Hey, everyone! I have now been back in the states for nearly two weeks. Oddly enough, my time in Australia feels like a dream. It’s as if I’ve been in a cryogenic chamber for the past year and have finally awakened. But… it was not a dream and I had spent 11.5 months in that beautiful country. I wanted to make an aftermath post that covered a number of topics – my finances while in Australia, my favorite moments, food, wildlife, etc.

Rose

My friend Michael, who had traveled to Australia on a work and holiday visa years ago and gave me the idea, taught me about this concept – the rose, the thorn, the bouquet. The rose is your favorite moment of a trip. The thorn is least favorite moment. The bouquet is something that surprised you and/or really made an impression. Since then, I’ve taken to asking people what their rose/thorn/bouquet were after they take trips. It’s always fun to see how people answer. I decided to share mine with you all!

Not that this would be much of a shocker, but my rose was how bountiful the wildlife in Australia was.

Everywhere I went, there was some new creature to seek after.  From kangaroos to wallabies to wombats, Tasmanian devils, snakes, octopus, whales, Port Jackson sharks, etc.  In and out of the water, Australia was rife with wildlife in a way I never could have anticipated.  I was so, so lucky to be able to experience all these animals as consistently as I did. 

To expand on the wildlife, I had some particular moments that were very dear to me.

After briefly seeing an echidna on the side of the road in Kalbarri, I really was hoping to spot one again.  Shortly after arriving in Tasmania, I was able to have such a special encounter with an echidna while walking near the base of kunanyi/Mount Wellington.  

Also in Tasmania, spending time with the platypus during a number of evenings at the Hobart Rivulet was very memorable for me.  Many people come to Australia and aren’t able to see platypus.  I know of some Australians who have never even seen a wild platypus.  So, I made it my goal while in Tassie to visit with the platypus as often as I could, for all the people who wouldn’t get the chance.

While I had seen octopus quite a few times snorkeling in Australia, there was one encounter that was significant for me and that was in Coral Bay.  After stumbling upon the octopus’ lair, I made a mental note of where the location was and proceeded to visit the spot on most of my snorkeling sessions.  Some days she wasn’t there, other times she was.  Most of the time, she was hiding in a crevice in the large mound of coral but there was one day that was unlike all others.  I approached the coral and saw not one, but two octopus sitting atop it, interacting.  And then… a THIRD octopus!  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  To see octopi linking tentacles, fighting one another, swimming away and inking… it was something I will never forget.  One of my absolute favorite moments in Australia.

Frilled necks were a sort of obsession for me during my time in Darwin.  I had forgotten they existed until arriving in Darwin and seeing them became an absolute mission for me.  I… HAD… to find one!  I joined a Facebook group for Northern Territory Naturalists and saw some people had posted recent sightings.  I asked the group where the best spots were to try and find them and was met with many answers.  On days where I wasn’t going hiking somewhere, I would walk around the northern suburbs of Darwin, looking for these frillies.  Many days went by and I hadn’t seen anything.  Well…  SO many lizards, but no frilled-neck lizards.  And then one day, I was passing a tree and spotted my first baby.  I could not believe it!  I ended up seeing five different frillies while in Darwin.  None of them raised their frills at me, but it was still so incredible to see them.  They are beautiful lizards.  My favorite sighting was when I happened to run into someone from the Facebook group who had a frilly sitting atop his son’s friends hat.  And then they found two more within five minutes!  I couldn’t stop laughing – it was so bizarre.  After spending so much time looking for the lizards, it was like an overdose of frillies.  I would like to return to Darwin in the wet months one day to try and spot the adult frillies.  They are a lot more active in the wet months. It would be incredible to see the thunderstorms of the Northern Territory, too. They are supposedly legendary.

Another favorite moment was during my last snorkeling session in Australia – at Shelly Beach in Sydney.  I had been wanting to see a Port Jackson shark basically since I’d arrived in Australia but hadn’t gotten lucky enough.  When I was up in Queensland, it was out of the range of Port Jackson sharks, so I forgot seeing them in Sydney was a possibility.  And then, there it was, swimming so close to me.  And then later, I saw four of five of them – some of them incredibly close.  They are gorgeous sharks.  It was almost like a parting gift from Australian waters – thanking me for spending so much of my time snorkeling.

Not many creatures can compare to that of a humpback whale for me and my time in Hervey Bay provided me with some excellent whale watching.  Breaches, fin slaps, tail slaps, spy hopping… but to be able to swim with a humpback?  I don’t know if I’ll ever get the opportunity again!  How amazing, to enter the water and have a humpback look up in my direction, acknowledging my existence.  I wish I’d been able to swim with the humpback for longer.  One thing is for sure – I would like to return to Coral Bay in the future around July or August, where there are humpbacks, whale sharks, and manta rays all swimming along the Ningaloo Reef.

And lastly… snakes.  I am making a separate section about snakes – but they have been one of my favorite wildlife sightings in Australia.  

Thorn

The first thorn was probably not having a car.  Having a car would have made my time in Australia so much easier in many ways.  The freedom to go wherever, whenever, not relying on public transportation or other adventurers to go exploring with.  If I had to do it all over again, though, I still wouldn’t have gotten a car.  Buying a 4WD in Australia is EXPENSIVE.  Most people were selling them for around $15,000.  That is basically what was in my bank account haha.  I think I did it in a way that worked for me.

Probably the most annoying thing overall in Australia was the flies.  Only certain areas had these flies – most notably Kalbarri and in the Red Center, but when they were around, they were absolutely brutal.  Buzzing all around you, landing on your lips, nose, near your eyes.  They drove me crazy.  I am so glad to be away from them haha.  

One other thing that was very frustrating was dealing with identity theft while overseas.  The matter was dealt with very quickly – I contacted the credit card bureaus, etc. and they took it from there, but it was a stressful time.  I was worried that suddenly all my money would be drained from my bank account and I’d be totally screwed.  Luckily, that did not happen.

And lastly, having shitty phone service at times and not being able to connect with my family and friends.  The digital cleanse in Cape Tribulation ended up being a really magical time for me but it was still an adjustment.  Since I was traveling alone, it was really important for me to be able to stay in touch with my loved ones.  To not be able to do that had me anxious at first, especially in Coral Bay.

There were the occasional bogus people along the way, too, like annoying hostel mates, etc., but overall I didn’t have issues with people.

I’d say the roses certainly outweigh the thorns during my time in Oz.

Bouquet

And lastly… the bouquet.  

One major part of the bouquet for me was the PEOPLE.  I am not really a people person.  When traveling before this, I didn’t much care for learning about a country’s culture or interacting with locals that much.  I always preferred to get outside the cities, away from people, get into nature.  But meeting the people I met in Australia… I loved it.  I met some really interesting people, from all over the world.  But I especially loved spending time with my Australians.  My Perth friends, my Tassie friends… my Darwin and Cairns friends.  It has been very cool.  I was taught SO MUCH about Australian culture.  I’m really grateful for the friends I made and for everything they taught me about their beautiful country.

I think the biggest surprise for me was just how much I fell in love with the country of Australia.  I never felt totally compelled to go here. Initially, Australia was only supposed to be a place where I could make some money in a place outside of the United States and travel around for a while before going to Asia.  I knew there would be cool wildlife, but other than kangaroos and koalas, I didn’t really know what else there was to see.  Boy, was I in for a treat.  I just love Australia.  It was my first home away from home – a place where I realized that I could live somewhere new, start a new career, make new friends.  Live a different sort of life (constantly snorkeling, hiking, etc).  I would love to live in Australia again one day. I’ll touch on this in the next section.

Where Would I Live?

A few of my Australian friends would tease me – offering to marry me so I could stay in Australia. Others joked that I should overstay my visa. As my time was nearing an end in Australia, those jokes just felt kind of sad for me. The fact is… I couldn’t stay. If I overstayed my visa and got caught, I’d never be able to come back. To get a partner visa, you still need to be together for two years and have proof of that for the Australian government to approve it. They make it hard to live there as a foreigner.

And yet, I would like to. Not now, but one day in the distant future, I’d love to be able to live in Australia. It has everything that fulfills me – good weather, great snorkeling, plentiful wildlife, awesome hiking spots, gorgeous views, interesting people. I don’t think I ever got the blues while in Australia.

While I loved so many places in Australia, there were a few that really left an impression on me.

I loved Tasmania. Bioluminescent plankton, the southern lights in the sky at night, platypus, echidnas, wallabies, wombats, Tasmanian devils. It was such a cool place.

Another place that really struck me was the Northern Territory. It really left an impact on me. From riding along the Stuart Highway through the vast outback, to the spiritually significant landmark of Uluru, to Kakadu National Park on the Top End… phenomenal. I’d like to return to the outback one day to hopefully see the thorny devils.

I enjoyed other territories, too. Queensland was special for me because it was the territory that sent the most snakes my way.

And yet, the place I would like to live is the place where it all began – Perth. It was large enough of a city where I was afforded all the luxuries of city living, but it was so easy to get out into nature. By hopping on a bus, I could go on some amazing hikes or go snorkeling at the beach any day of the year. With a car, I could drive a few hours and enter vastly different landscapes near Kalbarri or Albany.

In other cities, you can’t snorkel just off the beach. Up in Queensland and Northern Territory, there are deadly jellyfish and crocodiles. In Perth, all I have to worry about are sharks haha.

It’s funny to look back years ago when my friend Michael was visiting Australia. We had plans to meet up in Australia and, looking at a map, I thought, “what about Perth?” I knew nothing of the place at the time and yet it seemed to be calling to me. We ended up meeting in Jordan instead… but the Perth seed was planted.

So, yeah. Perth would be the place for me.

Things I’ll Miss

One thing I’ve thought about ahead of leaving Australia was the things I’ll miss.

Some are more tangible. I’ll miss eating at BreadTop. I’ll miss Tim Tams. The Mother Earth white chocolate & raspberry muesli bars I ate so often while snacking on my hikes. PresoTea bubble teas with Kory. Sushi lunch dates with my Perth family.

I’ll also miss…

The thumping of marsupials as they hop away.
The flapping of bat wings in the evening.
The cackling of kookaburras.
The stealthy slither of snakes.
The frenzied shuffle of lizards.
The kooky expressions and abbreviations of the Australian people.

I’ll miss my Australian phone number, never to be used again. It took me half a year to memorize it. +04 26 773 277.

I would say I’ll miss my Australian friends but I am quite certain we will meet again one day.

There are so many other things I’ll likely miss that haven’t even occurred to me yet.

Snake Sightings

Getting back to wildlife… I wanted to devote a section to my beloved snakes.

I was able to see 11 snakes in 11 months in Australia.  One for each month.

I’ve mentioned it before but I’ll mention it again. Before coming to Australia, so many people asked me “Aren’t you going to be afraid of the spiders and the snakes there?” I really thought I would be, but I tried to dismiss my concern.

Once I had seen my first snake, I realized that – while I should still have a healthy fear of getting bitten – they are incredible creatures. Snakes quickly became my favorite thing to try and spot while in Australia. I cannot believe I was able to see eleven snakes in eleven months. Some of my other Aussie friends have lived in Australia their whole lives and hadn’t yet seen half as many as I had.

One: My first snake was a venomous dugite while walking at Neil Hawkins Park with my friend Liam. Liam had been remarking how he’d once seen a dugite while walking along the trail. The snake allowed me to snap a single picture of it before someone on a bike drove by and scared it away.

Two: My second snake was also a venomous dugite, spotted at Rottnest Island with my house mate Kory. This was one of my favorite sightings since the snake was out in the open, slithering along the grass. We were able to watch it for quite some time before it disappeared into a bush.

Three: It had been some time since I’d seen a snake at this point. In Yulara, my friend Steve and I were driving out of town to watch the sun set over Kata-Tjuta. A small crowd was forming as three guys were watching a snake catcher put a woma python into a bin.

Four: John and I were walking a trail at Fogg Dam when I heard a rustling to the right of me. What was likely a golden tree snake slithered away from me at the speed of light, scaring the shit out of me. The only snake I couldn’t get a picture of in time!

Five: John and I returned to Fogg Dam, this time at at night. The area was teeming with wildlife. Since my flashlight was so weak, I occasionally would ask John to flash his in certain areas so we could see better. During one such instance, John spotted a water python. He was so thrilled to spot a snake! I was, too.

Six: In Cape Tribulation, I would frequently walk along a boardwalk through the rainforest to look for snakes and spiders. Walking at night was scary for me at first but I started to get the hang of it. One night, I was walking very slowly and spotted a slatey grey as it moved through the rainforest.

Seven: After a heavy rainfall, I walked along the boardwalk again during the day. Resting its head on a log with majority of its body under the boardwalk was a beautifully colored keelback. It retreated under the boardwalk but then came out the other side, allowing me to observe it as it slowly moved farther away.

Eight: While walking to a tour one evening, I spotted another slatey grey moving slowly along the side of the road.

Nine: On Magnetic Island, a stunning collared whipsnake – mildly venomous – rested along the boulders of a walking trail. I was able to observe it for some time. The golden color of the collar was so striking in the juveniles!

Ten: Again, on Magnetic Island, a collared whipsnake – this one was an adult. The encounter was brief as the snake quickly got lost in the bush.

Eleven: My final snake… a third collared whipsnake on Hook Island at the Whitsundays. Coiled and basking in the sun, the snake laid practically motionless. Incredible!

I have loved seeing these snakes during my time in Australia. I would have liked to have seen a death adder or red-bellied black snake… but maybe next time!

Influential Music

I wanted to mention certain songs/albums that were thoroughly listened to throughout my time in Australia.  I suppose this is maybe more for me than for you readers… but they are definitely great songs/albums and worth checking out!

As I was leaving America and transitioning to Australia, I was often listening to King Princess’ Hold on Baby album.  I had parted ways with my partner in Chicago and I was also pretty devastated about leaving my loved ones overall.  Hold on Baby was on repeat a lot of the time.

While in Perth, there were two songs that were pretty important to me.  One was Breaking Ground by Hyd and the other was The B-52s Topaz.  Topaz is my birthstone and the song had lines like “new cities by the sea, blue dolphins are spinning…” It felt as if the song was made for me, having moved to a new city… by the sea… where dolphins were frequently swimming along the Swan River.

In Coral Bay, I was constantly listening to Miley Cyrus’ album, but the song that hit me the most was Violet Chemistry.  She sings of “stay with me a little while.”  Traveling can be lonely at times and interactions with others are fleeting.  I also started listening to Magdalena Bay’s Mercurial World album which became a staple during my time in Australia.  An amazing album!

After this, I also had two Melanie Martinez songs stuck on repeat – Death and Womb.

Once I’d arrived in Victoria, Jessie Ware’s new album came out.  I was listening to that frequently.

In Queensland, constant songs were Welcome to the Opera by Grimes, Hard Times by Paramore, and Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac.

During my time in Australia, one song that seemed to follow me everywhere was Valerie by Amy Winehouse.  It was played all over the place!

Ahead of me coming home, I had Steve Aoki’s Home in mind.  A beautiful electronic song that occasionally makes me tear up despite its upbeat-ness.

Ultimately, though… the most memorable song during my time in Australia for me was Absolutely, Everybody by Vanessa Amorosi – a song Kory showed me that I completely adore.  I will always think of Australia when I hear that song.

Finances

Now that I’m back from Australia, I wanted to be transparent about the money I’d spent while abroad. 

I had a little money set aside for my first few months in Australia but I was really hoping I could find a job quickly so I didn’t have to use much of it.  Having been offered a job two or three weeks into my time in Australia, I think I only spent about $1,000 or so of my American money.

From there, I worked A LOT and was able to save a decent amount of money.  From September until the end of February, I was working – but also spending my money on adventures/food/etc.  

I originally had thought I would need to get a job anywhere in Australia that I wanted to go to… but after making money in Perth, I realized I could probably just work hard, save some money, and then travel around Australia with that money for the remaining months.  Somehow, it worked.

By the time I quit my job, I had $16,500 Australian Dollars in my bank account.  That’s about $10,500 USD.  

When I returned to America, I had about $500 AUD leftover.  Damn, did I plan that right.

I had learned of a concept years ago where you can travel for a year on just $50/day.  In Australia, it was $76/day with the currency conversion. It’s essentially budget travel, but depending where you’re traveling, you can comfortably do it.  

Australia is pretty expensive.  I’d say overall, I traveled quite comfortably.  I stayed at hostels every night and I almost always went out for dinner instead of making myself food.  I usually wouldn’t even hit my $75 limit but on the days I went over budget, I just spent less the next day.

The place where I spent the most money was Queensland.  To see most of the cool stuff, you really have to take a tour.  Fitzroy Island, getting scuba certified and doing the liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsundays, etc.  You just really needed to do a tour to experience a lot of that.

The most expensive thing I did in Australia was scuba diving.  It was about $1,100 to get certified and do the three day, two night liveaboard on the boat.  Other than that, most tours were anywhere from $90 – $500.  

It may sound excessive to have gone through $16,500 in just a matter of months… but as I mentioned, the tours really ate into the cost of things and I don’t regret taking those tours at all.  Somehow, I budgeted everything out perfectly.  Another few weeks and I may have run out of my Australian cash!

Art of the Week

Not the biggest fan of this one… but including it here anyway! While I was really loving this theme, I think I am going to deviate towards something else in the coming days. I haven’t been drawing much lately – I need a day where I just relax and really focus on art.

Reflections

While I have loved my Australian adventure, it is currently so nice to be home at the moment. I have laughed more in the last two weeks than I have in probably the entire year in Australia. Not that I wasn’t laughing and having fun in Oz… but being with family and friends out here – they just crack me the hell up. I’ve laughed so hard, I’ve been in tears.

I have also been totally thrown off guard in regards to sidewalk/road traffic. I had gotten so used to looking right before looking left when crossing the road… walking on the left side of the sidewalk… getting in the left side of the car. Everything is backwards, now!

What’s next? I am currently visiting with my brother and sister-in-law in the suburbs. I’ll be here for a few days and then returning to Michigan for the Labor Day weekend. I’m basically bouncing around between Michigan, the city, and the burbs while back in the states. It’s so nice to be back!

That’s all for now!

Sending you all my love. xx