Pinterest

Tom "What are you doing?"

Me "Just pinning things"

Tom "To be honest, I'm not pinterested!"

HAHA.

Farm life

Getting a working holiday visa for Australia is easy. It took me 10 minutes to fill in an online questionnaire and pay the £150 and I had the confirmation email within an hour. Bravo. But, getting a second year visa is hard. Really hard.

Tom and I count ourselves very blessed to have gotten the jobs we are both doing - we work in a plant nursery where Tom sprays all the plants with fertiliser and I weed, prune and graft plants. 

I say we count ourselves blessed because when we first arrived in Mildura, Victoria to start our 88 days of 'rural work'  we both had to head out into the orange fields and pick bins and bins of oranges for nearly no money (we were staying in a ridiculously expensive hostel and had to pay for transport so we barely made enough to cover that) so we know first hand that we could be a far worse job. 

Tom, the boy who has always lived in a city, has grasped onto country life like a bee onto honey. He loves it. Couldn't be happier. I, on the other hand, have struggled. There are many things I like - I like working outside, I quite like being able to listen to 7 or 8 music albums everyday and having an abundance of thinking time. I like driving tractors but I can't quite cope with the backache of bending over weeding for 8 hours a day, working in 37 degrees heat (I swear I'm going to faint in the next week or two) nor the insects. For those who know me, know I am petrified of spiders. I despise them and yet everyday I see at least 3 'transula' sized huntsmen, numerous redbacks, jumping spiders (don't get me started on those) and white tails - of which can kill you. 

So to say that I am happy we have nearly finished our farming sentence would be an understatement. I know I'll be thankful of this time when we're walking through arrivals for the beginning of our second year in Oz but frankly, these last 11 days can not end soon enough. 

1 year today!

This is us about to depart (I don't even recognise this pale couple, we have aged), yes that's right.. Tom and I have been travelling the big wide world for 1 whole year today!!! Can you believe that? It has gone so fast, so so fast. It makes me sad that neither of us have seen any family members in that time but we have had and continue to have the best time ever.

We eventually booked our flights home and plan to arrive into London at the very end of March next year after New Zealand and the USA. We're excited to go home and reunite with our families but we're still very excited with what the next 4 months will hold.

Countries we have visited so far: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia

Getting Married? Read on...

Northern Ireland's one and only WEDDING CENTRE in Randalstown, Antrim are holding a CHRISTMAS OPEN NIGHT tomorrow night, Friday 2nd December from 6.30pm.

The Wedding Centre provide a range of services from 

Bridal Gowns, 

Bridesmaid Dresses, 

Grooms Suits, 

Wedding Cars (vintage and modern), 

Flowers, 

Wedding Photography, 

Jewellery, 

Gifts

 ...all under one roof. Amazing. 

Special appearance from Santa and some lovely mulled wine tomorrow evening from 6.30pm.

The Wedding Centre

2 Main Street

Randalstown

Antrim

BT41 3AB

Tel: 02894 472222

Email: info@theweddingcentre.co.uk