Sally Howse, age 44 Leaving: January 2008 Destinations: Malaysia, Thailand and New Zealand Programme(s): 4 weeks Orangutan Experience, Malaysia; 4 weeks Thai Adventure; independent travel in New Zealand. Employment status: Redundant

Did it take you a long time to decide what to do, or had you always wanted to take part in that sort of programme?
Well, what sparked everything off was being made redundant in April this year. I have always been interested in wildlife and I've become increasingly interested in conservation and the whole sort of green issues and all the wildlife stuff. I went round and round in circles for about five months trying to decide what to do, and as that was one of the first things that I had seen in the Gap Year For Grown Up's brochure, and I'd been to South Africa the year before to Cape Town, that seemed to be really drawing me because it was learning as well and it felt like the right time to reengage my brain.  It seemed like the perfect combination of experiencing and learning.

What was your occupation and how did you feel when you were made redundant?
I was an HR professional in local government. I was a bit shell-shocked as I'd been in local government HR in different places around the country for 21 years and it was kind of all I knew. But what I thought I must do was turn this into a positive experience because I'd had a friend who had been made redundant and had gone into a terrible spiral so I thought ‘I'm going to make the most of this'.

I'd been saying I was going to travel since before I was made redundant and then it just took me some time to settle myself down, sort my finances out and then make the decision.

You booked the trips to Malaysia and Thailand within a couple of days of retuning from South Africa. Why did you choose to travel with Gap Year For Grown Ups again?
I booked within 48 hours of coming home! I felt that Gap Year For Grown Ups provided a framework and the projects were well organised and you got a lovely balance of learning, having fun and doing something ‘worthy'. The organutang project had caught my eye before. Something that I have always wanted to do is be up close and personal with orangutans and when that space came up even though it was fully booked until October (somebody just cancelled) I just knew that it was meant to be. 

Before I left South Africa I thought I was going to want to keep on travelling and the organutang project was one that I had always wanted to do and Thailand really appealed having never been there before and the thought of being able to work with elephants really appealed so I opted for those two. 

Have you ever done anything like this before?
Last year I went to South Africa on holiday. I particularly wanted to go somewhere to do some whale watching and I was going to go to New Zealand last year on my own but I got cold feet and found a friend to go to Cape Town with and do the garden route and that wetted my appetite for travel again. I hadn't travelled much since I'd been to Australia ten years earlier and something just sparked off inside me and made me really want to get out there again.

I went with a friend to Australia ten years ago and we had four weeks and we backpacked the east coast. For some reason I haven't travelled much in the interim and then again suddenly got the bug and went off again.

Do you feel you didn't travel as much because you had other priorities?
I love this country and I think it has got so much to offer. There was also the matter of trying to be a bit green and carbon footprints and so on. But, I decided that because so many places and habitats are dwindling, like the orangutans and the lowland gorillas, I thought I really must get out and see it whilst it's still there and whilst I still can and whilst I'm fit enough.

How do you feel now that you have booked?
Dead excited, I'm driving everyone mad! I'm being completely over-excited. I've just seen my Pilates teacher and two people I used to work with and they said I looked so well and so happy and they're really excited for me and jealous. I'm full of it; I'm probably annoying everyone.

What have you had to organise for your trip?
Just boring basic things. I live on my own so there is no other people to worry about other than my mum and I make sure I keep in touch through the blogs. I've got very good friends and neighbours keeping an eye on my house so I'm not renting it our or anything. I've got the most fantastic friends who are keeping an eye on stuff.

What do your family and friends think of all the travelling you are suddenly doing?
They think it's amazing. People are so pleased for me. Some people are in awe saying ‘I couldn't do that' or even if they don't want to do it themselves they are really pleased for me that I'm doing it and excited. People really are so excited about it and they enjoy the blogs it seems. I'm really enjoying writing about it for them and putting photos up.

Did you find it hard not seeing your family and friends all the time when you were in South Africa for 12 months?
Not particularly. I live 100 miles away from my mum and my brother but I'm in touch with them quite a lot and I've got fantastic friends. But a lot of people kept in touch through he blogs and emailed me and there were times early on and part the way though when I thought it would be nice to talk to someone who really knows me very well, and I did, I rung my friend Liz when that happened and I spoke to my mum. But no, I just thought I'm going to go there and make the most of it and not get unduly homesick, I'm just going to make the best of it because I'm going to see them again.

I'm quite independent anyway and I have lived away from my family for many years so I just make friends as I go along so I made some fabulous friends when I was over there (south Africa) and I'm actually going to see two of them in London next week so meeting up with friends now is just lovely - I feel so lucky. To have such great friends is fantastic.

So you won't be too emotional when it comes to saying goodbye this time round?
I think my over-excitement at going again is going to outweigh any upset that I might feel.

What do you hope to achieve during your trip?
Well just to see some more of the world and to have done a project in a very different set up and also to see orangutans. If we can see some orangutans in the wild it will just be amazing, but it will be to learn more about the world, and about orangutans and elephants and different cultures. And also meet new people and test myself. I knew that going to South Africa would be quite challenging for me because I lived on my own for so long and it was but it's all stuff to help you grow and learn more about yourself as well as learning loads about other stuff.

Between the end of orangutan project and the Thai project im going to work my own way up overland to Bangkok. I have no idea how I'm going to do it yet, but I'm not worrying - I have books in front of me about Laos, Vietnam and South East Asia. I'm just not worried about it - usually I'm very plan-oriented and like to know, but I've developed a sense of ‘I'm sure something else will work out'. I'm not making too many plans because I might bump into somebody I might want to travel with. So, I've got that fifteen day period of independent travelling then, and after the Thai projects I'm going to fly onto New Zealand for a couple of months. I'm going to traipse around having a look at it and hopefully see some whales and maybe swim with dolphins and just enjoy New Zealand.

I lost my dad two and half years ago and I've been trying to encourage my mum to do stuff and she's been really amazing this year and gone to America. So I've suggested she comes to New Zealand for a few weeks with me.

Sally flies to Malaysia on the 4th of January. We will chat to her a few days before she heads off to see how she is feeling so if you are interested in tracking her trip then watch this space!