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Reflections
Entry 15 of 38 | show all | print this entry |
I've now travelled for almost 4 months and I can say that I have seen Australia. There are still parts that I would like to see, but there is only so much time. I have done everything that I have wanted to see and do. I've been to 35 different cities/towns/areas in Australia. I have a few days in and around Perth before I fly to Melbourne to begin job searching. Yes, the time has come to put my backpacking days on hold.
I'm actually looking forward to working, kind of strange to say. It will be nice to stay in one place for a while, absorb everything that I have experienced and to build up my funds for my travels after Australia. I've been constantly on the go and I am feeling a bit drained. For the past month, I have almost spent the entire time camping, sleeping in swags, going days without showers and putting on clothes that will no longer come clean and hopefully don't smell too bad. As soon as I start working, it's shopping time :) Fresh, clean and new clothes, I can't wait. I don't remember the last time that I haven't shared a toilet with some type of insect. I'm slowly recovering from all the scrapes, cuts, bruises and the many bites that my body has received. My left forearm was covered in 80 or so sand fly bites. I'm still puzzled by the attack, I'm not sure when it occurred. I've loved every minute of the West coast and my travels throughout the rest of Australia.
I've decided to work in Melbourne because it's a great place and one of my favourite cities, I've already been there twice, and with it being a large city, it offers so much. I always thought that I would prefer to live in a smaller city, which is still true, but I still like being able to access the big city since there is always so much going on and things to do. I would definitely miss the bars, clubs, restaurants, festivals, concerts etc. by living in a small city. It will be nice to be around a large city before heading to New Zealand where I will be spending most of my time in the outdoors.
During the long drives through Western Australia (some days we drove 850km... I don't mind driving for long periods of time, it's the consecutive days that hurt), I've been able to reflect on my travels to date. I feel that even in such a short period of time that my views, opinions and thoughts have changed. I have a clearer picture of what I want out of life and what's important to me. I have started to develop dreams and goals for my future after traveling. For many years prior to my travels I had always dreamed of coming over to Australia. Once I had arrived, it suddenly dawned on me that I was living my dream and I had successfully accomplished all of my goals. All my hard work to get here has paid off.
I've been having one of the best times of my life here. But within several weeks of traveling I almost felt a void, which took me a while to figure out. I've constantly been talking to many different people of different ages and from varying parts of the world. There has been only a few days where I have spent a few hours of alone time. Traveling solo definitely forces you to be social, but only if you truly embrace the entire traveling experience. I love getting off the beaten track, away from the typical tourist spots. Its been from talking to people that I have learned a great deal about myself. I've faced a large learning curve, but this time it has to do with myself as oppose to school, work etc. I am gaining so much more than I expected from this trip so far. I'm looking forward to the next few months.
Since Darwin I've been traveling with Stuart from England and Kathrin from Germany, both great people. We had a fun trip from Broome to Perth, the three of us together make a good combination. Great times with tons of laughs. During the trip we went hiking and swimming through Karijini National Park, snorkeled on the Ningaloo Reef off Coral Bay, which was great because the reef was right off the beach, but the water was freezing, since we were only in our bikinis. Stuart wore two 3mm full-length wetsuits when he went diving...chicken :) There was also about 50-60 black-tip reef sharks 3m off the beach. We saw loads of dolphins at Monkey Mia, they come right up to the beach each morning to be fed. We did some more hiking and "rock climbing" in Kalbarri before heading down to Perth...back to the cold, hopefully not for too much longer since we are getting closer to summer :)
I don't really miss too much from home right now that I can't live without, it's more the luxuries that I miss while backpacking...a choice of clothes, having a clean place to call home, a comfy bed in a room without strangers, driving a car etc.
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Mom - when can I expect mine in the mail :) Andrew - I'm eating lots of lamb, it's a lot cheaper here...I'm sure you're jealous. Next time I write, I hope to have a job.
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