Day 171: Friday, March 1st
In the morning, I got coffee with an American friend I made in Airlie Beach while on the East Coast. At 9 am, I met my Why Not Bus tour group who I would be traveling the west coast of Australia with for the next two weeks. As we all walked to the busses nearby, a strange man who was definitely not sober followed along and mocked every word our tour guide said. After heading out, the group stopped at Aldi for a massive shop to get enough food for 31 people for four days. Out of the 29 participants, 27 were women! We drove a few hours north and explored the Pinnacles. There is speculation that the Pinnacles were formed from trees that used to be submerged in water. Tonight’s campsite was located a few hours north. The evening was spent cooking, staring at the stars, and playing with a tiny scorpion. Thomas Rhett released a new song today so naturally I listened to it on repeat and could recite the lyrics within an hour of first hearing it.
Day 172: Saturday, March 2nd
Woke up before sunrise to go swimming with sea lions. They twirled through everyone who was snorkeling, it was adorable! I had time to relax at a beach and catch up with Jamie over the phone while the second half of the group went on the boat to swim with the sea lions. We visited Hutt Lagoon, AKA a vibrant, pink salt lake, today. It’s still early in the season, but the lake was already filling with water and shimmering with various shades of pink. The salt felt slightly disturbing when it crushed and oozed under my feet. My campsite tonight was in the middle of sand dunes, with a view of the Indian Ocean on the left and the sunset on the right. Eliza, my tentmate for the trip, and I did a significantly better job setting up our tent tonight.
Day 173: Sunday, March 3rd
The long drive today was broken up by various coastal lookouts, each even more stunning than the last. We went hiking (in 100 degree weather with high humidity) in Kalbarri National Park to see a rock formation called “Nature’s Window.” It was, as you can imagine, a rocky window looking out on a dried-up riverbed and red sandy hills. After this short hike, half of the group completed a longer hiked to the bottom of a gorge that had a large pool of water. I preferred the second hike because it involved climbing up, down, and over boulders to reach the bottom of the gorge. I’m not sure if I’m simply more interested in hiking recently or if I prefer the hikes I’ve done in Australia, but I’ve discovered a newfound love for the outdoors. We didn’t have showers at the campsite tonight, so I rinsed off at an outdoor shower in my swimsuit at a park we visited. I retired to my tent after dinner to work on an article for a travel writing scholarship.
Day 174: Monday, March 4th
Today involved even more driving than yesterday, but I had time to read my travel writing book and edit my article. The afternoon was spent at shell beach; which, as you likely guessed, is a beach entirely made up of tiny shells. They hurt your feet as you walked, but it was worth it for the swim. The water was saltier than usual, making it extremely easy to float around in the shallow depths. At one of the cliff lookouts we visited today, there were reef sharks swimming along the edge of the beach below. We arrived at Monkey Mia in the afternoon, a beautiful resort complete with two pools, real beds, and dark grey sand. Unlike many of the swimming spots I’ve visited, you couldn’t see past your stomach in the water. It didn’t take long to become paranoid wondering what else was swimming around and retreat to the beach.
Day 175: Tuesday, March 5th
I told myself I would and I did: I worked out in the morning! Using just bodyweight and my resistance band, I took over the tennis course at 6am. But, I wasn’t alone! I made friends with an emu just outside the court who hung around until I finished. At 7, the dolphin feeding that makes Monkey Mia famous occurred. The same family of dolphins has been coming to this spot for over forty years. There were five who came to this feeding, including a calf. After departing Monkey Mia, we stopped at an ancient rock lookout that the guide said was prehistorical. The most disturbing part about this stop was the size of the spider nests covering multiple bushes in the area. To pass the time on the bus, we played “Heads Up” for hours. An ominous feeling swept over me as we arrived at our campsite for the evening. Immediately after stepping out of the bus, they poked and prodded my body with no concern for personal space; from my face, to my legs, and even inside my nose and ears, they were ruthless. As soon as I fought one off, hundreds more were ready and able to attack. The squeals and screams from the thirty others I was traveling with echoed in my ears as I spun in circles and frantically waved my arms to try and escape. Considering that Australia’s West Coast contains some of the world’s deadliest creatures, I never expected the most intolerable aspect of camping my way up the coast to be the abundance and mercilessness of flies. The only sign of relief came after the sun set and the flies retreated to their evil homes. It’s safe to say a few ciders were necessary to make it through this campsite.
Day 176: Wednesday, March 6th
Eliza and I both woke up at 3am, turned to each other, and asked if the other was also dripping in sweat. It was sweltering inside our tent and I was sleeping in a pool of my own sweat, with my clothes thoroughly soaked through. The flies wake up when the sun comes up. Although we weren’t due to leave camp until 9am, everyone was packed up and in the busses by 8:20. Today’s drive included a stop at the Tropic Of Capricorn. The journey ended in Coral Bay, a tiny town with a few pubs, dive centers, and a beautiful beach of swirly blue water and white sand. One of the coolest aspects of swimming at the beach was the abundance of sting rays swimming alongside you. They were white with neon blue spots. Thankfully, there aren’t as many flies in Coral Bay as there were at the campsite last night. Everyone from the tour went to a pub for happy hour to watch the sunset.
Day 177: Thursday, March 7th
An early morning for two dives! Amongst the wildlife I saw were sharks (the dangerous kind), reef sharks (the not-so dangerous kind), turtles, birds, and manta rays. The purpose of this excursion was two dives on different parts of the reef and a snorkel in between to see manta rays. I was lucky enough to see three. They truly were drastically larger than I expected. After the diving trip, I wanted some time on my own. I went to one of the pubs, ordered a frozen margarita, and wrote on my journal. I also Facetimed my mom and talked to Jamie on the phone again.
Day 178: Friday, March 8th
Feeling proud of myself because I work up early (before the flies woke up) to work out in the grass at our caravan park. We drove all the way to Exmouth today. Along the way, we stopped to look at a few termite nests. I had no idea termites could create nests taller than people. I tried two local ciders tonight at the campsite. We watched sunset at Five Mile Beach and took countless pictures.
Day 179: Saturday March 9th
Woke up with a bloody toe, so I dealt with that lovely discovery. Part of the group went on a tour in the morning while my part of the group went for a walk at Cape Range National Park. We spent the afternoon at Turquoise Bay, attempting to snorkel with questionable gear and tanning in the sun. I burnt a bit because I didn’t realize I would be outside for hours. Oops. But the water was crystal clear and refreshing in the scorching heat. Tonight was the last night that the entire group would be together before most people went back to Perth and my group ventured farther North. We spent the night in a hostel and went to Froth Brewery, the only bar in Exmouth, which closes at 10:30 pm. I tried the brewery’s cider and enjoyed my last evening with everyone.
Day 180: Sunday, March 10th
A rare day to myself as we had no schedule until the afternoon. I ordered a tropical smoothie in town and submitted my travel writing scholarship application. Spent a few hours in the pool playing charades and went back into town for ice cream and some snacks. It was a 113 degree day so we pushed back the time to go to Five Mile Beach. At 4:30, we left the hostel and stopped at the lighthouse to take in the view on the way to the beach. We walked the length of the beach for a while until seeing a few people running towards something, so we ran, too. I was lucky enough to see approximately one hundred turtles hatching! It was spectacular watching them crawl out of the sand and use their little arms to crawl down the beach to the ocean and begin swimming. There was a park ranger there who gave us permission to chase the savage seagulls away. I was on cloud nine seeing so many baby turtles. Everyone opted to go to the brewery for dinner where I had a vegan burger, fries, and a cider.
Day 181: Monday, March 11th
My alarm went off at 5am for a 5:30 departure and an eight hour drive to Karijini National Park. I worked on my personal blog for part of the drive and slept when I could. We stopped at a tiny town to grab more snacks and say goodbye to phone reception. Our eco-tents had “natural ventilation” – AKA screen doors for walls. The beds didn’t even have blankets because the heat was so intense in the tents. Unfortunately, my old enemy was also abundant at this park. The flies. Were. Everywhere. Without a flynet, I resorted to constantly waving my towel back and forth in front of my face, even while hiking, to ward off as many of those little creatures as possible. My first hike in the park was down to the bottom of a gorge to find swimming holes. Again, I loved this hike because it involved climbing and minor bouldering, rather than just following a boring dirt path. The water we swam in was an eerie green color, but it was just too hot not to swim
Day 182: Tuesday, March 12th
Today was long, with three hikes in total. Thankfully, each hike included a swimming spot. The first hike involved swimming through the bottom of the gorge when the path ceased to exist. The second hike ended at a pool with rocks on either side that we could jump off. It was refreshing and my favorite water hole because there were fewer flies and the water seemed clean. The final hike was to Handrail pool, an absolutely massive (and smelly) natural pool in the middle of a gorge. I didn’t bring my phone along most of the time, so I have very few pictures of the hikes from Karijini National Park.
Day 183: Wednesday, March 13th
This was the worst day for flies yet. I struggle to comprehend why they feel the need to burrow into every crevice on the face. It’s miserable. My towel trick didn’t even work well today. We had a two-part hike today. Part one led to a nice little swimming hole that just so happened to also have some bugs that we believe we were leaches. It was beautiful and a refreshing swim, but anything that attaches itself to your body tends to put a damper on things. After going the wrong way on the hike, we turned around and finally made our way to part two’s destination: a waterfall! I didn’t swim for long because the water was murky. We were driven to a roadhouse to wait for the coach bus to Broome. Prior to our arrival, we were told we’d have about an hour to wait and could shower. Once arriving, we learned it was actually a 3 hour wait. While at the service station, I ordered fries, the only vegan option I saw. The employee felt bad and gave me a free fruit salad, so sweet. Halfway through the wait, we learned that our connecting bus broke down and we’d have to spend the night at a caravan park in Port Hedland. Although this seemed unfortunate at the time, the beds were comfy and my group of six enjoyed pizza together. Somehow I managed to lose both of my iPhone cords today.
Day 184: Thursday, March 14th
The two others in my room and I unintentionally woke up at 6:30 am. We watched the news and drank coffee in bed, something I haven’t been able to do in ages. It was a seven and a half hour bus ride to Broome. Stepping off the bus, the wetness that is Broome enveloped me. Merely standing on the sidewalk, I was already dripping in sweat from the humidity. My group of six took a taxi to our hostel near the beach before checking in and taking a taxi back to town for groceries.
Day 185: Friday, March 15th
Briar, a girl from my Why Not Bus tour, and I signed up for free trials of F45 gym classes. We walked 30 minutes to the gym and took our first class. It was an energetic and fun-filled boxing class that left me sweating. After, we walked 30 minutes back to the hostel. I did laundry throughout the day, Facetimed Mackenzie for a few hours where I finally got to meet her new puppy Harvey (who is also my Godson), and Facetimed Tiffany for a few hours. While Facetiming Tiffany, I found a cat hanging out at the hostel. He didn’t like me much, especially when I picked him up. I swam in the pool in the afternoon before going to Cable Beach for sunset. The shape of the sun was very pronounced, making it really beautiful. You aren’t supposed to swim here because of the jellyfish, sharks, and crocodiles.
Day 186: Saturday, March 16th
Briar and I went to the 7 am class today. It was 27 different exercises broken up into two rounds that lasted for an entire hour. As exhausting as it was, I loved it and felt incredible after. Not only did we take the class, but also walked thirty minutes there and back. After showering and eating breakfast, we bussed into town to check out the Broome Markets. To our surprise, the markets were just a few booths set up in a dirt parking lot. I bought local dried mango and we went to a nearby café for coffee to chat. The hostel had a movie collection and an air-conditioned movie room that we took full advantage of to see Bohemian Rhapsodyand A Star is Born. I talked to mom for about an hour, checked out some job options in Cairns, journaled, and cooked. Maren Morris released a new album that I’ve been listening to non-stop as I wait for Thomas Rhett to release his new album on May 31st.
Day 187: Sunday, March 17th
Ate breakfast and Facetimed Dad. It was Briar’s birthday so her and I got cold brew coffee at the café near our hostel. I headed to the airport in the early afternoon for my flight to Darwin. Half of the airport was outside to the point it felt like I was at The Rainforest Café. At the airport, I Facetimed Caitlin and Mackenzie. In Darwin, I bought groceries and cooked dinner. I wasn’t in the mood to be social tonight because I was coming off of a long tour with a large group and would soon be starting another. In the evening, I felt homesick for my Seattle friends and family and for my Sydney friends. I took advantage of the time difference and got a fantastic night’s sleep.
In the morning, I got coffee with an American friend I made in Airlie Beach while on the East Coast. At 9 am, I met my Why Not Bus tour group who I would be traveling the west coast of Australia with for the next two weeks. As we all walked to the busses nearby, a strange man who was definitely not sober followed along and mocked every word our tour guide said. After heading out, the group stopped at Aldi for a massive shop to get enough food for 31 people for four days. Out of the 29 participants, 27 were women! We drove a few hours north and explored the Pinnacles. There is speculation that the Pinnacles were formed from trees that used to be submerged in water. Tonight’s campsite was located a few hours north. The evening was spent cooking, staring at the stars, and playing with a tiny scorpion. Thomas Rhett released a new song today so naturally I listened to it on repeat and could recite the lyrics within an hour of first hearing it.
Day 172: Saturday, March 2nd
Woke up before sunrise to go swimming with sea lions. They twirled through everyone who was snorkeling, it was adorable! I had time to relax at a beach and catch up with Jamie over the phone while the second half of the group went on the boat to swim with the sea lions. We visited Hutt Lagoon, AKA a vibrant, pink salt lake, today. It’s still early in the season, but the lake was already filling with water and shimmering with various shades of pink. The salt felt slightly disturbing when it crushed and oozed under my feet. My campsite tonight was in the middle of sand dunes, with a view of the Indian Ocean on the left and the sunset on the right. Eliza, my tentmate for the trip, and I did a significantly better job setting up our tent tonight.
Day 173: Sunday, March 3rd
The long drive today was broken up by various coastal lookouts, each even more stunning than the last. We went hiking (in 100 degree weather with high humidity) in Kalbarri National Park to see a rock formation called “Nature’s Window.” It was, as you can imagine, a rocky window looking out on a dried-up riverbed and red sandy hills. After this short hike, half of the group completed a longer hiked to the bottom of a gorge that had a large pool of water. I preferred the second hike because it involved climbing up, down, and over boulders to reach the bottom of the gorge. I’m not sure if I’m simply more interested in hiking recently or if I prefer the hikes I’ve done in Australia, but I’ve discovered a newfound love for the outdoors. We didn’t have showers at the campsite tonight, so I rinsed off at an outdoor shower in my swimsuit at a park we visited. I retired to my tent after dinner to work on an article for a travel writing scholarship.
Day 174: Monday, March 4th
Today involved even more driving than yesterday, but I had time to read my travel writing book and edit my article. The afternoon was spent at shell beach; which, as you likely guessed, is a beach entirely made up of tiny shells. They hurt your feet as you walked, but it was worth it for the swim. The water was saltier than usual, making it extremely easy to float around in the shallow depths. At one of the cliff lookouts we visited today, there were reef sharks swimming along the edge of the beach below. We arrived at Monkey Mia in the afternoon, a beautiful resort complete with two pools, real beds, and dark grey sand. Unlike many of the swimming spots I’ve visited, you couldn’t see past your stomach in the water. It didn’t take long to become paranoid wondering what else was swimming around and retreat to the beach.
Day 175: Tuesday, March 5th
I told myself I would and I did: I worked out in the morning! Using just bodyweight and my resistance band, I took over the tennis course at 6am. But, I wasn’t alone! I made friends with an emu just outside the court who hung around until I finished. At 7, the dolphin feeding that makes Monkey Mia famous occurred. The same family of dolphins has been coming to this spot for over forty years. There were five who came to this feeding, including a calf. After departing Monkey Mia, we stopped at an ancient rock lookout that the guide said was prehistorical. The most disturbing part about this stop was the size of the spider nests covering multiple bushes in the area. To pass the time on the bus, we played “Heads Up” for hours. An ominous feeling swept over me as we arrived at our campsite for the evening. Immediately after stepping out of the bus, they poked and prodded my body with no concern for personal space; from my face, to my legs, and even inside my nose and ears, they were ruthless. As soon as I fought one off, hundreds more were ready and able to attack. The squeals and screams from the thirty others I was traveling with echoed in my ears as I spun in circles and frantically waved my arms to try and escape. Considering that Australia’s West Coast contains some of the world’s deadliest creatures, I never expected the most intolerable aspect of camping my way up the coast to be the abundance and mercilessness of flies. The only sign of relief came after the sun set and the flies retreated to their evil homes. It’s safe to say a few ciders were necessary to make it through this campsite.
Day 176: Wednesday, March 6th
Eliza and I both woke up at 3am, turned to each other, and asked if the other was also dripping in sweat. It was sweltering inside our tent and I was sleeping in a pool of my own sweat, with my clothes thoroughly soaked through. The flies wake up when the sun comes up. Although we weren’t due to leave camp until 9am, everyone was packed up and in the busses by 8:20. Today’s drive included a stop at the Tropic Of Capricorn. The journey ended in Coral Bay, a tiny town with a few pubs, dive centers, and a beautiful beach of swirly blue water and white sand. One of the coolest aspects of swimming at the beach was the abundance of sting rays swimming alongside you. They were white with neon blue spots. Thankfully, there aren’t as many flies in Coral Bay as there were at the campsite last night. Everyone from the tour went to a pub for happy hour to watch the sunset.
Day 177: Thursday, March 7th
An early morning for two dives! Amongst the wildlife I saw were sharks (the dangerous kind), reef sharks (the not-so dangerous kind), turtles, birds, and manta rays. The purpose of this excursion was two dives on different parts of the reef and a snorkel in between to see manta rays. I was lucky enough to see three. They truly were drastically larger than I expected. After the diving trip, I wanted some time on my own. I went to one of the pubs, ordered a frozen margarita, and wrote on my journal. I also Facetimed my mom and talked to Jamie on the phone again.
Day 178: Friday, March 8th
Feeling proud of myself because I work up early (before the flies woke up) to work out in the grass at our caravan park. We drove all the way to Exmouth today. Along the way, we stopped to look at a few termite nests. I had no idea termites could create nests taller than people. I tried two local ciders tonight at the campsite. We watched sunset at Five Mile Beach and took countless pictures.
Day 179: Saturday March 9th
Woke up with a bloody toe, so I dealt with that lovely discovery. Part of the group went on a tour in the morning while my part of the group went for a walk at Cape Range National Park. We spent the afternoon at Turquoise Bay, attempting to snorkel with questionable gear and tanning in the sun. I burnt a bit because I didn’t realize I would be outside for hours. Oops. But the water was crystal clear and refreshing in the scorching heat. Tonight was the last night that the entire group would be together before most people went back to Perth and my group ventured farther North. We spent the night in a hostel and went to Froth Brewery, the only bar in Exmouth, which closes at 10:30 pm. I tried the brewery’s cider and enjoyed my last evening with everyone.
Day 180: Sunday, March 10th
A rare day to myself as we had no schedule until the afternoon. I ordered a tropical smoothie in town and submitted my travel writing scholarship application. Spent a few hours in the pool playing charades and went back into town for ice cream and some snacks. It was a 113 degree day so we pushed back the time to go to Five Mile Beach. At 4:30, we left the hostel and stopped at the lighthouse to take in the view on the way to the beach. We walked the length of the beach for a while until seeing a few people running towards something, so we ran, too. I was lucky enough to see approximately one hundred turtles hatching! It was spectacular watching them crawl out of the sand and use their little arms to crawl down the beach to the ocean and begin swimming. There was a park ranger there who gave us permission to chase the savage seagulls away. I was on cloud nine seeing so many baby turtles. Everyone opted to go to the brewery for dinner where I had a vegan burger, fries, and a cider.
Day 181: Monday, March 11th
My alarm went off at 5am for a 5:30 departure and an eight hour drive to Karijini National Park. I worked on my personal blog for part of the drive and slept when I could. We stopped at a tiny town to grab more snacks and say goodbye to phone reception. Our eco-tents had “natural ventilation” – AKA screen doors for walls. The beds didn’t even have blankets because the heat was so intense in the tents. Unfortunately, my old enemy was also abundant at this park. The flies. Were. Everywhere. Without a flynet, I resorted to constantly waving my towel back and forth in front of my face, even while hiking, to ward off as many of those little creatures as possible. My first hike in the park was down to the bottom of a gorge to find swimming holes. Again, I loved this hike because it involved climbing and minor bouldering, rather than just following a boring dirt path. The water we swam in was an eerie green color, but it was just too hot not to swim
Day 182: Tuesday, March 12th
Today was long, with three hikes in total. Thankfully, each hike included a swimming spot. The first hike involved swimming through the bottom of the gorge when the path ceased to exist. The second hike ended at a pool with rocks on either side that we could jump off. It was refreshing and my favorite water hole because there were fewer flies and the water seemed clean. The final hike was to Handrail pool, an absolutely massive (and smelly) natural pool in the middle of a gorge. I didn’t bring my phone along most of the time, so I have very few pictures of the hikes from Karijini National Park.
Day 183: Wednesday, March 13th
This was the worst day for flies yet. I struggle to comprehend why they feel the need to burrow into every crevice on the face. It’s miserable. My towel trick didn’t even work well today. We had a two-part hike today. Part one led to a nice little swimming hole that just so happened to also have some bugs that we believe we were leaches. It was beautiful and a refreshing swim, but anything that attaches itself to your body tends to put a damper on things. After going the wrong way on the hike, we turned around and finally made our way to part two’s destination: a waterfall! I didn’t swim for long because the water was murky. We were driven to a roadhouse to wait for the coach bus to Broome. Prior to our arrival, we were told we’d have about an hour to wait and could shower. Once arriving, we learned it was actually a 3 hour wait. While at the service station, I ordered fries, the only vegan option I saw. The employee felt bad and gave me a free fruit salad, so sweet. Halfway through the wait, we learned that our connecting bus broke down and we’d have to spend the night at a caravan park in Port Hedland. Although this seemed unfortunate at the time, the beds were comfy and my group of six enjoyed pizza together. Somehow I managed to lose both of my iPhone cords today.
Day 184: Thursday, March 14th
The two others in my room and I unintentionally woke up at 6:30 am. We watched the news and drank coffee in bed, something I haven’t been able to do in ages. It was a seven and a half hour bus ride to Broome. Stepping off the bus, the wetness that is Broome enveloped me. Merely standing on the sidewalk, I was already dripping in sweat from the humidity. My group of six took a taxi to our hostel near the beach before checking in and taking a taxi back to town for groceries.
Day 185: Friday, March 15th
Briar, a girl from my Why Not Bus tour, and I signed up for free trials of F45 gym classes. We walked 30 minutes to the gym and took our first class. It was an energetic and fun-filled boxing class that left me sweating. After, we walked 30 minutes back to the hostel. I did laundry throughout the day, Facetimed Mackenzie for a few hours where I finally got to meet her new puppy Harvey (who is also my Godson), and Facetimed Tiffany for a few hours. While Facetiming Tiffany, I found a cat hanging out at the hostel. He didn’t like me much, especially when I picked him up. I swam in the pool in the afternoon before going to Cable Beach for sunset. The shape of the sun was very pronounced, making it really beautiful. You aren’t supposed to swim here because of the jellyfish, sharks, and crocodiles.
Day 186: Saturday, March 16th
Briar and I went to the 7 am class today. It was 27 different exercises broken up into two rounds that lasted for an entire hour. As exhausting as it was, I loved it and felt incredible after. Not only did we take the class, but also walked thirty minutes there and back. After showering and eating breakfast, we bussed into town to check out the Broome Markets. To our surprise, the markets were just a few booths set up in a dirt parking lot. I bought local dried mango and we went to a nearby café for coffee to chat. The hostel had a movie collection and an air-conditioned movie room that we took full advantage of to see Bohemian Rhapsodyand A Star is Born. I talked to mom for about an hour, checked out some job options in Cairns, journaled, and cooked. Maren Morris released a new album that I’ve been listening to non-stop as I wait for Thomas Rhett to release his new album on May 31st.
Day 187: Sunday, March 17th
Ate breakfast and Facetimed Dad. It was Briar’s birthday so her and I got cold brew coffee at the café near our hostel. I headed to the airport in the early afternoon for my flight to Darwin. Half of the airport was outside to the point it felt like I was at The Rainforest Café. At the airport, I Facetimed Caitlin and Mackenzie. In Darwin, I bought groceries and cooked dinner. I wasn’t in the mood to be social tonight because I was coming off of a long tour with a large group and would soon be starting another. In the evening, I felt homesick for my Seattle friends and family and for my Sydney friends. I took advantage of the time difference and got a fantastic night’s sleep.