Friday 11 April 2014

How much of Australia Have You Seen? { My Bucket List }



The latest Australian Traveller Magazine. Have you read it?

If your answer is no, than you must. A special collector's edition featuring the 100 greatest holidays in Australia. It is an inspiring and great read. Bound to give you the travel bug and have you wondering why you bothered going to Bali all those times for holidays and not somewhere in your own country.

How ridiculous is it that I've seen so little of Australia. Of my own country. My own backyard. I've visited and travelled the streets of more Asian and European cities than I have those in Australia. Ridiculous I tell you!

Living here in the Pilbara has shown me how little I know of my own country. How under appreciated it was in my own mind and how spoilt we are to live in such a beautiful country with such varied scenery. We have more stunning coastlines, mountain ranges and food regions than we can ever possibly realise and here we all are rushing off to Fiji, Bali, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the like.

For me having small children has really changed my opinion about travel to some of the more often travelled to countries that we as Australians tend to frequent. Sure it's more expensive to travel in Australia, but at least the water is safe to drink, you can eat the food from any vendor without question and you don't have to worry about the quality of healthcare if heaven forbid you or one of your children happen to fall ill.

Reading this issue of Australian Traveller has reaffirmed my growing commitment to travel and see Australia as much as we are able over the next few years. My list of places to go after reading through the 100 greatest holidays of Australia is long. Too long to list here. But the top of my bucket list, well it looks a little like this.

Uluru
Lord Howe Island
Adelaide and the Barossa/Clare Valleys
The Bungle Bungles
The Ningaloo Reef Area
Byron Bay
Strahan and the Gordon River
Road trip the Pacific Coast from Sydney to Brisbane
Do the Gibb River Road from Broome to the Kimberley
Spend a long weekend in Daylesford
Visit the Greater Blue Mountains area
Swim in Wineglass Bay

Been to any of these places?
Love them?
Have somewhere else on your bucket list that you think deserves to be on mine?


39 comments:

  1. Interesting,,I'm halfway through writing a post for a series of posts about the places on my travel bucket list, and you are right no Australian places on the list. I probably need to reassess that!!

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  2. I've done everything on your list except Lord Howe Island, which I'd love to do one day. I think it's so important to see your own country. We ticked off most of those places on our caravan trip around Australia 2 years ago and I think it's so hard to get a perspective of how big and isolated things are in this country unless you spend days of driving seeing absolutely nothing but dust. I personally really loved the south west coast of WA and I would live to put Cape York Peninsula on my bucket list. Mel xxx

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    1. Very jealous Mel. I think caravanning and doing the lap around Australia would be such an amazing thing to do. It's one thing we'd consider doing ourselves also. I love the SW coast of WA, stunning beaches and great food and wine xx

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  3. We go to Adelaide every year in January and it is my favourite place in Australia. City, surf, sand, country, hills, vineyards all within an hour of each other. Perfect.
    I'm also off to Daylesford for a girls weekend in August, never been before and can't wait!

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    1. I've always said, despite never having been, that I think I would really love living in Adelaide for all the reasons you mentioned above. Plus I love cities with old history and beautiful old houses and Adelaide has lots of that x

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  4. I haven't done all of those, I really want to do the Daintree Rainforest.

    I have driven across the Nullabor with my sister when we were just in our early 20s. It was a pretty special time.

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    1. Sounds like it would have been a great adventure!

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  5. Isn't it strange the way we seem to take so long to appreciate the country we live in. I'm a New Zealander and over here people who live in the North Island tend to travel more to Australia than they do the South Island of NZ. Like you, I have traveled quite a bit overseas...I've been to 2 places on your list :) ...and lately have wanted to explore my own country a lot more.

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    1. i've only ever been to Auckland, but NZ sounds and looks very similar to Tasmania where I am from x

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  6. I've done Adelaide and the Barossa/Clare Valleys, Byron Bay, and the Road trip along the Pacific Coast from Sydney to Brisbane and the Greater Blue Mountains area. I would LOVE to do Daylesford, Margaret River and Port Douglas... heck I'll do anywhere just to have a trip away :) xx

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    1. ha yes, we're feeling the same way here also. We need a holiday, thankfully we have a small weekend away planned and next month nearly 2 weeks away. Thinking about them is currently keeping me sane and motivated!!

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  7. I have been lucky enough to visit Australia a bunch of time. I absolutely adore Sydney but Far North Queensland has my heart - particularly Cairns to Port Douglas. I love all the beaches dotted along the coast and we were lucky enough to marry on the beach at Trinity Beach. We travelled from the Gold Coast to Cairns and camped along the way which was awesome too. I really want to visit the Northern Territory and WA but also Melbourne too. I'd quite happily go anywhere in Oz as I love your country x

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    1. I'm taking my first trip to Qld Deb in August, I can't wait! I imagine I will like that part of the world also. Your wedding sounds like it would have been amazing x

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  8. I only know of some of these places, but the ones that I know would definitely be on my must visit list and I expect that if I were to read about the others they would be too! It is funny how we go away to places but don't visit those on our own backdoor (not I realise that places like Uluru are on many peoples back door!). I hope that you get to visit them all and many more. xx

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  9. I'm forever grateful to my parents who made it their mission that we should see our country before we went overseas. While at the time, I was slightly envious of my friends that returned to places like Tea Gardens each and every year, I now appreciate the sacrifices my olds made and their sense of adventure (especially on an extremely tight budget). Bungle Bungles is one of my very fave places. Uluru had a big impact on me as a teenager and Bungles had the same effect as an adult.

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    1. You are lucky Rachael, I wish I'd had that experience growing up x

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  10. Travelling this beautiful country is such a gift. It does make me reassess why I ever went overseas. We are so fortunate to have such natural beauty in buckloads.
    If you haven't done it before, I'd suggest adding the road-trip from Sydney - south to the Victorian boarder along the coast - the NSW South Coast. In my opinion, it's a gazillion times better than the beaches between Sydney and Brisbane. Super quite country-meets-beach towns with amazing national parks. If you're doing Adelaide and surrounding regions (don't forget the Mclaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Adelaide Hills wine regions are super close too) - think about also going down Yorke Peninsular - right at the bottom the Innes National Park has the most unbelievably beautiful beaches.
    Having been there twice, I think Strahan is a little over-rated... but didn't do the Gordon River trip... which I'm sure is lovely.
    Wineglass Bay is even better than the hype.
    I'm yet to blog about our time at Strahan & Wineglass Bay! So watch that space :)
    You've got a few on your list that I haven't gotten to yet and I can't wait to see! I especially can't wait to see more of your beautiful state, WA.

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    1. Looking forward to seeing you in our part of the world Heike!!

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  11. To be honest, I have not seen a lot of Australia. I think it is one of those things that many people struggle with - this mentality that we should go out and explore the world, that we can always see Australia "later". I guess that's why we have so many Grey Nomads!

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  12. I definitely want to do Uluru. And the Great Barrier Reef. And everywhere in Tasmania! My Dad has traveled all over the world, like everywhere, and he has also traveled all over Australia (most of all his travel has been for work) and despite all of the amazing things he has seen overseas, he still maintains that the best places he has ever been are all within Australia.

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  13. I'm definitely going to pop out and check that magazine out. I do think the reason I've holidayed overseas rather than here is money, because we are so isolated it's often just as expensive to travel within the country as outside it and for some warped reason it seems like better value to go overseas.
    That being said I'd love to have a cute caravan and hit the road to see more of Australia.

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    1. True for us also, sadly it is often cheaper to holiday overseas than in our own country x

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  14. It's funny how little we tend to see of our home country isn't it? I was born in New Zealand but we moved here when I was 2, so luckily for me my parents were keen to see Australia so as kids we went to a lot of those places - 3 weeks in the Northern Territory, multiple trips to northern Queensland and the Daintree, Great Barrier Reef and the like. We did the Barossa too, but I was too young to appreciate it so I think I'll have to go back! There's so much more I still want to see though - our scenery is really one of a kind!

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    1. liz you were so lucky. Yes go back to the Barossa I think!

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  15. I am the same, Carla! I've seen so much of the world, but not my own country. I've been to a few places on those list, but definitely want to see more. I hope you get to see each and every one of them x

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  16. Oh and I need to check that mag out too! I have done bits and pieces of Australia but not near enough!! Yet to even venture to WA but hoping to do NSW coast soon - the car trip with littlies scares me! xx

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    1. Oh I can relate to that Elisa, we just had a weekend away, the nearly 5 hour car trip there was great, but the one on the way back was horrible. My eldest daughter was over it half way home. It can really go either way!!! x

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  17. I have also changed my idea of travel since I had my kids. I want them to see more of their own country. Hubby and I have just started talking about taking more road trips and seeing more of this beautiful country.

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  18. You do live in the most beautiful, huge, spectacular country. I went once, almost twenty years ago, on holiday with my family. I'd like to go back. One day maybe... In the meantime, enjoy planning your holidays around that list! x

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    1. Hope you get the chance to return one day Gillian. Though there are a lot of places worth visiting in your country too xx

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  19. I've never been to WA! I grew up with parents with a caravan and we did a lot of travelling around Australia but never WA. I need to get my hands on this magazine.

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    1. Lucky you having travelled so much when you were younger. This magazine is well worth buying and hanging onto x

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  20. Wow, you live in the Pilbara - have heard it's amaze! I lived in Perth for three years and never made it that way unfortunately. I have always thought that I had seen a good deal of Australia yet there is still a bunch of places that I have not seen on your list. Australia is so huge - must check out you mag!

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