VALLEY OF THE GIANTS

(Photo courtesy of Owen)

(Photo courtesy of Owen)

There are the little things that I notice while traveling that markedly make each and every place unique – generally it’s the obvious aesthetics like the people themselves, the architecture, and of course there’s food, language and accents that help define the culture as well.  On occasion it’s the various modes of transportation, fashion, attitude and lifestyles of the people, and even the various smells of the city/town (believe me, you know when you're in Bangkok just by the smell!).  For me, Australia was most defined by aussie-isms, vast amounts of land, and it's flora and fauna. 

Nowhere in the world are many of the animals and plants that are all over Australia found anywhere else.  Besides being home to the top 10 most dangerous/poisonous, flat out scary animals/creatures in the world, it’s also home to some of the most gorgeous vegetation and landscapes, the most incredible creatures that are both terrifying and stunning at the same time.  And the sounds, the most interesting, unique, and beautiful sounds I have ever heard have come out of the birds that seem to procreate by the millions there.  Birds that in America, we can only find in an exotic pet store or at the zoo, but here, these rainbow-colored birds are sitting by the dozens if not hundreds in one tree – and then multiply that by 20 trees on a street corner.  I once heard a bird doing beat-box for about 5 minutes – I kid you not, beat box!  And yes, it was a wild bird, not one trained by a human.  I’ve heard birds doing trills and sing multiple notes simultaneously that I’m convinced no bird in America has the vocal box or capability of achieving.  It’s pretty magical to be walking alone through the woods or along the beach and to hear something that stops me in my tracks just to listen to them put on a little concert for me.  

Another thing I love about Australia are the vast amounts of raw land that lends itself to such serene moments with very little to no distractions of people, buildings, or noise pollution.  There’s so much space there – it’s like a new frontier!  Owen and I were outside of Walpole at the Valley of the Giants where these massive, old-growth Karri, Tingle, and red Tingle trees towered over us.  Walking along a 40-meter high suspension bridge we mingled with the trees and had a great birds-eye perspective of the forest below.  Luckily, not many tourists were there so we walked at our own pace, slowly taking in the sheer height at which we were walking (this walk is not for the faint of heart) but also to just feel a bit closer to the trees and really get a good look at them.  I loved being up there, on these bridges, with the ocean breeze coming through, smelling the freshly rained upon earth, and just listen to the wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping away.  Moments like those are truly breath taking and now transport me back to such fond memories communing with nature and having someone special there to experience it with.

KANGAROO TIME! Finally!!!

Kangaroos and emus all living together harmoniously

This is where we camped - such a gorgeous campground!!!  Perfect for sitting along the pond drinking wine at sunset.

What is a trip to Australia without seeing a kangaroo in its natural habitat?  So for the entirety of my time in Australia, traveling along the entire east coast, it wasn't until I got to WA that I finally saw my first kangaroo out in the wild.  To me, it was a pretty incredible experience.  We drove into this small town (that I honestly can't remember the name of), where upon entering into the center of this town is a small park and that was where I saw them first.  My first kangaroo, hopping along the sidewalk.  We get out of the car, grab some food, and walk up to them.  Owen's the first to go and feed them because let's face it, I've heard that they can be wild, hit/kick people, I don't know if they bite, have rabies, or what.  So I hang back to see how they act.  Owen goes right up, starts feeding them and petting them - no biting, no rabies, no kicking - they seemed nearly domesticated.  So I approach them timidly (of course I think "they may not bite him, but they'll bite me!") put my hand out like I'm feeding a horse, and the little kangaroo initially grabs the food but then eats our of my hand.  What an incredible feeling to be interacting a wild animal like this and of course it can only be done in Australia.  We went around feeding the kangaroos branches of leaves that we found in the area, pet them, and of course took tons of photos of them.  This particular breed of kangaroo are a bit smaller than what I thought they would be but they also had a lot of little joeys running around too, some still hanging out of their mother's pouch.  It really was a cool experience to see them up close.

Also running around this town were a bunch of emus as well as their little babies!  I was a bit more unsure about the emus as I didn't know if they were dangerous or not since cassowaries that are also in Australia can (and will) kill people.  So I steered clear of them, but it's such a cool thing to see these massive birds walking around the town, many hanging out in people's front yards, and some just sitting in a driveway.  Going to this little town was such a fun experience, like having our own personal petting and feeding zoo.

'MARGS' // a.k.a. Margaret River

My favorite place in WA was Margaret River – hands down, no contest!  It’s the perfect combination of beaches, wineries, big, rolling, green hills, surf, wineries, great restaurants, breweries, more Aussie charm, cool temperatures, and did I mention the wineries?  Yes, this is WA’s wine country!  And after all my travels through SE Asia and NOT drinking wine, I was in absolute heaven in Margaret River.  We went to several wineries over the course of four or so days along with a few breweries and completely overloaded on drinking wine from lunch until sleep. 

As much as Aussies like their (subpar) beer (Corona and Heineken are considered premium beer, clearly the standard for beer is a tad low), but they also redeem themselves with a good selection of micro-breweries in the area such as Cowaramup and Duckstein.  They’re situated amongst the wineries in gorgeous settings typically along a pond where you can also have some really good food too.  I love wine, but sometimes, beer is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Obviously that region has their own style but I gotta admit that there were some gems in there including a few places that had some Chardonnays done in a California-style and let me tell you, it felt like home, even if it was at the bottom of a wine bottle.   Nothing beats a beautiful bottle of cool, buttery, oaky Chardonnay on a warm spring day with some lovely cheeses, crackers, charcuterie, and fruit set out amongst the vineyards with great conversation.  That my friends, is my own personal heaven.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA - The Real Wild West

Meet Owen...

(l) Owen prepping for omelets, (r) just some of the random flora WA has to offer

So remember Owen, that guy I met in Queenstown where we couldn’t stop talking and having fun together?  Well, I went to meet him in Perth!  He promised to show me around Western Australia and I thought it’d be great to hang out with him some more and see a bit more of Australia that many tourists don’t make the trip out to see.  Now, he kept some of our travel plans a surprise so I really had no idea where we were going and how but I did know that camping of some sort would be involved – my favorite form of travel!

Upon arrival, he tells me we’re going to caravan up north the following day to Kalbarri.  I had never heard of it, but he assured me that it was a pretty spectacular place and with it being spring, it’d be a good time for wildflowers to be blooming along the way, plus the temperatures ideal (i.e., not hot as hell).  The following day after we loaded the caravan (!!) with food, supplies, and our stuff, and we hit the road!  Now this was my first official road-trip (the other stuff doesn’t count as it was public transportation, I couldn’t exactly stop and smell the roses along the way) since leaving America.  Road trips are the BEST way to see a country, stopping along the way at mom and pop shops, buy some fruit at stands on the side of the road, stop and look at the scenery, and also, just to take my time and move at my own pace.  So imagine my surprise when Owen told me that we were caravanning around!

Western  Australia was everything I thought Australia would be!!  The east coast seemed a lot like many parts of America (with the exception of Whitsundays). all every city-like Americanized, and developed.  But Western Australia, these were the visions I had of Australia – untouched land beyond what the eye could see, desert-like settings, big ocean roads, endless miles of beach, the wild outback, kangaroos, completely foreign flora, and an endless supply of Aussie humor and hospitality.  With my own personal tour guide we stopped along the way at various beaches, bakeries, shops, wandered through national parks, and really did stop to look at all the wildflowers.  And this was just the beginning of our adventures through WA!

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

I left the person in the photo on purpose (mostly) as I wanted you to see the scale of how close this humpback was to us.

Ignore the pedicure and take note of the pristine white sand, all super-squeaky clean, gorgeous white sand.

The bald eagle, national bird of good ol' USA.  No doubt a good omen for me on this beach in Australia.

Do you ever go someone where with very little expectation and then suddenly, you're floored?  You can't believe that you are witnessing something so stunning and it takes your breath away?  The Whitsundays took my breath away and dramatically humbled all of my other beach experiences.  This day decided to be all about impressing me.  And that, it did!  

I went another boating experience out to 'The Reef' again in Airlie Beach, but this time done a little differently as I did a high speed rafting boat (which was f’n awesome for someone that loves to travel at really fast speeds!!).  It took us out to a few different places where we could snorkel and lucky for us, it was the time of year where mama humpback whales and their pup would migrate south.  Personally, I’ve never seen a humpback whale up close.  So while we were on our way out to Whitsunday, a humpback had suddenly appeared not more than 40’ from our boat which all of a sudden seamed like a little life raft compared to how big this fully grown humpback was.  We turn off our engine on our boat because by law, no boats are allowed closer than something like 100’-150’ to any whale and this one just came upon us and was jumping in and out of the water so close to us, over and over again.  It was an incredible sight to behold.  It’s not every day you can see such a huge, massive, majestic, and beautiful creature up close and what seemed like celebrating in its own habitat.  Once it was done playing, it swam right for our boat, got within 10’ of us, went right under us and moved on.  Now that is something I’ll never forget!!  EVER!

The other thing I’ll never forget is seeing the Whitsundays.  Now, if there is a god, I’m pretty sure he/she/it decided to knock everyone’s socks off and impress us all.  The Whitsundays makes the top five beaches I’ve seen if not closer to the top, hands down.  What makes this place any different than other gorgeous beaches?  For one, the swirl of white sand and turquoise waters.  Many places have turquoise waters, tropical paradise, and white sand, but none swirl them around like painting.  Two, the landscape seems stark, almost like simple frame to show off the exquisite detail of this place.  Three, it's home to many, many sting rays.  They're just sitting there at the bottom of sand, chillin'.  Four, it's a part of the Great Barrier Reef - head out in nearly direction and you're in the home of some of the most beautiful reef and sea life the Earth has to share.

I realize there are so many places to see in this world, this is most definitely one that everyone should be so humbled to see.  It will no doubt impress you.  GO!