Camille’s Big Adventure

I woke up at 2am to catch an Uber to the airport. I realized the night before that I was staying at the wrong airport and would have to travel 45 minutes out of the city to get to the airport. Luckily I did not miss my flight though. I flew 2 hours to Sydney and 10 hours to Seoul. It was a blissfully uneventful travel day. I chatted with fellow travelers, napped, and got ready for my next adventure.  I arrive around 9pm, made it through customs, picked up a transport card, and grabbed the shuttle to my hotel. By 10:30pm I was comfy in bed and resting. I woke up early the next morning, just before sunrise. My room had a beautiful view of the sunrise and I sat in my large bathtub soaking with coffee watching the sunrise and gathering plans for the day.  I checked out and took the shuttle to the airport and the train into Seoul (about 45 minutes). I stopped at the Hadig University and wandered the streets. Enjoying the peaceful quiet streets. I think if I return to Seoul ...

  It’s hard to believe that 358 days ago I landed in Australia. It’s been an incredible journey. I’ve met and re-acquainted with so many incredible people, seen outstanding natural wonders, and had the opportunity to focus on my personal growth and joy. A week short of my visa expiring I’m continuing onto the next journey. There is a lot unknown ahead of me, but there always is in life.   I would be hard pressed to condense this last year into a short essay. This blog is a testament to that for sure. I’ve driven nearly 40,000km around this beautiful continent, as well as taken many ferries, a long train journey, buses, flights, and walked many kms. I’ve walked holes into the bottom of my shoes but my feet have happily journeyed on.  Since last October I’ve rarely stayed in one place more than 3 nights, and I’ve likely slept more nights in a tent than a bed.  It’s been an incredible journey. It’s far from over, but the next chapter is beginning. I can only hope it ...

  Over the next two days we would return to Melbourne. We stopped along our drive for nice walks in city and national parks. In one we found an adorable echidna curled up along the trail. In another we saw coots, ducks, geese, and black swans. We stopped for a railway and waterfalls and other scenic places. This portion of Australia is quite wet and full of lush tree ferns which are such majestic plants.   Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, I haven’t yet received any news on my laptop, so I will have to return for it on a later date. On my last few days here I’m still uncertain of my future plans. My next stop is Korea, before I continue on to… somewhere… only the future will say. 

  Our next stop on our journey was Tara Bulga National Park.   We slowly made our way north east across the peninsula stopping to walk along the beach a few times. We saw some waterfalls in Toora and walked a long jetty in Welshpool before ending up in our destination.  We stayed 2 nights at a small farm Airbnb which acts as a refuge for farm animals. They had 2 small calves who were hungry and curious and ran right up to us. A 6 day old alpaca. 3 cows, probably 15 alpacas and goats, and 50 chooks. The couple who ran it also had a baby. They said they were downsizing their farm a bit, unsurprisingly as it seemed like a ton of work for a young couple with a new baby and not a lot of experience on farms. They were really nice though and it was a fun place to stay. We got to bottle feed the calves which was fun as well.  As we wandered around the farm we spotted a koala up in the tree high above us.  The next morning we headed into the national park. The road ...

 The next day we had a short drive to Melbourne where I would drop off my computer for repairs. Along the way we ran a few errands, like me taking my dad to the library to print out his mail-in-ballot (I turned mine in over a month ago, but he got his much later). We got it printed and sent in the mail. Civic duties done. We also go some bits and bobs for the car before I leave it for some months, making sure it is ready to go. That evening we stayed outside Melbourne before stopping by my friend Hope’s house in the morning. Hope (a childhood friend who moved here a few years back) has been a huge help during my time here receiving packages for me and allowing me to stay a bit while I travel. We dropped off my computer with her, prepped for pick up and repair (hopefully in a brief time, although much drama came of Lenovos changing dates and time frames). Most importantly, we met her baby, Zoe. She’s an adorable little girl who will surely be an active toddler if her constant kicks ...

 After leaving Port Elliot we headed inland to the Grampians National Parks. It is one of my favorite parks I’ve been to so I was really excited to get to spend a bit more time there. We did a bunch of walks I wasn’t able to visit the first time around.  The Grampians are interesting, they are surrounded by long flat landscape, with barely perceptible rolling hills. Most of the surrounding lands are agricultural with huge grassy pastures for hours in all directions, but then seemingly out of nowhere, there Grampians burst out of the ground. The nearly 1000m granite mountains tower over the surrounding lands. The roads go from long, straight and wide to hairpin turns around cliffs seemingly barely wide enough for 2 cars. Waterfalls spring from the rocks with more water than seems right coming from out of the top of these mountains. The grampians surround a dam-lake with the town of Halle Gap situated below the dam. From the top of the mountains you can overlook the town watchin...

 The next morning we drove south past Adelaide to Port Elliot, a small surf/vacation town about 45 minutes outside of Adelaide. I stayed there last July and really enjoyed it and was happy to stop there again. It’s a quiet town on the beach with beautiful walkways, wineries, and delicious bakeries.  The first evening we walked a bit along the coast before getting some take out and enjoying the evening relaxing in the house. The next morning we signed up for a wildlife boat tour. We sat in the front of a small boat as it whizzed around the bay taking us to see the endangered sea lions sunning on the rocks, viewing the cliffs, and enjoying the sunny day. We weren’t fortunate enough to see any dolphins, but it was still a beautiful day.  After our tour we went to a winery for a nice tasting. They were quite generous with their wine, all made on site, they had probably 20 varieties and allowed you to taste as many as you wanted. We opted for 6 which was a good amount. The wom...