A compendious history of Ali in Oz

How I Spent 9-Months in Australia

• Swam in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
• Visited 6 of the 7 capital cities
• Traveled to all 7 Australian states
• Slept in 21 hostels
• Enjoyed countless coastal walks
• Witnessed the most beautiful beach sunrises and sunsets
• Watched the sun rise and set over Uluru, the spiritual heart of Australia
• Flew over the beautiful vineyards of Hunter Valley in a hot air balloon
• Tasted wines in 5 different wine regions around the country
• Stood at Australia’s most easterly and south westerly points
• Met the amazing local wildlife including wombats, echidnas, koalas, Tassie devils, kangaroos, dingoes, emus, camels, and kookaburras
• Tasted kangaroo and emu on a “Coat of Arms” pizza (and ate a kangaroo burrito, too!)
• Sampled Australia’s delicious craft beer selection
• Cheered on two sparring kangaroos in a vineyard field
• Dug my toes into some of the whitest sand beaches in the world
• Cliff jumped in Yamba
• Drove a 4×4 along the beaches of K’gari
• Sailed the Whitsunday Islands
• Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef
• Explored Fraser, Rottnest, and North Stradbrooke Islands
• Slept outside in the Outback under the Milky Way
• Surfed in Byron Bay (attempted to surf?)
• Attended a rugby game
• Went hiking in the Blue Mountains, Cradle Mountain, Kata Tjuta, and King’s Canyon
• Attended a concert in Sydney’s Opera House
• Cruised along Sydney’s harbor on a catamaran
• Watched the most spectacular New Year’s fireworks display in Sydney to ring in 2016
• Celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with a crew of fellow international “orphans”
• Honored the memory of Steve Irwin at the Australia Zoo
• Spent Christmas Day at Bondi Beach
• Watched the start of the Sydney to Hobart Boxing Day Yacht Race
• Attended the Australian Open in Melbourne
• Road tripped along the Great Ocean Road
• Traveled up the East Coast from Sydney to Cairns via a hop-on/hop-off bus
• Sipped cocktails on rooftops in Australia’s best cities
• Experienced Adelaide Fringe Festival
• Spent 6 days touring and camping in the Outback
• Attempted to play a didgeridoo
• Explored the cave systems of South West Australia
• Went sand boarding in Western Australia
• Cuddled a koala
• Fed carrots to wild kangaroos
• …and even journeyed across the ditch to New Zealand!

Thank you to all the wonderful people I met along the way. I will cherish our moments and my memories always. You’re a special place, Australia.