Couchsurfing

So I decided, since I'm doing the whole backpacking trip, that I also need to experience the thing that is couchsurfing. 

Basically it's a site on the internet where you can find a couch to crash on for a couple of nights 

I decided that Brisbane would be as good of a place as any to try it and contacted Pascale through the site and asked if I could stay with her for a couple of nights. 

First I was sceptical, but my cousin and friend were right! It's so much fun and a good way to meet locals. Pascale is from Germany, but has been living in both NZ and OZ, for a long time. 

I've had so much fun with her showing me around the city, watching movies and TV-shows and just chilling.

So, so far couchsurfing has been a positive experience and I'm happy I decided to do it and sad to be leaving tomorrow. Hopefully my other two hosts will be as nice as Pascale. 

Brisbane

Heya folks! 

I arrived in Brisbane last night, and safe to say I didn't see much on the way to the place where I'm staying, since it was already dark. 

I have 19 days left of my trip and I've budgeted the last weeks in order to be able to enjoy Sydney properly when I get there on the 23rd/24th! Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off, and I should. 

Today I'm going to do some grocery shopping and take a longer walk to the South Bank, and walk around there. I think? Haha, the beauty of backpacking - you can do whatever you feel like doing, or not do it at all if that is the case. 

I'm feeling very torn right now about going home. I'm dying to see my friends and family, but at the same time I'm dreading the fact that reality will hit in soon. It's like I can't win! I love Australia and I would love to bring everyone here instead. That would be the dream.

Sorry for the blabbery post, just wanted to stop by and express my thoughts for once. 

I'll be here until Wednesday morning, when I pack my bags and leave for Sunshine Coast in search for some sunshine in my life. Haha, jk! 

Have an amazing Sunday y'all! xx

Whitsunday Islands

1st of my two trips here on Airlie Beach was an ocean rafting tour to Whitehaven beach and Whitehaven island. 

It has been said to be one of the most beautiful places in the world and I cannot do more than agree to that statement. Amazing! 

We started the day off by snorkeling for a bit on Hookah island I think it was called? I was kinda bored, but only because it was nothing compared to the Great Barrier Reefs, so I just pretty much floated around looking at the scenery above the surface instead. We did spot a turtle with Lisa (a girl from Netherlands whom I hanged out with), but decided to be nice and let everyone else know, Nd lost it by that time... Sad moment!

After the snorkeling we went on a little hike to the lookout point out over Whitsunday beach and it was mesmerizing. Just.wow. 

The last part of the trip was the South Beach of Whitehaven island. We got to eat a delicious lunch (YAY NO NOODLES) and to tan for a bit. 

All in all an amazing day 2 of my 3 continent birthday!!! Thanking myself for letting my inner Scrooge do this because it was SO worth it. 

I'm so nervous for tomorrow... Whiiii! Can you guess what it is I will be doing tomorrow?! 

Airlie Beach

Arrived at Airlie Beach late on Friday night after a 10 hour busride.... I have a couple of things planned that I would like to do here, but mostly it will just be tanning and chilling until Friday when I will be going to Brisbane. 

On the way to Airlie I saw my first wild kangaroos, which was pretty cool! We were driving so unfortunately I didn't get a picture. Boo!

The hostel is made out of small 6 bedded bungalows. Right now I'm rooming with two German girls, one Canadian, one British and a Mexican, I think? We're all girls, so changing and showering isn't as awkward as it has been. Lol. 

It's my birthday tomorrow and I'm pretty sure that it will be the weirdest one so far....  Usually I have friends or family with me, but this time I'll be on my own. 

The joy of becoming an adult I guess! 

P.S. There's like no free wi-fi, so all my posts will be on my phone, so sorry about the wonky design.

Q&A

I'll write the questions in English even though originally they were asked in Finnish.

Did you have a lot of money saved up when you left? Is Australia expensive and what kind of  budget would be good to have when going there? 

Australia is considered an expensive country, but that doesn't mean that you can't do things cheap. You just need to plan ahead a lot. When you start researching for your trip all the sites say to have at least 5000 dollars in savings when coming here, which is about 3000€. Personally, I've been using my money pretty well. I spent more than I had planned in Perth, and on this last part of my trip I'm doing more activities like diving, and maybe sailing? What I try to save on is food. That means a lot of noodles, less of the expensive stuff - like eating out.  I also haven't been partying that much, so if that is what you would like to do here, I'd save up even more because alcohol is very expensive...
So I would say that the number one thing is to do research before you leave and really think about where you want to go and what you want to do there. I think that has helped me a lot.
I should also say that a hostel isn't the thing you should be saving at, especially if you're by yourself. Look at the reviews and if they're good (hinta-laatu suhde), then book it! You don't want to live alone at a crappy hostel, and be scared of living there.
Hope this somewhat helped. I don't really want to say how much money I had, but it was what was recommended.


How expensive are the hostels ? And the prices in general? 
I've been surprised by how easy it is to get a good and cheap hostel here. The one in Melbourne was the most expensive one so far, and it sucked, so that even tells you to not always pick the most expensive one.
If you plan on going to Cairns, Gilligan's is the way to go! I would suggest downloading the app hostelbooker. Not only do they pretty much have all the available hostels in Australia, but also other places in the world!
Prices in general are OK. The alcohol compared to Finland is more expensive (can you believe it?), but the clothes are a bit cheaper, you just have to find the right stores. Food is pretty much the same and eating out as well.
Activities can get expensive, but in the end I would rather spend more money on a good trip, then be disappointed.
All in all, if you want a cheap backpacking trip, Australia is not the place for you. Then I would suggest you backpacking through  Asia or even South America.

Even though Australia is quite expensive, I would still recommend it. There is so much to see, and definitely something for everyone. I love this place and I already feel sad about leaving it in a month.

Cairns

Cairns is unbelievable! The people here are so much fun and the place is big enough to get lost in, but still not anything major. I have two more days and then I'm heading to Airlie Beach and Whitsunday islands.

Monday was Australia Day. The Australian girls I roomed with told me that it pretty much is a day where they celebrate Captain Cook landing on the Australian soil, and with their words - ruined Australia. Lol. They were joking of course. 

The day pretty much consisted of drinking and having a good time with friends, while you're wearing a lot of Aussie stuff and kid's tattoos. I was going diving the next day, so I stopped drinking at 4PM.

I had so much fun, and as a huge America fan, I'm even more excited to experience the 4th of July.

Yesterday I went for a diving and snorkelling trip with two other Finnish girls from Jyvaskyla, which is kinda funny since that's where my Mom is from. The world seems so small sometimes! 

We woke up early in the morning to drive to Port Douglas where our ship was leaving from. Then we drove to 3 different reefs for some snorkelling and diving. The diving definitely made my trip! At first I was freaking out about not being able to do it, but it really wasn't that hard at all. And man did you see some beautiful things down there. Everything from nemo, to huge finger eating shells, starfish,, everything imaginable! It was pretty much like the movie Finding Nemo. I saw all but Dory, but since she's lost anyway, I guess it's alright. 

Last Perth post

Heyaaaaa!

I had an amazing 11 days in Perth, and mostly it was because of Sue and her wonderful family!
I got to sleep in an actual bed and cook my own food without having 20 other people trying to do it at the same time. I also got to meet some amazing people and finally speak nothing but English. My American accent is as strong as ever and the only things I've managed to get stuck on me from the Aussie accent is "heaps" and "no worries".

I liked Perth as a city. It wasn't as busy and hectic as Melbourne and Sydney, and the beaches were amazing!! So if you're a beach bum like me, you should most definitely hit up Perth. The shopping is more expensive, but the prices on food is okay. I spent more than I had intended in Perth, but I got to live for free, so it's fine. 

The easiest way to get around Perth is by driving. They do have public transport, but some of the places we went to definitely required a car. I also got to experience my first drive on the wrong side of the road, and it was terrifying.

Perth had some cute places to do tourist-y stuff at, but nothing like the bigger places. I was personally tired of all that and just wanted to have a chill vacay with my friend, which definitely happened.

Thank you Sue for being my first Australian friend! I'm so happy to have you! We finish each others sandwiches and what-not. I'm going to miss you so much going back home and while travelling around down under.