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TRAVEL MATE SUCCESS
I went from being gutted that I’d been let down by a mate to meeting someone to travel with and booking a flight!
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Travelmates who met through gapyear.com Names: Charlotte Weaver and Emma Carter Age: 18 and 22 Occupation: soon-to-be-gappers Why did you decide to look for a travel mate on gapyear.com? Charlotte: Well, I was originally going to travel with my best mate but she told me she couldn’t make it, back in September. All my other friends went off straight to uni or wanted to work full-time so I had to travel alone because I wasn’t going to back out. I was a bit nervous about travelling alone so I thought I would try and look for some other people who were in the same position as me online. Gapyear.com was the first site that came up on a Google search so I posted a message on the forum. I’ve met heaps of people from the forums who I’m going to meet up with for drinks and that in Australia along the way. Emma: I was originally planning to travel with a friend from home after we had both graduated from university, but was let down as she decided to get a full-time job and move in with her boyfriend. At first I’d never even considered the thought of travelling alone or trying to go with someone that I hadn’t met before, but I decided after a lot of thinking and reading of the posts on gapyear.com that it’s now or never, and that I should try to find some travel mates and go for it! What criteria were you looking for in a travel mate? Charlotte: Just someone who I got on with and who had the same-ish plans as me and the same interests! Emma wants to do the same sort of things as I do and also go up the coast. Emma: The criteria that I was looking for in a travel mate were basically someone of a similar age / mindset. I wanted to find a female first and foremost so we could discuss all the girly aspects of travelling! But I was also open to travelling with a mixed group and meeting up with various people whatever age or sex. I was ideally looking for someone who’s laid-back and up for a laugh, enjoys going out and partying, as well as chilling out when the time is right. How did you find each other? Charlotte: Well, Emma replied to my post on gapyear.com saying she had the same plans as me and that she wanted to travel around the same time. Emma: I saw Charlotte’s posts and replied a number of times, and then we ended up sending each other private messages, emails and texts and it went from there! What was it about the other person that made you think you’d get on well together? Charlotte: She’s really friendly and lovely. She likes shopping and partying, same as me. We’ve spoken over msn and that and we get on well so it’s cool. Emma: I thought that I would get on well with Charlotte because she was of a similar age, sounded like she was confident, outgoing and fun. It was good to find someone who was in a similar situation to me. Have you met in person yet? If so, how did it go? Were you nervous? What did you do together? Emma: I haven’t met Charlotte in person yet... time is very short so if we don’t get to meet before we go then I am staying at hers the night before the flight so no doubt we will be up all night chatting about our plans and how excited we are! Do you have any worries about travelling together? Charlotte: Not at all. We’ve both got heaps of other people to meet up with when we get out there, who we’ve met through gap year and travellerspoint, so if we feel we want to do different things we can always travel with other people. There’s nothing really to worry about. Emma: I don’t really have any worries about travelling with Charlotte as we are both in the same situation, and both know that at the very least we have someone else to begin the trip with. Just knowing that I have someone to make sure I get on the right plane is a comfort! Consider the worst-case scenario for a moment... what trait would most annoy you in a travel mate? (eg snoring, whining, making schedules, not making schedules...!) Charlotte: I don’t know... I guess moaning about things can be a bit annoying but I doubt I’ll get annoyed with Em. Emma: The worst-case scenario for me would probably be someone that planned a trip down to every detail. Although I'm not against pre-planning to an extent, I like to think that I don’t know where I’ll be in a week’s time and that every day isn’t scheduled! What are your travel plans? Emma: We fly into Sydney on the 20th November. As I have only three months in Oz, and Charlotte has up to a year on a working visa, our travel plans are different, so we don’t know whether we will travel together when we get to Oz or not. I'm flying down to Adelaide after ten days spent together in Sydney and then working my way back up to Sydney for Christmas and New Year, then heading off up the East Coast as far as Cairns until mid-February when I have to fly home (boo hoo). Charlotte might look for work in Sydney when we arrive so we may have to part and then meet back up in Sydney for some serious Christmas and New Year partying! Then, depending on her plans she can join me travelling up the East Coast if she wants to - it’s all a case of seeing what happens really! But it’s nice to know that I have someone to go with and a contact while I’m there. Charlotte: When Emma goes in February I’ll probably go on to New Zealand if I can find some cheap flights and maybe into the outback - who knows yet! Click here >> if you fancy meeting with gapyear.com members in Sydney around Christmas What are you most looking forward to? Charlotte: Ahhhh, it’s got to be New Year really, hasn’t it? Also the East Coast will be great - there are some amazing beaches up the coast that we have to check out! Emma: I really couldn’t say what I am most looking forward to... it’s all a bit surreal at the moment! Doesn’t feel like I am really going, it’s like a dream (and yet it’s only a week and two days away!) The hostels look great in Oz, and I’m looking forward to meeting loads of new people and seeing all the amazing sights that Australia has to offer. Would you recommend others to use the gapyear.com ‘find a travel mate’ service? Emma: I would absolutely without a doubt recommend that others use the gapyear.com find a travel mate service (and I’m not just saying this!). Through finding the site I went from being someone who was absolutely gutted because I’d been let down by a friend and thinking that I might as well give up on the idea and get a job, to finding and chatting to loads of people in a similar situation, to meeting someone who wants to travel with me, and booking a flight! Without finding gap year, I really couldn’t say that I would definitely have gone to Oz, and now I am, so thanks, gapyear.com!  Click here >> for gapyear.com advice on finding a travel mate Click here >> to search for travel mates now Click here >> for Australia travel info |
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