THIS is Australia!

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Today we left Sydney and flew through Brisbane and onto Proserpine in Queensland. We enjoyed our time in Sydney. It is truly an international city, whereby looking around and listening you know that not everyone originated here. We felt instantly comfortable in Sydney. It was clean, easy to get around, and had every shopping and eating option one could wish for. And it was beautiful. The old buildings, the beautiful harbor, the interesting trees and birds - it was lovely. Aside from that, though, it didn't feel overly "Australian". I guess what I'm saying is that if we had only been to Sydney, we wouldn't necessarily feel like we had seen or experienced Australia. That all changed today. From the minute the plane banked left lining up for the runway in Proserpine, we knew we were in a whole new world! We looked out the airplane window and saw red dirt and trees unlike anything we see in the U.S. When the plane parked, they rolled up a set of portable steps to the door of the plane, and we walked off onto a tiny airport property surrounded by farmland and forested hills. It was love at first site! We gathered our luggage, rented our car, and we were on our way. And then one of the big Australian moments we were waiting for happened...not even 2 minutes after hitting the open road we saw our first wallaby hopping along the side of the road! I was so, so, so excited! Nothing could have wiped that enormous smile off my face at that moment! It was the first of many wallabies we would see on our 30 minute drive to the campground, and the sight of them never got old! If you've never seen a wallaby, take a minute to google it. It's a small kangaroo and it is soooo cute!!! As a lover of animals and wild landscapes, I'm pretty sure I've found true love in Queensland!
Tomorrow we sail in the Whitsunday Islands. We caught a glimpse of the stunning blue water and distant islands of the Coral Sea while driving to the campground tonight. The view was absolutely beautiful. Tomorrow is going to be amazing and a travel bucket list dream come true!

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