I am still fairly new to blogging, having just celebrated my 1 year anniversary of traveling around the world. So when Lori of Travlinmad nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award last week, my first reaction was—Cool. But what the hell is it?
Being a researcher, I did an online search for more information and found out the award is meant to recognize the work of women bloggers. Then I tried to find out who originally started the award. This sent me deep into the depths of the blogosphere.
There’s less to say and more to see when it comes to the Great Barrier Reef.
I’ve already fully reviewed the liveaboard experience with ProDiveCairns, the company that took me on this exciting, 3-day expedition. That’s why I’ve decided to now show you, rather than tell you, about this underwater wonderland.
This week, I’ll be sharing all of the visuals I captured while diving the outer reef—starting with this video montage I put together. It’s a peek at my adventures under the sea. Enjoy!
The entire reason I decided to visit Australia was to dive the Great Barrier Reef. I researched tons of day trip and multi-day options for experiencing the GBR. I finally decided on a 3-day liveaboard trip with ProDiveCairns leaving from Cairns in Queensland. The price tag, number of dives, and opportunity to go to the less-damaged outer reef convinced me it was the best option.
Did it turn out to be the best? Well, I cannot compare it to any other trips as it’s the only one I did. But I can say the trip receives my highest recommendation. In this post, I describe my experience and include all of the details you may want to know if you were ever interested in booking a similar trip! If you don’t want to read the whole review, feel free to skip to “My Recommendations” below.
After over 4000km of driving up the East Coast from Melbourne, I made it to my final destination: Cairns, Queensland. I had spent the prior 10 days behind the wheel viewing sandy beaches and coastlines without the right weather conditions in which to indulge in a swim. Now that I had made it to the far North, the air was finally warm enough to allow for a dip in the sea.
But in Cairns there are no swimmable beaches. I assumed this coastal city would have plenty of sandy beaches like the rest of my East Coast drive. Oh no—it’s a muddy wasteland complete with dangerous creatures ready to attack anyone who enters the water! Luckily, Cairns more than makes up for its lack of beaches with tons of free beachside activities to choose from—including a salt water lagoon that easily became my favorite hang out in town.
Fakaalofa lahi atu! This means “hello” in Niuean! As I write this, I am celebrating 1 year of travel from Niue Island in the South Pacific. The last time my feet touched US soil was September 1st 2014. What a crazy thought. I am so happy I have taken a whole year to travel around the world. Long-term travel is something I’ve always wanted to do and an experience I think everyone should have.
As usual, I will list what I did this last month. Additionally, I will mix things up by listing my favorite moments from this past year. Then I’ll talk a little bit about my biggest deviation of all—the location from which I am celebrating my 1-year anniversary of deviating the norm!
Once I dropped Roojin off at the airport in Brisbane, my road trip adventure became even less fixed than ever. I had 6 days and 6 nights to spend as I pleased on the 1800km drive to Cairns. And I could end up spending it with just about anyone!
Through advertisements online, I connected with other travelers who were interested in sharing the journey (and the gas expenses) with me. Both on my own for part of the journey and with my travel companions, I discovered many natural wonders along the way. Unbelievable mountains, interesting rainforest vegetation, and unique waterfalls made up the best stops on the road from Brisbane to Cairns.
The drive from Sydney to Brisbane is 900 km of highway filled with so much to do, just about anything is possible. After picking up Roojin in Sydney, we headed straight up the A1 Pacific Highway.
As with most of Australia, however, you have to get off the highway to see something of interest. Most of the time. Aside from a giant banana, we veered off-route to see someof Australia’s best beaches, hike over sand dunes to get to a shipwreck, and even spot dolphins traveling up the coast.
The first stop on my road trip from Melbourne to Cairns was Sydney. I had half a day to spare and was able to enjoy a few of the city's highlights without a dollar spent. Roojin, a Canadian girl I had met at a couchsurf meetup in Berlin, was my tour guide for the day. We decided to hit some of the quintessential parts of Sydney within walking distance of the Harbour.
As we stared in awe at the Opera House architecture, strolled through the royal gardens, and took in the exhibition at the gallery, we realized the day we were having would make a perfect date! So here it is, the perfect plan for a date while visiting Sydney on a budget.
Warning! This post will definitely contain images and video of dead, cooked animal and the eating of said dead animal. So if that bothers you, exit now. I suppose I needed to state this warning at the start of some of my other posts, like the time I ate raw pigs blood in Thailand or the other time I tried Minke Whale in Iceland. I like to eat adventurously while I travel because I like to learn about a culture through its food.
Eating kangaroo in Australia happens to be as normal as eating venison is where I'm from in upstate New York. Kangaroos overpopulate Australian lands causing hundreds of car accidents a year just like white-tailed deer in the USA. I never ate venison back home, but this trip isn't about doing what I normally do. It's about deviating the norm.
When my friend Cyndi asked me if I’d rather see the Great Ocean Road or see the Little Penguins, the decision was an easy one to make. After only getting to see one penguin in New Zealand, I was ready to see more. And on Phillip Island, I was guaranteed to see many.
If that weren’t enough, Phillip Island is also home to the Koala Conservation Centre where I met even more of Australia’s wildlife. After penguins, I saw koalas, wallabies, and tons of exotic birds some of which laughed us right out of the park!
During my stay in Melbourne, I had one full day to see and experience the city. Considering it’s the “cultural capital” of Australia, there are many aspects of Melbourne life worth checking out. It’s famous for its dining experiences, sporting events, and proximity to the Great Ocean Road.
I ended up focusing on its art. And if the art is anything like my experience in Berlin, art always has something to say. Through Melbourne’s artistic highlights, including the street art, architecture, and music, I discovered both the controversial and the beautiful.
I spent the last month in Australia and now I’m in New Zealand again. Say what?! That’s right. I had a great time in Australia. I did a ton of adventuring, visited friends, and saw so much wildlife and marine life. I can’t wait to share it all through many posts in the coming months.
Ultimately, my Aussie adventure was destined to be a jam-packed one, but a short one. I set out with an agenda: deviate to illuminate. As intended, some revelations helped me realize the most important things to me so I could return to New Zealand to pursue them.
Ever wonder what the rest of the world thinks about Americans and the USA?
After traveling for nearly 11 months (7 of which were spent in New Zealand), I’ve compiled some of the most common assumptions or stereotypes people tend to have about “the States” and its people.
Eradicating stereotypes through travel is a two way street. Typically, we think of traveling the world as a chance to inform ourselves about other cultures and people. What I’ve found is I have equally become a teacher, informing others about from where I come.
One cold, wintery day on The Queen’s Birthday weekend, Jono and I drove 5 hours up North to the Coromandel Peninsula.
There, we met his sister and her family where they were staying in Whitianga. Whitianga is situated near two iconic Coromandel must-dos: Hot water beach and Cathedral Cove.
I had already visited hot water beach on a previous occasion but Cathedral Cove was not accessible at the time. Now I was finally able to visit this gorgeous beach and natural archway. Perhaps you’ll recognize it from a famous movie, music video, or both!
I like to try to blend into a place as much as possible. Short of mimicking the Kiwi accent, I think I did a pretty good job at blending into the Hawke’s Bay life while seeing as much of it as a “tourist” as possible.
During my four months living in Napier, I saw and did heaps. I’ve picked out the best of the best to give you an idea of what local living is like in the Hawke’s Bay.
While traveling the North Island, I kept passing through Taupo instead of actually spending any time there. One time I finally did stop. Jono and I were on our way back from a weekend trip near Hamilton. Huka Falls and the “Craters of the Moon” had been on my mind since I passed through Taupo on several occasions prior.
Stopping to visit both was definitely worth it. The bubbling Earth of the geothermal field and the gushing power of the falls were awesome to behold. The best part? Laughing at the expense of frightened tourists riding in speedboats down the river!
That’s right, for the 10 month anniversary of my travels around the world, today marks the first day I will set foot in Australia. I am writing this post in advance of my landing and have scheduled it to appear while I am probably still in-flight over the Tasman Sea!
But this post is less about Australia, and much more about my final days in New Zealand. After over 7 months there, I still have several stories to share. This story is about leaving and why it was so difficult to go.
This post is about one thing: The best sunset I have ever seen in my entire life.
I’ve seen a lot of sunsets in my lifetime but none was ever so #earthporn worthy as the one I saw with Jono back in March when camped on the 90 Mile Beach in New Zealand.
Instead of talking about it, I’ve decided to simply post the photos and allow the sunset to speak for itself. My camera brings out colors as opposed to dulling them like most lenses. Otherwise, there was absolutely no enhancing or filtering done to them. Enjoy!
Like most Westernized countries, New Zealand has many domesticated horses. On any given drive across the country you’re bound to see them fenced in on grassy hillsides, being ridden by tourists across a country road, or jumped by locals for prizes at field day events.
Wild horses, on the other hand, are a rare sight to see. I was lucky enough to track some down and witness their majestic beauty as they freely trotted through the Te Aupouri Forest and galloped across the dunes behind the 90 Mile Beach.
The Ninety Mile Beach is one of the most unusual highways I’ve ever driven. At low tide it becomes a legitimate highway. It’s an alternative to state highway 1 and often a scenic route for tour buses.
But the 90 mile beach can be as dangerous as it is beautiful.
The tide can catch tourists off their guard resulting in their vehicles stuck in the sand and an unexpected overnight stay in the dunes behind the beach. Luckily, my kiwi friend, Jono, and I had deliberately worked an overnight stay into our Ninety Mile Beach plans. With plenty of fish to catch from the beach and another food source under our feet in the sand, we had all we needed to survive several days on one of New Zealand’s most beautiful and remote beaches.
