Our Journey # 3.. The TravelFreaks are Movin' on South of Australia, 12 Apostles, White-Heaven Beach, Tasmania…

Our Journey # 3.. TravelFreaks are Movin on' South of Australia, 12 Apostles, White-Heaven Beach, Tasmania…

After 5 months living in the north of Australia we decided to check out the south because the rainy season started in Cairns and it rained A LOT!!!! We also wanted to discover more of Kangarooland.

Melbourne was our first stop. We stayed for a few months working, partying, and enjoying the vibrant, awesome city life of one of the world’s top ranked cities to live in. Some of our favorite times in Melbourne were 2am visits to Hungry Jacks (AKA Burger King in other parts of the world) for an Ultimate Double Whopper on our way home from the bars and then getting hassled by dozens of giant possums in the park next to our house.. Speaking of the park, that was a definite Melbourne favorite hangout, a lot of the time if we had friends visiting or just felt like enjoying a bit of nature instead of the bar or restaurant scene, we would buy a case of beer and head for the Victoria Park to play some drinking games or just enjoy the warm weather and watching other people get swarmed by possums for a change lol. Another great thing about Melbourne is the Queen Victoria Market, its an awesome place where artists can showcase their craft and many food vendors set up there to sell their delicious eats, many even feature drinks for the evenings as well. It’s an awesome place to meet new people and check out a ton of the local talent.

Some other exciting moments during our time in Melbourne were getting inked together, Ange got his first tattoos in Melbourne, and we even got one that matches, awwww!!! We also discovered THE BEST, most delicious Butter Chicken ever at a little hole in the wall restaurant just around the corner from our apartment!!! We visited the famous Great Ocean Road, which included stopping at a few different spots to view the Twelve Apostles from different angles. The Twelve Apostles is a natural wonder of the world, it’s a collection of natural limestones stacks. Their appearance is caused wind and water erosion. It’s an incredibly beautiful spot just off the Port Campbell National Park in Victoria.

After a day enjoying the breath-taking views we spent a night in the rainforest with all kinds of beautiful wildlife around including a whole flock of white cockatoo birds.

For our last few weeks in OZ, we took off in search of a little Aussie adventure! First we flew to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays (Southern Queensland) and made our way over to the mainland to Airlie Beach. We spent a few days enjoying the beaches and the backpacker vibes of the town and then we headed off to camp on Whitsunday Island’s White Haven beach. It is arguably one of the most famous beaches in Australia, and the reputation is well-earned. To this day, it’s still one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever seen! It’s got super-duper fine sand, it sounds like you walking on snow and it look like icing sugar, yeah it’s that fine!!

The turquoise waters are so clear and warm, you can stay in and enjoy for hours! There’s all kinds of sea life to look at as well, like the dolphins who come out to play at sunset!

5 days is the time we stayed on that beautiful, deserted island… 5 days is how long we went without running water or showers, 5 days where we felt like lost souls, disconnected from the outside world, soaking in the beauty and letting go of any stress we carried from the hustle and bustle of the city. Luckily, the water taxi that takes care of the transportation to the island can also supply you with camping supplies including a tent, sleeping pads, a little gas cooker and a cool box for preserving the freshness of any perishable food items that people choose to bring. They also supply you with drinkable water, 5 liters per person per day for drinking, cooking and a bit of hygiene.

And of course, we had to bring ‘goon’ with us too.. it’s the cheapest wine in Oz, famous with backpackers, and too terrible for anyone else to drink LOL

The wildlife on White Haven beach was incredible, beautiful, crazy, weird and sometimes a little scary (at night).

We had a huge lizards hanging out our camp the all-time, checking for any bits of food we may have left for them to scavenge. They could climb the trees, and the tables, they were so curious and not terribly afraid of us!! We saw a few colorful spiders that definitely made our skin crawl.. Especially the giant one located next to the outdoor bathrooms.

We even encountered our own little BBC planet moment. We hiked the length of the beach, it’s about 7km from end to end. When we got to the very end, it continues over the dunes a little bit inland. When we got there we could hear this strange sound, but we couldn’t yet tell what we were hearing. As we got closer, we could see that there were literally BILLIONS of tiny blue crabs (called Mictyris Longicarpus)

Just chilling out there in this vast land of sand and mangrove. As we walked closer they flipped onto their little backs and burrowed deep into the squishy sand.

The sunsets on White Haven Beach were some of the amazing ones we’ve ever seen.. Such a treat to be able to enjoy the view all to ourselves.

After 5 days on the island eating camp food, you would think that the first thing we’d really fancy was food but you’d be wrong!!.. It was actually a toss-up between a longgggg shower, and washing everything that we took to the island with us, removing tons and tons of that fine sand that was hiding everywhere on our bodies and inside our backpacks (I think even now, 5 years later, we’re still finding bits of it LOL) Next it was a few jugs of beer to help us forget the taste of warm goon on a hot, beachy day, and meal that didn’t come from a tin!

Next we were off to Tasmania, the little island at the extreme south of Australia, where we enjoyed the small island life. The people were warm and welcoming, but a little rough around the edges, which we loved. While we were in Hobart we took a trip up Mount Wellington PIC where we touched snow at the top!..

Something we never expected in Australia! Hobart is the capital of Taz, it’s a cool town with a really nice astisans market on the weekend. Next we headed a little further north along the coast to Bicheno to stay with some friends that we met in Tofino. They showed us some beautiful hikes, like the view of Wine Glass Bay from above. What a beautiful area to explore!

Our only regret really was not having more time to explore some of the national parks in Tasmania and see more beautiful areas like the Bay of Fires. Now we know though that if we ever have the chance, we’ll go back to Tazzie in a heartbeat for sooo many reasons!!

So here we are at the end of our Australian chapter. After one amazing year, we move on to the first part of our backpacking chapter. We will never forget this crazy diverse country, with the incredibly warm people who will stay in our hearts forever. Aussie Bruh!!

Stay tuned for our next stop. Bali and Gili Trawagan, Indonesia!!!!!