The grand finale
Hey everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while! It was summer holidays in Australia, and I was busy having adventures, soaking up the sun, and enjoying every last moment of my time there. I just arrived home yesterday, and it’s very strange being in winter again. Here’s the last post to summarise my last months there and my experience in general.
Most of my summer days were spent in the sun. I went to the beach heaps with friends, worked several times a week, surfed, snorkelled, and holidayed. One thing I’m going to miss incredibly about Warrnambool is the beach. The water is so clear there, and in the summer it’s the perfect place to be. One weekend, I even went snorkelling at Kilarney beach near Warrnambool with Mat and some other friends. I had never been snorkelling before outside of a swimming pool, and it was a really great experience! I even found a little starfish that stuck to my hand as I swam along.
In the last month, I went to Melbourne for a few days with Sami. We stayed at her place in one of the Melbourne suburbs, and did some really fun things. I got to go to the Peninsula hot springs, visit Frankston Pier, have coffee and pasta at Pellegrini’s in Melbourne, visit the Old Melbourne Gaol, see the Yarra River, go ballroom dancing and, of course, spend a day at the beach. I’m not a huge city person, but Melbourne is a really nice city. It’s really clean, and people dress nicely but you also see people wearing surfy clothes around.
My second to last week was spent on the famous Gold Coast. I stayed in Coolangatta and enjoyed spending some time at Snapper Rocks and enjoying the beach there. There are surfers in Warrnambool, but the surf culture on the Gold Coast is heaps more intense. It seems like everybody up there surfs! I even got to go to Surfer’s Paradise, which was fantastic. You can look at the shops for hours and then walk right across the street and be on the beach! I even went for a swim myself. While I was on the Gold Coast, I also spent one day at SeaWorld. I’ve wanted to go to SeaWorld for a while, and it was well worth it. I saw the dolphin show and seal show, and I got to see penguins, stingrays, sharks, a polar bear, and other really cool creatures!
In my last week, I spent a lot of time with friends and enjoyed every moment. I helped with the penguin counting on Middle Island and got to count the penguins coming up the “Super Highway”, which was a steep cliffy area where many of the penguins climb up to their burrows. I loved it, and I’d definitely love to do work like that after uni. I also got to lay in the back of a ute (pickup truck) with my friends near the breakwater at night and look at the stars. It was so clear, you could hear the ocean, and there were even some shooting stars. I think that’s what summer’s meant to be like. Friends, beach, and relaxed evenings. What an experience!
I can honestly say that this was the best experience of my life. I’ve become so much more independent, learnt so many things, and met so many people. Now that I’ve been to Warrnambool, I hope to return as soon as I can, and I’m trying to find a job there once I finish uni. To anyone who is even considering studying abroad, I would say that you should definitely do it! There’s absolutely nothing like it, and I am so thankful for this experience. And it may be over for now, but this is only the beginning of my travels.
Have a fantastic holiday season!!
