Australia

Adventures, Australia

Tasmania 79 1024x683 - Exploring The Wonders of Tasmania

When I began planning my trip to Australia, Tasmania wasn’t originally on the agenda. I didn’t know anything about it and sadly didn’t even know exactly where it was. After meeting a few travelers that had been through Australia, Tasmania kept coming up as a place not to miss. I started researching and found that it was full of national parks, outdoor activities and beautiful scenery. Still not knowing much about the island, I made the decision to go and was excited to explore a part of the country that not many people think to go to. Tasmania would be my last stop in Australia before heading to New Zealand, so with four days to explore the island I knew I would have a packed itinerary.

Tasmania is located off the southern coast of Australia and was founded by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. It’s covered in beautiful forests, rugged mountains, picturesque coastlines and endless lakes, and over one-third of the island is protected by National Parks and World Heritage Areas. Additionally, it’s home to an abundance of rare plants and animals!

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Adventures, Australia

GreatOceanRoad 64 1024x683 - Day Trip Down The Great Ocean Road

Traveling Australia’s coastline you see just how diverse the landscape is, from tropical beaches to rolling hills to giant cliffs with turbulent waters. The Great Ocean Road in the southern state of Victoria is known for beautiful seaside cliffs and is one of the most scenic coastal drives in the country. While I was in Melbourne I made sure to drive the Great Ocean Road to see one of Australia’s natural heritage areas!

The Great Ocean Road is a 90 minute drive from Melbourne, which spans 249 miles from the town of Torquay to Nelson. It is dedicated to the memory of the fallen soldiers of the First World War, making it the world’s largest war memorial. 330,000 Australians volunteered to fight in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East- 60,000 were killed and 110,000 wounded. The casualty rate of more than 64% was higher than any other nation engaged- Australia’s highest in any war. This loss had major repercussions for the returned men, so finding employment was a huge factor in their rehabilitation to civilian life. The GOR project offered these men a chance to work again- 3,000 Australian returned soldiers and sailors of the First World War helped to build it.

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Adventures, Australia

111416 Whitsundays 21 1024x683 - Zipping Down Australia's East Coast

Australia is a HUGE country, so to try and tackle it in three weeks is very ambitious for anyone. It’s always been a dream of mine to visit, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the whole country in the three weeks I had planned to stay. So while this means I of course have to come back to see the rest of the country, I decided to focus on the East Coast for my trip.

While I initially only planned to see Southeast Asia on my trip, knowing I had family that lived in Sydney obviously meant I had to visit! I planned to make it to them from Cairns (northern Queensland) in a week’s time. That meant over 1,600 miles on a bus…in seven days. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

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