The struggles of the modern-day country girl

‘Goodbye, cash. See you never.’

This was pretty much the conversation I had with myself seven weeks ago. I wanted to book a flight from Canberra to beautiful Port Lincoln in rural South Australia. My sisters live around this town (known for tuna and great whites respectively) and my need to go and see my adorable nieces had gone into overdrive.

As I picked the cheapest flights possible, the price came up. $900. ‘Sure, that’s expensive,’ I thought. ‘But it’s totally worth it.’

However, the real shock was yet to come.

The following day, I caught up with my mate Jack who started telling me that he’s booked flights to Vietnam.

Stoked, he exclaimed, ‘I got them for $869 return.’

Jaw dropped.

‘You’re telling me it’s costing more for me to get to country South Australia than for you to get to Ho Chi Minh City?’ I interrogated.

Awkwardly, the poor guy nodded. (Correction – not so awkward, again, he was stoked).

Beautiful Nha Trang in V
Beautiful Nha Trang in Vietnam.

At this point, reality smacked me bang in the face. It was more expensive to travel to my nation’s beautiful backyard than to head off on an Asian adventure.

Now, before you tell me to suck it up, I’m more than happy to support our awesome airlines, who spend millions of dollars on charities and pivotal community projects each year. Also, I’ve been to Vietnam and LOVED it (indeed, the above photo was taken by yours truly).

But something else was bugging me.

I started thinking about it from the other end.

What if girls in Port Lincoln wanted to come to Canberra, but couldn’t afford it?

What if they wanted to experience their own capital city, the heart of Australian decision-making, but couldn’t scrape the cash together?

What if they lived even further away, like in the Kimberley or remote NT?

This year, County to Canberra is offering an all-expenses paid ‘Power Trip’ to our essay competition winners. Importantly, we’ve committed to picking a winner from each state and territory, to ensure that no matter where girls live, they’ll have an opportunity to meet influential mentors and powerful women in the ACT.

Last year, we ensured girls like Libby could go on her first ever plane flight. Our winners met women like Julie Bishop, watched Question Time and embraced their nation’s political epicentre.

2014 Essay Comp winner Libby (second from left) was thrilled to meet her local MP, Scott Bucholz, and Foreign Minister JUlie Bishop.
2014 Essay Comp winner Libby (second from left) meeting her local MP, Scott Bucholz, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop with fellow winners Hannah & Vesna.

We empowered girls with leadership skills and expanded their career networks to fight both gender and geographical barriers to success. Because at Country to Canberra, we want to ensure that no matter where they are, girls won’t be prevented from accessing opportunities.

So no matter where you live, enter our 2015 Essay Completion or send the details on to someone who will benefit. We’re offering seven ‘all-expenses paid Power Trips’, to ensure that young female leaders are given equal opportunities, and are given a fair chance to reach their leadership potential. That’s what Country to Canberra is all about.

Oh, and side note: I just came back from Lincoln, armed with FruChocs and adorable memories of my niece practicing ballet. It was worth every single cent.

Hannah and her niece Poppy in Port Lincoln last weekend.
Hannah and her niece Poppy in Port Lincoln last weekend.

Hannah Wandel is the Founder and Executive Director of Country to Canberra. Check out her bio here.