All good things must come to an end

I have a feeling that this will be my last and final blog.. so let's go out with a bang shall we? Our two weeks journey from Melbourne to Canada have been filled with many unexpected events and feelings, which is always apart of the great adventure of travelling. We started the three day journey to Yoshi's parents by making a larger detour than expected, heading to the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney. Unfortunately instead of getting to see the picturesque views of the valley, it was hidden away behind a dense sheet of fog. The town itself was similar to that of Canada's mountain towns, built on hills with comparable architecture. We tried to make it worthwhile as we strolled around with some coffee's and ducked into pawn and vintage shops.

After finally accepting defeat, we headed towards Coff's Harbour. Where we used to camp and pick blueberry's on the very start of our grand aussie adventure. We slept at what i still think is my favorite spots that was found along the way, Emerald Beach. Waking up in a Deja vu sort of way, same overcast skies, surfers hitting the early morning break, same happy feeling.

Look familiar?

Then it was smooth sailing to the acreage where Yosh grew up. What a beautiful place it is, after living in the city for a solid few months i feel that it makes you appreciate even more what nature has to offer, it undeniably reminded me that i belong in a forest and not a concrete jungle. It was heart warming to spend more quality time with his parents. They took care of us extremely well, probably better than we take care of ourselves really. Cooking us beautiful meals, very healthy and almost entirely from their lush garden. After a somewhat stressful week of packing everything up and getting everything sorted (more Yosh than i of course) we said farewell to the home land and the whole family went up to Brisbane for a two day vacation.

 There are always little friends hoping around the yard, our version of deer.

 The view from the house at sunset.. I asked Regina and Dave if they ever get sick of the view and they said never.

 Pastels all the way to the sky

 Through the rabbit hole, aka the towel over the close line.. close enough

 The house that Dave and even Yoshi and his brother built from completely natural Australian materials.

 The bed of around the world cabbage and lettuce.

 TO MA TO

 Can you guess what these plants are? If you do, let me know because i don't

 Another view of the house, i love the wrap around veranda.

 The gorgeous hand done mosaic tiled bathroom, yes please.

 These bad boys are called mud wasp nests, its amazing how much they look like ceramic vases. Inside are wasp eggs and comatose spiders, and when the wasp eggs hatch they can eat the spiders straight away and once the was has grown enough, it comes out the hole on the top and moseys on in life.

 A small shot of the succulent garden that wraps around almost two sides of the house. Australia is very similar in some ways but so different at the same time. I love all the colorful tropical birds and plants that are able to grow and thrive, Yoshi and his father were both great teachers.

 The kitchen

  And the largest tea collection I've ever seen, man did we drink a lot of tea when visiting. And a different kind of tea every day.

 On the front porch, i enjoyed reading here. Very tranquil.

 The living room, featuring Dave's painting. He grew up originally in Sydney and did painting in studios there but he moved to Paris to study art as well. I love his artwork.

 And last but not least from the tour around the house... the compost toilet. The environmentalist inside of me loves it to bits, the half awake trying to pee in the middle night while spiders crawl out all over the seat did not.

 Just a glimpse into the beautiful countryside

And when you spend time in the "outback" the wild life comes with it... Including the first moving snake, a night tiger that slithered into a hole in the house.. yup didn't sleep so well that night. And of course a huntsman spider.. hunts... man.... *shudders* No but seriously they are harmless despite their size, I worry more about the ones who's poison can kill you in under a minute.

Then we spent our last few days in Australia kind of like i came into it. In Brisbane with my best friends Bonnie and Jake. We all went, including a couple of new to me friends, to a glorious little rock pool spot. There wasn't enough rain to permit us to swim, the pools were murky and full of algae, but it was peaceful and full climbing the rocks and fooling around.

 Jacob was modelling for me. Should probably pursue a career in modelling for outback magazines.

 Beautiful Bons

Yoshi took all of these dazzling shots.

I still can't believe it's almost been exactly one full year of travelling. Often i lay in bed and look back at the last few months that have flown by. I think about what i did and what i learned and all the people that i met along the way. It's always been easy for me to move one place to another, since i was young i knew there was a big world out there. I felt like a caged bird that needed to find its wings, and i did and still am. Some places you leave a bit of yourself behind and some you take with you. The more you travel the easier it is to say goodbyes i found, you learn that some people you aren't meant to find again and they were important in that place at that time, and that some goodbyes are not good byes at all, just a simple see you later. I am fully aware that not everybody approves of travelling over school, but i'll be the first to tell you that i learnt lessons that no school could ever teach me. I learnt how to fall in love with myself and the goodness of the world. I turned off my cellphone and was reminded that beauty isn't defined by ones face or their body it's how they make you feel and how they treat the people around them. The most beautiful people i met on this trip were full of wrinkles and rags and had next to nothing to their name other than hearts of gold, they love easily and live graciously. They reminded me whats important. From backpacking with and without one of my great friends around the incredible SEA, to surf school, to teaching students who ended up teaching me more, from falling in love with my best friend, to doing some of the hardest jobs of my life in Australia. It has all been the first big and unforgettable adventure of my lifetime, and trust me it doesn't stop there. I will be doing it all and seeing it all, that being said, i am utterly happy to be able to have such an amazing home full of love and people to come back to every time.