Five Things I Learned From Travelling for Two Months

Well, I’ve been there and back again: my two-month travels to Australia are over and I’m back home in Canada. Before leaving, I anticipated that the trip would be some sort of life-altering experience, providing me with all the mental clarity I was lacking in my everyday life. And although I didn’t arrive home full of shaman-wise knowledge about my future, travelling definitely taught me these five things.
1. No one’s going to be happy 24/7: I try my best to be positive and upbeat around others, and at the beginning of our travels, I was definitely of the mind-set that, hey, we’re on vacation in a beautiful country, what have we got to be upset about! But when you’re crammed in a van, spending 24/7 with the same people with absolutely no alone time, you’re going to get cranky. By the end of the trip, I was a snappier, foul-mouthed version of myself, and I saw the same in my travel companions. I learned I couldn’t expect myself, or my friends, to be in a good mood all the time, and those expectations weren’t fair to any of us.
2. Sometimes you need a vacation from vacation: When you’re travelling non-stop, getting up early and going to bed late, on your feet all day, it’s absolutely exhausting. Some of my favourite days on the trip were when we stayed in one place and just chilled out, and I especially loved the few weeks where we had a home-base in Sydney. It’s important to give yourself time to relax and rest when you’re constantly on the go.

3. Buy into stereotypes: What I mean by this is, our most fun experiences were when we were doing things that were classically Australian. For example, experiencing ancient Aboriginal culture at Uluru, led by a real Aussie bushman, or cuddling koalas and kangaroos at Steve Irwin’s zoo. These are things I will only ever be able to do in Australia, and I wanted to make sure I did them all, no matter how outside my comfort zone (such as eating crocodile or scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef!)
 


4. Treasure the little things: However, amidst all the big stuff like I just mentioned, I learned to treasure those small, quiet moments. Of course, I’ll always look back and remember snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, but I’ll also remember snuggling up in the van and watching Firefly or eating these tasty biscuits while we drove, or the time a frog jumped in our van and we all panicked. Those small moments are what built our trip and kept us sane between all the highlights.
5. There’s no place like home: As much as I loved Australia, I will admit, I will never tire of touching down in British Columbia. Being away from home always gives me an appreciation for what I have and how lucky I am to be from such a wonderful place.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for lots more Australian content on our vlog.