My Aussie Top 10

I'm pre-empting the questions of 'Where was your favourite place?' and 'What was the best part?'  Think of your last 15 holidays and pick your favourite day - impossible? That's basically what your asking me with the questions above! So I've collated my top ten experiences of Australia, and yes, I've been cheeky and each one includes several things!

10. Familiar faces 

It's been fab turning up to hostels and finding somebody you know from another hostel, sometimes months before. Just a friendly face to say hello to!

9. Sailing the Whitsundays

More in here as something I'll never forget rather than a positive experience. I don't think I've ever feared for my life so much, clinging on to, what felt like, an almost vertical boat as we soared through the ocean!

8.  A little bit of luxury 

I adored playing tour guide for my lovely mum, spending lots of one on one time and of course this brought with it some lovely accommodation. Much as I loved staying in hostels it was a welcome relief to be a tourist in a bit of comfort with private bathrooms, extremely comfortable beds and balconies!

7. Sunsets and sunrises 

What more do I need to say?! From the sun rising in Cape Tribulaton to the sun setting at Cottesloe beach, there's something special about an Australian sunset. 

6. Uluru

My 31st birthday will go down in history as the one when I drank bubbles watching the sun set at Uluru. The next morning I had the pleasure of completing the base walk with some wonderful ladies and basked in Maria's stories. We were lucky enough to learn about the indigenous connections to Uluru from a local guide. 

5. The never ending day 

Sunday 8th February 2015 will go down in history as the never ending day! I left the house at 6am and returned at about 9:30pm and fitted in The Color Run, a rehearsal witn SGLC, a trip to Coogee beach and dinner with friends. It was one of those wonderfully spontaneous days that brought so much fun and happiness. 

4. Animals 

An Australian top 10 isn't complete without a mention for the wildlife. I have countless photos of koalas, Jack and Gracie loved going kangaroo spotting and I plucked up the courage to feed kangaroos in wildlife parks. The quokkas on Rottnest Island were out of this world and the wilds birds here never ceased to amaze me - kookaburras, lorikeets, cockatoos... Stunning!  And I almost forgot seeing dolphins leap through the waves in Byron Bay and whales dive out of the water near Hervey Bay. Ooh! And the wombats and wallabies near Cradle Mountain. Not to mention the platypuses! Need I go on?!

3. Feeling that life is good 

I lost count of the number of times I found myself thinking 'life is gooood!' Walking down the street in the sun as rainbow lorikeets swooped past or standing in the rain as a double rainbow came into view. Life really has never been better. 

=1. Being part of SGLC

This is definitely one of my cheat entries because Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir have brought me so many wonderful experiences and I have many happy memories involving them.  With SGLC I have: sung at the flag raising and danced in the parade of Mardi Gras - I especially loved the build up with all of the floats in College Street and Hyde Park; sung at at Fair Day and enticed people to our stall; performed in a Freddie Mercury tribute on Pyrmont Bridge - so much fun in a moustache!; and had THE best weekend as I helped backstage at their world premiere of Cheek to Cheek. Not to mention the commeraderie at weekly rehearsals and drinks after. 

=1. Surrogate families

It takes a special kind of family to take in a new family member every few months but that's exactly what the Bakers and the Byrnes do with their au pairs. I stumbled into au pairing quite by accident but really fell on my feet with both of these fantastic families. I really felt like part of the family in both Perth and Narangba and had the privilege of looking after awesome kids who made me smile every single day. 

Sydney... The end.

So as I write a blog about my final days of this mighty adventure, I'm sitting near Mrs Macquarie's Seat in Sydney's Botanical Gardens, overlooking the harbour, bridge and opera house. Poignant because this is pretty much where my Australian journey began 363 days ago, oblivious to everything that lay before me.  I don't have a huge amount to say about the past few days at the moment, I'm still trying to digest the events that have occurred but it's safe to say I can't think of a way that I would rather have spent my last weekend in Australia. On Thursday 18th June 2015 i geocached in the morning, dropping Kenny Koala in a cache (after a bit of sightseeing!) to begin his journey to the UK. 

In the evening I was reunited with my SGLC family and thus began an indescribable weekend as we staged the world premiere of Cheek to Cheek. My duties over the weekend included preparation, dressing and Front of House. The weekend  of final rehearsals, including tech and dress rehearsals on Friday, along with 3 performances and an after party over Saturday and Sunday brought lots of laughs and several tears and I reflected on what had been an sensational weekend with awesome friends to top off an amazing year. 

Friday 19th June 2015

Saturday 20th June 2015

Sunday 21st June 2015

Monday 22nd June 2015 brought a well needed lie in, followed by a day catching up with friends and today, Tuesday 23rd June 2015 is panning out in much the same way. Reminiscing with the view over the harbour and this evening, dinner and drinks with dear friends. 

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets

In midnights, in cups of coffee

In inches, in miles

In laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure

A year in the life?

Taste of Tasmania 4 - 6

Sunday 14th June 2015

Another day, another walk and we started following Cateract Gorge to a suspension bridge over the water. 

Next was Shelly Beach and Shelly Point (yes, named as such because there were lots of shells!). 

After lunch and a grocery stop in St Helens we made a couple of stops in the Bay of Fires which, although make some nice photos, wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. 

Our overnight stop was in Bicheno and when we arrived we visited the blow hole which shot water into the air with every large wave. 

Before we went to the accommodation we climbed (which killed my legs because of yesterday's walk) to a lookout across the town and the ocean. 

Monday 15th June 2015

En route to the famous Wineglass Bay we stopped at Coles Bay. 

The walk to Wineglass Bay lookout was described at the base as potentially one of the hardest walks you'd do in Tasmania and this was based on the steps to the summit. This was no joke as my muscles still ached from Saturday. I took my time and the view was well worth the 45 minute ascent. 

Next stop was Cape Tourville and another of Tasmania's 60 great short walks. I think this was our sixth. 

At Honeymoon Bay there were seals frolicking not far from the shore. 

We made a quick photo stop at Great Oyster Bay...

...but my favourite stop of the day was Bonorong Wildlife Santuary where we were introduced to one of the baby wombats, a few Tassie Devils and a koala. 

We then had over an hour to roam the park independently and I loved feeding the Kangaroos who clutched our hands as they are. 

Several of the Roos had joeys in their pouches and some were as tall as me!

Back in Hobart the Dark Mofo festival from Mona was well underway and outside our hostel, tall beams of light mimicked the heartbeat of those who gripped a pole at the base. 

Tuesday 16th June 2015

Vicky's time with the group had come to an end last night so our guide for the final day of my tour was Ian. Our first stop was Richmond and Australia's oldest bridge in use. 

Next stop Pirate Bay...

...and made it to a Port Arthur, a convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, at 11am. We started in the visitor centre where we were given a playing card. This playing card matched with a convict within the information displays so we could follow their story. Me? I was the four of clubs. 

Outside, at 11:30am, we were booked onto an introductory tour and learnt the basics about the layout of the settlement. 

Cindy and I then headed off to explore the Seperate Prison where the worst of the worst convicts were sent to spend 23 hours a day alone in their cells and and an hour alone exercising in individual yards. We saw the pitch black isolation cell and the chapel where convicts would sit in individual booths with bags over their heads. 

At 1pm we went on a cruise around the boys' area and the burial island. 

To complete our visit we wandered around the various other buildings, some of which were in ruins and the Parliament Cottage and Gardens seemed really out of place. 

Returning to Hobart we stopped at Remarkable Cave for photos. 

My time in Tasmania was coming to an end and as we were back in Hobart early, Cindy and I enjoyed a couple of drinks in the bar next to the hostel. 

Wednesday 17th June 2015 was a pretty quiet day involving checking out of the hostel, breakfast in a bookstore, uploading photos to my blog, and wandering around the shops. My afternoon flight took be back to Sydney where I couldn't resist an evening walk up to the Opera House after dinner at Grill'd. 

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.