Before I start summarizing let me tell you about our last few days on the trip. When we got to Sydney we checked all of our luggage except for what we needed for the night then took train to Circular Quay to get some souvenirs and see the beautiful Opera House and Sydney Harbor one last time. I love Sydney, its so pretty. That’s when it hit me that we were really leaving L. (That’s also when I realized that I had lost my camera. I think I left it in the Kuala Lumpur airport during our layover when I decided to clean out my purse. Oh well, at least I had all my pictures saved to my computer.)
We headed out to Bondi Beach and stopped at Cole’s grocery to pick up some Tim Tams (Australian cookies) and Cadbury chocolate to smuggle back into the U.S. We met up with some of our old roommates and re-lived the glorious month we spent at Bondi with them. It was so good to see familiar faces and spend some time with them before heading back to the western hemisphere.
The next morning we said goodbye to beautiful Bondi and took the train into the city to close out our bank accounts and take care of some other stuff. Our flight left Sydney around 2pm.
We had a short layover in LA where I fell asleep on the floor, then landed in Austin at 6pm. I wore my tiny cowboy hat clip I acquired in Thailand and got a laugh out of our waiting parents. It was good to be home.
Koda attacked me with licks when I got home. She missed her momma! I had some friends over for a BBQ and spent some time catching up with them. Since then I’ve been helping my Dad out at his office and enjoying not living out of backpack or sharing a room.
Everyone I talk to asks what my favorite part of the trip was and I realized that I did so many different things its hard to narrow down! So here is a photo summary of the most exciting things we did on our trip:
We drove a camper van all over New Zealand without ever getting that lost…
We watched the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean crash into each other at the northern tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga…
Made knives and dabbled in bone carving….
Fished for our dinner among snowcapped mountains…
Got up close and personal on a dinner date with a lion…
Bungee jumped over Queenstown….
Hiked a glacier….
Worked for our keep on a farm (who would have thought I’d have to leave Texas to do that?)…
Toured the iconic Opera House….
Lived on Bondi Beach with 25 housemates (best backyard I've ever had)…
Looked for devils in Tasmania…
Found Nemo and lots of turtles on the Great Barrier Reef….
Bungee jumped over Queenstown….
Hiked a glacier….
Worked for our keep on a farm (who would have thought I’d have to leave Texas to do that?)…
Toured the iconic Opera House….
Lived on Bondi Beach with 25 housemates (best backyard I've ever had)…
Looked for devils in Tasmania…
Found Nemo and lots of turtles on the Great Barrier Reef….
Camped in the Australian Outback…
Sailed through the Whitsunday Islands…
Fed kangaroos and cuddled koalas….
Sailed through the Whitsunday Islands…
Fed kangaroos and cuddled koalas….
Admired the symmetry of the Taj Mahal…
Charmed a cobra…
Rode a camel through the sand dunes of the Thar Desert….
Saw a real-life sand castle….
Charmed a cobra…
Rode a camel through the sand dunes of the Thar Desert….
Saw a real-life sand castle….
Relaxed on the beautiful beaches of Thailand…
Got my fill on pad thai…
Saw an octopus, eel and sea snake diving in Thailand….
Jump roped fire…
Had over 18 different flights….
Had over 18 different flights….
And we didn't kill each other after spending everyday together!!!
And those are just a few of my MOST favorite things. Other highlights include seeding both black and white sand beaches; blackwater rafting through glowworm caves; trying new foods: mussels, kangaroo, emu, crocodile, and everything in India; going to zoos; digging our own hot tub on Hot Water Beach; learning to surf; riding down sand dunes on boogie boards; making new friends from around the world; visits from my family, Jamie and Jessica; celebrating my 25th birthday; and seeing parts of the world I never knew existed!
I thought this trip would quench my thirst for world travel but in fact it just made it stronger! I hope to continue traveling in the future and can’t wait to see where life takes me next! I could not have asked for a better travel mate and friend to share this experience with. Thank you Sarah for putting up with me! I can't believe how fast 6 months went by!
It was a fantastic trip, thank you for following along with my on my journey! I am going to keep the blog up but will remove everyone from the automatic emails. Should I choose to blog about my regular, boring life it will be on this page but no promises on doing that with any regularity (and no promises that it will be as entertaining!).
Now time to get a full-time job…..
Love to you all!
I thought this trip would quench my thirst for world travel but in fact it just made it stronger! I hope to continue traveling in the future and can’t wait to see where life takes me next! I could not have asked for a better travel mate and friend to share this experience with. Thank you Sarah for putting up with me! I can't believe how fast 6 months went by!
It was a fantastic trip, thank you for following along with my on my journey! I am going to keep the blog up but will remove everyone from the automatic emails. Should I choose to blog about my regular, boring life it will be on this page but no promises on doing that with any regularity (and no promises that it will be as entertaining!).
Now time to get a full-time job…..
Love to you all!
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