Australia adventure, part 1

16 March - 10 April 2026

I made it to Australia. That's the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

I even went to a show at the Opera House. It was called Gatsby at the Green Light. It was based on The Great Gatsby. The bar turned into the stage, and I was seated in the chair I am standing next to in this picture. So close!

There was some amazing acrobatic feats by many of the actors during the show, too!

I went on a camping trip to Jervis Bay, as a part of a group from a Christian camp called Attunga. 

Wild juvenile kangaroo at the campground at Jervis Bay! If it had been a fully grown adult, I would not have gotten as close since it would've been much bigger.

I only saw two spiders at the campground, thankfully the harmless ones! 

One of the staff members saw a brown snake near our campsite. We made sure our tents were zipped up extra securely after that!

Murray's Beach in Booderee National Park (to make up for me not visiting any of the beaches near Sydney).

View from our sunrise hike.

Despite the rainy weather, the sunrise showed itself briefly as we listened to worship music together!

I left Attunga to head to Cairns for a SCUBA diving trip I had already booked. Along the way, I met up with another new friend from Single Purpose League and stayed with her for a few days before heading to the airport. 

Maz took me to Cascade Falls and then we had takeaway dinner at the beach.

Grilled fish and chips (I almost forgot to take a picture before I ate all the fries) at the beach. Yummy with a view!

Koala at Symbio Wildlife Park. And so much more wildlife I saw for the first time. Even though it wasn't in the wild, I loved it!

Darwin Carpet Python. It turns out these aren't as scary to me now that I am here in Aus. 

It turns Australia has many of the most venomous snakes, but a Python only strangles. Wouldn't that make you feel better about it? 🙃 This Tiger Snake is the world's 5th most venomous snake. I am glad I saw it NOT in the wild. 

Echidna, not to be confused with a porcupine.

Little Penguins. I am still hoping to possibly see these cuties in the wild!

Tasmanian Devil. No similarities to the cartoon of Taz I watched while growing up!

I spent five days living on a boat so I could get further away from the shore for some amazing diving. 

Here is the link to a video made by the dive company I went with.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/grq28kvgeb7kbohupgq07/AKdt0KJONspA9cq1a5m0IRo/2.%20VIDEO/Highlight%20Reel.mp4?rlkey=1a2k71n2n5xi4j3gej6uclbc6&st=wd2grkca&dl=0

And here's me with the captain of the boat and the map of our route behind us.

Before heading back to the Sydney area, I spent a day visiting the rainforest near Cairns. I rode a cable car on the way in.

And I rode on this train via the Kuranda Scenic Railway on the way out.

Then I headed back to Attunga to hang out at the Christian camp for another week, over Easter. Attunga is a farm in the middle of nowhere that's surrounded on three sides by a national park, so there's nature all around.

I had just missed the group of young campers who had come through, but I still got to hang out with the group of interns who were still there when I visited before my diving trip. And there were still plenty of kangaroos there (the dots in this picture)!

We took another sunrise hike together, and the weather cooperated better this time! Yes, I am sitting on the edge, and yes it is even higher than it looks in this picture!

The sunset hike we took together. The scenery begged us to just sit and watch!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Attunga, especially hanging out with other Christians. I spent a lot of time reading my Bible, journaling, and spending time with everyone there. I especially enjoyed the daily devotional time with Chris, the owner of the camp who invited me, and the interns. I believe Chris' offer to have me join them at Attunga was a divine appointment. I had not reached out or applied, like fifty other backpackers. He found me on Workaway, which I had recently updated with the dates of my Australia travel dates, and Chris felt inclined to reach out. There is so much more I could write about my time at Attunga, but I am still processing and letting God work in my heart.  I have recently started a daily plan to read the Bible chronologically in one year. ❤️ 

After leaving Attunga, I spent a couple of days in The Blue Mountains, just a short 2 hour train ride from Sydney! 

I am currently in Tasmania, but you'll hear and see more about that in my next blog update.