Wow 2020 felt like the year that would never end, at the beginning of the year we shared our #todo list with absolutely no idea the whole world, as we knew it, would come to a grinding halt.
Unlike previous years, we only left Australian shores once. This was for a short last minute decision trip to Bali in February, when we had no idea how serious the coronavirus outbreak would be. After returning we spent some time in Victoria and both flew up to Newcastle in March and spent the rest of the year in NSW.
It has now been nearly 300 days since we last boarded a commercial flight to anywhere.
However while that was quite an adjustment we still managed to complete a few of our goals, while many particularly those based on travel in Europe will have to go into the parking lot for now.
Here is what we got up to in 2020:
- We drove the stunning West Coast of Australia from Perth to Exmouth (returning a rental car via Imoova)
- Kited all the way, including with sharks at Shark Bay
- Saw the dolphins at Monkey Mia
- Dove with turtles and sharks and snorkelled with a huge manta in Exmouth (Read all about the trip here)
- Had a front row seat to the Northern humpback migration right from our balcony, this was an absolute highlight watching them leaping every day at the peak
- Lived in a luxury seafront apartment for 6 months on the Eastern Coast of Australia (we negotiated a great deal during lockdown)
- Joined a social sports team in Newcastle and had lots of fun trying new games every week
- Visited Byron Bay twice, staying in a gorgeous luxury home courtesy of some lovely friends
- Tried Mountain Bike riding on e-Bikes
- Celebrated 6 years of marriage in September in Coffs Harbour
- Continued to sail and kite surf as well as trying our hands at surfing
- Moved into a lovely lakefront cabin on the Central Coast in November
- Samantha joined the Marine Rescue and Orange Sky as a volunteer in December
Ben attended the tri-nations rugby in Newcastle and we hosted an almost weekly virtual trivia event with our friends from all over Australia.
We also got to spend lots more time with my young nephews and our Sydney based friends in person.
In 2021, we are hoping to spend even more time with family as restrictions ease locally and across the ditch in NZ. Here are some other goals we hope to complete this year:
- Complete our Advanced Open Water Dive course in January, we are booked for the Australia Day Long weekend
- Continue to kite surf, dive and sail
- Visit at least one of the Australian Islands, such as Lord Howe or Cocos (Keeling) Island
- Celebrate the big milestones, including a special wedding and milestone birthday
- Stay safe and well
- Save for a house deposit
Do you have goals for 2021 or are you focused on simply making the best of every moment? Either way, we wish you every success and send lots of laughs and best wishes for the year ahead.
Our Awesome Adventures 
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