Travel is in my blood, I have completely lost count of how many flights I have been on, how many amazing cities I have visited, but when your father is in hotel management and you then become a Corporate Travel Consultant, it is inevitable that the list is long….
It all started when I was 9, our family packed our bags and the family home, and jetted off to Lae, Papua New Guinea. Three years later, Fiji here we come! Two years after that it was back to Australia and resort south of Adelaide.
Here are a few of the ‘back yards’ I grew up in.
The Melanesian Hotel, Lae
The Westin, Nadi, Fiji
Wirrina Hotel Resort, Second Valley, South Australia
Needless to say I had a rather awesome childhood, living in hotels, meant no housework, no cooking, no chores, just fun. I learnt how to dive, how to play golf, how to ride horses and how to order room service!
Eventually the moving life got too much and my parents settled in Brisbane, and after finishing school (it only took me 13 different schools to get there) it seemed natural to get into the travel industry.
For 13 years I worked long and hard, but played just as hard, in many different countries and time zones.
Life as a travel consultant is fun!
Educationals saw me head to UK and Europe quite a few times. I have been all around the Pacific, Asia, the USA and more.
I flew to London to have dinner with my brother.
I used to go to Auckland just for the day to have lunch at the Hyatt.
A weekend away could be a quick trip to Vanuatu or Fiji.
10 nights accommodation for my honeymoon cost $250.
$200 for a 9 night cruise, and then won $160 at bingo on the first night.
I have eaten snails in Paris, chocolate in Switzerland, marzipan in Lubec, and Tom Yum Goong in Bangkok.
I have been in a seaplane, a DC9, an open sided helicopter, twin otter, jets, jumbo’s and on a camel.
AND THEN I HAD KIDS!
So my travel consultant days came to an end. I chose not to go back into the industry as the hours involved to do the job properly simply do not work when you have kids. I can’t come home and tell them “I am off to Europe for two weeks, you will just have to look after yourselves”, so I clock it up as history that was very awesome at the time, and has so many fond memories.
We still travel, my girls have been interstate and overseas, and in the years to come I hope to venture further afield with them!
Have passport will travel!
Do you love travel or do you prefer to stay close to home?
Sharing for the first time with The Lounge for Travel Tales Day!
That’s so much travel! I regret not doing more myself, especially when I see images of those exotic locations. It’s no surprise that you ended up working in travel too. It sounds like you’ve had huge amounts of fun over the years.
I love the name of your post – I feel the same way too. I have all the travel stuff in one spot at home, ready for those impromptu trips that no longer happen…
You just never know 🙂
Wow what an upbringing you had! It would be every child’s dream to call those places home. So jealous!
It was pretty awesome, but the changing schools bit was tough. When I was 12 I went to three different schools in 2 different countries, pretty tough act at that age, where friends are one of your main priority and I was lacking those that year.
My God. To say I am jealous is a total understatement. I did my share of traveling but I still feel I didn’t do ENOUGH to make up for the fact that we are now almost totally unable to afford it, and even if we could the idea of taking the whole fam on a travel extravaganza gives me the heebie jeebies.
We did go to Fiji when we ony had one littlie, she was about 1. It actually was a really wonderful holiday so maybe we need to be braver more often. 🙂
I was happy not to venture too far when the girls were little, a night down the coast was fine, but that was about it. It is more fun when they are older and can participate in everything 🙂
Wow, what an exciting childhood you must have had! I can’t wait to do some proper travelling with my kids. We’ve barely managed a road trip since my third came along!
Travelling with little ones is usually more hard work than holiday, wait until they are old enough to remember and truly enjoy!
I thought I had travelled quite a bit before I read your post-boy was I wrong! How exciting to grow up in the travel industry. I bet you have heaps more stories to tell.
Plenty more, and one day I will write another blog post or 10 about some of them no doubt!
Well, I’ve eaten sausages in Boganville and KFC in Dubbo and a meat pie in Hobart. So ner. Hmph.
Seriously, what an amazing upbringing you’ve had, and all those incredible travel adventures. It really is in your blood, as you say, so I’m sure you’ll be travelling again oneday. xo
That is the plan Ness, still got a few spots on my bucket list that need to be ticked off!
I love to travel, but you can keep the helicopter (man, those things are not meant to fly) but what on earth is a twin otter? Unless you mean you stood on the backs of 2 sibling furry sea mammals?
A twin otter is a seriously small plane, and not my fav way to fly, the bigger the better for me 🙂
What a wonderful childhood! Just like Madeline the little girl who lived in the Plaza. And your days as a travel consultant sound impossibly glamourous – even though I know that you guys also work very hard as well as playing hard.
Fabulous post Nikki – looks like this week’s theme was tailor made for you!
Thanks Rachel, this weeks theme brought a big smile to my face as soon as I saw it 🙂