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One Night in Brisbane

One Night in Brisbane
When you’re away, the last thing you want to think about is coming home. But slowly and surely the end of our big trip began to creep up on us and before we knew it we were facing our final night (excluding the plane flight). I was dreading it. I knew I’d had such a good time but still had so many places I wanted to see I just wasn’t ready to stop. But I also didn’t want to spoil the last night be being upset about leaving. Luckily we ended up staying the night in Brisbane for ease of access to the airport the next day, and Brisbane was somewhere we were yet to explore. Suddenly our final night was more about discovery than saying goodbye. View Post

In and around Byron Bay

In and around Byron Bay
After a few nights in Sydney our Australian adventure continued with a flight north to the area between Byron Bay and Gold Coast. You can’t really fly to the other side of the world and not visit a family member living in the area which was the whole reason we went to Australia. Not only was it lovely to spend some time with James’s family, it also meant that we were able to explore an area of Australia that I probably wouldn’t have paid too much attention to otherwise. View Post

A few days in Sydney

A few days in Sydney
Sydney is one of those cities that almost everyone has heard of. It’s always been somewhere that’s interested me  because it is on the other side of the world and always looks so sunny and glamorous in photographs. It’s the place that everyone looks to for a fabulous fireworks display at new year and confuses people everywhere by not being the capital city of Australia. When we decided that we were going to Australia for a week (an extremely limited time for such a large country), I knew I wanted to see somewhere iconic. Think of Australia and a lot of people think of the Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock or Sydney – and I wanted to go to one of them. Sydney seemed like the simplest option and I’m so glad we went as I loved this city more than I ever thought I would. View Post

Finally seeing a Kiwi

Finally seeing a Kiwi
Kiwi birds are the national symbol of New Zealand so it’s pretty natural to want to see one while you are here but they are notoriously difficult to see in the wild. They are nocturnal, easily scared and there’s not that many of them left. As a result we weren’t really expecting to see them in the wild but just as our trip was coming to an end and we were beginning to wonder if Kiwis were a myth, we managed to see some in captivity. View Post

Wellington

Wellington
I’ve heard Wellington described in a few places as the “coolest little capital in the world”. I’ve been to quite a few capitals I’d describe as cool so I’m not entirely sure how true this claim is but I did really enjoy Wellington and, like the majority of places I’ve visited in New Zealand, could easily have stayed for longer. View Post