- Catching the travel bug after their first trip abroad to Fiji, Sharyn and her hubby Tim decided to pack up their lives in Brisbane, Qld, and go on a permanent vacation.
- After 10 years of saving, Sharyn and Tim quit their jobs and sold their family home.
- Now the pair are travelling the world for free!
Here Sharyn tells her story in her own words.
Hopping on my bike, I looked over to my husband Tim.
‘Ready?’ I asked.
‘Let’s go,’ Tim, then 49, grinned.
It was May 2013, and we were about to embark on a new adventure.
‘You’re bonkers but have fun and live your best lives.’
This time we were off on two wheels, cycling 7000km from Perth to Brisbane over six months.
Tim and I started dating when I was high school, aged 17, and he was 23.
Our first overseas trip was to Fiji after I graduated.
Swept up by the tropical scenery and local culture, we wanted to keep travelling and make memories together.
We got married in January 1989.
Then one day Tim said, ‘Let’s pack up our lives and go on a permanent vacation.’
It took us five years to save enough money, but finally in 1996, we quit our jobs, sold our home in Brisbane, and set off on a three-year adventure around the world.
‘You’re bonkers but have fun and live your best lives,’ family commented.
We travelled Australia, flew to Indonesia, then ventured through South-East Asia before ending up in England.
Over the next 10 years, we knuckled down and saved.
From there, we drove around Europe before heading to Africa.
Travelling across Zambia was spectacular.
On a safari we stopped to observe a herd of antelope grazing when a leopard skulked out from beneath the shrub.
As it stalked its prey, it was close enough for us to touch – but we didn’t dare.
In Tanzania, we were woken in the night as a humongous water buffalo snuffled around outside our tent!
Next we moved on to the Middle East, then explored the Mediterranean before flying to Central and South America.
We would have carried on forever, but we needed to return to Australia to boost our finances.
We got our old jobs back, me in a senior role in Qld Health and Tim as a graphic designer.
Now, as we pedalled along the highway with our homes on our backs, we felt so free.
Over the next 10 years, we knuckled down and saved.
When we could, we embarked on smaller trips, hitting the road, sky and seas but, there was still so much left to see.
Now, as we pedalled along the highway with our homes on our backs, we felt so free.
Stopping at outback towns to pitch our tents each night, we had a blast exploring our backyard and meeting an array of characters.
Heading across the Nullarbor was challenging – the flat, arid land stretches for 1200km and you can cycle for hours without seeing a soul.
We had to plan our stops meticulously and arrange for station masters, rangers and campground travellers to drop jerry cans of water near the side of the road so we could stay hydrated enough to make it across.
Finally, after 12 days, we’d conquered the iconic landscape.
With each kilometre that passed, we thought our big Aussie ride might take the edge off our thirst for adventure.
But when we reached our journey’s end six months later, we were already planning our next globe-trotting route.
Then in 2017 we learned online about house and pet-sitting for others who were travelling.
It seemed a great way to continue to explore the world, exchanging free accommodation for taking care of homes and pets.
So we signed up for a website called Trusted Housesitters, where people from all around the world posted when they need someone to stay at their place of residence.
Seeing an opportunity come up to care for a lady’s dog in Vietnam, we applied and were overjoyed to get the job.
During an amazing two-week stay, we spent our days walking her schnauzer, and trundling through the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City.
After being awarded a five-star rating, we were inundated with opportunities from people around the globe.
Soon, we found ourselves house and pet sitting in Indonesia, New York, London, Singapore, India and New Zealand, each trip varying in length from two weeks to two months before we moved on to the next place.
We also qualified as English teachers which enabled us to take up paid placements in schools in Vietnam if we needed to top up our bank balance.
Wanting to help other explorers, we launched our website Catch Our Travel Bug in 2023 to share our passion for independent, budget travel.
Over the years we’ve pedalled from the Arctic Circle to Budapest, crossed the USA and ridden around Europe.
We’ve done extensive backpacking, seafaring, overland adventures, and road trips.
Not ones to turn down any opportunity, we’ve scaled 5550 metres up in the Nepalese Himalayas to see the majestic Mount Everest on the horizon.
And we even crewed a yacht for four months around the Caribbean.
With so many incredible adventures under our hats, we’ve made great friends all over the globe.
Exploring the world is exhilarating.
Most recently we did a 10-day housesit in a compound in Bahrain before heading back to visit family in Australia for Christmas.
In January this year we celebrated our 36-year wedding anniversary.
During our time together we’ve been to over 140 countries and territories.
And over the last seven years, we’ve spent next to nothing on accommodation – effectively travelling the world for free!
We still have a spirit for adventure and that’s not showing any signs of dwindling.
For this globe-trotting duo, we travel not to escape life, but so life doesn’t escape us.
