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Published: December 11th 2015
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I seem to have had a serious aversion to blogging while in Australia this time and it took me a while to figure out why. When it finally clicked it was very disappointing; I don't love Australia the way I used to.
Outrage! Before you all lose your minds, hear me out.
Ever since I studied abroad in Sydney in 2009, I have dreamed of returning to Australia on a working holiday visa. I took a sailing/scuba diving trip in the Whitsunday islands and told myself I would return to the Great Barrier Reef someday to work on a dive boat. Everyone who knows me had been waiting for the day to come when I would finally make the big move. So imagine the thrill when I decided to take the leap 6 years later!
I'll skip the bits I already covered in my previous blog, but essentially I obtained my visa in March and flew to Oz in May. I headed straight to Cairns and within 6 weeks of arriving in the country I had secured a job on a live-aboard dive boat. I loved this job, even on the tough days. But as the
weeks turned into months, I didn't feel like I was growing as a person. Aside from racking up dives and learning how to make cocktails, there was no forward movement. Work, work, work, drink, drink, drink. I felt so constantly surrounded by American tourists- and Australians heavily influenced by American culture- that Australia lost it's feel of being foreign or exotic. Thus, when my girlfriend said she was ready to travel, I was right on the same page.
Rochelle and I quit our jobs four weeks ago. I will always have the fondest memories of working on the boat, and I know I will continue to stay in touch with all my co-workers and friends. Australia, of course, will always have a special place in my heart; who knows, maybe I will still settle down there someday. But I have so much more to see and do in the world, and sadly it isn't getting any easier to visit some of the places I want to go. The moment is now.
That all being said, Rochelle and I made the best of our last month down under! Her lovely parents allowed us to crash on their
air mattress and enjoy the quiet life of their removed beach/jungle house. Sunset runs along the coast and playtime with the cat/dogs/roosters did the soul much good. We then took a road trip down to Etty Bay to hunt for cassowaries and- I kid you not- cook some shrimp on the barbie. Alas, the cassowaries continue to evade me and I have not crossed that item off the bucket list yet. From there, we continued south to Paronella Park, a fascinating place of castles and gardens constructed in the 1940's by a Spanish man, Jose Paronella, for his new wife. We toured the grounds, admired the hand-crafted structures, and camped for a night in the tropical rain. A few days before our departure from Cairns we had one last hoorah with the crew and danced ourselves silly at The Woolshed. Even after a lost wallet and a day of car battery problems, we still managed to make it to the airport with smiles on our faces.
We flew down to Melbourne with the intention of visiting friends for a few days while we sorted out extra passport pages and a tourist visa from the U.S. consulate, for myself and
Rochelle, respectively. Upon visa approval (YAY!) the consulate took Rochelle's passport (BOO) and we were forced to delay our international flights a week. Luckily Rochelle's friend Jess took us in for the extra week, homeless bums that we are. We used the extra time to explore the city, search for the perfect gourmet hot dog (veggie ones for me), and make friends with seagulls. FINALLY, on December 5th we boarded a plane to Bali and the backpack adventures began!!!
My goal is this: to provide you all with at least two blogs each month, as I used to do when I first started traveling. Please stay tuned for many more tales of monkeys, dragons and the gypsy life in Southeast Asia 😊
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Virginia Kelly
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Each drop of rain gathers to create a stream. Each experience helps you grow somehow, whether you are aware of it or not. And together they provide the momentum to push you on to your next adventure. Keep on truckin'! I love you!