FAQS

Why

Mid-life crisis?  Career break? Why travel around the world?  Well, my biological clock no longer ticked but the ticking of my travel clock was becoming louder and louder and could no longer be ignored.  Rather than continuing to wish and dream (and leave travel books strategically placed around the house as hints) I decided I needed to bite the bullet and put the idea out there. A friend pointed out to me “Karina, travel is your void and you need to fill it!”

In order for my travel dream to be realized there were three other people to consider plus an ageing dog, 2 fish, a house, jobs etc.

My husband, being the wonderful guy he is, agreed to support me in my round the world dream. Our children, now big enough to carry a bag, were more than happy to assist if it involved a visit to Disney World.  A phone call to my Mum gave us the ok to leave our first child (dog) in their loving care … and the fish are still homeless to date, however I have confidence they will be loved by someone by the time we leave.

House etc

We considered a few options for the house but decided given our plans to flee the country for 12 months; the best choice was to rent out the house, sell stuff and store the rest.  Friends and family are also keen to babysit some big items e.g. outdoor setting; which will help decrease the amount in storage.

School

The Queensland School year commences in January.  Patrick is due to commence the preparatory year. As this is not compulsory we are not concerned about him missing this year. He is a bright little button and will learn a great deal on the road and benefit from one on one education with his Mum and Dad.

Harris is due to commence Year 5.  His current teacher believes he would be quite capable of picking up with his peer group upon our return to enter directly into Year 6. He too will learn on the road.  A few workbooks, internet activities and many museum and science centre trips etc along the way will no doubt ensure Key Learning Areas are met.

Work

Jobs were quite easy to organise in the scheme of things.  Both of us have been loyal employees of government departments for years which meant a significant amount of paid long service leave and recreational leave.  We were granted Leave Without Pay for the remainder of the 12 months.  It’s a good bet that we will both return to our substantiate positions after the year to rebuild our bank account! Which brings me to the next question:

Money

We did not win the lotto or sell the house as some have wondered.  We will utilise the income from renting our house; our savings, leave entitlements and sell a car to assist us in paying for our journey.  We also have a friendly bank manager.

More information

For greater detail on how to go about planning a round the world trip for two adults and two children, go to my To Do List page.