It's All About The Journey

Tag: Australia

  • Cairns

    Welp the time had come and gone in Sydney and it was time for me to jet off to Cairns for 6 days. I met my friend Karley at the airport in Sydney as we were doing this leg of the mid-semester break together. We both then boarded the plane and i would say it was smooth sailing from there on out but it was not. The plane ride was actually very bumpy as it lurched up and down a couple of times throughout the 3-hour flight. Luckily we made it safe and sound to Cairns and landed only a few minutes late. It was super warm and humid here as most days it was a high of 33 degrees Celsius and sunny. We arrived pretty early on in the day so we dropped out bags off at the hostel and went out for breakfast. We went o the best waffle place ever! It was reasonably priced for the amount we got and was super delicious. After breakfast, we still had a couple of hours before we could check in so we walked around Cairns (it’s not that big of a place) and then headed to check in. Once settled we spent the rest of the day by the public pool area in Cairns and stayed there until sunset then went out for dinner afterward. All in all, we were exhausted once it got dark and had an early night as we had both been up since 4 am that morning.

    The next day we did nearly the exact same thing, it was super hot and sunny so after a yummy free breakfast at the hostel of pancakes we made our way down to the lagoon (the pool area). Here we tanned the day away with constant breaks to go into the water. It was a super huge pool with different areas for kids and water toys as well. It was so hot out every time we got out we would be covered in sweat again in at least 30 minutes. Before coming here we did not bring sunscreen because we haven’t needed any in Melbourne but trust me when i say we needed it. We ended up buying a very small tube that lasted us the rest of the trip. Again we stayed here until it got dark and we got hungry. After showering off we were on the lookout for a good dinner and found it at this very yummy burger place that had great milkshakes (or thick shakes as the Aussies call them). After dinner, we enjoyed the fresh air and walked along the boardwalk beside the ocean until we couldn’t, then headed back and called it a night.

    The third day in Cairns was our first day we booked an activity for. This was the thing everyone talks about when coming to Australia and that is the great barrier reef! Our boat left at 8 am sharp so we had to be up bright and early to catch it. Once on board the provided a small breakfast fruit and mini muffins which we gladly took advantage of (can’t pass up free things!) as they had watermelon that was very yummy. This whole day was amazing, the boat we were on was very luxurious and had two nets at the front like a catamaran, we spent the first hour here but we kept getting wet from waves splashing through the nets so we relocated for the next hour to the top sundeck where we sat and took in the vast ocean around us. In total it was a 2 hour boat ride out to the first reef location so once we got there we were all anxious to hit the water. What can i say? The reef was amazing and pictures/videos do not do it justice. The water was so warm and blue, we didn’t even need the thin wetsuits they gave us but it was for jellyfish protection. There were so many fish swimming in and out of the coral and around us that you could just lay on top of the water forever and see a new thing every minute. I found multiple spots where i could dive down and explore the deeper waters as i held my breath. Before i knew it the time had come to leave the first spot and we boarded the boat for lunch, this consisted of mac and cheese, various salads, and rolls (it was super good!). Do you know what the saying don’t swim 30 minutes before eating or else you’ll get a cramp? Well, we abided by that and spent the next little bit digesting the food and sunning ourselves on the front nets of the boat. Before long though we heard the call of the ocean and went back out to snorkel the beautiful waters of the great barrier reef. The second site offered smaller fish and this one spot that was a coral arch and i managed to swim under and through it! There were so many fish swimming in this hidden gem, it was magnificent. Again i can’t emphasize enough how photos don’t do this place justice. The waters were pristine. After a bit of time in the water, the boat had to leave so that meant we had to leave. It was sad to leave this beautiful location but we made our way onboard and spent the next 2 hours sunning ourselves on the front deck as the waves had died down and we could lay here without all the splashing. We arrived back to the mainland at 6 pm, as we left the boat we were hungry and looking forward to dinner. After a quick shower, we set out to find a cheap place to eat and then headed back to the hostel for another earlyish night (9 pm) as we had another early morning activity booked for tomorrow.

    Our fourth day in Cairns brought something that i had always wanted to do. We booked a waterfall tour through the rainforest. This started with an 8 am pickup outside of our hostel, as we boarded the bus it was nice to see everyone on this tour was a backpacker form another hostel. We all had the same vibes and were looking for the same things. The tour brought us first to a spot in the rainforest where we could swim in a pretty lake, take a hike to a lookout and enjoy some hot chocolate and muffins for breakfast. The next stop on the tour brought us to a place called Josephine falls, this stop was my second favorite of the day as it had a natural waterslide that we took advantage of. The water was on the cooler side but with the warm day, you couldn’t even notice. I spent this stop mainly trying not to fall and hurt anything as i climbed up the side of the very slippery water slide and then had lots of fun sliding down it. The third stop of the day was by far my favorite. It was a picturesque classic waterfall that you could swim under and get behind that provided great pictures but as i swam under around and through it i was smiling the whole time. As the water splashed my face as i looked up at it I couldn’t imagine anything better to do at that exact moment. Sadly we had to leave this place and head to a spot for lunch, but it was good timing as it had started to rain and when I say rain I mean pour so suddenly it came on as quick as someone can snap their fingers. But i guess it is a rainforest after all. We huddled for warmth under a sheltered picnic area as we ate our lunch wrapped in our towels trying to contain our body heat. That was the last waterfall stop as we made our way back to Cairns we stopped at this very interesting tree. If anyone has seen avatar they may recognize it as the people who created the tree of life used this tree as its main inspiration. After thinking of how small everything seems as you stand under this tree we were back on the bus and headed back to Cairns. We got back around 6 pm and changed into some warmer clothing (long sleeve) as it was a little cooler with the rainfall. Then it was time for our normal routine of dinner and staying low for the night.

    Our last full day in Cairns had arrived and Karley and I were only missing one thing from our cairns bucket list. That was to hug a koala! We did some research and found a cheapish tour that led us out to this place called hartleys crocodile farm. Here we saw crocodile feeding shows, snake shows, something that looked like an emu was vibrant colours (and we got to feed it), we also saw lots and lots of koalas. Right as we arrived we set out to find where and when we could hold this koala and the timing worked out perfectly! We got to explore the park for a little bit and then head to an area where we got to meet the koalas and hug them and get our picture taken with them! It was awesome as they are super cuddly and soft, definitely, a must do if you are in Australia. This was a must do in Cairns for us because apparently you can see and touch koalas anywhere in Australia but only in Queensland can you hold them. So we knew that while we were here it would be one of the only times it was possible to hold one, so of course, we did it! Once back in Cairns again we did not do much as it was a Sunday night, we packed for our departure the next day and that’s about it.

    Our final day in cairns had arrived and we were set to depart at 9pm at night. This left a full day of nothing to do so we decided it was time to see the new Avengers: Endgame movie. We had both been avoiding spoilers since it had come out and couldn’t wait any longer. So that day we slept in a little, finished our packing and had a couple of hours to spare before the movie began. In these couple of hours, we headed to the lagoon one last time and soaked in the nice cairns sun. This gave us enough time to catch the movie and then head back grab our things and uber to the airport to catch our flight home. It was definitely a long day as we arrived back in Melbourne 30 minutes late. We finally got home and in bed by 2 am and as I set my alarm for class the next day I was wishing I was setting it for another waterfall day tour instead but I guess all good things must come to an end some time or other.

  • Sydney

    Over the past couple of weeks, we had something Australians call mid-semester break, Canadians would call this reading week, and Americans would call this spring break. It was very confusing talking about any of this as you can probably see because everyone used a different term and no one could agree on one single term. What we could agree on was my little friend group was splitting up for the break as some people were seeing family while some others needed to save some cash for other trips. I, on the other hand, jetted off to Sydney for the first half of the break by myself. I booked my flight to leave Saturday, April 20th and then booked my flight out of Sydney early on Wednesday, April 24th. This gave me three full days in Sydney to explore.

    On the first day, the weather was the nicest so I uber pooled down to Bondi beach for the day. This was a cheap way to get down to Bondi as it was a 30-minute drive. Once I arrived the sun was out and shining and instead of heading to the beach right away I walked up to a path to a place called the Bondi Icebergs. This is a swimming club where you can become a member if you swim here EVERY Sunday for 4 years! I obviously could not do that so I chose to pay the $8 entrance fee to go in and spend the morning in the iconic iceberg pool. I swam some laps but mostly enjoyed sitting on the edge where the pool meets the ocean and getting splashed by the waves hitting the pool wall. Once i got tired out i relaxed on one of the raised platforms and sunbathed until the sun moved from the pool to the beach. It was a couple of hours into the afternoon when i moved to the beach and contemplated going surfing. I chose not too one because the waves were huge and I feel i would not have been safe out there by myself, second because the water was packed with surfers and I am not good enough yet for all those eyes on me, and three because I was alone and could have left my bag o the beach but I did not want to risk it as it was a very busy day and who knows what happens to your things when you take your eyes off of them. Once it started to cool down at the beach I was off to find some dinner and found a yummy looking fish and chips shop, I grabbed that and watched the skateboarders do their thing in what looked like an abandoned pool as it was very soothing to watch. Bondi Beach reminds me very much of a Santa Monica type beach area, it has the same muscle beach area, skateboard, area, surfing area, and cute little shops that line the pathway area. Only thing Bondi is missing is a pier with a midway fair on it.

    The next day i got up early in order to take advantage of all the sunlight, as the sun sets at 6 pm and there is little to do after it is set. Today I had booked a ride with the hop on hop off bus tours that go around Sydney. There were 2 routes, one through the Bondi area and other small beaches. The second took me more downtown and by the Sydney opera house and other important areas of Sydney. I hopped on the Bondi one to start and began my day by riding through beachside suburbs and stopping in a place called rosebay to walk the beach and get some breakfast. Once i was back on the bus I rode it the rest of the loop then hopped off and got on the second route which i hopped on and off of as i was cute little places and then explored those areas. My last stop was the opera house which i got off at and walked the area. I found a cute park where i had a view of both the opera house and the bridge and stopped there for a bit. Then I wandered around until I found the Botanical gardens and stayed there until sunset. Then I was on a journey to find some dinner and back to the hostel for some downtime.

    On my third and final full day, i took the train an hour out to North Sydney where I met my friend Karley (who was in Sydney at the same time but staying with her cousin) and we went to one of the northern Sydney beaches. This beach had lots of surfers that we could watch, it had nice warm sand, and we hung out there all day soaking in the rays. It was nice to see a bit more of the side of Sydney tourists do not normally get to see as it was mostly locals here as it was not well known like Bondi beach. We headed back in the evening and I had an early night as i had to be up at 4 am to head to the airport to get a flight to Cairns which is where I stayed over the second half of my break. The airport was not busy and I got through security with ease. After a quick breakfast, i waited at the gate until it was time to head off on the second part to this adventure.

  • Becoming a Melbournian

    Becoming a Melbournian

    Welp, I feel as if i have officially transitioned from a tourist exploring Melbourne to someone who is not a full-fledged citizen, but hey I’m getting there. I’ve nearly been here for two months and i can now find my way around without using google maps (for the most part). I know the market schedule by heart and am officially starting to get into the thick of things with school work.

    Over the past couple of weeks the weather has slowly started to get cooler with a couple warm days here and there. With that came the end of the summer night market, the end of the many beach days (we still make an effort to go for sunsets though), and the end of wearing shorts every day. On the one hand, this is good because the transition to fall means I get to look more like a Melbournian because they never wear shorts! But it also means leaving behind warm weather and the fact that wearing shorts in march never gets old. So you may be wondering what have I been up to the last couple of weeks? Well, school has started to pick up and i have had an essay to work on, and other smaller assignments piling up behind that. Nevertheless, we have still been able to have some fun days exploring the city and of course making it back tot he beach for the warm days and many sunsets over the water.

    Last Thursday was one of the last very warm days. It reached 27 degrees Celsius and was sunny, so of course, that meant we had to head to the beach. This time we looked for something new and headed to a beach called port Melbourne. It was not busy at all, had softer sand than St.Kilda, and the water was just as nice (maybe a little colder). It was perfect (other than the ants) but we stayed all day and watched the sunset over the docks. It was also only a short bus ride out of the city so who knows, if another nice day presents itself maybe it’ll be time to head back there.

    The other day I went to my first AFL (Aussie Football) Game! It was new and exciting and nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. It is a mix of rugby, soccer, and football as the ball looks like a rugby ball and it is a very aggressive sport but you can also kick the ball and throw it basically like a football. Luckily I made an Aussie friend so she came with us North Americans and helped explain some of the rules. The game was very close and the team I chose to cheer for (they were the underdogs) came out on top after being down by 5 goals with 15 minutes left. Tickets were very cheap for a sports game so hopefully, I can find time to head back for another one before I leave AUS.

    A couple of days later my Birthday came and with that came warm weather as well! I turned 21 on April 2nd and celebrated it in style with friends. The day started out by going out for brunch with a friend from class because I had gotten a surprise present the day before when my Professor had canceled my only class of the day! That meant more time to sleep in and enjoy the day. After brunch, I got to rest as my friends had class then when the evening came it was time to go out for dinner. We went to the Royal Standard Hotel, a small bar/restaurant very close to our house that has cheapish food. I got chicken wings and they were very very good, other people got things such as chicken parm and pizza. They had a large menu though ranging all the way from small apps to large steaks! After dinner, I went back to our house with some friends where we hung out, had some yummy cake, and watched some horror movies (sorry Kyle and Karley). I woke up the next day to many birthday messages as back home it was officially my birthday so I can officially say this was one of the longest but best birthdays of my life.

    The past couple of days have been spent focusing on school and just hanging out with friends. We have officially passed the halfway mark for school as week 6 just passed and there may seem to be a long while to go still but i think till ass quickly. In other news the Melbourne night market comes back Wednesday, April 10th and this time is themed around European foods so that should be interesting, and in a couple of weeks reading week happens and I plan to go to Sydney and Cairns so can’t wait to get to that part of my adventure! Till next time.

  • Phillips Island: Penguin Parade

    At first, I was wary about booking this trip because recently in New Zealand I partook in penguin viewing and let me tell you for the penguin part the New Zealand experience was better. Although this all day trip included so much more. We started by bussing out of Melbourne to Moonlit Wildlife sanctuary. Here we were given an Aussie lunch of sausages and then had an hour to explore. I got to experience Kangaroos up close and feed them, I even got to hold one’s hand. We also got to pet a dingo, saw some koalas, and many other animals.

    Next, we boarded the bus and drove to Churchill island where we wandered around a little farm area, some of the girls got to try using a huge horsewhip (not on an actual horse). After that, we experienced a sheepdog round up a few sheep and learned it gather around 500 sheep! After this, we experienced sheep shearing which is a lot more aggressive than you would think. The sheep shearer basically wrestles the sheep as it sheers it and even though it looks painful the sheep must feel better at the end as it loses its heavy stinky wool coat.

    With that stop done we were off to a koala sanctuary where we walked among the treetops and saw koalas hanging about in the trees. Here we spent 30 minutes walking around and experiencing the cuteness then we were off to find some dinner.

    We spent an hour in a little town called Cowes here we were supposed to get dinner but after lunch and a snack on the bus, I was not feeling that hungry so I hit this little Gelato place in town and got Tim Tam/Cookies and Cream gelato which was delicious. I took my gelato down to the pier walked around a bit and lounged on the grass watching the seagulls devour someone’s leftovers on the beach until it was time to head back on the bus to go see some penguins.

    We drove to a spot called the Nobbies, here we could walk and look at the waves crashing against the rocks along the coast, the sun was slowly setting and with the views along the ocean, it was a spectacular spot to hang out for a while. One plus we got while here is we got to see some penguins with the sun still out only a few feet away from us. Apparently, this does not always happen and we were very lucky. Next, it was on to the penguin viewing area. Now as I previously mentioned this was not the best part of the day there were huge crowds and not a lot of information verbally given on the penguins. Although we still did get to see them waddle up out of the water and across the beach as they went home to sleep for the night. This all happened around 8:30-9pm at night so after we finished this up it was a 2-hour ride back home where we arrived back a little after midnight. Overall the experience was very fun and I am glad I participated in it as there was so much more to do than just see the penguins.

  • Melbourne

    Melbourne

    After two amazing weeks we had to say goodbye to New Zealand, it was time to head to Australia. Specifically, Melbourne, Australia.

    I won’t be in Melbourne for very long, arriving Friday and leaving Monday, but this is the reason for the whole trip. This is where Libby will be spending the next four months. She will be attending Australian Catholic University, in Melbourne, for one semester.

    We arrived in Melbourne in the evening and were met at the airport by a driver sent from the company that Libby has rented housing through. University accommodations are different in Australia and she had to find off campus housing. She is renting through an organization called Semester in Australia. They have placed her in a town home close to school. They also provided airport pick up and a company representative then met her at the house and gave her a quick tour of the house and the neighbourhood. They provided her with a bus pass and an option for a new phone plan. It took some of the initial guess work out of trying to figure out what to do and where to start. She has four roommates who are North American and will be attending the same university.

    I am staying at a hotel close to her house. So after doing some initial unpacking and getting some laundry underway, we made our way over to Hotel Jasper on Elizabeth Street. Libby spent that first night at the hotel with me, we are shopping for her bedding tomorrow.

    That quick walk to the hotel gave us an idea of what her neighbourhood is like. She lives on a quiet residential street but two blocks (a few minutes walk) away is a HUGE market. Queen Victoria Market is a seven acre site that is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is very similar to Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market or the Granville Island Market in Vancouver, except it is bigger.

    We spent the next couple days getting her settled in and touring around the city. We saw as much as we could in two days but Melbourne is a big city and Libby has a lot more to see after I leave. She is planning on keeping the blog up to date with her adventures.

    School doesn’t start until February 23 but we gave ourselves a little tour.

    There are many options for public transportation in Melbourne, one of which is a very extensive (and partially free) tram system. She won’t have any problem getting around.

    Shopping! We didn’t buy much but enjoyed walking around and window shopping. We spent a lot of time in a giant H & M.

    To get a quick overview of the city we did a hop-on-hop-off bus tour.

    Melbourne is known for its street art. Here are some pictures from Hosier Lane, one of the more popular alleys.

    Much too soon the weekend was over and I had to say goodbye. But I am so happy that we had three weeks of amazing adventures and I know that she will have four plus months of new and incredible adventures.

  • My First Week Alone

    Hi there as I am now alone with no one else to write my adventures for me I am now taking over the blog. For those of you who do not know I am Libby 20 years old studying in Australia, I am the daughter of Brenda who has been writing the posts so far. Hopefully, I can keep up with my adventures and keep you all informed.

    Let the Journey begin,

    I said goodbye to my travel companion also know as my mother on Sunday, February 10th as she had an early flight to catch the next morning. She walked me to the alley which separated my area from the rest of the market. We said goodbye and I walked alone into the alley, a sort of right of passage if you think about it enough. Although what neither of us knew is that this was not the right alley and I realized this as I walked through and hit a wall instead of an opening. Thus I backtracked to the entrance, looked left and saw her walking away, I then looked right and there was the correct alley one building down. Now I was on the right path as I made my way home alone for the first time.

    Now began the practice of getting to know and becoming friends with those around me while not feeling homesick. Luckily Melbourne is a big city with many things to do so this first week I was pretty busy. Within the next couple of days, I was hitting St.Kilda beach (more than once), where there are no big waves but it does have a nice sandy area to lay down with a very gradual entrance in the water (as you walk in it does not get deep fast.) We got to experience St.Kilda as we walked around a little and took in the sights. There is this theme park which is very expensive ($15.00 per ride) so I do not think that is a priority but the entrance was very interesting to see. After this, we trammed back (only about $4.00 round trip) and rested at home as the beach takes a lot out of you.

    In the middle of the week we had ACU orientation this consisted of two days with an information session on day 1 and an activity on day 2. At orientation, we got to meet all the other exchange students and there are about 40 of us in total. We Got a tour of the campus and a pizza lunch which was very yummy. Orientation spanned two days and the second day they organized an amazing race game for us. We were given clues and tasks to complete in groups of 5 or 6 around the city with the idea to get to know people and have fun. An added bonus was the winning team was given medals as a reward. On this day I made some new friends and got to see the sights while figuring out what lays where within the city, although I am still getting pretty lost as my sense of direction is horrible. In the end, our team came 2nd only losing by 11 points we put in a good effort and went for milkshakes and fries afterward (the cheapest thing on the menu).

    In Melbourne, during the summer they put on a night market within the queen victoria market. It is open 6-10pm and a big group of us went to see what it was like. I was expecting one street filled with food vendors and such but no this was much bigger. There were hundreds of people milling about nearly 20 food tents and little vendors selling homemade crafts and little items dotting the market. There was seating to eat at or have a drink while listening to live music or you could wander around and catch a couple of street performers entertaining a bunch of people. The atmosphere was great and we easily spent a few hours exploring and trying some very good food. The night market is only open for 3 more weeks so I’m hoping to go as much as possible while I have the chance.

    Friday night came and some of us went out for dinner and drinks. I was not super hungry but the little food I did get was amazing. After we explored Melbourne in the dark. Shops close at 9pm everywhere so if you want to do some late night shopping you either have to go earlier or get it done quickly. Some of the girls picked up an ice cream that looked very good and we got home late that night but it was fun after doing nothing all day.

    Finally, the week came to a close with a trip to Brighton beach, this one was farther away and we had to figure out the underground network. Once we got through that the train took us to the beach and what drew us here were the Brighton bathing boxes. Upon seeing these the journey was worth it as some of them had very cool designs although if you want to own one you have to give up $300,000. It made sense though as all the houses around here were large with gates to keep people out. Brighton beach was a lot rockier than St.Kilda and getting out to enjoy the water meant you had to step over multiple little rocks. Luckily no one cut their feet and we were able to enjoy the water. This beach was much more crowded because of the popularity of these bathing boxes but we still managed to enjoy it and appreciate where we were considering back home for a lot of us is very cold right now. After an exciting day at the beach, we took the underground back, this was a little more difficult as announcements made on the trains are not very loud and we were tired. We missed one and proceeded to sit on an unmoving train for 15 minutes before realizing it was the last stop and we had to get off. Luckily we made it off and not even a minute later the train started to move the opposite direction in which we needed to go. We then boarded the right one and made it home for dinner.

    That concluded my first week being alone, the next day would have been Monday, February 18th and marked the official one-week anniversary of me living in a strange city by myself. There were definitely spurts of homesickness mostly while sitting alone late at night but being busy and making some good friends definitely helped. As I get accustomed to life in a new city I hope to keep the blog updated with new adventures and as school starts we will see how well this goes.

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