raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

now i have that song stuck in my head.

we have finished our road trip. it's a rather sad time because we had so much fun that we would have loved to keep going. the unfortunate reality is that we need to work to fund such amazing holidays, and so, we are heading back to work.

as such, i've decided to write a list of some of our favourite (and least favourite) things from the trip.

favourite place: it's a toss up between the grampians and the blue mountains. both were slightly off the beaten path and both were great for hiking and other such outdoor activities. there were minimal obnoxious tourists and camping was reasonably priced.

most overrated place: the great ocean road. i dare say it. sure, the 12 apostles were lovely and yes, the coast line is magnificent. but the place is totally a tourist trap, with small seaside towns being jammed to capacity, tourists up the wazoo, charging obscene prices to do anything from getting a coffee to actually trying to see the sights. to be fair, the non- ocean part of the road (or the hinterland, as they say) was definitely worth it. i'd recommend the drive in winter.

favourite sunset: lucky bay, esperance

favourite road sign: skiing kangaroo in the grampians  and "merge right" (take that perth!)

least favourite road sign:  "form one lane" (it's so ambiguous) and a smattering of the "arrive alive, don't sleep on the road" signs. some of the photos were completely unnecessary (eyes with toothpicks in them, for example)


most happy to pay for: the bobsled track at kosioszko national park

least happy to pay for: campsites. totally overrated

best animal sighting: koalas! in the wild! and the top of a platypus in the river

worst animal sighting: the dozens or so dead 'roos you see on the road at all times

thing that surprised us the most: a few different ones here (some will likely not make me any friends...)

- that it was cold during the australian summer. cold enough to warrant jeans, long sleeved shirts, jumpers and hot drinks whilst sitting inside the van. it's much better then being too hot, i admit, but still surprising.

- that many australian tourists are not very friendly. we only met a small number of "local tourists" who were at all enjoyable to talk to. most were loud, obnoxious and made us feel like we were intruding on their space or something.

- that australia has more hills then we thought (i'd like to say mountains, but i still find that hard...)

- how big australia is. i say this as a canadian: it's a big f-ing country.

- that the tourist info centres generally didn't have much info to provide to tourists...

things that didn't surprise us at all:

- the signage across the country was poor. at first we thought it was a perth thing, now we know it's an australian thing. poor signage = difficult to get around.

- bogans are everywhere

- australia has a magnificent coastline. truly.


that's all i can think of right now. it was a great holiday indeed. and i would highly recommend it to anyone, but most definitely my friends currently living in australia. i think we often travel to far off places in search for wonder and awe, but to be honest, it's often just on your doorstep. i've travelled in canada in the past and felt the same way. it may not seem as exciting, but i guarantee you'll never regret exploring your own country (or your adopted country)

xo