Making Every Moment Count in My Last Weeks in Oz

So I'm HOME!!! It feels ten times better being back than I anticipated, I'm reveling in the feel and smell of my house and room, the love of my family and friends, and Winnipeg in summer. I have a life to get reacquainted with, but first here is what I did with the final few weeks of my Australian adventure -

The day after my last exam I flew to the tropical north of Queensland. I met up with Caitlin and Tiffany in Airlie Beach and we began a three day sailing trip through the Whitsunday Islands. These 74 islands have some of the best beaches on the planet - it was absolutely gorgeous. We were on the sailboat Southern Cross with 11 other amazing people and a crew of 2. For three days we just snorkeled and laid out on the deck, sailed from island to island and played many hours of card games below deck. We spent time on Whitehaven Beach, an unbelievably beautiful place that is not done justice with my photos. Saw massive turtles and snorkeled alongside a fish called Maori Wrasse that is the size of a 10 year old. The night we got back into town we all met up and had a few jugs of wine, Blonde and Victoria Bitter at a local bar, it was a great night out. Earlier that evening while walking along Airlie Beach's main drag I ran into my German friend Nic. We’d first met in Cairns back in early February and four months later we ended up passing each other on the street in another town! I've really found that backpacking is it's own small world.

After Airlie Beach we flew to Brisbane out of the incredibly small airport of Proserpine. Caitlin left us to go back to Melbourne for an exam while Tiffany and I spent the evening walking around downtown Brisbane. We passed a beautiful and ornate theatre called The Regent tucked away with all the other shops. So in the end I spent my evening in Brisbane at a late showing of Angels and Demons, which I completely loved. The next morning it was a 3 hour Greyhound bus trip through Surfer’s Paradise and Tweed Heads to arrive in Byron Bay.

I’d heard great things about this little surf town but I seriously considered extended my plane ticket and just staying for a month I loved it so much. It was a brilliant place, surf culture + healthy living + folk fest vibe = Byron Bay. Did some shopping, laid on the beach, got a masssage and watched little Aussie kids in wet suits surf. At night we walked over to the beach and walked in the surf at low tide, admired the lighthouse on the cliff and pointed out shooting stars. The next morning we were out the door by 7 am to hike through town to the local lighthouse. The view and scenery were gorgeous and a nice older Australian couple stopped on the trek to point out three pods of whales off the coast. It was very hard to leave Byron Bay.

Flying from Ballina to Sydney we met back up with Caitlin. That evening we walked. Through Potts Point, along Flinger Wharf and Woolloomoolloo Bay, along Shakespeare Place and down Macquarie Street. We stopped at the beautiful National Library of New South Wales and found our way to the Opera House. After admiring the quintessentially Australian venue I wanted to check what was playing the next night - we found out there was a show in 20 minutes that students could go for the lovely price of 20$. And that’s how I ended up seeing a Tchaikovsky piano concerto by the city symphony at the Sydney Opera House.

The next day the weather was nasty to us, pouring most of the day but clearing up for tantalizingly short periods of time. We began the day with a trip to the local Woolworths grocery store for some breakfast. I only mention this because as I walked through the store I an actor from LOTR - David Wenham (Faramir) which got me VERY excited!

We began to walk some more, first along the water to Mrs. Macquaries Chair, a fantastic vantage point of the Opera House, downtown Sydney and Harbour Bridge. We walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens to the Opera House where we went on a guided tour while it once again poured. I knew most of the story and history of the building because of the wonderful Bill Bryson, but it was still interesting to hear about their new renovations for the interior. We walked along Circular Quay and, due to another downpour, elected to take the ferry not to Manly or Bondi Beach but to Darling Harbour and the Sydney Aquarium, which was indoors. I saw sharks and dugongs and seahorses and jellyfish and penguins and platypus and a stingray that can grow up to 700 pounds. Afterwards we walked along Cockle Bay Wharf in another downpour and came to Sydney’s IMAX theatre. Deciding that after 8 hours of walking in the rain a chance to sit down indoors sounded lovely, we bought tickets for Star Trek. It was AMAZING. Danna, you were so right. I think I smiled the entire time, I can’t wait for a sequel or two.

The next morning was hectic because I’d been sadly mistaken about the time my greyhound departed from Central Station, but eventually I did catch the bus and made my way to Canberra, the capital of Australia. I stayed with friends of my Uncle Scot, Ksenia and Danny, who were lovely and welcoming. I fit in as much as humanly possible in the short time I had before flying back to Melbourne; tour of Parliament, visit to the Museum of Australian Democracy at the old parliament building, driving tour around the area of embassy’s and ambassador residences, drive along Lake Burley Griffin and a visit to the Australian War Museum. I’m just happy I got to see the capital of Australia while I was down under.

Back in Melbourne I met up with Katelyn and Amy, my PEI friends that I met in Fiji, who came to stay with me in our last 2 nights in Australia. I spent my last day in Oz visiting with my friend Ashlyn before tramming to the city by myself to spend a few hours at the National Gallery of Victoria, where I admired an Egyptian sarcophagus, a Ming dynasty vase and the exact outfit Colin Firth wore as Mr. Darcy in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice : D I walked along the Yarra River, down Elizabeth Street and caught the tram back to my place where we had a lovely dinner and watched movies while I finished packing.

The trip home was so, so long. 3 hours waiting at Tullamarine, 14 hour flight across the Pacific, 6 hour layover at LAX (where I fly asleep on the floor at my gate), flight to Vancouver, 3 hour layover, final 3 hour flight to Winnipeg! In the last hour, when the end was FINALLY on the horizon I got so antsy and excited.

So now I'm home, my Australian adventure over. It's been so great to catch up with everyone. I had an absolutely amazing time, a surreal 5 months where I got my first taste of travel and all the wonderful things the world has to offer. I'm happy to be back... but I admit, I'm already thinking of picking up Lonely Planet Europe next time I find myself at McNally : )

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