My Australia (Trip Recap 2014)

If you would like to see all my travel posts, including recaps, tips & recommendations and packing guides, please visit my travel page.

This holiday recap is a little different because this wasn't just a holiday. It is my home. It's my past. I have always said living away from home is easy(ish) and I only get homesick every now and again, normally around holidays.

I was more homesick when I was in Australia than I have ever been in the last 2 years. It was so hard to be reminded of what an amazing country I left - stocked full of memories and people I love so much - only to have to leave so quickly.

This post will be very picture heavy and not so much with the words. I can't do my country justice, and my photos aren't the best, but they are my Australia (with a little of what you might recognise).

Fresh off the plane is a perfect time for photos, not.

Right after we arrived, we went to Cronulla, a beach in Sydney. The weather was lovely and we even dipped our toes in the water.

The day after we arrived we flew to Melbourne, where I was born and all my family lives. We did some sightseeing, some football watching, some eating and some hanging out with family.

Back in Sydney, we went to Featherdale Wildlife Park. If you ever visit Sydney, it's a great day out because it's smaller and less crazy than the zoo, and it really focuses on Aussie animals, whereas the zoo will be just like your zoo. However, if you don't have a car, Taronga Zoo is probably your best bet, but you can't go up to the kangaroos and wallabies (the small ones that look like kangaroos) like at Featherdale. Also, it is against the law to hold a koala in NSW - you can still do it in QLD apparently.

I told KC to stand next to the Cockatoo and he did and then it said hello and he freaked the eff out. I laughed far too hard.

 Um, you really shouldn't feed the animals leaves and stuff. Just FYI ok. Do as I say, not as I do.

You can buy kangaroo 'food' for a donation, and it's basically grass in an ice cream cone and they snatch that shit out of your hands, or they bite the top and the stuff falls out all over their cute faces.

Don't ever touch a wombat. They can break the shit out of any bone in your body.

Dingoes are not dogs and you should not pet them or scratch behind their ears. No dingo jokes please!

My baby, Pacey (yes, that Pacey. I was a teenager).

We caught a ferry into Manly (beach suburb) from the city - it's super easy and cheaper than a taxi, and you get to see lots of the city on the way. It's so beautiful. My best friends live in Manly so KC and I caught the ferry out to see them.

My best friend recently had a baby girl, and I stole her for cuddles all night until her dad came and picked her up.

We ate (and drank) at Hugo's and it was amazing - the food is well priced for Sydney, it's literally right there as soon as you get off the ferry, the view is amazing and the drinks are delish. Of course I didn't take any photos of the food or drinks, I suck at this.

Another day we met a good friend of mine in the city for some Max Brenner chocolate stuff. I was very lucky that the friends I wanted to see were all very accommodating and fit into my schedule.

I planned a surprise trip to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef and I almost made it the whole way without telling KC and then my Nana ruined it when we were in Melbourne. I forgive her though.

We went on a sunset cruise with Green Island Tours which was tons of fun, though it did get dark fast, it was nice, kind of like a date night. Afterwards we ate at Dundees which I think is worth a trip to Cairns on it's own. Amazeballs. Again, no photos.

The next day we did an all day Great Barrier Reef tour (same company) - it was a ton of fun! The weather was crazy that day, the wind was like 40 miles an hour which made for a crazy boat ride - you can't tell but it was insane. We are holding on for dear life in these photos, and I learned my husband gets a wee bit sea sick.

The waves were going over the boat - see the window?

Green Island is amazing and beautiful. It was so crazy windy getting off the boat, you have to hold on so tight to the rail until you get into the safety of the trees which block the wind completely.

We also did a glass bottom boat tour, which was fun and you could see all the fishies and coral and we even saw a bunch of turtles coming up for air. If the weather had been nicer, we would have snorkeled.

Seriously, crazy winds.

Time flies, and we're at the last day of the trip. I was luckily able to meet my best friend for some coffee early in the morning. And, thank goodness otherwise we wouldn't have got our obligatory cliche touristy photos that I wanted.

I am obsessed, absolutely obsessed with this little beauty. She is the best baby - so calm and chill and happy and beautiful.

 Look at that smile!

Don't worry - I'm not getting baby fever, she spit up on me 3 times and I smelled like breast milk until we got home.

My dog, Pacey, and my brother's dog Zeus.

My mum & brothers.

I am the only one in my family who knows how to smile, seriously? WTF guys.

That's it guys - I know, tons of pics. I didn't want to split it up - hope you enjoyed!