First of all I want to say that this blog post is a little delayed. I’ve been in Tasmania for a while but I have been so busy with traveling and meeting people that I’ve been a little slow with updating my blog.

In early March I arrived in Devonport, a sleepy port town situated on the foggy north coast of Tasmania. Devonport is not a major tourist location, but it has a lot of Aussie small town charm – the residents are friendly and there are a lot of local small businesses, taverns, and restaurants. I stayed in the quiet Formby Hotel, a hostel that was very different from the busy, tourist-heavy YHA I stayed in in Melbourne.

My first two days in Devonport were quiet, and I used that time to unwind. Every morning I would wake to a gray sky with the sounds of seagulls and the smell of the fresh ocean air. I had no roommates until the third day, and the privacy was absolutely welcome. But I stayed an extra night in Devonport when I got a roommate from New South Wales, who invited me to go exploring the countryside with him in his Ute (kind of like a pick-up truck for Americans). I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to explore this island’s wondrous natural beauty.

Packing grocery store salads and tuna for lunch, the two of us headed out to a remote area called Gunn Plains Cave. The cave was discovered by a man whose livestock fell in the main opening, which he bravely descended with just a rope and a candle. Today there’s a lit staircase leading down probably forty meters thereabouts, so the ropes and candles weren’t necessary. The cave was prone to flooding, but fortunately the cave had a pump system that kept a lot of the water at bay.

Our guide was a very entertaining older gentleman who seemed to have quite the obsession with food. The shapes of rock structures were frequently compared with bacon, custard, and wedding cakes. To be fair, that’s absolutely what a lot of the more unusual formations in the cave looked like.

Towards the end of our tour the guide turned off all the lights and the room was lit up by glowworms on the ceiling, like little green constellations in the night sky. Unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph these marvelous little inhabitants of the cavernous ecosystem.

After an hour tour through the caves we drove up to see some of the different lookout points in the area. I’ve been told that the weather in Tasmania is very similar to New Zealand; it’s partly cloudy a lot of days. We drove through sunny weather but far over the distant mountains we could see the veils of fog and rain ahead of us. We saw a few waterfalls and pleasant picnic areas, but the real showstopper was the view of Mt. Tor and surrounding mountains from a lookout point called Cruikshank’s Point. The hike was less than 30 minutes and the view was absolutely spectacular!

That night I had dinner at a local Irish pub, where I met a French girl from New Caledonia and practiced my French with her. As it turns out the two of us were heading to Launceston the following day, so we agreed to later meet up at a pub there as well, where I continued to practice my French and help her practice her English.

Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania, but in terms of size it’s no Melbourne. It too was a sleepy port town much like Devonport, though considerably more populated. Situated at the head of the Tamar River, this city receives a lot of tourists who come to hike along the scenic Cataract Gorge it try the many wine samplings from the vineyards along the Tamar River Valley.

As a town with lots of history and character, it naturally comes with its own museums as well. I visited the city’s Queen Victoria Museum, built inside an old 19th century railway depot. For the most part I found it to be a typical museum of history and natural science, but I was also reminded of the regions depressing history of subjugation, the mistreatment of convicts, and the hunting of the Thylacine to extinction.

My stay in Launceston was relaxing but overall not that eventful. I took the Tassielink bus service to Hobart, a lively port city at the south end of Tasmania. I look forward to writing about my numerous adventures in the Tasmanian capital.

I spent a couple days staying in Mount Clear, a sleepy suburb a couple kilometers from the center of Ballarat. After living in a hostel and sharing a room with others for a moment, it was wonderful to finally have some privacy again. The owner of my AirBnB, Lee, did an excellent job at preparing the room to make it feel as welcoming as possible. If you are ever staying in Ballarat and need a well-furnished and comfortable private room, then I absolutely recommend staying at Lee’s place.

Visiting Ballarat has helped me get over my feelings of homesickness. I realized that my homesickness came not so much from being in another country as from being in the heart of a major city. The suburbs of Mount Clear and Sebastopol around Ballarat remind me so much of the peaceful, rural communities of Oklahoma that I felt quite at home.

During my first evening in Ballarat, I finally found a place serving Australian style pizza, with scrambled eggs and tender bacon as a topping. The eggs melted so perfectly into the cheese, it was delicious. This is a recipe I am going to be bring back with me to America, and I hope it catches on

The main attraction of Ballarat is the theme park known as Sovereign Hill. The park is what they call a “living museum” complete with period-appropriate clothing, actors, musket firing, concessions, and more. The park definitely gave off a “family outing” vibe, and entry was quite pricey. If you are traveling to Ballarat as a family then I think this is a very appealing attraction, but since I am traveling alone I decided to skip it and instead visit the nearby Gold Museum for a third the price. I learned much about the Victorian gold rush from the exhibits there, and the hardships that much of the gold miners faced, including an armed conflict with the British colonial government over taxation that, unlike the one from my country, was swiftly routed.

I got a tip from my Uber driver to visit the Ballarat wildlife park. Unfortunately, this was the Uber driver that was driving me to the station so that I could return to Melbourne. It’s a shame because I would have liked to have visited the wildlife park had I known about it, but it wasn’t referenced anywhere in my guidebook. But I’ll be in Australia for a while yet, so I should have plenty of time to visit other wildlife parks during my time here.

Returning to Melbourne, I realized that I couldn’t stay in the city much longer – I longed for nature and I had to see the rest of this beautiful country. I booked a ferry to Tasmania immediately.

I had decided to go by sea instead of by air for two reasons – first because arriving in Tasmania by sailing through the foggy waters sounded much more poetic, and second because I couldn’t bother being crammed in the flying sardine can that is an airplane fuselage. Of course there is a whole other problem that comes from traveling by sea that I failed to take into account – seasickness.

Fortunately I happened to book passage on the ship by night, so the worst of the waves happened while I was fast asleep.

The Spirit of Tasmania departs twice daily from Port Melbourne to Devonport, Tasmania. Because I didn’t have faith in myself to find my way to the harbor at 9 in the morning, I booked passage at 9 in the evening instead. That meant a whole day of waiting around at my hostel, which I spent practicing German.

The ship was big and roomy, equipped with a buffet and a small bar that brought in live musicians from Tasmania. I didn’t eat much, and I slept in an agreeable recliner for no extra cost.

I woke up the following morning just in time to see a foggy and chilly coastline. From beyond, I could see the town of Devonport, my entrance into Tasmania. I look forward to writing about my experiences throughout this island’s beautiful and robust landscape.

While traveling, one can’t help but notice all the differences between where they are and their home country. I admit that the culture shock between the United States and Australia is not that steep – both are English-speaking countries that have remarkably similar cultures. But this is not America, not by a long shot. I’d like to take some time to discuss some of the differences between where I’m from and where I currently am.

Despite the fact that I’m in Australia, I have met far more people of other nationalities that I have actual Australians. I suppose that just comes with the territory of being a backpacker staying in an international backpacker hostel, and I love the experience because I have learned so much from having so many conversations with such a diverse group. But what I’ve noticed is that in general the city of Melbourne has a huge immigrant population, mostly from Asian countries. Chinese is spoken very commonly here, so much that it seems to be Australia’s second language in the same sense that Spanish is back in the U.S.

On the subject of foreign cultures, I was invited to go bowling by one of my German roommates, Steffan. We took the tram to a bowling alley/bar called Strike in Melbourne Central, outside of which we met up with his friends: a Spaniard and two Columbian women. While I was shaking hands with the group, one of the Columbian women immediately came forward to hug me and kiss me on the cheek. I was shocked, but then I remembered that that is a common greeting in a lot of Latin countries. We all had a wonderful evening together bowling, drinking, and playing laser tag, and if I ever have the opportunity I would love to meet up with them again.

Another major difference between American and Australian cultures is the lack of Mexican food. It’s interesting how Mexican food is so ubiquitous in the United States, and yet it doesn’t seem to have such a presence in other countries. The fast food culture here in Australia seems to be heavily based around things like fish and chips, hamburgers, pies, pizza, souvlaki, kebab, and Indian food

Something else I’ve noticed while wandering Melbourne’s many parks is that the schoolkids in Australia are all wear hats when outside. Apparently this is a requirement for all Australian schools, according to one of the staff members at the hostel. It makes sense considering how cruel the Australian sun can be in the summer, something I am very aware of after already having been sunburned three times.

The smoking culture is very different in this country, so different in fact that even as a non-smoker it’s hard to miss. First of all is the price: cigarettes cost nearly three times more here than they do in the U.S.

In 2012 Australia passed a law that all cigarettes had to come in plain-packaging, that is, packaging in drab colors with no advertising or logos or branding of any sort. Additionally, all cigarette packaging in this country by law is covered in lovely images of people with rotting teeth and cancer-ridden lungs and gangrene and toilets and other shock value. I makes me imagine the government is like this big mom waving her finger at you every time you buy a pack.

Do any of these anti-tobacco measures actually work? From what I see no. There are smokers of all ages, sexes, races, and social class standing on every corner in this city. The high tax on cigarettes seems to be a measure for the government to capitalize on people’s addictions more than anything else.

I think smoking is a terrible, terrible habit. But the way I see it, if you loom the threat of cancer over a smoker’s head they’ll just think “yeah right, that won’t happen to me.” And they may or may not be right – the threat of cancer is almost an abstract concept to those who have never experienced it before. If you really want to convince someone to quit smoking, I think it’s far more effective to point out that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for a year in this country would cost 10 grand, and that they could use that money to buy something else, something far better. That will at least cause some consideration.

But I digress. And here I told myself I wasn’t going to get all opinionated during my vacation, whoops.

I have decided that it was time to get out of Melbourne once again, and so I spent a couple days in Ballarat. I’ll be discussing my trips outside of Melbourne next time!

This post was a long time coming, but I wanted to make sure that I said everything I wanted to say. This post is about my trip to the Great Ocean Road and the shores of the Southern Ocean.

I joined a tour group early in the morning; the plan was to avoid the crowds by taking the Great Ocean Road in reverse. That way we would reach the most scenic locations of the Road hours before anyone else that day.

After spending weeks in Melbourne, it felt wonderful to get out of the city and start seeing the natural environment of this great country. The tour was long and a little tiring at times, considering the numerous locations we stopped at in just one day. But I enjoyed having the opportunity to experience so much on just one tour.

I wish I could show you the beauty in everything I saw that day, but I was only able to take so many pictures and unfortunately my camera ran out of battery near the end of the trip. So for what I can’t show you in pictures, I’ll attempt to make up for in words.

The first stop on our scenic tour was the Twelve Apostles National Park. The park is named after the twelve or so large rock structures that have formed from erosion along the coast. The park had a long wooden boardwalk along the top of a promontory, allowing an ideal view for photographs of the beautiful views.

I regret to say that these photographs don’t even approach doing this place justice. It’s hard to describe the existential beauty of being so high up, smelling the air of the Southern Ocean, hearing the waves crashing into the land far below. It felt like I was standing in someone’s dream.

Our stay at the Apostles ended far too soon. We had a full day of travel ahead of us, and the tour guide was eager to keep us on schedule. He was kind enough to prepare us all sandwiches and trail mix to eat during our next stop, so I could hardly complain about him cracking the whip early on.

The next stop on our tour was the Shipwreck Coast. Our guide told us stories of the wreck of the Lock Ard. The only survivors were a young sailor, Thomas Pearce, and Eva Carmichael, the daughter of a doctor from Ireland. Thomas saved the young woman’s life by pulling her to shore and finding help. After their return to Melbourne, the sailor was rewarded a great amount of money by Melbourne Humane Society, and Eva had her trip back to Ireland completely paid for, although she insisted in going by steamer rather than sailing ship. This story had been immortalized by the media, and even a play has been written about these two.

Our next stop was the furthest west we went on the Great Ocean Road, another unusual rock formation known as the London Bridge – aptly named because it was… falling down. What used to be a promontory had become an island due to thousands of years of erosion. It was amazing to see such a clear demonstration of the forces of nature at work.

I had some interesting conversations with our tour guide, Leon. While we were stopping for a restroom break, I asked him about the swarm of strange, white birds I saw fluttering around and warbling, known as corellas. Leon asked me where I was and when I told him, he went wide-eyed – apparently he has a lot of good friends from my home state. I’m always surprised when Australians are familiar with Oklahoma or people from Oklahoma, as I was always under the impression that to people not living there my state was viewed as somewhere small and insignificant. We had some long conversations about the States, mostly about fun places to travel.

We went to a temperate rainforest next, stopping to take a long walk through the leaves and look for wildlife. The rainforest reminded me a lot of the rainforests of southern Alaska, near Ketchikan. I told Leon about this and he told me he had never been to Alaska before and was interested in going, and he thanked me for the tip.

At the town of Lorne we saw surf lessons conducted along the beach. The surfers in Victoria all wear black wetsuits; apparently the water is much colder down here than it is up in the more northern parts of Australia. I would love to try surfing at some point while I’m down here.

By this point in the trip everyone was quite fatigued, and more than likely tired of being crammed in a tiny bus seat with just enough leg room for a small child. We stopped at a few observation points to view the wildlife, such as koalas and kangaroos. Regrettably the kangaroos were only visible for a brief moment on our bus tour, hoping through the bushes, and while I spotted them I wasn’t quick enough to take any photographs. But I’ll be in Australia for a while so I have plenty more opportunities to see the wildlife.

One of my favorite moments of the tour was stopping at the Great Ocean Road entrance sign, and the deserted beach that was nearby. The guide let us all wonder down to the beach and put our feet in the water. A great fog was rolling in with the waves, wrapping itself around the great ocean bluffs. I thought it was an unusual thing to see in the late afternoon, but I was told it’s quite normal in this part of the world.

Although I wasn’t able to take any photos of the elusive kangaroos during my tour, I was able to eat one when I returned to Melbourne.

Now that I’ve gotten out of the city and seen the Australian countryside, I’m eager to see more of it. My plan is to take a ship from Melbourne to Devonport, Tasmania. I’ve been told that Tasmania is cloudy and rainy – very different from the intolerable heat wave that Victoria has been experiencing, and I’m eager to escape the heat and make my way south.

Tasmania is exceptionally beautiful. Look forward to my upcoming posts and the photographs that go along with them!

One of the more interesting aspects of extended travel that I have noticed and feel isn’t discussed enough is the constant feeling that one needs to be doing something. You can’t place your finger on what that something is, but you feel like it absolutely must need doing. I’ve been dealing with this for the past couple week – even when my days are filled with activities, I feel like I’m missing something crucial.

I realize now that this feeling is a result of my sudden change in lifestyle, or rather a remnant of the old lifestyle I have “put on hold” for lack of a better word. I frequently remind myself that I am on holiday, and the whole purpose of a holiday is to relax, and just let things happen as they will.

The universe is in order here.

I’m reminded of the phrase “increasingly connected world” and how wary I am from it. Aside from it sounding like humanity is approaching some kind of singularity, it’s a phrase predominantly used by companies trying to develop the next big social media app for people to become addicted to. But to me, the real connection with the world is when you live in the moment – when you talk a stranger or meet a new friend or sit outside and notice the birds or the trees or the sounds of the air that you hear in that moment.

“The true miracle is not walking on water or walking on air, but simply walking on this earth.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

I am still in Melbourne after a couple weeks, and I have decided to take advantage of my free time during this trip by studying German. I have downloaded the Duolingo app for my phone because I have heard nothing but good things about it. It offers extensive lesson plans for over thirty languages, and I have heard stories of people reaching near-fluency from daily use of the app. And the best part is that it’s free.

Additionally, I befriended a girl from Bavaria named Julia and I have been practicing my German with her. One day she commented that I seem to be picking up German vocabulary abnormally quickly. I have only been working on German for about nine days, and yet I have already memorized hundreds of words and numerous German expressions.

It’s hard to explain, but it seems that I’m able to learn things faster whenever I’m traveling and away from the routine of home. Either that or I am just keeping myself busy to avoid feeling homesick, now that I’ve officially been away from home longer than I ever have before.

I have decided that I am going to visit Germany at some point after my Australia trip, where I can really put my language skills to practice. Germany seems like a beautiful country with a unique and fun culture, and all of the Germans I have met here have been very friendly.

These past couple weeks have been a little slow, not that I mind because I’m going to be in this country for a long time. I spend most of my days wandering through the city’s numerous parks, visiting free attractions, and doing some casual work for the hostel for free accommodation.

I don’t have a lot of new, exciting adventures to talk about today, so this will just be a general update. I just wanted to let you know that I am still here and keeping up with the blog.

I have spent most of my first week in Melbourne wandering through the Central Business District and taking advantage of the city’s many free museums and attractions, always with my camera handy. It has taken some time to adjust, and I find that the culture shock I experience has less to do with moving to another country and more to do with moving to a big city – a city of millions that’s many times larger than any I have ever lived in.

The city has countless futuristic-looking skyscrapers rising above the old buildings and ranging from any size and shape imaginable. And for how many different styles of architecture there are, there’s a sort of strange cohesion to the Melbourne skyline, and it often feels as if I have stepped into another world entirely.

And just as the city is filled with skyscrapers, there seem to be just as many new ones under construction. The city certainly appears to be in a period of economic growth, and I imagine a construction job would be very lucrative here.

The city is mostly clean and well-maintained, which is surprising given the population density, and very safe as well. I have never felt uncomfortable wandering the city by myself, even at night.

Melbourne is called the culture capital of Australia, and it’s easy to see why. Many of Australia’s prominent musicians come from Melbourne. The city is adorned with unique architecture and beautiful street art. There are countless shops and restaurants on every corner, and many of them seem to be stacked up on one-another for conservation of space. It’s very different from the Midwest, where buildings are a lot more spread out and property seems to develop outwards instead of upwards.

At the suggestion of another backpacker in the hostel, I went to the Victoria State Library to see its free museum upstairs. The library is open to the public and high-speed WiFi is available throughout the complex. I will no doubt be taking advantage of that for the purpose of keeping up with this blog in the future.

Almost by accident I discovered the armor of Ned Kelly, the famous bushranger-turned-outlaw known for having his final confrontation with the police while wearing a suit of crudely-crafted steel armor. I encountered the suit of armor in an exhibit in the upper floors of the library.

Every day I find something fascinating to look at while I wander this city. On my way back from the library, I walked past several late-afternoon street performers. I saw both street musicians and street magicians, as well as numerous performance artists who did skills ranging from juggling to balancing multiple objects on their heads to pretending to be statues.

There are thousands of restaurants in this city as well. A few of them are chain restaurants, but many are locally owned. American food is popular here, as evidenced by the presence of McDonalds, Hungry Jack’s (Burger King), KFC, and Subway. Asian food is just as popular, as there are many places to find curry and sushi. The air always smells of food, and just walking through the streets you can hear a vast blend of different languages and dialects. This is a city of immigration, and the migrant population appears to contribute immensely to the city’s diverse culture.

Americans are uncommon here – I’ve heard from word of mouth that there are a lot more of them up in Sydney this time of year. But there are many Germans staying in my hostel – I’ve met more Germans during my time here than I have Australians. It’s gotten to a point that during social events you can practically assume that the tall, pale-skinned person standing next to you is a German, or from a neighboring country like Austria or Denmark. I had no idea that this city was such a popular travel location for northern Europeans; perhaps they are all looking to escape a cold winter as well.

On my second night I went to a pub crawl with the hostel tour group and had a wonderful time getting to know the mostly-German crowd. The conversations I had and the people I met have played a huge part in helping me adjust to the new, migratory lifestyle I have chosen. We also went to the St. Kilda Beach festival together, an event open to the public with live-music, rides, and thousands of tourists. It was easy to be separated from the group in the shifting tides of the crowds.

I have been making a lot of friends in the hostel and having a great time getting to know so many interesting people. Every day I see something new, and every day I meet someone new as well. I find that the whole experience is making my head spin, and I often have to remind myself that I am in no hurry and that travel is much more enjoyable when it is relaxed.

I plan to stay in Melbourne for the remainder of the month while I look for work. Whether or not I find work will determine if I stay in the city even longer. Everything is in flux and I have no idea what I will be doing or even where I will be next week. But as of right now I can confidently say that things are looking up for my travel endeavors.

23 hours was all it took for me to get from one end of the planet to the other. On my connecting flight between Denver and Los Angeles I encountered backpacker bound for Australia. He was heading to Sydney to live with a friend and work as a plumber. We spent the entire flight talking about our respective plans. It was such a delightful coincidence to encounter another backpacker bound for the same country as me, and it made me feel that I wasn’t alone in my endeavors.

It was well into the night by the time I arrived in Los Angeles, and it wasn’t long before I was on my plane bound for Australia. I watched the lights of the city far below as they were abruptly cut off by the black void that was the Pacific Ocean, and I realized that it would be a long time before I would see America again.

After fifteen restless hours of crossing the Pacific in a flying sardine can, I finally caught my first glimpse of Australia.

The trip through customs took a lot less time than expected. Before I knew it I was taking an Uber from the airport to my hostel on Flinders Street. I was only able to sleep a couple hours on my flight so by this point I was very exhausted, but I didn’t want to go to sleep just yet when I had a world to explore.

In order to orient myself to my new surroundings, I decided to start roaming the city and taking pictures of the sites. It only took a few hours in this city for me to fall in love with it. I’ve never been anywhere like Melbourne before. The architecture is very unique and there are new skyscrapers under construction all around me, rising high above old Victorian buildings. There are shops, restaurants, bars, and parks everywhere, almost seeming to be stacked up on one another. I could explore this city for ages and still find something new and exciting to look at.

Below are some photos from my first couple days in Melbourne. I hope they have captured well some of my initial impressions of this wonderful city.

I spent my last couple days in middle America getting caught up with old friends. It has been a wonderful time with good meals, good drinks, and some unusual introspection. A friend reminded me that in a couple days, I’ll be 8000 miles beneath the ground from where I currently stand. The thought intimidates me – I’ve only ever been within North America, and soon I’ll be as far away from North America as I can get without going to space.

I’ve felt a lot of pre-trip anxiety this last week. Anxiety is hardly a reasonable beast to tame – I know that I’m fully prepared and that everything is going to be fine, but my brain is convinced otherwise. I suppose this is normal, and there’s no reason to deny that I feel apprehensive. I’m convinced that it will be easier when I arrive there, and probably much easier after a good sleep.

Here is the backpack I’ll be taking with me on my journey. It’s an Osprey Farpoint, 70 liters – an excellent choice for world travelers.

I have decided to display my nationality on the bag because I have read that it’s common for backpackers to do that. I know some American backpackers like to pretend that they’re Canadian out of fear of how they’ll be treated abroad, but I have decided against doing that. I don’t know anything about Canada, why should I pretend I’m from somewhere I’m not. It’s important to take pride in where you’re from. If someone is worried about how people might perceive them because of where they’re from and they hide it, then they ruin the chance to challenge the prejudices of others and to make a positive impression.

I leave the country this afternoon. I’m looking forward to my 23 hour trip.

I leave for Australia in less than two weeks. This is my first backpacking trip, and my first time to leave the country on my own.

I’m eager to see where this journey takes me. I’ve wanted to travel the world for as long as I can remember, and I have finally saved up enough to be able to do it. Surprisingly, I’m not nervous. The only thing I feel uneasy about is the cost, and if that’s the only thing I worry about then I suppose that’s a good sign.

I’ll be staying in a hostel on Flinders Street in Melbourne for the first week. I hear that Melbourne is a wonderful city and from the Yarra River valley to the Port Phillip bay I’m eager to explore it.

I write this post in the hope that at the end of my journey I’ll be able to look back and see how much the trip has changed me. I expect this trip will teach me to adapt to unfamiliar situations, to meet people from around the world, and hopefully to find a greater perspective on life. If you’re reading this then I appreciate that you have taken the time to follow me on my travels, and I hope that you enjoy the content I provide.