AUSTRALIA-the land of tan beautiful men and women, dingos, the worlds scariest crawling critters, cool surfers, boxed wine, kangaroos, Vegemite, the worlds best coffee, Tim Tams and koala bears.

To be honest, I had never really understood the hype about Australia. Working in Western Canada in small mountain towns populated with transient people, I met so many Canadians who headed off to Australia for some sunshine during the Canadian winter. I always thought that of all places, why Australia? The culture is so similar to Canada, right? Wrong!

Culturally, Canada and Australia are extremely different. Worth mentioning is that I stayed away from the major cities while traveling in Australia (however I have heard only amazing things about Sydney), so this very likely contributes to my experience. I spent two weeks travelling up the east coast, which does have a reputation for being home to chilled out hippies. Rightfully so. East coast Australia is extremely laid back, whereby locals live a simple slow paced life.

Byron Bay and Nimbin, my first stop in Australia, are filled with bright painted buildings, tie-dye wearing locals, rainbow painted school busses and small arts markets selling hemp crafts and “cookies” **cough cough** as bohemian music plays on every street corner. It felt like I was on the set of Dazed and Confused. I was baffled that places like this existed. To Torontonians, it is comparable to a massive Kensington Market.

Every day at dusk loads of tourists and locals walk the almost four kilometers uphill to the stunning Byron bay Lighthouse to watch the sunset. I went early and parked myself in a quiet spot in the grass and read my book while I waited for the sun to set. If you ever find yourself in Byron Bay, do this. It’s worth it.

Byron Bay is home to a plethora of musicians, including Lana Del Rey! Street musicians preform day and night on beaches and in parks and almost every hostel I stayed at had a stage that welcomed performers. Something I loved about Australia is that they primarily play local music. I discovered some amazing music when I was over there-including Tash Sultana, Ziggy Alberts and Hallow Coves.

This song will forever remind me of Australia.

Fraser Island, off the east coast of Queensland, is the world’s largest sand island. The island stretches 123km of white, hot sand. I spent three days camping on Fraser Island. Getting around Fraser Island can be….challenging at times. Four-wheel-drive jeeps are the only mode of transportation on the island, which makes for an extremely bumpy and questionable ride at times.

While on Fraser Island I saw four dingos! Dingos pretty much look like hungry, mangy street dogs. They seemed unfriendly and I think they were just after our food. There are tons of small lakes on Fraser Island (lakes in the middle of a sand island-pretty neat), including a lazy river that I had the time of my life tubing down again, and again. If you have a problem with being stuck on an island with no running water with sand stuck in every crack of your body, Fraser Island is not the place for you.

Fraser Island is where I had my only (thanking my lucky starts) sighting of any critters. I was there during winter, and was informed that anything with tiny legs, or worse, no legs, was hiding under rocks to stay warm. With that being said, I did see a Huntsman spider, which I hear are quite common and not dangerous in Australia. If you are brave enough, Google a Huntsman for size reference.

We stopped to watch whales playing from the beach.

Noosa, located on the Sunshine Coast, was my next stop. Noosa is home to the famous Noosa National Park, where you can walk the coastal track looking for koala’s. I was thrilled that I was able to spot one koala high up in a tree. It was so neat to me that you could access the National Park right from the town, within walking distance.

Noosa National Park.

Morning coffee swiftly became my morning routine in Australia. I quickly learned that ordering a “medium coffee” doesn’t exist. The barista would typically look at me and respond, “Great. Would you like a short black, flat white, latte, cappuccino, long black, mocha, or a ristretto?” “Just a coffee please”, I would say with a smile. Ten minutes and $10 later I would be handed a beautifully crafted beverage. Ordering a coffee in Australia is such an experience and a true part of their culture that I am so glad I indulged while I was there. Families gathered for hours sipping coffee and munching on avo toast-yes, it seemed to me that all Australians are obsessed with avocado toast.

I stumbled upon this awesome blog that highlights the 6 best coffee shops in Byron Bay. Check it out!

Unfortunately I left Australia without spotting a kangaroo. Talking to other travelers it seemed like I was one of the only few who did not spot a kangaroo. However, I didn’t have the time to make it to the outback, which is heavily populated with kangaroos (also home to the very famous Uluru Rock).

Australia is truly, truly, the happiest place on earth. Where else in the world are towns called Surfers Paradise or Rainbow Beach? If you have ever been to a more jolly country, I need to know, and I need to be there.

Watching the sun come down over Surfers Paradise.

Thanks for reading!