Author

Courtney

A Letter to My 16-Year-Old Self

Dear 16-year-old Court,

First things first – you WILL lose those glasses one day. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. This is your first reminder that it is okay to change things about yourself if you want to.

At 16, you are just starting to find yourself. You’re realising who your real friends are, you’re finding your own personal style, and you’re trying to figure out where you want your life to take you. You feel really uncool, and want to be seen as cooler, but let me tell you now that being ‘cool’ for a few years in high school means nothing in the many years beyond it. Remember this.

At 16, you don’t know if you even want to go to university, let alone travel. You’ve never been overseas, and the thought hasn’t really crossed your mind yet. Don’t worry, it will. You still have a strange fascination with the United States of America, and you will eventually go there in the months after finishing school and discover a love for travel that will guide you throughout the rest of your life.

At 16, you’ve got a part-time job that you love (who wouldn’t want to work in a video-shop and eat lollies and watch new release DVDs all day?) and you’re doing well in school. The thought of the HSC is beginning to loom, and you’re nervous. Don’t be – the HSC is yet another thing that bears little importance beyond your high school years. Also, you will figure out what you want to do with your life with regard to study and work, but you’ll probably never really know what you want to be when you grow up. That will change several times over the next few years, and will continue to do so as you get older.

At 16, you’ve started going to parties and drinking alcohol, even though you’re underage. Enjoy it, because you’re going to drink so much over the next few years that you’ll never want to touch a drop of booze ever again (even though you definitely will). As you get older, you’ll start to place a higher importance on your health and mental well-being, and you’ll naturally start to gravitate towards people and activities that reflect those feelings.

At 16, you’ve never really thought about the effects of diet on your lifestyle or happiness, and you still consider tinned spaghetti on white bread a nutritious breakfast, and two-minute noodles a perfectly reasonable dinner (the latter will remain true for you, trust me). You’ll also continue to eat a ton of dairy (despite being lactose intolerant), and you’ll also devour animal products to no end. That’s not your fault, you just haven’t made the connection yet. One day, the thought of eating anything that comes from an animal will disgust and horrify you, so enjoy the bacon until that day comes.

At 16, you have a bit of money in the bank, but not much. I wish I could tell you to save your money better, and not waste it on clothes or going out, but you’re not going to do that. I will tell you that you will one day realise the importance of saving cash rather than spending, but it’ll take some time. It’ll also take you some time to understand that experiences are far more valuable than material items, and when you do, your entire world will change.

At 16, you don’t believe in true love. Your heart is cold and icy, and the thought of having any kind of real feelings is far too foreign for you to comprehend. You will, however, go through very real and painful feelings of infatuation, jealousy, hurt, and rejection over the coming years; but the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is very bright, very rewarding and very blonde (and very long-haired).

At 16, you haven’t got it quite figured out yet. By 28, you still won’t have it quite figured out yet, either. At least by then, however, you will have come to the realisation that age is a social construct that shouldn’t guide your achievements in life.

Just do you, and keep chasing your happy.

Lots of love,

You

Me at 16. It’s okay, I laughed too!

April 13, 2018 2 comments

Australia Favourite Travel Experiences Travel

Sunlover By Starlight – Waking Up On The Great Barrier Reef

written by Courtney

My heart skipped a beat every time I noticed a new little red notification on the Mail app on my iPhone. We’d been keeping close tabs on the weather forecast for Tropical North Queensland for weeks now, and it wasn’t looking promising. Every new little red dot had the potential to ruin our plans for the weekend… yet again.

We’d attempted the Sunlover by Starlight trip twice already – both times we were left disappointed by terrible weather conditions that prevented us from heading out to the gorgeous Moore Reef pontoon on the outer Great Barrier Reef to sleep in swags under the stars. Would our third attempt be a success?

Spoiler – it would.

MOORE REEF PONTOON

Scott and I arrived in far north Queensland early on a Friday morning, welcomed by the hot, muggy temperature and drizzly skies. Blanketed in a layer of cloud cover, the ride into the city of Cairns was a bumpy one.

Smiling to ourselves, we jumped on the shuttle bus straight from the airport, full of positive energy for our weekend ahead. We weren’t going to let wet, cloudy skies ruin our morning. After all, we’d already made a pact with the universe for perfect conditions for the next day when we were due to head out to Moore Reef. Now, all we had to do was keep channelling our energy and everything would be alright.

When we woke the following morning, we were excited to see just a thin layer of cloud, with the hot, tropical sun beginning to burn its way through. After a quick breakfast at a nearby café, we wandered excitedly to the Reef Fleet Terminal, ready to check in and begin our journey to the Moore Reef pontoon – our home for the next two days.

Once on board, we were introduced to the crew, and to the two lovely ladies from Minnesota who’d be sharing the unique experience of spending a night on the Great Barrier Reef with us. We were briefed on what to expect, and then Jake, the dreadlocked Starlight host and pontoon lifeguard, told us exactly what we didn’t want to hear – “There’s probably around a 90% chance that it’ll rain tonight, so we will have to make a decision whether to stay on the pontoon before the boat leaves this afternoon”.

I refused to let myself get disheartened and continued to channel my positive energy into the universe. Rain? I don’t think so. Nothing was going to ruin our third attempt at Sunlover by Starlight.

STOP – TURTLE TIME

After the boat had left the harbour and we were finally on our way to the reef, we ran into our old friend Pablo – one of Sunlover’s resident marine biologists. He took us on a snorkel safari on our first visit to the pontoon last year, and he was very excited to take us out again this time around. As soon as the boat docked, we were straight onto the pontoon and into the water with Pablo by our side.

Snorkelling is always fun, but it’s even more so when you have a passionate marine biologist teaching you about the reef at the same time. It was like being in a real-life documentary; Pablo would dive down or point out a section of the reef, or creature swimming by, and then he’d come to the surface and tell us all about it. I’d put my head under the water just enough to see but kept my ears above, so I could hear Pablo. It was incredible!

It wasn’t long before we saw our first turtle for the weekend. It was literal minutes after we’d jumped off the pontoon, and I was beyond excited to be the first one to see it. I spluttered “TURTLE!” through my snorkel and gestured wildly in the direction of the graceful animal, who was gliding through the water looking for something to eat. We swam up to her (we knew she was female, as Pablo had already informed us that all resident turtles of Moore Reef are ladies) and floated above her as she dug her head between rocks and coral in search for algae. Over the next two days, I’d spend the large majority of my time doing just this.

Our live-action documentary continued, and we swam around in awe as Pablo described different types of corals and their function on the reef. The staghorn coral for example, a very common sight on Moore Reef, grows about 15cm per year, meaning it can regenerate fairly quickly. Pablo dove down a few times and showed us exactly where new corals were growing, which was so cool to see.

A RARE SIGHTING

As we swam around the drop off, there wasn’t much to see in the distance apart from a deep shade of blue. Suddenly, under the water, we heard Pablo calling out, “Get back, get back!” Now, this isn’t exactly what you want to hear while swimming around a coral reef drop off in the middle of the ocean, and for a brief moment I started to panic…

I turned around in time to see a very large fish swim casually into view from the depths and realised immediately that this wasn’t a regular, or dangerous, occurrence.

It was a Humphead Parrotfish, and it was enormous. It had a large bulge on the top of its head, which it used with great force to bump into the coral beds before opening its mouth and devouring the coral with its large beak. The crunching sound you hear under the water while these guys are feeding is unbelievable! Think of the loudest eater you know and times it by a hundred – that’s the Humphead Parrotfish.

Can you spot Pablo and I in this shot? These HumpHead Parrotfish were massive!

We finished our snorkel tour and I headed back to the pontoon for a rest. Scott decided to stay in the water, and Pablo took another group on safari. I was standing at the edge of the pontoon when I saw Pablo gesturing towards Scott, who quickly swam over. Pablo then spotted me on the pontoon, “Courtney! Quick!” he cried. Without hesitation, I grabbed my snorkel and fins and jumped back into the ocean and swam as fast as I could to the spot where Pablo and Scott had gathered.

I arrived just in time.

Our new Humphead Parrotfish friend from earlier? He’d returned to the reef, this time with an entire school of his mates swimming alongside. There were up to twenty of them, maybe even more, and I watched in awe as they banged their bulging heads against the reef, absolutely decimating it as they all went in to feed, crunching and munching loudly on the coral. It was an incredible sight – and a rare one at that.

It wouldn’t be our only unique moment that weekend.

BYE, BYE BOAT

After an entire morning spent swimming on Moore Reef, we finally had to return to the pontoon and say goodbye to all the day-trippers who were leaving on the boat, headed back to the mainland. For us, our adventure was only just beginning.

By now, the sun had well and truly burned off the clouds, and we were left with a bright, sparkling and completely still afternoon. Scott and I couldn’t believe our eyes – after so long, we finally had what we’d wished for. Perfect conditions.

It was so still, you can barely see where the ocean meets the horizon!

Even the crew were gobsmacked. “We have maybe twelve days like this per year!” exclaimed Jake as he admired the stunning conditions on the reef. We couldn’t believe it either. All our positive energy and manifestations had actually paid off, and we were left with a still, quiet and absolutely beautiful afternoon. For the ten or so minutes before Andy fired up the pontoon’s generator, it was absolutely silent. There wasn’t a breath of wind causing the sound of tiny waves lapping against the pontoon, and no people yabbering away. It was fully, completely and utterly quiet. It was very peaceful.

We even saw a small black tip reef shark swimming slowly around the pontoon once the sound of the boat was nothing but a distant memory; he obviously only felt comfortable to emerge from the depths after all the humans had left for the day. Well, almost all the humans.

Needless to say, it wasn’t long before we all jumped back into the water again.

With the sun now shining bright, the clarity under the water was unbelievable. We spent some time snorkelling around the reef near the pontoon, chasing fish and searching for our turtle friends while Jake and Andy set up our swags on the pontoon. When they were done, Jake called us all in.

“Do you guys want to go exploring behind the pontoon?” he asked. We all nodded in unison. Of course, we did!

Along with Jake, and our new friends from Minnesota, Scott and I jumped back in the water for the millionth time that day, and as a group we ventured off into the still ocean. We followed the edge of the reef right around to the section of reef behind the pontoon, only accessible after the boat had returned to Cairns for the day. The sun shone straight down into the water.

It wasn’t long before we encountered another turtle. Despite losing count of how many times I’d swum with a turtle that day, it still felt like the first time. We watched her glide up from the depths of the ocean, the sun reflecting off the back of her shell. I always admire the grace of a turtle in the water; they move with such elegance and ease, and this one seemed so comfortable with us.

FALLING ASLEEP ON MOORE REEF

We emerged from our sunset swim completely drained of energy, but full to the brim of happiness and contentment. We were greeted back at the pontoon by Andy and an afternoon tea spread of fruit, cheese, crackers and nuts. We replenished our dwindling energy stores, and then headed off to one of the changerooms, which had been converted into a shower. A hot shower, I might add!

Our awesome accommodation for the evening.

After rinsing the salt from my skin with warm water, I changed into fresh clothes and joined the others back on the deck for dinner. With Andy and Jake in charge of cooking the BBQ, Scott and I enjoyed a nice, cold beer while we waited for our dinner.

Finally, our feast was ready, and it was one of the best spreads I have ever seen! I’d informed the Sunlover crew beforehand of my dietary requirements, and I was blown away by the amount of incredible vegan food they’d prepared for me. I’m not sure if they thought there were ten other vegans on board that night, but they provided so much food just for me it was insane! All of it was delicious, too.

After dinner, we were all well and truly exhausted. We sat on the top deck of the pontoon on the large beanbags and watched the giant trevally and other large fish dart around and chase fish in the water right next to the pontoon, which was lit up by lights. Eventually, our eyes just couldn’t stay open any longer and we all retreated to our individual swags for the night.

As I lay in my swag, I stared up at the bright night sky, illuminated by the enormous full moon rising over the ocean. It was hard to see all the stars with such bright light from the full moon, but I thought it was an even more beautiful sight with the moon anyway. Finally, I zipped up my swag and closed my eyes, dreaming of the adventures still to come the following day.

GOOD MORNING FROM THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

I was woken a few hours later by something wet on my face. I could hear something too, loud splashing noises right above me in my swag. I soon realised that the rain had arrived. Grabbing the top layer of my swag, which had been left open in the hot night, I quickly zipped it up over my head, protecting myself from the light, early morning shower. By the time I dozed off again a few minutes later, the rain had already completely stopped.

Around 6am, Scott whispered to me from his swag, “Court, wake up!” Groggily and blind without my contact lenses, I opened my eyes and unzipped my swag. Despite not seeing clearly, there was no mistaking that the sky was completely pink.

I ran down to the changeroom and quickly got dressed, popped in my contacts and washed my face. Then, I joined Scott back on the top deck of the pontoon to admire the beautiful sunrise. There was a low bank of clouds just above the horizon, which reached into the sky like giant, fluffy mountains. Oh, and the colour. So many different shades of pink and purple. Pure magic.

A sleepy, but very happy face.

After admiring the view from the top of the pontoon, we decided to head down to the water. Standing on the stairs, we let the small waves lap against our legs, smiling into the cool breeze. Suddenly, I saw a familiar face – a little, turtle face.

It was Linda!

She floated to the top of the ocean, and we could see her back, where she’d lost part of her shell. Linda swam casually around the side of the pontoon, lazily chomping on a jellyfish buffet breakfast. She hung around for a while, eating and swimming and floating around. It was a beautiful way to start our second day at Moore Reef.

DAY TWO IN PARADISE

It wasn’t long before Jake and Andy had prepared our next feast on the pontoon – breakfast. Again, they’d severely over catered for the single vegan on board, but hey, I wasn’t complaining one little bit. There was muesli, coconut yoghurt, an entire container of mango chia pudding, two whole litres of orange juice just for me, hash browns, toast, and fruit – it was hard not to overindulge and eat every last bite!

Once we’d eaten enough to fill our hungry tummies, it was time to get back into the water. By now, the sun was high in the sky and there was a light breeze, making the reef even more inviting. We grabbed our gear and jumped off the pontoon, ready to enjoy the last few hours of paradise without another soul in sight.

I’ll always remember this particular morning.

THE PERFECT MORNING

By now, my turtle radar was pretty bang on. I knew most of the spots on Moore Reef where the turtles seemed to prefer to look for food, so naturally this was the first place we went after we jumped into the water. It wasn’t long before we found Linda, yet again.

She was exactly where we thought she’d be, and over the next hour we found ourselves in a little routine with our green turtle friend. She’d spend around five to ten minutes munching on the algae on the reef, while we patiently floated above her. Then, as she began to swim to the surface, we’d follow at a comfortable distance, snapping photos and enjoying such a peaceful interaction with her. She almost always swam right up to us, almost to the point of touching, and as she’d take a breath she’d frolic on the surface for a bit, letting us take photos and swim around her. It was almost as if she was posing for us!

Then, she’d swim back to the bottom of the reef and continue her search for food. Another five or ten minutes later, she’d swim back to the surface and we’d repeat our routine. At one point, the two ladies from Minnesota who were sharing our Sunlover by Starlight experience with us swam over to us, and we excitedly showed them that we’d found another turtle. They enjoyed swimming with and observing Linda, but after about five minutes they swam off to continue exploring the reef.

It was the moment that I realised I had a real passion for the reef, and in particular, the sea turtles that called it home.

I couldn’t bear to leave Linda. Yes, there was plenty of reef to explore, yet I just couldn’t and didn’t want to leave her side. I was absolutely entranced by her, and I knew I had to take advantage of our time together before the boat from the mainland arrived again, with hundreds of passengers in tow.

So, there I stayed, on the stretch of reef where Linda was hanging out, for almost an hour. We repeated our above routine many times, until I heard the voice of Jake calling us back to the pontoon. The boat was almost there.

Reluctantly, Scott and I said goodbye to Linda, with hope that we’d see her again that day. We swam over to the pontoon and stood upon the upper deck watching the boat arrive. It was a strange feeling to see the boat return, full of people. Instantly, our serene, quiet pontoon was a hive of noisy activity, and we felt like our private space was being invaded.

Unfortunately, though, we had to share.

BYE BYE, MOORE REEF

Over the next few hours, a heavy cloud cover came through, and we said goodbye to the sun for good. I was very thankful for our beautiful, sunny morning!

Looking like prunes and feeling like salt shakers, Scott and I had a break from the water and headed straight for the yummy buffet lunch while the others were all occupied with getting in the water. We were exhausted, but after a quick feed and rest, we headed straight back for the reef. There were only a few hours left, and we wanted to see Linda once again.

It didn’t take long to find her, and as expected, she was going between casually searching the reef for food and swimming to the surface to breathe. This time, however, she was wandering all around the reef rather than hanging in one spot, so it was fun to follow her around and see where she went, all while exploring the reef ourselves.

In the distance, we saw a massive storm starting to roll in. We decided to head back to the pontoon, dry off and get ready to head back to the mainland before it hit. Well, we had to have a few runs down the waterslide first!

Finally, it was time to leave. By now, it had started to rain as we sat on the top level of the boat, drying off while we sipped hot tea. I was sad to say goodbye to Moore Reef, but also excited to get back to the mainland for a shower and a nap.

THE END

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Rachel, Jake, Andy, and the rest of the team at Sunlover Reef Cruises for what was truly one of the best weekends of my life. Another special thanks goes out to our mate Pablo, whose experience, passion and knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef is unrivalled.

I cannot recommend a visit to the beautiful Moore Reef with Sunlover Reef Cruises enough, and again I thank you all for a great experience! I spent two whole days playing in the beautiful waters of the Great Barrier Reef, with so much marine life at my fingertips. I swam with turtles for hours, I saw creatures only spotted on rare occasions, and I felt like I really, really lived.

It wasn’t just about swimming and playing and having fun. It was about learning more about the fragile state that the world’s oceans are currently in. When we got home, Scott and I watched the third episode of Blue Planet 2 – Coral Reefs. I strongly urge you, if you haven’t already, to watch this episode. The future of our entire planet and all the creatures on it (including us humans) is at risk. We are the only species who are contributing to this, and the only species that can stop it.

Photos by Scott Ruzzene.

DISCLAIMER – I travelled to Moore Reef as a guest of Sunlover Reef Cruises. All opinions remain my own.

March 28, 2018 4 comments

South Coast South Pacific Islands

15 Dreamy Photos of the Pacific Ocean to Drool Over

written by Courtney

As a born & bred Australian, I’ve always loved living by the ocean. In fact, I’ve never lived more than five minutes from the coast in my entire life. As a result, I have grown up as a water baby with a deep love and respect for the ocean – I’ve always wanted to trade places with Ariel, and often daydream about life as a mermaid. I find spending time by the sea very therapeutic, and is where you’ll find me most of the time!

I thought I’d try something new and share with you a few of my favourite snaps I’ve taken over the years of my all time favourite body of water – the Pacific Ocean. I have fallen in love with many islands across the Pacific, and hope to one day live on one of them permanently. Until then, let’s drool over these dreamy shots…

Enjoy!

SOUTH BEACH | WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA

TEAHUPO’O | TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA

NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND | QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

ZENITH BEACH | NELSON BAY, AUSTRALIA

PRETTY BEACH | BAWLEY POINT, AUSTRALIA

ARORANGI | RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS

BONDI ICEBERGS | BONDI BEACH, AUSTRALIA

MO’OREA | FRENCH POLYNESIA

FITZROY ISLAND | TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

LALOMANU BEACH | UPOLU, SAMOA

BLACK ROCK BEACH | RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS

SOFITEL PRIVATE ISLAND | BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

GENTLEMAN’S POOL | NORTH WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA

MO’OREA | FRENCH POLYNESIA

CYLINDER BEACH | NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

Where’s your favourite place in the world to get wet?

February 12, 2018 0 comment

Personal

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

written by Courtney

Cover image via Scott Ruzzene Photo www.scottruzzene.com

As you may have noticed, I’ve decided to change things up a bit this year with regard to the content I’m creating for my blog. I’m starting to naturally levitate towards more lifestyle content in addition to travel stories. Why? Well, for starters, I like to write. I like to write about travel, but also about food, fitness, health and everything in between. I don’t want to pigeon hole myself in terms of content and exclusively write about travel, so here we are.

In the spirit of moving forward and writing more, I thought I’d share a few things about myself that you may not know…

I HAVE TWO UNIVERSITY DEGREES

As a high school student, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up (I still don’t, to be honest). When I was in Year 12, I did Business Studies and found that I really enjoying studying marketing. So, after my gap year, I started university and majored in Marketing & Advertising. Going to uni was the best decision I ever made in my life, and I can’t believe I ever contemplated not going.

My favourite photo with my brother at my first graduation ceremony.

When I finished, I had another gap year because I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Afterwards, I decided to go back to uni and complete a Master of Strategic Marketing. These days, I work as a marketing manager so I’m definitely putting them to use – even though I am no closer to paying off my HECS debt!

I WAS IN A MAGAZINE AT 12 YEARS OLD

When I was twelve years old, I won a nationwide competition with Barbie Magazine. For those of you who don’t remember, Barbie Mag was a pretty popular publication back when I was a kid, so this was a massive deal. The prize was a trip to Sydney to go to a fancy hotel to meet and interview Vanessa Amorosi – who, at the time, was riding on her fame wave from performing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Does anyone remember her? She had a few bangers (does Absolutely Everybody ring a bell?) but fell off the radar pretty quickly.

The magazine spread – also known as my 15 minutes of fame!

Of course, I was a super awkward kid with super awkward interviewing skills; like holding the little recording device so close to her face that it was almost touching her or deciding that wearing a Hawaiian shirt to interview a pop star was a good idea – LOL! It was so much fun though, and I even got to take my best mate Sam and my brother along for the ride. Plus, they gave me an entire duffel bag full of lollies – winning!

I even made the local paper – look at that goober!!

I’M AN AVID READER

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been obsessed with reading. I love losing myself in a great book, and I am always mesmerised by the pictures I conjure up in my head when I read – it’s like watching a movie in your own imagination. I often wonder what other people see in their heads when reading the same book; do we picture the characters in the same way based on the descriptions we are given? It is really fascinating when you think about it.

My favourite genres are crime thrillers and books about magical schools (well, just one magical school if we’re being specific). I also love reading true crime stories and autobiographies, and it not unusual for me to be reading two or three books at once! I’m always looking for new reads so if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments.

I’M SCARED OF FLYING

Yep – the travel fanatic is scared of flying. Admittedly, I’ve gotten a lot better over the past few years but when I first started to travel, flying made me nervous to the point of nausea. I almost cried with fear every time a plane took off, and again with relief when it landed. Getting on dozens and dozens of flights has obviously helped me overcome my nerves, but I still get a little paranoid every time I’m in the air.

Bonus fact: despite my fear of flying, I absolutely LOVE airplane food. Yep, I’m one of those guys.

I’M BLIND AS A BAT

Have you ever heard of myopia? It’s also known as short-sightedness, and it has been a part of my life since I was about ten years old. When I was a kid, my teacher contacted my parents because he noticed I’d been making a lot of trips to the garbage bin near the chalkboard at the front of the classroom. My desk was located towards the back, and I’d go up and sharpen my pencil at the bin, so I could read the questions on the board since I was too far away to see it properly. I went to see the optometrist and was swiftly given my first pair of glasses.

Not long after I got my first pair of glasses. I wore this exact same style until I was 18 for some reason (probably because I was very uncool).

Over time, the myopia progressed and caused my eyesight to deteriorate over time before becoming somewhat consistent in my early twenties. These days I wear contact lenses and very rarely wear my glasses (mainly because they are super thick). If you know anything about eyesight, my contact lens prescription is -5.5 in one eye and -6.5 in the other… which pretty much means I am SUPER blind.

I GOT LOCKED IN A TOY STORE WHEN I WAS A KID

Oh, this is a fun story. When I was growing up, my dad lived in a unit close to the main street. Often, after school, he’d give my brother and I a few bucks to go buy a lolly or a magazine. The toy store was right near his place, and we’d have to walk past on the way to the main street so naturally we’d always wander in for a look. One afternoon I was on my own, and decided to go and see what new Barbie dolls had come in. It must have been close to 5pm, because after about ten minutes the lights all turned off.

Confused, I wandered back towards the front of the shop and realised I’d been locked in. Hey, it’s every kid’s dream, right? Not mine – I started crying and ran up to the door. The shop owner hadn’t left yet and saw me trapped inside, so they came and let me out. After that day, I always made my presence known when I walked into the store!

I HAVE TWO TATTOOS

This one might not be much of a surprise considering I’ve posted photos which show them, but I have two tattoos. What you may not know, however, is that I only like one of them. I got my first tattoo when I was freshly 18 and still in high school. I thought it would be cool to get a tramp stamp of Japanese characters *facepalm*. Although I loved it for the first few years, I don’t like it at all anymore. That being said, I’m too lazy and too scared of the pain to get it removed so I still have it. I’m too embarrassed to admit what it means (think of the lamest ‘motivational’ saying you can think of) but if you can figure it out for yourself, I’ll be happy to confirm it – hah!

Courtney, Carlee & The Deathly Hallows

My second tattoo is not only an ode to my love of Harry Potter, but also a matching tattoo with one of my best mates. We decided to get the same Deathly Hallows symbol on our ribs as a symbol of our love for Harry and each other. It’s awesome.

I’M A CRAZY CAT LADY

I may be obsessed with my beautiful doggo, but deep down I am a crazy cat lady at heart. Growing up, cats were always a part of my life. I’ve had so many cats over the years I don’t even know if I’d be able to remember all their names. People who say cats are ‘shit’ pets have obviously never had a cat in their life. Cats are curious, loving, sweet, playful and cheeky all at the same time. No, they’re not as loyal as dogs, and prefer to do things their own way, but they are so easy to look after and when a cat does choose to show you affection, you feel like the most important and special human in the world!

Me and Coco!

When I was in high school, I had a beautiful orange cat named Cuz, and a gorgeous black and white cat named Coco. Cuz was the best pet I’ve ever had – so loving, and affectionate almost to the point of annoyance, which is pretty unusual for a cat. Coco, on the other hand, was sweet until she got herself knocked up before we could get her desexed and ended up having three kittens – Snap, Crackle and Pop. We gave Crackle away to our best friend’s family but couldn’t get rid of the others, so we did what any crazy cat family would do – we kept them!

So, we now had four cats in the house. Then, before she was allowed to get desexed after giving birth, Coco escaped the confines of the house and got herself knocked up AGAIN. This time she gave birth to six kittens. Six! Surprisingly, we had no trouble getting rid of the kittens this time and managed to find loving homes for all of them when they got to eight weeks of age. Until then, we had a total of ten cats ruling our house. It was amazing.

So yeah, I’m a crazy cat lady, and I’m proud of it. Cuz unfortunately passed away in 2013, and Coco went missing in November last year, so we aren’t too sure if we will ever see her again (which I am devastated about). Snappy and Poppy still live with Mum, and I love going to visit them. At home, I am the proud mother of my son Oscar, who is a very handsome light ginger boy who is a little psycho but has his cute moments too! I’m always really stoked when he chooses to sit on my lap instead of Scott’s.

I’M A KARAOKE TRAGIC

In another life, I think I must have been some kind of performer. I absolutely LOVE singing, but unfortunately, I was not gifted with a talented voice. At all. In fact, quite the opposite. Luckily though, this makes karaoke my favourite thing ever! Unlike most people, I don’t even need to be drunk to get on stage and perform, but it definitely helps.

One of my most memorable and favourite travel experiences involved singing karaoke in the heart of Tokyo. I’ve also sung countless hours of karaoke at a local dive bar in Boulder, CO while I was on exchange (much to my delight, they had $1 wells and karaoke every Wednesday night). I used to be a bit of a regular at the good old Harp Hotel in Wollongong on a Friday or Saturday, and I’d always try to bribe the guy who ran karaoke to let me sing next. I wonder if he misses me?

I STOLE MY BEST FRIEND’S WATCH WHEN WE WERE KIDS

This is actually one of my weirdest and favourite stories. I can’t even remember how old I was, I’m thinking maybe 9 or 10, but when I was growing up I lived in a small neighbourhood in a small town on the Far South Coast of NSW. My three best friends also lived in the same street (bonus fun fact: we are ALL still best mates after all these years), and Carlee, the aforementioned HP tattoo buddy, lived across the road and a few doors up from my house. We used to play all the time after school.

One day, I saw that she had this new cool watch, and I have absolutely no reasoning for why I did this, but I decided to steal it. I put it in my shoe, and when I left that afternoon to go home for dinner, I threw it on our front lawn and pretended to ‘find’ it the next day (I know – what was wrong with me?). I showed up to school that morning with my brand-new watch, telling everyone that my aunty gave it to me (such a lie). Carlee thought it beared an uncanny resemblance to her new watch, which had gone missing, but I insisted that it was mine.

Carlee and I in Japan, still friends over twenty years after I stole her watch haha

Fast forward to a few days later when I get off the school bus and see my dad’s car parked in the driveway. Now, anyone who has divorced parents will know that if one of your parent’s cars is in the driveway and you’re not scheduled to go to their place that day, you know you’re in trouble. I walked in, and my parents confronted me about the watch.

I confessed, and they marched me up the street to Carlee’s place to apologise and return the watch, which I did through a barrage of tears. I don’t remember much else, but Carlee obviously forgave me since we are still best friends twenty years later and now have matching tattoos. I still have no idea what possessed me to steal the watch and actually think I could get away with it, but I was a pretty weird kid so who knows what was running through my mind at the time – hah!

So, there you go! Tell me 10 facts about YOU!!

February 6, 2018 0 comment

South Pacific Islands Travel

Mo’orea – An Island Life For Me

written by Courtney

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for a good tropical island. When your favourite things in life are sunshine, sand and salt water, it’s not difficult to find bliss in the South Pacific. I’ve never been quiet about my love for the stunning islands that span the almost 162 million square kilometres of the great ocean and in August 2017, I added a new favourite to the list – Mo’orea.

LAUGHTER IN PARADISE

Our trip to Mo’orea began with the infectious laughter of our Polynesian taxi driver, who picked us up from the airport on the mainland of Tahiti after we’d driven back from Teahupo’o earlier that morning. We were greeted by her happy face, grinning from ear to ear as we approached her taxi in hopes of getting a ride to the nearby ferry terminal. As we threw our luggage into the boot, she gestured towards the doors, encouraging us to take a seat in the air-conditioned car. Scott, still not quite used to everything being on the other side in French Polynesia, went to jump in the driver’s side, mistaking it for the front passenger seat.

“Oh!” she chortled. “You want to drive, eh?” Realising his mistake, Scott chuckled and walked to the other side, jumping into the passenger seat. “He’s had enough driving on the wrong side of the road,” I told her. Without skipping a beat, she replied “Oh no, you mean the RIGHT side!” before exploding in her infectious laugh. It was impossible not to giggle along with the friendly Polynesian woman; her giant smile quite clearly matched her giant heart.

During the short drive, she told us all about the island of Mo’orea, claiming it to be the ‘most beautiful island in French Polynesia’. We’d later discover that her words were nothing but the truth.

JOURNEY FROM THE MAINLAND

Although the drive to the ferry terminal was short, my face was aching from the massive smile I had stuck on my face from the moment we jumped in the taxi. I was truly sorry to say goodbye to our new friend, who in a matter of minutes had left quite an impression. We headed up to the ferry terminal in high spirits.

After checking in, we headed up to the café at the top of the terminal, which overlooked the harbour. In the distance, we could see the island of Mo’orea standing tall amongst a light cloud cover. We ordered sandwiches and beers, and relaxed while we waited for our departure. As we sipped our cold bottles of Hinano, a familiar song came on the speakers – Kim Churchill’s Window to the Sky – which just happens to be one of my favourite songs. What makes it even stranger is that Kim is also grew up on the Far South Coast of NSW (same as me), so it was incredible to hear one of his songs playing on the radio on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific! We finished lunch, and before long it was time to get on board the ferry to Mo’orea.

After a thirty-minute journey, we arrived in Mo’orea – or was it Isla Nublar? I felt nothing but Jurassic Park vibes with the landscape; large mountain peaks sticking up high into the sky, surrounded by a thin layer of ominous cloud. As we disembarked from the ferry, I half expected a gang of pterodactyls to appear in the sky. Fun fact – Mo’orea actually means ‘yellow lizard’ in Tahitian, so my expectations weren’t entirely baseless!

The beach at Hotel Hibiscus, where we enjoyed many sunset cocktails

We jumped in our transfer car and began the drive around the island to our accommodation – the gorgeous Hotel Hibiscus. Yet again, we had a friendly and very knowledgeable driver for the journey. Her list of things for us to do during our stay was endless, and she kept us entertained with her stories about the history of the island. As we drove around the bends and curves of the stunning island, she pointed out the volcanos and craters, and told us that no Tahitians ever go to the top of the craters of the volcanos. “It is a very spiritual place,” she said, “Many Tahitians are buried up there.” I love meeting friendly locals when I travel; their insights and points of view are always so unique, and you’ll never find anyone more trusting than someone who loves their own home.

ISLAND LIFE IN MO’OREA

We woke on our first morning in Mo’orea to the sound of roosters crowing – an island staple across the South Pacific. Although it was a little drizzly, the air was warm, and the sun was trying desperately to come out from behind a thick layer of cloud cover. We had a quick breakfast before heading out for our adventure for the day – a quad bike tour through the middle of the island.

After meeting our tour group and our guide, Fred, we jumped on our quad bikes and go on the road. We zoomed past the sparkling lagoon on our left, and the emerald green jungle on our right. The rains came down again, dampening our clothes but not our spirits! The rains didn’t last long, and eventually we turned off the main road to start heading towards the centre of the island.

Me hanging in the pineapple plantation pretending like I actually drove the quad bike instead of hanging on for dear life on the back…

We ended up in the middle of a volcanic crater, which happened to be the home of a massive pineapple plantation. With the soil being super rich, it is the perfect place for the fruit to grow and flourish. As we admired the impressive view, Fred asked us how long we thought it took for the fruit to grow. “Six months!” shouted a member of the group, and Fred laughed. “Higher, higher!” he replied, gesturing up with his fingers. We all kept guessing until we got it right – it takes each plant two whole years to grow the pineapple, and only produces two at a time (although the second pineapple takes only ten months to grow). He explained that the pineapples grown on the island are for the locals and the surrounding islands only, as the cost to export the sweet fruit to other countries is too high. We were disappointed to hear this, as we later got the opportunity to taste the juice itself and it was bloody delicious!

We finished the afternoon at Belvedere Lookout – one of the best views on offer in Mo’orea. As we stood on the edge of the road admiring the incredible view of the mountain flanked on either side by both the bays of the island, we noticed a French family getting their picture taken. I glanced over just in time to hear the photographer shout, “Un, deux, trois, fromage!” before I exploded in a fit of giggles. For those who don’t know, ‘fromage’ is the French word for ‘cheese’ – hah!

A DAY IN THE OCEAN

The next day was also packed full of adventure – we’d organised a trip with Moorea Ocean Adventures to swim with humpback whales. That’s right, humpback whales.

Oh, how I envisioned this day. I was absolutely beside myself with fear at the thought of entering the water with a creature so large, in the open ocean, but I pushed my fear aside with the thought that it would be such an incredible experience that I would have no time to be scared.

After months of daydreaming about how amazing it would feel to swim with such a beautiful creature of the deep, I finally woke up on the morning our private tour was scheduled. Still incredibly nervous, I got ready and told myself that it was going to be a day to remember forever.

Over two hours later, we’d been battling extremely strong winds as we traversed up and down the northern coastline of Mo’orea, in search of the giant mammals. We were soaking wet from the spray of the water, but as I shivered and wrapped my saturated towel around me, I kept my eyes peeled on the water. I figured it would take a while to find them, I mean, they’re wild animals living in an ocean. Of course, it would take time, right?

It sure would, but it would take time we didn’t have, as our private tour was only supposed to be four hours long. Not once in my daydreams about swimming with humpbacks did it ever occur to me that we wouldn’t actually find them! I wasn’t deluded; I knew there was a chance we wouldn’t, but after stalking the Facebook page of Mo’orea Ocean Adventures, it looked like we had some pretty good chances considering they’d seen dozens and dozens of whales in the two weeks prior to our trip.

Not that day – we didn’t find any whales. I was disappointed of course, but hey, that’s life. The guys who took us out, Trevor and Ryan, were also devastated and did everything in their power to make it up to us. We did eventually find some black-tip reef sharks swimming in the open ocean beyond the lagoon, so we jumped in the water with them.

Mr Sharky

It was incredible and terrifying at the same time. I’ve had a long-standing fear of sharks ever since I first watched jaws as a ten-year-old and was afterwards too terrified to walk on the carpet in our house because it was blue, so believe me when I say it was a big deal to get in the water with these creatures! The feeling of sharing the water with these beautiful sharks was truly magical; the water was about twenty metres deep, yet so clear the bottom looked like it was mere metres away. I’d be watching one shark as it swam gracefully in the open ocean in front of me, then I’d float around and see another swimming directly at me, darting off as I turned to face it. They were so curious!

We also saw a lone lemon shark resting on the reef below; he must have been about two or three metres long. By this stage, I wasn’t scared anymore. I was just so happy to be able to experience such a beautiful moment in nature.

Afterwards, we took the boat back into the lagoon and spent an hour or so swimming in the shallows with more black-tip reef sharks, and also stingrays, who certainly do not understand the concept of personal space. I squealed in what only can be described as half joy and half fear as the rays would make their way up the side of my body, trying to get a morsel of fish from my fingertips. All were so cool, calm and collected around people, and while obviously they were used to us being there and also used to getting fed, the sharks and rays could definitely have done some damage if they wanted to. It was yet another ‘pinch me’ moment where I couldn’t believe how lucky I was.

Just casually floating in the lagoon with multiple sharks and rays behind me!

BYE, BYE MO’OREA

We spent the next couple of days enjoying the island; from hiring kayaks and paddling back to the lagoon where we’d met the sharks and stingrays, to drinking pina coladas as we watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. Mo’orea had stolen our hearts, and we knew that we’d have to come back soon…

For now though, here are a few more snaps from our adventures:

The road just after it rained while we were on the quad bikes… such vibrant colours!

The stunning water in Mo’orea

Enjoying the sunshine at Hotel Hibiscus

Staying very calm as a sting ray crawled up the side of my body

January 31, 2018 0 comment

Eats Personal

Why I Decided to Become A Vegan

written by Courtney

“I could be a vegetarian… if it wasn’t for bacon!”

I used to say that all the time, usually during a hungover brunch between mouthfuls of crispy bacon from my favourite cafe.

Growing up, I had a pretty standard diet. I ate red meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, and eggs. Despite developing an intolerance for lactose in my late teenage years, I still consumed cheese and ice-cream regularly, ignoring my body’s warning signals that it wasn’t right for me. I loved it, and believed that it was all part of a healthy, well-rounded diet.

I was wrong.

When I was about 25 years old, I discovered a few blogs online that slowly began to change my entire life. Over the course of a year, I slowly began making the connection between eating meat, and where it really came from. Obviously, I knew meat came from living beings, but I never *really* made that connection, ya know?

THE BEGINNING

After many months doing research, I decided to watch a video on YouTube called ‘101 Reasons to Go Vegan’. At this point, I hadn’t made any real changes to my diet or lifestyle, apart from choosing to consume less meat at home in an effort to save money. I was still lactose intolerant, and I still ate cheese and ice-cream on a regular basis (despite the fact it made me sick).

Then I watched the video, and it opened my eyes wider than they’ve ever been before.

I not only learnt some important facts that I wasn’t aware of, but I also witnessed for the first time the inhumane treatment of animals in factory farms. I was absolutely shocked. As someone who proclaimed to be an ‘animal lover’ for my entire life, I couldn’t believe my eyes. How had I spent so long turning a blind eye to this? How had it taken me this long to make the connection between eating meat and where it came from? I guess I thought I was doing the right thing by choosing to buy ‘organic’ or RSPCA-approved’ meat, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how great of a life a cow or chicken has had – slaughter is slaughter. Death is death. There is no humane way to kill something that doesn’t want to be killed.

Actually me for most of my life.

I realised that I was putting my own personal taste and comfort over the lives of beautiful, innocent and sentient creatures. Did you know that cows have best friends, and become physically distraught when separated from them? Did you know that pigs have the same level of intelligence as a three-year old child? Can you imagine the fear, terror and absolute horror that a three-year old child would feel in the moments before slaughter? That is what pigs go through. They are aware of what is happening to them, and that is absolutely fucking heartbreaking.

I immediately became a vegetarian after watching that video. That was in June 2015. I gave away all the meat I had left in my freezer to my roommates, and I made a promise to myself that I’d give it a real go. Well, technically, on that day I became a pescatarian, as I still consumed seafood. I’d never been a big seafood fan, but at that point I wasn’t quite ready to give it up. I also hadn’t given up dairy – yet.

I SEAFOOD, THEN I EAT IT

I remained a pescatarian for eighteen months before deciding to give up seafood completely in January 2017. It was pretty easy since I didn’t really like seafood, and over time the flesh of the fish I was eating began to make me feel uneasy.

It didn’t feel natural to have to pick bones out of my food, and every time someone served a piece of fish with its head intact, it made me feel really uncomfortable. I decided then and there that I didn’t ever want to eat anything that had a face ever again.

NOT YOUR MUM, NOT YOUR MILK

Over the rest of the year, I still consumed dairy and eggs on a semi-regular basis. My lactose intolerance wasn’t enough to deter me from the delicious taste of cheese, ice-cream or yoghurt, and all the gross symptoms of my intolerance were just part of life.

I wasn’t listening to my body. Although I’d lost a bit of weight without trying after initially cutting meat from my diet, I gained it all back with an increase in my dairy consumption. I drank soy milk in my coffee, but always opted for ‘real’ ice-cream and ‘real’ cheese. I still hadn’t quite made the connection to where dairy came from, either.

I decided that I needed to do more research. Here’s a fun fact – did you know that milk comes from cows? Yeah, that’s right, cows! While I am stating the obvious here, there’s something else that you may not know. Cows only produce milk when they are lactating. Yep, just like humans, cows only produce milk when they’ve got a baby to feed.

The only way milk is supposed to be consumed.

Hang on a second, if that is true, then how do you explain the mass production of milk and other dairy products? Surely, there aren’t that many cows naturally giving birth in the world, right? Right. There aren’t enough cows naturally giving birth in the world, and when I realised this, it made me so horrified that I knew I couldn’t continue consuming dairy.

So, how do we make enough milk for all the dairy products in the world if there aren’t enough cows giving birth naturally? You see, dairy cows have possibly the most horrific life of any animal in the entire food industry. First, they’re artificially impregnated with a metal rod. What is the word for sticking something inside someone else without their consent? Oh yeah, rape.

Then, after they give birth, their newborn calf is immediately taken away from them, causing distress and grief to the mother cow. But, no time for grief, because it’s time to go get knocked up again by that metal rod. Oops, did I say knocked up? I meant raped.

While Mumma Cow is being impregnated again, and the milk meant for her baby is being taken for human consumption, what happens to baby cow? Say hello to your veal schnitzel.

A cow has a natural lifespan of up to twenty years, but when you’re a dairy cow, you can only expect to live until about seven before the strain of producing milk for the masses takes its toll on your body, then it’s time for slaughter. Say hello to your Sunday roast!

If you’d like to learn more about the horrors that dairy cows go through on a day to day basis, please visit this website. If not, have a think about why you’re so happy to consume something that, at the end of the day, is designed to grow a baby calf into a huge cow in a matter of months. But hey, dairy is healthy for you, right?

Cows are inquisitive, loving, sentient beings who deserve nothing but love and respect.

I PREFER MY EGGS AS BABY CHICKENS

Now that you’re nice and depressed after learning about where milk really comes from, I’m gonna tell you all about the egg industry. I ate eggs until late 2017, and only gave them up after committing to veganism at the start of 2018.

I’m sure you’re no stranger to the controversy of all the different categories of eggs available in the supermarket. From caged, cage-free, barn-laid, free-range and whatever other term the marketing guys over at the Australian Eggs Corporation want to use to convince you that your eggs are free from the same horrors that other farm animals go through, there seems to be plenty of options based on your level of guilt.

So cute and innocent. For every carton of eggs you eat, hundreds of these guys get mindlessly killed.

Hmmm, caged eggs are ‘bad’, but are free range eggs much better? Not to mention there are about a million different ways to define ‘free-range’, so how can you be sure that your eggs are coming from a chicken who had a ‘good’ life?

Spoiler alert – you can’t.

Female chickens (aka hens) lay eggs, right? Right. When their eggs hatch, there’s a 50/50 chance it’ll be another hen. If you are born a little boy chook (aka rooster), then, well, you’re useless so it’s the big grinder for you! Have you ever seen a video of hundreds of baby chicks getting put through a grinder to their deaths? I have. If you’re born a female, well, you’re probably going to wish you ended up in that grinder. Get ready for a life of mass producing eggs for human consumption in a tiny cage, because what is life if people can’t enjoy their eggs bene on the weekend, right? Oh, don’t forget that your beak will be painfully removed by a laser, so you can’t hurt any of the workers who are ruining your life.

Eggs may be delicious, but they come at a price.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Now, I really didn’t mean for this post to sound so snarky, and I’m not trying to make you feel guilty for your choices. Well, if we are being perfectly honest, I kind of hope that you feel at least a little guilty after reading this. However, my main goal is to educate and provide information, because only a few years ago, I didn’t know any of this either.

Being a vegan doesn’t come without challenges. Yes, it is bloody difficult sometimes and yes, it can be pretty inconvenient at times. But hey, I’d rather a little inconvenience in my life if it means that one less cow has to go through the pain, fear and horror that so many animals go through every day around the world. I used to think I was an animal lover, but that wasn’t true until I stopped eating them. Your actions need to fall in line with your convictions. If you claim to love animals but you still eat meat I’m sorry but you’re not an animal lover – you’re a pet lover.

Why do we love pets (such as cats and dogs) but eat cows, pigs, chickens and sheep? Why do some people keep rabbits as pets, and some people eat rabbits for dinner? Why does everyone get up in arms over the insanely horrific ‘dog meat festivals’ in China, but turn a blind eye to the same horrors happening in our own country?

LOOKING AT THE FUTURE

I’m not asking you to become a vegan. I’m asking you to *try* and make ethical and compassionate choices when it comes to fuelling your own body. It really isn’t that hard to eat less meat and dairy, and if you give it a go you’ll find that it is not only pretty easy, but it’s also tasty AF and you’ve save plenty on your shopping bill – and on your waistline!

If you’d like to learn more about vegetarianism or veganism, please drop me a line. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have, no matter how stupid or silly they may seem. I will also leave a list of resources at the bottom of this post so you can do your own research too.

Becoming a vegan wasn’t only a compassionate choice for me, but also an ethical one for the environment and finally for my own health and wellbeing. There are plenty of reasons why veganism is the most effective lifestyle for this planet, and the creatures within it (including YOU).

I hope this post has helped you understand why not only myself, but other people turn to veganism. At the end of the day, we’re making compassionate choices and it really upsets me when people make fun of vegans for doing something for those who can’t fight for themselves. If you have nothing nice, encouraging or educational to add to this post, please don’t bother.

“Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence”.

RESOURCES

BOOKS TO READ:

The China Study

The Starch Solution

Skinny Bitch

DOCOS TO WATCH:

Forks Over Knives

Food Matters

Cowspiracy

Earthlings

VEGAN FOR THE ANIMALS:

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/cows/dairy-industry/

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/factsheets/dairy_cows.php

http://sustainabletable.org.au/all-things-ethical-eating/#eating-animals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4&feature=youtu.be&t=1m45s

http://hatchery.mercyforanimals.org/

VEGAN FOR THE PLANET:

http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=friwGYNRKBc

https://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html

https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/environmental-health-reasons-dairy.htm

VEGAN FOR YOUR HEALTH:

https://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30gEiweaAVQ

http://www.rense.com/general26/milk.htm

https://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/10-reasons-stop-eating-red-meat?s=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfvdypnAgg

GREAT BLOGS FOR INSPO:

http://bonnyrebecca.tumblr.com/whyvegan

http://agirlnamedally.tumblr.com/post/109381802755/vegan-resource-master-post

January 22, 2018 0 comment

Favourite Travel Experiences South Pacific Islands

The End Of The Road: The Wonderful World Of Teahupo’o

written by Courtney

“We just have to drive to the end of the road,” replied Scott, after I’d asked him if he knew how to get to Teahupo’o, the first stop on our trip around French Polynesia. We’d just picked up our hire car, and with nothing but a dodgy map in one hand and a banana in the other, I wasn’t convinced it would be that easy. “Okay, then!” I said, looking forward to the moment when we’d realise we were lost and Scott would have to ask someone for directions while I sat smugly in the passenger seat.

Alas, that moment never came, because it really WAS that simple. About an hour and a half’s drive south of the main city of Papeete, Teahupo’o is a charming little surfing village located quite literally at the end of the main road that circles the island of Tahiti. Around mid-August every year, the tiny township hosts the world-famous Billabong Pro Tahiti, attracting surfers from all over the world to ride one of the craziest reef breaks on the planet.

It was a bit of a coincidence that we happened to be in Teahupo’o at the same time as this year’s Billabong Pro event. We’d already booked our flights and planned to spend our first weekend in French Polynesia exploring the area, and a few weeks before we left it was announced at the surfing competition would take place on the exact same dates we were going to be there – yay!

In my previous post, I talked about our long journey to Tahiti, which ended with a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean from our gorgeous hotel in Teahupo’o (catch up on it here). Now, we pick up right where we left off…

GOOD MORNING TEAHUPO’O

Golden light shone naturally through the white mosquito net surrounding our bed in our little bungalow at Vanira Lodge. As I slowly woke, I heard the sounds of nature coming alive, greeting each other ‘Good Morning’ with chirps, clicks and buzzing. At least, I hope they were greeting each other good morning… for all I know, the birds could have been plotting with the geckos to catch the insects for breakfast. Either way, it was definitely time to get out of bed and start the day.

Scott and I had a quick breakfast before making our way down to the point at the end of the road to get on one of the first boats out to the reef break, where Day 2 of the 2017 Billabong Pro Tahiti had just kicked off. The tiny village of Teahupo’o was buzzing with energy; full of surfers, families, travellers and locals, who had all come together to watch an international sporting competition on the black sand beaches of southern Tahiti.

We jumped in a little speedboat, and as we jetted off over the bright blue lagoon on our way out to the channel, I could feel the excitement bubbling from deep within. The view from the ocean looking back towards Tahiti was amazing; I watched in awe as I took in the magnificent sight of the jagged mountains in the centre of the island, surrounded by low lurking wispy clouds that gave off a Jurassic Park vibe. Would I be seeing dinosaurs on this trip? Potentially.

As we danced across the lagoon en route to the channel, our speedboat slowed with the appearance of a massive pod of dolphins, who frolicked around us as we watched them with giant grins on our faces. I’ve seen more dolphins and whales in my life than I could possibly begin to count (thanks to growing up on the South-East Coast of Australia) but I still get beside myself when I see them!

The Billabong Pro Tahiti 2017

THE BILLABONG PRO TAHITI

After cruising with the dolphins, we finally made it to the channel, and found ourselves amongst a sea of boats; some big, some small, all vying for a view of one of the world’s most famous surfing competitions – the Billabong Pro Tahiti. As our speedboat nudged its way closer to the action, Scott got the okay to jump into the water with his underwater camera housing.

As I watched Scott paddle towards the action, I noticed one of my favourite Aussie surfers, Mick Fanning, chilling on his board in the water as he watched the competition unfold before him. It wasn’t his heat, but many of the surfers would sit at the edge, watching the competition and cheering each other on, which was great to see!

Somehow, Scott had managed to swim his way to the middle of the action, and he found himself a mere five or so metres from Mick (much to my excitement). Scott had the incredible opportunity to shoot some of the best surfers in the world, riding one of the best breaks in the world – how good is that?! It was just as exciting to watch the action from the channel; in fact, here is a direct quote from the notes I was taking – ‘HOLY SHIT THIS IS AWESOME!’

The fun couldn’t last forever, especially considering that the boats had to go back into shore every hour to drop people off and pick the next lot up. We still had about fifteen minutes to go, but our boat driver got into an argument with the Jetski patrol. At least, I’m pretty sure it was an argument… I don’t speak French very well but it certainly didn’t sound like they were inviting our driver over for a beer after the event. Anyway, we had to head back in to shore a little bit earlier than expected, but it was plenty of time for Scott to get some incredible shots from the water!

AFTERNOON HAPPINESS

After returning to the shore, Scott and I wandered down to the little village to grab some lunch. We found a spot to sit on the black sand beach, and watched the little local kids catching waves close by the shore. Obviously, the waves were nothing near as big as the ones further out on the reef, but we were still super impressed by the kiddie surfers. Some looked no older than four years old, absolutely killing it – I think we were definitely watching the future generation of world surfing champs!

Still feeling a bit jet-lagged from our journey the day before, we decided to head back to our bungalow to recharge. Vanira Lodge (where you should absolutely stay if you visit Teahupo’o) is built on the side of the mountain, meaning it offered stunning views of the Pacific Ocean from just about anywhere on the grounds. We settled in with our books, enjoying the view while we recharged in the sunshine.

The sun setting on one of the coolest days of my life!

A couple of hours later, we decided it was time to get back down to the Billabong Pro, so off we went back down to the end of the road. We managed to get on the last boat heading out to the channel for the afternoon, and arrived just as the final heat was beginning. As I watched the heat, I couldn’t help but look back towards Tahiti, where the afternoon sun was casting a golden glow over the island. It looked so epic; the sunshine really brought out the deep green of the mountains. It was one of those ‘pinch me’ moments, where you really can’t believe you’re doing what you’re doing, or you’re in a place you never thought you’d ever be.

When the announcement that final heat of the day was over came over the loudspeaker from the judge’s station, a stampede of local surfers jumped into the water and paddled furiously to the break, hoping to catch a sunset wave. Scott followed closely behind them, primed with his camera gear, still riding on the high from shooting the wave earlier that morning.

It wasn’t long before the sky began to turn a dusty shade of pink, and the glowing sun was just about to dip below the horizon. As we sat in the speedboat on our way back to the island, I turned and watched the last rays of golden sunlight say goodnight as it finally set on what was an incredible day. I smiled, and with the feelings of true contentment rushing through my body, I thought to myself ‘What a time to be alive!’

Here are some of Scott’s amazing snaps from the weekend at Teahupo’o. If you’re interested in purchasing any of the below images as a print (and you should be), please visit www.scottruzzene.com!

September 27, 2017 0 comment

South Pacific Islands Travel Uncategorized

The 47-Hour Day

written by Courtney

It started at 5:30am on Friday, 11^th August 2017, with the soft sound of ‘Dela’ by the Beautiful Girls playing from my phone. I opened my eyes to complete darkness and immediately hit snooze on the alarm. What could I possibly have to do at this ungodly hour of the morning? Oh, that’s right…

My face when I remembered why my alarm went off at 5:30am

It was time to travel to French Polynesia – a moment I’d been waiting months and months for. And by ‘months and months’ I really mean ‘my entire life’. Anyway… after splashing my face with cold water while simultaneously ignoring the glaring stare from my cat Oscar (he knew something was up – he hates when we go away), I was awake.

Scott and I then ventured into the main house, and were greeted by his parents. I laughed at his dad John, dressed in his work clothes, and teased that I wasn’t going to have to go to work for two weeks. Laughing, John gave me a hug and wished us a good time. He’s much nicer than me.

I then said my hardest goodbye – to Keiko – whose tail was wagging furiously with excitement at all the people up and awake at such an early hour. I smothered her in kisses as I hugged her tightly, whispering into her ear that she’d be the only one that I’d miss (sorry, Oscar). Then, it was time to go.

PART ONE

As we drove up Mount Ousley, the sun was beginning to rise, and we were treated to a spectacular display of colour over the city of Wollongong en route to the airport. Varying shades of pink, orange and yellow lit up the entire sky over the ocean, and the colours continued to glow until we reached Sydney.

We arrived at the airport three hours early, said goodbye to Scott’s mum Karen, who so kindly drove us there (thanks Kaz), and despite recent security tightening, we breezed through check in with plenty of time to spare. It was now 8:00am – time for coffee.

Our caffeine fix was granted by Joe and the Juice, and I’m not sure if it was the early morning, or the excitement of travel, or it was just bloody good coffee, but my soy latte from their branch at the International Terminal in Sydney was probably the best coffee I have ever had in my life. Seriously.

After an overpriced yet rather tasty airport breakfast, we headed to our gate to find that our flight was delayed. This made me slightly anxious, not only because I am a little bit of a control freak, but also because we only had an hour and a half layover in Auckland before continuing on to Tahiti. Once I reminded myself that there was nothing I could do, I relaxed a bit…. kind of.

Not long after we took off (about an hour behind schedule), an older woman in the row across from us was unwell. The crew did a fantastic job of looking after her, and she seemed to be okay. Once we landed, however, we had to wait for medical personnel to board the plane to check on her before anyone could disembark, which took about twenty minutes. This was when we really started to freak out, since our international flight to Tahiti was due to take off in less than an hour and we hadn’t been checked in yet.

Luckily, the Qantas crew grabbed our passports, and ran across the airport to check us into the flight while we were stuck on the plane. Once we finally got off (the woman was totally fine, by the way), we were rushed through to our gate and made it just in time for our connecting flight – phew!

Five hours, one movie and a new TV series addiction later (has anyone else watched Riverdale?), we arrived under a starry sky in Papeete, Tahiti. It was 1:00am local time – Friday, 11^th August had started all over again…

PART TWO

We didn’t make it to bed until about 3:00am after landing in Papeete, so when my alarm went off at 6:45am it was immediately snoozed. Several times. Okay, it was snoozed for almost two hours. We were exhausted, and after fifteen hours of travel (time travel, if we’re being technical), we just couldn’t get out of bed. The bright, Tahitian sunshine that flooded our room, however, helped bring us back to life.

It was time to drive down to Teahupo’o, about an hour and a half south of Papeete, where the 2017 Billabong Pro Tahiti was being held. We excitedly took to the road, before realizing quickly that in French Polynesia, they drive on the other side of the road.

Scotty driving on the right (wrong) side of the road.

Luckily, Scott was behind the wheel, not me, so that made the journey a little safer, even though he managed to travel at least a few minutes on the wrong side, realising only when another car appeared in the distance directly ahead of us. Just short of yelling obscenities out the window, Scott quietly merged into the right lane and we started laughing hysterically. Hey, we were very sleep deprived!

The drive down to Teahupo’o was stunning; the Pacific Ocean was a strikingly turquoise blue, and the recent rainfall had ensured that the island was covered in a brilliant display of green in just about every direction. The mountains peaked high into the sky, with clouds hovering just above the tip, looking both ominous and incredible at the same time.

We finally made it to Vanira Lodge, our home for the next couple of days, at around lunchtime. We checked in, quickly fell in love with the gorgeous little mountainside hotel, then made our way to ‘The End of the Road’, home of the famous Teahupo’o.

As we ate our lunch from a shack on the black sand beach, we watched in awe at the kids surfing near the shore. The waves weren’t as large as the ones further out, but they weren’t exactly small either. It was pretty cool watching the future generation of local surfers learning to ride the waves, and perfecting their turns!

It was too late to head out on a boat to watch the Billabong Pro Tahiti comp from the channel, so we made plans to head out the following morning and decided to head back to our bungalow for a nap, because we were bloody tired. We were probably only a minute or two from our turn off when we saw a few hitchhikers on the side of the road, thumbs out in earnest. What the hell, right?

Our new friends consisted of a dad and daughter duo from England, and the daughter’s partner, who was American. They’d missed the bus heading back to Papeete, and needed a ride to the bus interchange about twenty minutes up the road. Always in need of extra good karma, we happily drove them there, swapping travel stories along the way. When we returned to Vanira Lodge, there was not one, but TWO dogs waiting for us to pet them – an instant return on our good deed!

Barely able to keep our eyes open at this point, we hopped into bed with a book each, but only managed a few pages before we were knocked out for good. The 4 or so hours sleep the previous night was really taking its toll, and we snoozed until the late afternoon sunshine woke us a couple of hours later. A light tropical rain shower greeted us as we left the bungalow for dinner, and we enjoyed a Hinano beer as we watched the sun set for a second time on Friday, 11^th August 2017.

Watching the sun set for the final time on Friday, 11th August 2017 from Vanira Lodge.

What was the longest travel day of your life?

August 28, 2017 0 comment

Personal Travel

How Travel Has Changed My Life

written by Courtney

It was about halfway across the Pacific Ocean when I realised what I’d done. I was nineteen, and I was en-route to Los Angeles on my first overseas adventure; I’d hopped on a plane, all by myself, to live and work in an American summer camp for four months. I’d only just left my family home a few months earlier, and I could barely wash my own clothes or cook my own dinner, let alone look after other people’s children all day every day.

What if it was a huge mistake, and I ended up on the first flight back to Australia with my tail between my legs? I’d never travelled alone before, nor had I ever been overseas, and I was full of a sickening, nervous excitement that just didn’t feel right.

Luckily, my freak-out only lasted a couple of hours, and by the time I landed in sunny L.A I was so captivated by the new world I found myself in that I’d completely forgotten about my fears. I’ll never forget that feeling – the moment I realised that I had discovered something that would change my life forever. I had just gotten my first taste of a very expensive addiction…

A week into camp with no worries in the world! Let’s all take a moment to be grateful that I no longer look like this…

Travel has since become my first true love, and it has also become my favourite teacher in the grand school of life. Over the past ten or so years since that first trip, I’ve become a different person. With every new adventure, I learn something new about myself. Here are 5 ways travel has changed my life:

#1: It has taught me how to be independent

Growing up in a small town on the Far South Coast of NSW in Australia, I always relied on my family and friends to support me through the tough times. With plenty of schoolmates and an extended family that stretched across half the town, I never lacked in finding someone to look after me, to allow me to lean on them in times of need, or to simply keep me company when I was lonely.

The first thing I learnt from that first trip overseas was independence. I wasn’t used to doing things on my own, and by stepping out of my comfort zone by going on my first overseas trip alone made me feel liberated and free. I realised that I was capable of looking after myself, no matter what.

I also learnt how to be content with my own company. During my last week in the States, I found myself in San Francisco, all alone. My travel buddies from camp had all left to go home or travel elsewhere, so I was by myself. I’m not going to lie – that week was my least favourite part of the entire trip. I hated being alone, unable to share my experiences with someone else. However, as the week went on, I began to feel more comfortable with my own company, and actually began to enjoy myself!

These days, I love exploring on my own!

#2: It has allowed me to experience new cultures

Travel is all about experiencing new cultures, and seeing firsthand how the rest of the world live. We are all humans, but we couldn’t be more different in our ways of life. For example, we all eat and drink, and obviously, we all need to use the bathroom. I’ll never forget the first time I visited Asia and experienced their squat toilets. Terrified about falling in, it took me a few encounters before I worked up the courage to give it a go. Afterwards, I couldn’t stop laughing at how unusual it was, and I’m sure there are Asian travellers who visit my home country and laugh at how unusual our toilets must seem!

Another hilarious cultural difference I have experienced on my travels was Australian English versus American English. Until I went to the US, I had no idea how different our languages really were. The first (and last) time I asked a bunk full of 12 and 13-year-old campers to “grab their thongs”, I was met with shocked faces and uncontrollable laughter. It took me a few minutes to realise that the word ‘thong’ had a very different meaning in the US than it does in Australia!

Learning about new cultures is what helps us understand them, and if everyone understood each other’s cultures, perhaps there wouldn’t be as much hate in our beautiful world.

Japan is definitely a cultural experience to remember!

#3: It has given me new, lifelong friendships

Some of the most incredible friendships that I have developed over the past few years have been because of my travel experiences. I’ve met some of my closest friends in hostels, at summer camp orientation, during study abroad, or simply out and about during an adventure.

There are countless faces without names forever embedded in my memory, from the couple I shared steins with at my hostel in Munich during Oktoberfest to the two girls I joined for a picnic at an outdoor cinema in Houston. I may not remember their names, but I’ll never forget the experiences we shared.

As for those I have kept in touch with, our friendship is cemented by the memories of the best days of our life, and the special bond we share through our love of adventure will never be forgotten. I still keep in regular contact with my girls from summer camp, and my boys from exchange, and have no doubt that we will always be in each other’s lives.

These guys were my best mates on exchange at the University of Colorado at Boulder!

#4: It has given me a passion and a love of experiences

There’s something amazing about having passion. Regardless of what you’re passionate about, the feeling you get when you immerse yourself in something you love is the closest thing to pure happiness.

If my love for travel didn’t exist, I honestly don’t know what else I would be doing. I have other interests, but travel is something so close to my heart that it is often all I can think about. It’s something I truly enjoy, and something I am so passionate about that I have dedicated all my spare time to creating a blog about it!

Travel has also taught me how to cherish experiences over material possessions. Experiences are just so damn rewarding, and the feeling I get when I travel just cannot be compared to how I’d feel buying a house or a new car, or an expensive dress or pair of shoes. I love giving experiences as gifts, because the memory of an incredible moment is worth so much more than any material item.

Swimming with a turtle on the Great Barrier Reef on my birthday is one experience I will never forget!

#5: It has made me more humble and grateful

Finally, one of the most important ways travel has changed my life is that is has made me a much humbler, grateful person. While I am in no way wealthy nor well-off by Western terms, it wasn’t until I travelled to countries poorer than my own that I realised how truly lucky I was.

Riding horses through La Romana in the Dominican Republic and watching people scavenge through the waste to find food or other items of value almost broke my heart. Being harassed by spruikers who wandered the beaches in Seminyak, Bali, trying to sell cheap bracelets and sarongs may have seemed annoying at the time, but at the end of the day, they were just trying to feed their families.

It is only when you put yourself in their shoes that you are able to comprehend the struggles that so many people in our world endure every day, and it is then when you are able to appreciate your own way of life.

I am also so very grateful that I am able to travel as far and as often as I like. Sure, I’d love an endless supply of money or a job that took me around the world 24/7, but at the end of the day, I have a comfortable, flexible job, little living expenses, almost no debt (let’s pretend my HECS doesn’t exist, shall we?), and a partner who loves to explore the world just as much as I do. That, my friends, is the luckiest life I could hope for.

Travel has changed my life in many ways, but the biggest change has been to my perspective. My perspective on life, and on the world, will forever be challenged by the experiences that I undertake through my travels.

For that, I will always be grateful.

How has travel changed YOUR life?

This post was originally featured on Hello Raya as a guest post.

August 2, 2017 2 comments

Personal Travel

Ultimate Travel Bucket List

written by Courtney

Everyone has an ultimate travel bucket list. Some people may have one or two destinations on their list, others may be three or four. For me, my ultimate travel bucket list is never ending; there are just far too many unbelievable places in this world that I would love to visit. There are, however, some travel destinations that I have spent most of my life dreaming of going to. The world is a big, wild place, and while I have explored a solid chunk of it, there are still so many places that leave me wanting to visit so very desperately!

One of those places was Bora Bora, an island in beautiful French Polynesia, and as much as it still feels like a dream, I will be visiting this exotic paradise later this year (eeeeek!) With one of my ultimate bucket list destinations getting ticked off, I got thinking about the others on the list…

So, where else am I dreaming of visiting one day?

ISHIGAKI ISLAND, JAPAN

When you think of Japan, I’m sure sparkling turquoise waters and sandy beaches are the last things to spring to mind. I almost choked on my coffee one morning as I was reading the news and discovered that just over 1,950km south of the mainland city of Tokyo lies a collection of beautiful Japanese islands, as tropical as can be!

I’ve been to Japan twice, and absolutely fell in love with the country; from the food to the culture and customs, the Asian nation fast become one of my favourite travel destinations. Imagine my joy when I discovered that these stunningly beautiful islands, closer to Taiwan than Japan, fell under the red and white flag.

Upon my discovery of Ishigaki, I immediately ran to my smartest friend, Google, to learn as much as I could about the possibility of a beach holiday in Japan. I found incredible photos of the beaches; white sand and blue water, complete with lush, green vegetation surrounding the shores – scenes you’d usually associate with south-east Asian countries like Thailand or Vietnam. Add in a semi-tropical climate and plenty of natural beauty, and I was sold!

The gorgeous waters of Ishigaki Island, Japan!

SITKA, ALASKA

Ever since I saw the 2009 rom-com ‘The Proposal’, I’ve been dying to visit the small Alaskan town that Ryan Reynolds’ character called home. Now, as difficult as it is to remember anything else from a movie where Ryan Reynolds gets his kit off, I do remember immediately adding the beautiful Sitka to my travel bucket list.

To me, Alaska feels like it is one of the last true wilderness destinations on the planet. Sometimes, when I’m daydreaming, I picture myself arriving in Sitka; stepping off the tiny plane to views of ice-capped mountains standing tall above the small city and glassy harbour. Then, Ryan Reynolds greets me with a passionate kiss before whisking me off to his family’s stunning waterfront mansion, where we then get married and live a long, happy life together…

But I guess a trip to Sitka without the whole ‘marrying Ryan Reynolds’ thing would be great too. Maybe.

Oh, Alaska. You are almost as beautiful as Ryan Reynolds’ half naked body…

TROMSØ, NORWAY

I first visited Norway, specifically the seaside city of Kristiansand, way back in 2012. One of my mum’s best friends lives there, and myself, my brother and my mum all went to visit her family together. After three wonderful weeks in the scenic Scandinavian country, I was in love.

Ever since that trip over five years ago, I’ve desperately wanted to go back and spend time in the north, specifically Tromsø. I am so fascinated by the way the seasons work, especially the whole ‘always daylight in summer’ thing. I’ve actually had dreams where I’ve been there, standing in the sunshine on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean, laughing at my watch which reads 2:00am. Is it weird that I’ve has this dream more than once?

I’d also love to visit Tromsø in the winter to try and see the northern lights. To witness the bright, dancing lights of the aurora would be an absolutely unforgettable experience, and I turn into a little green-eyed monster whenever someone I know gets to see it – Matty, Dina and the Mogstads… I’m looking at you lucky buggers!

Have you ever seen the incredible Aurora Borealis with your own eyes? Tell me in the comments!

KENYA, EAST AFRICA

Oh, Kenya. You’ve been on my travel bucket list since the dawn of time. As an avid animal lover, I’ve longed to see my favourite animals in the flesh, in their natural environment and free from the restrictions of a zoo. I can only imagine the rush one would feel seeing an elephant herd casually wandering across the savannah, or to see a lazy pack of lions resting in the shade!

When I was a kid, I used to be a bit of a dork. Okay, I was like 85% dork for most of my adolescence. Okay, I am still like 85% dork. Anyway, my point is, I used to be obsessed with Sim games. You know, like SimCity, SimTown, SimTower, the Sims… the list goes on. I had SO many Sim games it was a bit ridiculous! One of my favourites, however, was SimSafari. The point of the game was, obviously, to build your own safari park in Africa. I used to spend hours playing, trying to perfect my safari park, all the while dreaming of the day I’d get to visit one for myself!

“My favourite thing about Kenya is how unexpectedly quiet it is in the grasslands. National Geographic and those shows make it look like lions and cheetahs are always dramatically chasing prey, or wildebeest are always stampeding. But it can be surprisingly serene out there.” – Gabby from PacksLight.com

CINQUE TERRE, ITALY

Sei bello, Cinque Terre! Visiting the land of pizza and pasta has long been on my bucket list, but this particular region has always had a soft spot in my heart. I am yet to meet someone who wasn’t enchanted by the five tiny villages along the Italian Riviera.

I can imagine myself wandering aimlessly along the rugged coastline, stopping in at the villages along the way for a gelato. I can imagine the smell of the sea; a strong, salty scent rising from the sandy shores of Il Gigante in Monterosso al Mare. I can imagine the taste of the Sciacchetrà wine of Manarola; the sweet drop tasting better with every sip.

I can imagine the burn in my legs as I ascend the Scalinata Lardarina as I mentally egg myself on to finish climbing all 382 steps with charming Corniglia waiting as my reward. I can imagine sitting by the coast in Riomaggiore, pointing out which colourful building I’d like to call home. I can imagine the view from Doria Castle, a 15th century lookout tower used to protect the village of Vernazza from pirates.

I can imagine that one day, when the stars align, I’ll actually get to go to Cinque Terre, and it’ll be even more magical than any dream I’ve ever had. Can you tell that Cinque Terre is the number one destination on my ultimate travel bucket list?

One day, one day.

ULTIMATE TRAVEL BUCKET LIST

There you have it – my ultimate travel bucket list. I’m sure this list will change and evolve many, many times in the years to come, and I can only hope that one day I’ll be able to tick each and every destination off!

What places are on YOUR ultimate travel bucket list? Tell me!

July 3, 2017 4 comments

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