I spent just less than a month on the move, heading to Australia to visit my brother! The last time I visited was a whirlwind 12 days, so having plenty of time to explore was really nice this time around. I was also super lucky that my bestie Ejay was heading over to start their working holiday in Aus, so we got to share this adventure together.

I struggle quite a lot with long-haul travel, and the journey over really took it out of me, but I was grateful that we took a couple of days to layover in Singapore. Such a cool city, even though it is very humid! We walked all over the place, loved looking at the architecture and the intention to bring nature into such a metropolitan city. We tried some awesome food – shout out to Kaya toast (breakfast of champs!) and Eight Treasures, a delicious all-vegetarian restaurant. Unfortunately, jetlag was messing with my appetite, so I didn’t get to try as much as I wanted to, but that means there’s more to explore next time I’m back. Also, Changi Airport is wild and has so much to do!

Once we made it to Melbourne, I was pretty wiped out by jetlag, but we pushed through and headed straight to an AFLW game and out for a boogie! It was so nice to hang out at home with my brother and my sister in law, to see their new house, to cook together and to just have chats on the couch. I really miss those casual interactions and being able to bond with them regularly. We had a few little trips to other places, but it was always nice to return ‘home’ to Melbourne. Between those adventures, we had fun hangs (DnD, karaoke, drag trivia/bingo), explored the city (took in the State Library, shopped in Fitzroy, hiked Hanging Rock, visited Melbourne Museum, hung out on St Kilda pier) and did some normal things (gym, swim, aerial class, cinema).

Our first little trip was up to the Gold Coast, which was such a beachy dream. We headed up there to visit my friend from uni, who I hadn’t seen in 7 years, and it was so nice to catch up with her and meet her little baba. We went for a little hike and a swim in the sea and ate delicious Italian food together. One of my peak Australian tourist days was having a surfing lesson, which we were surprisingly quite good at, we were very proud to stay standing into shore a good few times. That same day, we visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where we got to pet and feed kangaroos. Even though that was a dreich, rainy day, it was so magical. The rest of the time in GC was sunshine and waves, it felt like a proper chill holiday time, and I loved that we could walk along the beach to get to the airport.

We took a brilliant long weekend trip to Hobart in Tasmania. I had been primed for rubbish weather, but it was actually gloriously sunny on our first day as we explored Salamanca Market and picked up gifts to take home. I think every meal in Tassie was delicious, and I loved poking around all the wee shops too. One of the days, we took a tour which had us walking among the trees and exploring a Dolomite crystal cave, which was very cool. On our final day, we visited the MONA art gallery, which was a really cool experience. The building reminded me of something from The Incredibles, and the ferry journey there felt like stepping into Knives Out or The Menu (hehe). One artwork in particular was my favourite called in the end, the beginning by Arcangelo Sassolino, it was molten steel dripping to make indoor fireworks, and I could have stared at it forever. Tassie is really beautiful, and it actually really reminded me of Scotland, so I felt right at home.

Our final little trip was a two-day tour of the Great Ocean Road, which was so great. Our energetic guide Walter drove us along the Ocean Road stopping every 30 mins or so to show us another beautiful coastal viewpoint, some wildlife by the road or to send us off in search of a waterfall. Our tour group were all so lovely, and we bonded over the couple days, I think our hilarious dinner with the gals was one of my highlights of the whole trip. Though we didn’t get the most perfect weather (the wind about took me away), the views were so beautiful and I looove being by the sea.

Among all of the adventures, I got to eat great food, see awesome animals in the wild (koalas, kangaroos, an echidna, cockatoos, parrots and a few massive spiders) and hang out with some of my favourite people. I am so grateful that I was able to take a trip like this to the other side of the world and soak up so much of it before returning home to my lovely life ❤️