A month outdoors and no hairy spiders

Number 6: Drive up the coast of West Australia and snorkel with Whale Sharks (achieved- mostly)

Of all the goals on my list, this is one of the most significant. I have been planning it for over 10 years. I started the moment my plane touched ground in the UK last time, returning from six months volunteering in Australia. Those times had been some of my most character building and memorable. Some were happy. Some were rather dramatic. Many provided inspiration for some of my best writing. All helped shape my life today and the adult I have become. (I use the word ‘adult’ loosely.)

You know I love a list. Just imagine: ten years of sub headings, spreadsheets and tick lists. How ironic, then, after so long planning that I should miss the Whale Sharks by about a week. Ah well. For those of you used to my shoddy time keeping, this might not be a surprise.

The lack of the world’s largest marine mammals did not dampen the experience. There were so many other fabulous wonders. To describe them all would take more words than a poor blog-reading audience could endure. My travel journal is over 250 pages long! So, I’ve tried to summarise the many sights, sounds and smells that Australia had to offer over the last month.

In terms of variety and itinerary, my planning did work well. Last time, having had a closer encounter with the interior outback than intended, a major aim was to stick to the coastal edges and let someone else do the driving. In addition, there were places I wanted to return to, old and new friends and family to meet and areas I had yet to visit. Sitting with a map in front of me, I found myself marvelling at how stupidly big Australia is. ‘So if I just hop on a train from here to...oh four days. Right.’

Somehow between planes, trains, ferries, buses and cars I still managed to cover a lot of ground. I started on the east coast in Sydney, with its iconic harbour, botanic gardens, glorious national parks and some fantastic chocolate sundaes. Via train to Bungendore and Canberra, I watched the rolling hills and dry farmlands of New South Wales pass my window, with the occasional kangaroo hopping towards the shade. Getting lost in Melbourne was fun; the hipster districts and south bank arts scene, beer o’clock in the sunshine and just wandering and wondering past the mix of historic and modern buildings.

The next two weeks were spent exploring the West Coast. Stepping off the plane, the heat enveloped me like a warm blanket. For someone who spent the last two years working in a crypt in Scotland it was like recharging my batteries.

From attractive Perth and Fremantle we drove through tall forests of peeling red gums towards wineries and some of the most stunning beaches I’ve ever visited- with barely a person on them. We camped for several nights in a national park, with gaudy parrots, galahs and big fluffy kookaburras for company. Fortunately I didn’t share a tent with any snakes or spiders!

The final week was a group tour up the coast to Exmouth. When booking I had been worried it would be like an incredibly late gap year and I would be the age of everyone’s granny. My concerns were unwarranted. I met some of the loveliest people to share that beautiful coastline with.

Having spent so much time previously on the East, the West was a real contrast. There are less people for a start and many, many miles between sights. I loved the views of semi-arid desert, broken by anthills and the odd emu. Rock sites like the Kalbarri (where we abseiled in the early morning), dolomites and stromatolites were like alien landscapes, built and decorated with unique colours and formations.

We stayed in a ranch, sharing our kitchen some many-legged creatures, and a magical beachside resort in Monkey Mia where the dolphins came to the shore for breakfast. (We didn’t eat them.) The snorkelling, too, was magical even without the Whale Sharks. In water that was cold for Australia, a mere 26%, we swam through blue and turquoise ripples with clown fish, catfish and fantastic corals. It was like another world down there, one I would love to explore further. (Learning to dive is on the list.)

On the return to Perth there was sand boarding to try, resulting in face plants and pockets of sand, then an animal rescue centre where we made friends with an adorable baby kangaroo. Every day ended with the most glorious sunset. Nature really did put on a show.

All good things come to an end. Fortunately for me, my last weekend included a whistle stop return to the place where I had been so happy before: Batreach animal rescue centre in tropical Queensland. From dry deserts to sticky heat.

Winding up the mountain road I couldn’t help grinning at the remembered landscape; slopes of rainforest trees leading down to the coral sea. Kuranda, atop its tropical mountain, really does feel like an outpost. I even returned to Cairns via a historic railway that carved its way through the rainforest.

At Batreach I was greeted by an unchanged sight: the little wooden hut on the edge of the rainforest. My fruitbat friends squawked a welcoming racket. Some of the individual bats I worked with were still alive after twelve years absence. How incredible. There were new furry friends too, like a baby possum who treated me like a climbing frame. Such strange familiarity; sitting with a glass of chilled wine on the veranda, looking out into the tangle of jungle barely kept at bay. It was as though the years between had never existed.

My overriding memories of Australia will be of beautiful landscapes and lovely people, of fruit and veg ripened in the warm weather and some of the most stunning wildlife I’ve ever experienced. After a month living out of a bag I was ready to come home, but I know one day I will return. There is still more to do, even on this list of forty things. I didn’t learn to surf, or swim with dolphins. And then there are the elusive Whale Sharks. Better start planning now...