Natalie Otto couldn’t believe her luck when she bagged an unbelievable $25,000 trip travelling Australia.
The itinerary included skydiving over Byron Bay, snorkelling in the Great Barrier reef and abseiling off cliffs in Brisbane.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, Natalie had a companion along the way. A stranger by the name of Tom Cunningham, who lived with her in a camper-van, sharing a bed during the five-week trip.
On top of that, Otto, 25, had a boyfriend in Melbourne who she chose to leave behind while she enjoyed the fruits of the holiday.
He was fine about it, allowing her to follow her dreams.
‘My poor boyfriend has got a little bit of flack about this whole thing. All of my friends have asked how he feels about me travelling the country with another boy but he’s super supportive,’ Natalie told the Today show before they set off in October.
In a Facebook post from that time, boyf Callum Hulst said he was ‘very proud’ of his girlfriend.
‘So proud that Natalie Otto has got the opportunity of a lifetime to travel the whole of Australia and promote everything adventure and tourism our land Down Under has to offer,’ he wrote.
‘You’ve got a talent and a heart of gold and I cant wait to see what you capture from this trip of a lifetime. CRIKEY you’ll do it all whilst being the cover girl of Travello.’
Despite a lot of speculation surrounding the pair’s activity on the trip, Tom assured they were ‘just best mates.’
‘Nothing happened, and the only romantic elements were the locations we stayed in. But what I will say, is if she was single, I would ask her out in a heartbeat after this trip,’ he said.
On a conclusive Instagram photo, he wrote:
What a great way to see my backyard of Australia and what a great way to make a friend for life. Nat was amazing to road trip with and I consider myself very lucky for having her there to share it all with. There wasn’t a day where I didn’t laugh because of her.
Here’s hoping no one’s telling any porkies. Wouldn’t be very nice before Christmas!
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