In May and June, I was lucky enough to spend time with some of the exchange teachers that are over here. Robyn is from Lethbridge and is living in Wagga Wagga, about 5 hours south of Dubbo. She came to visit me and shared her amazing cooking talents and healthy recipes with me. I in turn went to visit her where we took a Henna Tattoo workshop. In June, Scott and Leanne came to visit me for the long weekend. They are from Calgary and are here teaching in Cessnock, in the Hunter Valley (wine central!!). We enjoyed a weekend of footy and the Dubbo Zoo. I have been so incredibly fortunate to meet these wonderful people! I've enjoyed our time together here and am looking forward to more time together before we leave.
Diana was here with me touring around for July holidays and then spent 2 weeks in Dubbo, seeing my real Aussie life. It was so wonderful having her here and I just can't thank her enough for coming to visit. Sharing this journey with my friends and family is what I've been looking forward to the most.
We saw heaps as we headed north from Sydney on Canada Day. We made stops in Port Macquarie, Woolgoolga (one of my favorite little beach towns that even some Aussies have no idea where it is), The Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Surfer's Paradise, the Australia Zoo, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, the Blue Mountains and Orange. It was a very full 2 weeks but awesome!!
Port Macquarie is a beautiful little spot with incredible beaches. Woolgoolga was a highlight for us because as we were walking along the beach we spotted 4 dolphins (2 adults and 2 babies) playing in the waves. We could have stayed there for hours watching them "surf". The Gold Coast was time spent with friends of Cam's from uni. They were gracious enough to welcome us into their home for a few days and toured us around Surfer's, Byron Bay and the Gold Coast. Standing at Surfer's Paradise one day, it was 24C and back in Dubbo it had been -5C that same morning. Just goes to show you that the temperatures, like Canada, can be so different from one area to another.
After leaving our hosts in the Gold Coast, we headed further north to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far. The Zoo is all about education and so it's so much more hands on than other zoos. The animals are up close and personal! I did an Echidna Encounter where I got to feed a few echidnas (one of only 2 monetremes that live in Australia, mammals that lay eggs and close in apperances to our porcupines). Diana did a koala encounter where she got to cuddle and learn about these adorable marsupials.
We then spent 3 nights in Hervey Way, where we were a little too early for the whale migration, but were happy we had seen some in Byron Bay. We did a day trip to Fraser Island which is known for its dingoes and for being the largest sand island in the world. We saw some amazing sights including a shipwreck, a beached whale, dingoes, a turtle, bird life and one of the most spectacular beach highways I've ever seen :)
We made a quick trip back down the coast, traveling as far as we could to get closer to home. The weather turned for the worse and we were in rain the whole way home. The weather actually made for some amazing photos in the Blue Mountains!! We made a stopover in Orange and stayed with friends there.
It was an incredible 2 weeks and I am so lucky that I had Diana to share it with! Here are some photos to enjoy and then I will post part 2 of this blog when I return from lunch with friends :)
TTFN
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