We all know the phrase ‘travel bug’. Its quick to take hold of a nervous system and spreads like a virus until every inch of your body aches for the unknown, the foreign, the spontaneous. It can only be treated with a higher dose of the same virus and takes a higher & higher dose each time to satiate the craving. If my mother had told me to stay at home as an 18 year old and not bother with seeing the world, I probably wouldn’t be in this predicament. Instead, she told me to travel. To see as many new places as I could. She took me to some of these places herself when I was 12, pulled me out of school & we explored Europe together. This was the start of the viral infection of travelitis that would be in my system for the rest of my life.

I’ve started this blog to record said travels, however I’ve found myself in a position where I actually really enjoy my job and its not really an option to just up-and-leave like I used to. So now, with no plans to venture overseas for another year or so, I’m trying to find ways to get that travel high, without needing to get aeroplane high. 

More often than not, I’m accompanied by my partner-in-crime, Chelsea, an 18 month old chocolate labrador, who is as up for anything as I am. She hasn’t said no to a spontaneous outing yet. The husband is also a willing accomplice, however he generally takes a little more ‘dragging’ due to his affinity for FIFA and the indoors.

My travel style is a little bit like my life…style. I hate routine, I get up at a different time every morning, just to keep things fresh. I like to leave my hostel not really knowing what I’m doing that day – I’ll figure it out as I go along, or ask people along the way. If I see something shiny, I’ll stop and explore it and abandon any other plans. I’d use the word ‘spontaneous’ but that would denote its an entirely positive way of life, and if you ask my planning-engineer husband, I’m sure he would disagree! Hence the title ‘The Sporadic Expedition’, being a little more apt.

Now, onto some absolute gems in Sydney that help me feel like I’m getting a dose of travel, without really leaving my backyard so to speak!

This weekend was bang-on the middle of winter. Usually I’d enjoy the idea of hibernating, or chasing summer to the Northern Hemisphere, however I’m essentially grounded until I accrue more leave. So off to Kurraba Point I went! This is a spectacular part of Sydney Harbour, in Cremorne. There are multiple parks looking out onto the city & the various harbour islands. You will hear the sound of clinking yachts, the odd adventure speedboat filled with screaming tourists, joyride seaplanes overhead & the soft lapping of wake waves upon stone. On a sunny day it truly is a spectacular place for a picnic, or in my case, just to laze in the sun and watch Sydney life.

You can let your dog off the lead and watch the rich people sail by on their super yachts as they sip Verve & look surprisingly miserable. I prefer my side of the water where its free!

There will be other people, but not many (not as many as say Cremorne Point) but they’re usually dog friendly and there for the same reasons.

Take a picnic rug, some tunes, something to snack on and your dog and there’s a beautiful afternoon doing what you’d probably do in a park in Paris, or London during their 2-week summer. But without the hassle of getting there!

I’ll keep posting my mini-adventures and any tips for going on a sporadic expedition. Future trips include Point Plomer (a camping paradise), Mudgee (girl’s weekend in a Hilux), Whale Beach & anywhere else I can think of visiting last minute!

Cheers,

Clare