Monday, May 30, 2011

my heart belongs to australia


A year ago, I took a holiday to Australia for two glorious weeks, and fell in love with a country.  I've always been a wanderluster, and have been lucky to visit several other countries over the past ten years.  I've spent time in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Canada, and each has been an incredible adventure.  But I have to say, as far as countries go, Australia is my soul mate.  I've been daydreaming about this particular trip a lot recently, and conjuring up excuses in my mind for why I need to get back there soon.


If I could live in Australia, I'd likely move to Byron Bay.  This laid back beach town had the prettiest little boutiques, amazing art, beautiful surf, incredibly friendly people, and we saw a rainbow every single day.  Byron Bay is also the reason I got to visit Australia in the first place - my fiance's band played the annual musical festival there.


After the festival ended, Robbie and I traveled with another couple up to Queensland, to visit Kuranda and Palm Cove.  Kuranda was beyond gorgeous - a village in the rainforest.  There was a very bohemian vibe there, with lots of shops and stands full of handmade goodies.  My favorite part was the koala sanctuary.  I've always been slightly obsessed with koalas, and getting to be this close to them had been a life-long dream of mine.  Palm Cove was also absolutely lovely.  We stayed in a little eco-hotel a block from the ocean, and got up to watch the sun rise everyday.


In all honesty, it would be pointless for me to try to put into words the magnitude of this adventure.  Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef was the most surreal, stunning experience of my life.


Our short stint in Sydney was a beautiful mistake.  Our flight from Cairns back to the U.S. included a brief layover in Sydney, but the first leg of the flight was canceled at the last minute.  So we were given a free night in Sydney, and Robbie's dream of visiting the Sydney Opera House came true.  We spent a few hours exploring the city too, and I hope to spend more time there one day.  It reminded me a lot San Francisco (my favorite city here in the U.S.)


These are just a tiny handful of the hundreds of photos we took (I've mentioned in past posts that photography is a huge part of my travels), but I wanted to share a glimpse into what proved to be the most creatively and spiritually inspiring trip of my life so far.  I hope this little picture show brings some inspiration to your day as well!

Happy Memorial Day!







22 comments:

  1. your photos are so gorgeous!! looks like it was an amazing trip. Australia i on the top of my travel dream list, i can't wait to go some day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, it is inspiring! What I most love about travels is that they are always in tune with what you need to learn. I would love to visit Australia some day. And New Zealand as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow those pics are amazing! i'd love to go to Australia one day for sure :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful pictures! I would love to go to Australia one day

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, these photos are stunning!! I love all your travel pictures but these are my favorite so far. :-) I've always wanted to visit Australia.

    Jess

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am jealous!! I would love to travel more and Australia looks amazing, what beautiful beautiful photos!

    -brittany

    Http://prettylittlevintage.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my gosh, how beautiful! I want to go there some day, too! Are you going to go back? I hope that Kurt and I are those kind of old people who have the money and time to travel all over the world.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow these are amazing! You've been everywhere! I'm jealous! But I know in exchange for going on these band trips you have to be alone with your partner on the road so much, which I'm not jealous of. :( I have never been to Australia but my best friend lived there for two months and she said it freaking rocks!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. somebody is a lucky girl. australia certainly looks & sounds fantastic. that pic of u with the kangaroo. san fran is one of my fave cities too. i call amoeba records music store heaven.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I want to go to Australia one day. My mum went to Sydney 10 yrs ago and I envy her for that. She came back with cool pictures and memories (B9ondi beach, Blue Mountains, Sydney Opera and Harbour Bridge), so Australia is in my "to visit" list...one day

    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  11. Two weeks is nowhere near long enough! You'll have to come back and visit again :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aw you have come to my side of the world and so glad you had a good time =] those photos look amazing! I've got to say i love our beaches the most. xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amazing collection of photos, you have a real talent there. Very jealous the places you visited look lovely

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm a wanderluster, too (who has been recently grounded due to health and finances), and I lovbe travelers' tales, so thank you! Gorgeous photos.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I always wanted to go to Australia. Your pictures are so amazing that my desire got even stronger now..
    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've always wanted to visit there! Beautiful pictures! =)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for your comments everyone! Amanda, I wish I could go back... Maybe when I win the lottery. :) As with most of my journeys, this trip was essentially a work trip for the fiance since his band played there. His flight was paid for, we paid for mine with the miles he'd accrued traveling the previous year with the band, and we stayed at the band's hotel for the first half. It's not cheap to fly half way around the world, but if it was, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

    Those of you who live in Australia, I am so jealous. Your country is absolutely incredible.

    xo,
    m

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love these pics - I'm from Aus so it makes me a little homesick to see all the best bits in one place!! How great is the Barrier Reef?! Glad you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Melissa,
    i was in Australia almost 2 months ago. And i went to the Blues Festival in Byron Bay which is the place in my dreams everytime. the people, nature, ocean, blue and green..such a wonderfull places..it was a great trip in my life, so i can understand why you admire australia.
    i hope one day we'll meet in there.
    thanks for your sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have only just discovered your blog and it is just wonderful! I love it all. The above has made me realise how much I take my own country for granted! You have inspired me to go out and see more of it. Glad you loved it here and hope that you get the opportunity to return and see more! Thanks for such a great and inspiring blog!xo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yay I'm Australian, live in Sydney :)
    I'm glad you had a great time come back and visit soon

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thats funny coz when I visited San Fransisco I said it reminded me of Sydney lol

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! We love reading your thoughts and we're grateful for your input. (All spam will be deleted.)