Rollercoasters.

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I used to be scared of them. Them I went to Disneyland. Now we're on speaking terms.

Like rollercoasters, life is a little scary sometimes.

Tomorrow morning I leave for a 6 week holiday (ridin' solo!). After this holiday I would have had to return to a job that I have been trying to get out of for months. So on Monday I quit. This decision was probably the biggest I've ever made and probably the first I've made by myself without inputs from a boyfriend, my mother or my friends tipping me one way or the other. Because then it's never fully your fault if something goes awry.

I'm generally indecisive. I let other people make the final call. If someone said "What do you want to do?", "I dunno, what 'chu wanna do?" (thank you, Jungle Book vultures) would frequently be my response.

I missed the chance to speak to my aunt before she passed away because I couldn't decide what I would say when I picked up that phone and kept putting it off until it was too late. And I regret that deeply. I don't want to regret missing out on other opportunities because I've put something off or not been willing to take a risk.

Back to the metaphorical rollercoaster and the fact that I'm about to leave for a 6 week holiday without a source of income to come back to. Right now I feel like I'm at the point just before the car reaches the peak of the track. A mixture of anxiety and excitement. What goes up must come down, but you don't really know what's on the other side. You could coast. You could come plummeting back down at warp speed. You could shit your pants.

Or you could have the time of your life.

Southward Bound

This weekend we made the most of the Anzac day public holiday, took Friday off work and set off on a four day long weekend road trip to explore parts of the south-west.

Stops and attractions included:

Fergus the cow - Gnomesville, Ferguson Valley - The Diamond Tree, Manjimup and Gloucester Tree, Pemberton (including bird feeding) - Pemberton Pool and Big Brook Dam, Pemberton - Karri Valley Resort (kayaking, kangaroo petting, night walking) - Callcup Hill, Meerup Beach and Summertime Track (4WDs are a must) - Rest Point Holiday Park, Walpole (camping, kookaburras, pelicans, stingrays!) - Purchasing gumboots to splosh around in the puddles after all the rain we got! - Valley of the Giants (treetop walk), Denmark - Giant Tingle Tree and Circular Pool, Walpole - Home 

Aside from getting up close and personal with stingrays and being happy as Larry in a brand new pair of gumboots, the most memorable event of the weekend would have to be setting out for a 3.5km bush walk at night and joking about the torch going out... Then having the torch go out at almost exactly the half way point! Thanks goodness for the full moon!

Getting Lucky

So this is wayyyy overdue. I'm a procrastinator by nature.

Over the Easter weekend we packed our bags and swags, said goodbye to the big smoke and road tripped to Lucky Bay (about an hour north of Geraldton, Western Australia).

You can explore the world, but sometimes, all you need is to be exposed to your own backyard.

She's got a ticket to ride

My Contiki documents came!

If you're following me on twitter or instagram, you'll know how excited I'm getting for my upcoming trip and this little package that arrived yesterday sealed the deal!

I'm heading to Europe for about 5 and a half weeks (29 days on Contiki, the rest a free-for-all). The countdown is currently at 37 days and of course when I head off I'll be blogging here, so stay tuned for all my updates.

Now I just need to buy a new sleeping bag :)

Eeep!

Dar-winning

See what I did there? I know, I know...

Anyway, Mum and I made a getaway to Darwin (Nothern Territory, Australia for those of you playing at home) for a few days and I was certainly surprised by what I found.

When you're there you forget it's a state (sorry, Territory) capital and it has more of a large country town feel about it. Since the wet season started early this year it was also a heck of a lot greener than I expected it to be, given that when you drive through the North West area of WA it's all low lying scrubland and dry.

We did an all day tour of Litchfield National Park stopping by giant cathedral and tombstone termite mounds, Wangi falls (closed for swimming due to the heavy rains and croc potential) and finally got to take a dip at Florence Falls which was well deserved after Mum and I trekked to the top of the Wangi falls (1.7km) in the midday heat! 

We also did a second day tour to Kakadu National Park (which is world heritage listed) to have a look at some Aboriginal rock art and take a cruise down the Yellow River for a spot of croc watching. At first I was like 'meh, crocs, whatever..' but there's something about when a crocodile ever so slowly surfaces from under the water and eyes off your boat like a free buffet that made it a little more exciting.

It was a good (but hot and humid!!) break, but it's good to be back home just in time to celebrate New Years Eve :)