Australian Adventure...Part 2

My last post left off with me making my way to Airlie Beach after my amazing tour along the Queensland coast. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Australia, Airlie Beach is on the coast near a town called Mackay. A rather fun fact about Airlie Beach is that it has no beach...you have to drive about an hour to get to one. I was lucky that Miss Aussie had a good friend who took us there for lunch which was lovely. It was a beautiful view across Airlie and the food was amazing. That night was a big night out. We had fun and I met some new friends. There was also a crazy early morning spa pool session! Unfortunately, what happens in Airlie stays in Airlie my bogging friends.  Needless to say it was a big night. The next day I embarked on my trip to Sydney. 

Airlie Beach and Hotel

In Sydney I was unfortunate to suffer from the winter flu. In Australia, it is there Winter and there were a few nasty bugs going around which I of course picked up. After  so many flights and late nights, having a time to stop meant that my body just gave in to the virus. So, as much as I wanted to see everything I had to rest up lots and lots. I cancelled my blue mountains tour and slept a lot. Of course I did see the famous Sydney Harbour. I was only a 5 minutes walk from there which was lovely for me to get out there as well as Darling Harbour. In other things, I was able to have lunch with a friend I met travelling last year and saw a good friend from home who is living out there. We had food together and also had a pretty cool night out in swanky Sydney bars. By the time I left Sydney, I felt a lot better but managed to pick up a cough which led to a near loss of voice for two days. If you know me...that's the worst thing ever (maybe not for other people).

Sydney - Not bad sightseeing for being struck with flu!

On my return into Brisbane, I had a drinks with Miss Aussie's brother and his friends. I began to feel completely immersed into Aussie life. That weekend I spent time with Miss Aussie and her family. It was then time for our next trip to Melbourne. We visited the aquarium, ate lots and partied in the casino. Melbourne was a fantastic place, it felt very European and with the cooler temperature it felt like home. I loved the city but can't say it was my favourite place. Mainly because it felt like home and the idea of going away is to see somewhere very different. It is definitely true what they say about shopping in Melbourne, it is amazing. There are so many cute little side streets to explore and cafes to visit. It really is a cool city with a lovely vibe.

Melbourne Aquarium

After Melbourne my trip was near the end. But myself and Miss Aussie had a few more days and we chose to get an apartment in Brisbane for that time. We hung out in the city, had a quiet night out as well as a night with her big brother. Then came one of the worst days of the holiday, time to say goodbye to Miss Aussie as she had to fly back out to work. I don't have many friends like her, in fact I don't have any friends like her and it showed in our goodbye. We both spent the morning ignoring the fact we were to be parted. I know know the meaning of 'the elephant in the room' to its full extent and in this case it was awful. As my friend came to collect me to spend time with her, and Miss Aussie's taxi pulled up (both at the same time too can you believe) it suddenly became real. It was time to say goodbye and it was awful. There were hugs and tears and a shared understanding that the friendship we had was not something you find every day. We both have and still do have things happening in our lives which are difficult to understand and we help each other through that. Whether that be to sit in silence or just to be silly with. We read each other well and that is what makes this friendship extremely special. We both had our moment and said our goodbyes. We both know that we will see each other again and I hope it's sooner rather than later. 

After that brutal goodbye I set off to a place just outside Brisbane CBD called Ashgrove. It was beautiful, peaceful and quiet. I spent time here with Miss Glam and we had lots of fun in my last couple days. She understood my sadness after leaving Miss Aussie and was able to pep me back up. We had another reunion with travelling friends from last year and we also went to one of my favourite places on my trip - The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Yes, that's right, I held a koala. I didn't want to let go of Byron. He was just adorable and cuddly. I also got the opportunity to feed kangaroos. It was an amazing experience and something which was definitely top of my list to do when I headed out to Oz. 

Koalas before feeding ... Can you spot the baby koala?

That was pretty much the end of my time in Oz and in my last day I had lunch with a friend I had made, as well as being collected for dinner and taken to the airport by another couple I had made friends with (all through Miss Aussie). As I said previously, I felt immersed in Aussie life as I spent time with people who live there and not in a group touring the whole time.

I am still reflecting on my time away and what I have learnt about myself. No matter how long or short you spend away alone, you find out things about yourself you never knew you knew. I am still processing my thoughts and I look forward to sharing them with you all.

Hope you have enjoyed the recap and I hope I have inspired you to try an adventure yourself!

Australian Adventure...Part 1

I felt that it was about time to update you all on my big adventure I have not long returned from. As you will remember, I posted earlier in the year about my plans to visit Australia... well I did it! I made the long, 26 hour journey all by myself and was greeted by one of my best friends. The journey wasn't too bad however; the day after arriving I did feel rather tired. That didn't stop me from exploring though. It takes a lot more than jet lag to hold me down. 

After a month away I have so much to share with you all so I thought the best place to start is at the very beginning...I know, call me crazy? 

My first major stop was Uluru or as it's more commonly known as Ayers Rock. Also here is the formation known as Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas). Both were rock formations which were forced out of the ground but in two different ways which account for the two differing looks. They also have great significance with Australian aboriginals. All around Ayers Rock there are indentations and marks in the rock which represent a number of aboriginal stories. The rock is a sacred site to aboriginals and has a number of fascinating stories. Kata Tjuta has a number of stories to it also but is a lot more private and there are even certain parts of it you are not allowed to visit due to how sacred it is for the aboriginal people. 

What is rather amazing about both is the sunrises and sunsets - the rocks and sky change colours throughout both. It truly is something magical to witness.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta

After that I headed out to the coast (after a rather big party night in Brisbane) and began my time at the Whitsunday Islands and then up to Cairns. I must say that I had one of the most amazing times in my life while there. I spent a night at sea, stayed on South Molle Island as well as scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef.

Time out sailing was pretty amazing and peaceful. Sleeping in a little cubby hole, so to speak, with the ocean waves rocking me to sleep was so nice. I then was able to snorkel and get a taste of some of the sights I would be able to see when I went scuba diving. That same day, I made my way to South Molle Island and stopped by Whitehaven Island in the Whitsundays. Honestly, Whitehaven was one of the most stunning islands I have ever visited, the sand was just perfect and the calmness was so refreshing. While I was on South Molle for a couple of days, I took the pleasure of lying and relaxing. The group I was with for this part of my journey, mainly stayed around the pool which meant I was the only one of the beach. This in itself just felt magical, I lay and took in everything around me and thought how lucky I was to be experiencing what I was, from the lapping ocean to the bright sunshine... it felt like paradise. 

Queensland Coast - Whitsunday Islands and Sailing

After time on the island, it was back to the mainland and a place called Airlie Beach, to start the bus journey up to Cairns. My first impression of Cairns, I have to admit, was that I wasn't so keen. It all seemed very commercialised and that was something I had forgot while away on a quiet island. But, in the morning sunshine, things changed when I set off on my scuba diving adventure. I was extremely scared about scuba diving as what if I touched the coral? What if my breathing mouthpiece fell out my mouth? What if I just panicked? All these thoughts were in my mind but I pushed through it as I knew I would not be disappointed and I wasn't. After having too many weights on my for my first dive where I promptly began to sink and had to work extremely hard to stay away from the bottom, the second dive went perfect. It was just me and the instructor; we made it 8.9 metres below sea level and saw the most amazing sights by the coral reef wall. Being underwater was just wonderful. I could hear my breathing and just had this feeling of calm and awe all in one. With being one on one with the instructor, he was able to show me so much and would even take my hand to guide me around the reef. In total, we were down for about 50 minutes and I could have stayed down longer. After the awesomeness of scuba diving, myself and the group had a night to party in Cairns before I headed back to Mackay the following day ready for another Airlie Beach visit.

Now you'll have to wait for Part 2...

How time flies...

It has been a long time since I've blogged...in fact, make that a VERY long time. There has been many occasions on which I have tried, and failed, to write but the words just couldn't escape.

I can't describe the feeling too well, but as you are fellow bloggers I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I'm talking about. What I've found difficult is that these thoughts weren't all in little areas of my mind, they have been all jumbled, to the point where I couldn't make any sense of them. It was like my mind was running out of space as more and more thoughts gathered, just spinning around in there. 

I always said I would only continue to write while it was fun. However it was and still is fun, I just seemed to lose the ability. After the year I have had it was very difficult to make sense of thought. My good friends will tell you that when I can't process thoughts I become quite the anxious person. This of course affects a number of areas in my life. 

I have just returned from a month away from what I would call my 'real life' and it has been just what was needed. I am feeling a lot more focused again in what I want from life and what I need to do. I was away visiting a very good friend and often we would discuss how we were 'lost' and how others were 'finding themselves'. A bit like ourselves really. Then I found a quote which rang true to me:

"Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

The idea of needing to find yourself can be so time consuming and take away from the real thing of us creating ourselves. So, that's what I am going to focus on...not thinking that there are things I should be doing, places I should be seeing but making myself into what I want to be.

I m hoping my new clarity will free my thinking and thoughts. I will be back to blogging and sharing my thoughts with you all.