My Love for Bondi Beach and the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk - Sydney

As I was still living in Newtown with friends, it was about time found my own place. For me, the search began in the Eastern Suburbs. To begin with, I didn't want to move to Bondi. This is where all the Brits come to when they get to Sydney, and never leave. I didn't want to get caught in the bubble. I hadn't moved half way across the world to live somewhere like Shoreditch, and I also wanted to live the Aussie lifestyle and live near the beach...

Back when my family visited Sydney in 2005 my father even refused to take us to Bondi, as it was too touristy. I had all these preconceptions of how it was going to be. When I eventually arrived in Bondi, I hadn't prepared myself. I fell in love immediately. Sucker!

I managed to find a place on Beach Road, about 5 minutes from the Beach. Living with an Aussie guy and an English girl (who has since been replaced by an American guy). The perfect place for living the Aussie dream. I honestly cannot believe how lucky I am to live here. I know now this is where I need to be at this stage in my life. I may not be the typical Bondi person, but I don't really care!

Bondi itself is pretty special. The coastal walk to Coogee offers incredible views. It is the best backyard I have ever had. The walk probably takes about two hours to complete. Sometimes I only walk to Bronte, get a smoothie and then head back. These photos were taken over the Easter weekend.

The pathway gets very busy at times, as lots of people use it to exercise and walk their dogs. Earlier in the morning is probably the best time to go.

Tamarama has an iconic surf life saving club sign, and marks the next beach from Bondi.

Just on from Bronte, Waverly Cemetery looks out to sea. Not to be morbid, but this would be my ideal final resting place. Next to the ocean with a stunning view.

Icebergs pool is also an iconic Bondi snap. I have sooooo many photos, as I love all the turquoise and blue colours.

Visit to 'Home and Away' Summer Bay - Palm Beach - Sydney

'You know we belong together....'

I was enjoying my time getting to know Sydney as a tourist, but my saved travel money was only going to last so long. I managed to get a job in a similar field to my freelance gig in London, working with YouTubers. On the day I signed the dotted line, I made the most of the last of summer and headed to Summer Bay, aka Palm Beach with my friend Nola.

Palm beach, or Palmy as the locals call it, is a bit of a mission to get to. This is the beauty of it. Famed for the place where soap 'Home and Away' is filmed, this area is actually very affluent and has a lot of beautiful big beach houses. Every time I have visited this stunning beach, I always miss filming but I usually stand in awe of the real estate there.

This particular day we had the beach to ourselves, bar a few dog walkers. We just chilled and sun baked for the afternoon.

Getting to Palm Beach takes about one and a half hours from the CBD on one bus.

There are a few restaurants and places I want to explore more in the northern beaches, so I think I might dedicate a weekend to this soon.

'Closer each day... Home and Away!'

Farmstay in Rockhampton - Australia

The next stop on the tour was our farmstay. I can't quite remember where we actually were, but it was near Rockhampton. The farmstay, as it turned out, was a paddock and a barn, which wasn't really near the farm. It had all been set up for groups like ours.

Next to the barn was a field full of beautiful horses and in the distance was a picturesque mountain.

The group went on a bushwalk with the farmer and his family, and on it we learned more about our surroundings. The area used to be famous for mining, with miners from all over the world coming to try their luck to find precious minerals.

The rock below was hollowed out by a Chinese miner and he lived in it. Now only bats live there. I realise it looks a little dodgy, those with dirty minds will get what I mean...

We then were told about the horrific past of the Aboriginals of the area, who were pushed from the top of the mountain to their deaths. Just so that the miners could expand their search and reap the rewards. How shameful.

Below are old miners houses, made out of corrugated iron.

We then headed back to base, and got in the bus to see the actual farm. This wee dog sat next to me and was very cute and friendly.

The farm had all sorts of animals, and some people got into the goat pen. The youngest son of the farmer hopped on the back of a ginormous pig and rode it around the pen. It was quite funny to see.

These three cows followed us around.

The sunsets in this part of the world are absolutely stunning.

We then all huddled round the campfire, eating homemade stew and damper - bread made from beer. Some of the group were tired and wanted to go to bed early, so we set up our swags. These are traditional Australian camping beds. I set mine up so I could be out in the open.

My group stayed up, drank more, and played a game of throwing horse shoes at a hoop. It was actually quite fun, but I think we were very loud. Once I finally wanted to go to bed, the rain came on and I was pulled under cover. It wasn't the best night sleep I've ever had!

Emu Park - Beach Walk - Australia

After leaving the beauty and dingoes of Fraser Island behind, we embarked on a train journey to Rockhampton. About five minute into the trip, we were informed our planned future itinerary was no longer going to happen due to a cyclone in the Whitsundays. I was devastated. The whole point of booking this trip was to see both Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. It appeared there was no secure plan B in this situation and we would have to spend the night in Emu Park, about forty minutes from Rocky. The sunset above was when we arrived into the train station.

We were put up in a 'resort' in Emu Park and treated to a BBQ. It was at least relative luxury on a backpacker budget. The plan the next day was to go to a crocodile farm. I flat out refused to go, as I am not a massive fan of crocodiles and I did not want to go to a tourist trap. The resort owner and bus driver Pauly was kind enough to let me do my own thing, and off I went to check out the delights of Emu Park.

The resort itself was about five minutes walk from the beach. And when I got there, I was all by myself. I cranked up Jack Johnson and walked around in bliss, despite the increasingly worse weather. I became very interested in washed up beachwood...

These trees had been torn up during the last cyclone.

I think the image below pretty much sums up Emu Park. Pretty bleak. The next day we would be headed to a nearby farm to sleep under the stars in a swag.