WARNING: this is probably going to be a very very long post and image heavy, so if you’re not interested in those kind of things press that little x at the top ^^ :)
So first things first, getting to Australia. We actually had a bit of a nightmare – we boarded the plane at Heathrow, took off on time and after about 20 minutes in the air there was an announcement from the captain. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid we have had a technical fault with one of the engines and will have to turn around and head straight back to Heathrow”. I am not good when it comes to flying, taking off and landing pretty much petrify me and as you can imagine I was dumping myself at the thought of any type of ‘fault’. Anyway we landed – to fire engines and crowds of people staring out of their windows to look at the plane and the left wing covered in black soot. I’m pretty sure it was a tad more serious than they made out! We had to wait another day for our flight out, and ended up flying with a completely different airline, it was all a bit of a drama but worked out okay in the end!
I’ve never flown out of Europe before, and my body majorly hated the long haul flight so I was really quite poorly for the first couple of days, as was Daniel with the flu! Once we were settled and better, the holiday commenced :D
As I’m sure you’re aware, Australia is vast! We were staying in Melbourne, and stayed there for the whole 3 weeks. It’s a huge and wonderful city, and if we’d had a bit longer we could’ve seen a lot more of it but I’m so happy with what we did see and do.
It’s strange because all of my usual holiday’s involve ultimate sunbathing and eating out in the evening. This holiday was like the complete opposite. Yes, it was boiling hot (40 degrees most of the time), but we spent minimal time sunbathing, there was just so much to see! We started off the holiday visiting an adventure water park in Geelong, I’m scared of water but I made myself (with the push of Daniel) go on every ride. I’m such a pansy haha, but we had a lovely day.
We went horse riding; I used to ride when I was younger for a good few years so I was looking forward to having a good hack across the country side! Daniel was absolutely hilarious – he’ll give anything a go but when the instructor was telling him to lean forward or back he nearly fell off! The horses were lovely and it was like a proper olden days ranch. You could actually rent out little houses for a horsey holiday which I thought was awesome! It made me think of the horse whisperer.
We went horse riding; I used to ride when I was younger for a good few years so I was looking forward to having a good hack across the country side! Daniel was absolutely hilarious – he’ll give anything a go but when the instructor was telling him to lean forward or back he nearly fell off! The horses were lovely and it was like a proper olden days ranch. You could actually rent out little houses for a horsey holiday which I thought was awesome! It made me think of the horse whisperer.
Anyone familiar with Melbourne has probably visited St Kilda and Luna Park. It’s famous for the park and it’s amazing cake shops and nightlife. From what I could tell, it’s a bit of a hotspot and is infamous for celebrities dropping by. I’m a bit of a granny so didn’t go out for a boogie, but I did indulge in a frickin’ awesome strawberry tart, have a nose around the theme park and watch some pretty awesome street performers.
We climbed the 1,000 steps memorial walk – a huge landmark in Melbourne which is basically what is says in the title. The 1,000 steps lead through a beautiful rainforest and are very, very steep. Dear old exercise and I don’t mix, and walking up these in the 40 degree heat was a real challenge for me. Daniel on the other hand went up and down TWICE. I nearly died. It’s definitely worth going though, you do feel kinda good about yourself once you’ve done it and it’s a beautiful little place.
Chapel Street is like our Oxford Street equivalent. It’s got the hustle and bustle of London with all their local high street shops, including a few of ours…Karen Millen, MAC and Topshop. I was a little bit thrilled, because as it was the start of Australia’s summer all their winter clothes were in the sale. I picked up some absolute bargains!
The one thing Daniel and I were most excited for was the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island. If you haven’t heard of it before it’s a huge tourist attraction where the public come to the beach at around 7pm (it’s still daylight at this time) and wait for the sun to set. Once the sun has gone down at about 9pm, the tiniest breed of penguin starts to come out of the sea. They’ve been fishing for their baby’s dinner all day and they wait until the sun has gone down to make their way out of the water and back to their homes in the sand dunes. There are over 1,000 in the group and they all come out of the water a couple at a time and run past you on the beach. After we’d watched a few groups make their way out, we moved our way up to the sand dunes to watch them make their journey back to their little homes. Unfortunately, the little penguins get scared of the flash so photography is strictly prohibited, so no piccies I’m afraid. But I did get a little snap of the lovely beach whilst we waited for the sun to set! It really was so magical and if you ever find yourself in Australia you should try your best to go. It’s massively worth it :)
Now, I know what you’ve all really been waiting for. Yes of course, we went to the wildlife park and fed the KANAGROO’S! I’ve never seen a kangaroo or koala in real life so I was literally peeing my pants with excitement. Lots of the animals were separated, but where the kangaroo’s ‘lived’ they had emu type birds running around. If you watched my 50 random facts video, you’ll know I hate anything that has wings. Now I know they’re not exactly about to take flight, but my GOD are they scary. Every time we got our food out to feed the kangaroo’s they’d charge at you and try and peck the food out of your hands. It was so special though, the kangaroo’s were so tame and we just sat there stroking and feeding them for hours! It feels amazing when you put your hand out and they hold on with their little hands. If you need a reason to visit Australia (if you do, there’s something wrong haha), this is it.
We also spent a bit of time on the beach and milling around the local towns :) but if I carried on about absolutely everything we did you guys would probably want to kill me at how long the post would be! It was Daniel and I's 5 year anniversary on New Years day, which was amazing (5 years seems like such a huge amount of time!) & special to be spending on the other side of the world in the sunshine.
Honestly, I had the best time of my life and spent it with my favourite person in the whole world.
I’d been having a pretty shit time before holiday and the time away made me appreciate my life more and the people around me. This might sound soppy but I don’t care – you only have one life and one thing Australia made me realise was don’t waste it - spending your time around negativity or doing something for the sake of not having to try. There is a whole world out there which is literally your oyster, if you’re thinking for some reason you can’t change your life; you definitely can on some level or another.
Clearly, we got home safely and there were no problems with the flight back! (phew) Hopefully see you soon, Australia & thank you for having us!
I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about our trip away! and remember...Don't worry. Be happy <3
