She’s been with us a while and (to quote Frank S. among others), ‘now, the end is near’, Marianne is leaving the country. *Weeps*.

However, the rat pack classic would continue with something about the ‘final curtain’ – this is certainly not the case for our STA Explorer and £10 Pom 2009 Escaping the Grind who’ll be boarding a plane to Sydney within the week! New chapters abound…

For now though she is feeling a little down about the folks she’ll be leaving behind, especially her family. But not wanting to dwell overly on this, Marianne looks forward to seeing her nearest and dearest in the next few days,

“That’s my sentimental post of the week. The next one will be more upbeat as I’ll be recounting what is sure to be a fantastic week of celebration and farewell.”

Exciting times ahead - and having met Marianne, she’ll definitely be able to say ‘I did it my way!’ At STA travelbuzz we can’t wait to hear her tales from Oz.