there.

Cheers,

Richard and Katie

***Pictures located in the Albums section of our photos☺️

29/12/2022

Early November 2022 - Fresh on vacation, we spent the first leg of our year away in Salt Spring with some wonderful friends, old and new

29/12/2022

🇦🇺 Welcome! 🇦🇺
Scroll to see our latest updates and adventures during our year abroad!