It had been a long time dream for me to come to Australia on a working holiday visa, and I finally made my move at the end of 2022. It was a tough thing for me to do, leaving behind my lovely life (temporarily) in Maui. After spending approximately 15 months down under, I had to leave suddenly due to visa issues. Feeling gutted at the time, I made the choice to leave my car (Pradie) in storage with the intention of returning and continuing my travels around this amazing country. Because I just can’t get enough. Which felt pretty scary at the time with quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding that decision. But I went for it. I never intended for it to be a whole year before I returned to Australia, but that is the way it ended up working out and it was all for the best!

I spent a beautiful year reconnecting with my friends and family, spending an extended amount of time in my hometown, and getting to know my new nephew. My heart is so full in a way that I haven’t felt in some time.

This has given me the burst of energy I need to solo travel again. It feels hard to leave close friends and family, familiarity, comfort, and a place where I really enjoy living. Especially at the age of 35, when everyone and everything around me is telling me to settle down. All to go off into the (somewhat) unknown without really any friends and doing a lot of things alone. But, this challenge is what I like….it’s all part of the fun and it builds character!  

This time around I am on an extended tourist visa (12 month) which means I can’t work…which makes me feel pretty crazy for entertaining the idea of traveling around such an expensive country without a job! But, the alternative is for me to regret never coming back here to the place that has made me feel so alive and free. Without a job, I have extra time on my hands, and so I have decided to create a blog to express myself and share my journey along with some of my favorite photos. I am not sure how long this new Australia journey is going to last…but I guess we’ll see!