Touching Down in Sydney
Some street art in Sydney bringing bushfire awareness
We made it! After months of planning and saving we’ve landed in Australia, and it is a very surreal feeling. Say any time you take a big leap, even though you’ve told all your friends and family and have literally been counting down the days, a time like this still just doesn’t feel like it’s actually happening. And then you think.. what the heck am I doing with my life. This was pretty much me, but not to worry I am quick to embrace and adapt to new places, and I have an excellent travel sidekick to navigate through this life we live.
As many of you know, prior to our arrival in Australia there have been massive bushfires ravaging the country, primarily in the state of New South Wales. **Australia is composed of 7 states/territories: New South Wales (the main city being Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Northern Territory (Darwin), Western Australia (Perth), South Australia (Adelaide), Tasmania (Hobart), and Queensland (Brisbane). Although being in the city we were clear of the fires themselves, there was a definite haze and a feeling of the entire city being covered with a blanket of smoke due to winds from the west blowing the smoke over.
It was shocking to see the infamous Sydney harbor so hazy from smoke.
Nevertheless, we were happy to have finally landed safely in the country ready to start our year long journey in the land down under. There are two sides to having loose or no plans at all. It is indeed freeing but also comes with its stressors, like, how many AirBNBs can we stay at before running out of money.. where is the best place to live in Australia.. where can we steer clear of the fires.. what to focus our efforts on first.. The good thing is that we are both pretty laid back go with the flow people yet lacking total complacency, so we still manage to accomplish things whilst living out our “free spirit” lives.
After feeling out the inner city life in Sydney for 5 days or so, we decided the best plan for us would be to travel north to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. There were less fires in the surrounding areas and the air quality in the city of Brisbane wasn’t as affected if at all by the bushfires. Brisbane is the third largest city in Oz and happens to be within an hours’ drive to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast, and within a few hours’ drive up the coast to some of Australia’s best and most sought out beach destinations.
Before flying out to Brisbane, we managed to go north of Sydney to Avalon for a day/night spent with a friend from college who has been here for nearly three years now. Just about an hour and a half journey via bus from the middle of Sydney, we discovered some real beauty on the east coast. Avalon is a small and cool little town. We started the day lounging by the water, got sunburnt of course, ate some exquisite fish tacos with a view, had happy hour margaritas, and took advantage of the ~free~ BBQ area on the beach with a fun group of locals introduced to us through my friend. We learned a new beach game which turned out to be super competitive and a great time called “Finska,” you should really look into it. To my Kentuckians - It’s up there with corn hole.
Bay in Avalon, NSW.
Anthony on the beach we barbecued at later that day
To be continued from Brisbane (: