2016 Memories: What I Ticked off my Bucket List and 2017 Wishes.

I know 2016 was, on a whole, such a sad year for many but for me personally, I'd say it was on off the best yet. I got to travel and explore new cities, countries and continents, strengthen friendships and make new ones, as well as achieving some personal goals. I also got the chance to tick a fair few things off of my bucket list. I hope 2017 is just as good, if not better. I hope to continue conquering my anxiety, travel even more (I've got some big plans for this year) and continue to spend more time with the people I love. For now though, here's some of my 2016 highlights...

Surrounded by Wild Dolphins...

My last day in Perth was definitely one to remember, mainly because I was joined by my best friend, who had flown all the way from the UK to join me for the final two weeks of my adventure. I had been in Western Australia for six months and even I hadn't seen anything, so my Aunt and I hatched a plan to show Meg the best of what Perth, where I was based, had to offer. We drove quite far up the coast, stopping off at various beaches (the beaches in Perth are some of the best I've ever seen), stopped off for some lunch with a view, went into the city, watched Perth's famous orange sunsets and spent the final few hours before our flight to Cairns kayaking. One of the main things I'd wanted to do in Perth was see wild dolphins. I'd seen them briefly, but not as close as I'd have liked. Clearly Meg is my lucky charm as, whilst kayaking, a whole pod of dolphins surrounded us and started jumping in and out of the water! Both of us were so mesmerised and shocked that we didn't even reach for our phones or cameras, we just lived in the moment... Definitely an amazing way to end a great trip!

It's Coming to an End... - My Time in Perth.

This post was due to go up almost a month ago now but due to some... issues, shall we say, it got a bit delayed. When living on planes and island hopping, sometimes things just don't go to plan, and I'm okay with that! But yes, after a five month adventure, my time in Perth, and Western Australia in general, came to an end. I met some amazing people, made some amazing memories and, all in all, had a great time. I got to meet and truly bond with family that I didn't even know existed, and we all ended up having a bit of a cry at the airport (I blame the fact that I'd accidentally took too much cough syrup...). Because it's now been over a month since I left Perth, I thought it would be nice to look back on some photos from my time there. I'm sure this will be a blog post that I come back to in  a few years time, or probably even in just a few months!

July Favourites.

(...) Can time please slow down?! I don't understand how it's going so fast. I've loved my time in Australia so much that I should have just gotten married just so that I could stay there for longer than my VISA allowed and so that I don't have to pay international university fees. One thing I've been loved about my time there is that I've been wearing less make-up and, when I do wear make-up, I've only been wearing my holy-grail products. So, here's some of the beauty (and also non-beauty) products that I've been loving recently...

A Letter to Heather and Tim.

Before arriving in Australia, I'd only met Heather and Tim once. It was the first time Heather and my Mam, who are cousins, had seen each other in 30 years but, unfortunately, we only got to spend a few hours together. During that visit, we talked briefly about how much I'd love to visit Australia, but it wasn't until two years later that I finally made the jump and booked tickets to Perth, where they have spent the past twenty years. Fast forward four months and I'm still here. Anyone else would probably have gotten sick off my constant singing (only Heather would join in when I told her that I had the Pink Panther theme tune stuck in my head) or how I talk about my eyebrows more than I talk about my own family, but not them. They have been my adventure buddies and taken me up, down & all around Western Australia and even on a trip to Singapore. You can tell just how many adventures we've been on just by looking on Heather's Facebook page, which is filled with photos of our escapades (and my selfies). 

Something New.

Plane tickets to and around Australia cost a lot of money. Though mine were cheaper than usual, it was still hard seeing that much money be taken out of my bank account at once. I also had a momentary panic when I saw my bank statement that month, completely forgetting about my recent splurge. This meant having to cut my spending habits and, though it was hard at first, I've now been in Australia for about four months, but it's only in the past week or so that I've bought an item of clothing & a few beauty products. I'll be showing you them in another post but, for now, I thought I'd share with you a few things that I treated myself to or received just before setting off for Australia all those months ago...

Botanical Blooms* and Planning the Perfect Picnic!

The transition from Winter to Spring and then again from Spring to Summer are my favourite times of year, especially in England. There's the strong scent of wisteria, the sound of ice-cream vans (you've got to love a 99 with a flake!), florals for Spring (#groundbreaking) and people are just generally happier. One of my favourite things upon the arrival of warmer weather is to have a picnic. I mean, who doesn't love a good picnic?! Whether it's at the park or in the comfort of your own home, there are plenty of ways to make picnics even more exciting than they already are. Here's how I would plan the perfect picnic, featuring a rather dreamy pair of D&G heels...

Thongs, Shark Tank and Vegemite.

It's got to the point where I have lost track of the days/month/time/everything. I guess that's what happens when you take a gap year and no longer have to head in to work or school. It was only when I recently decided to look at a calendar to try and work out exactly when I should go home that I realised I've now been in Australia for almost four months. That's a quarter of a year (maths was always my strong point) and, since being here, I've definitely learnt a lot. I'm not talking about finding myself on some sort of spiritual journey, I'm talking about Australia and Australians.

Lost in the World.

It's safe to say that I have seen and done most things that Perth has to offer. It's been fun but, if I'm honest, I'd probably have left earlier if it hadn't been for my job ($$$). Because of this, I decided it was time to head a bit further afield, just to stretch my wings, before heading east next month. My aunt, cousin and I decided it was time for a roadtrip. We didn't head too far (you can drive for three hours in Australia and still only make it to the next city), but it was far enough. We headed down to the Margaret River region, located some three to four hours away from Perth. We visited Busselton, Bunbury, Yellingup, as well as a few other places. Despite the bad weather, I still enjoyed my wet and windy walks on the beach (you can take the girl out of England, but you can't take England out of the girl). Fun fact; Australians hate rain. A bit of drizzle and they were running for the hills. 

Taking Selfies with Kangaroos and Koalas!

Well, that's another few things ticked off of my Bucket List; talking selfies with kangaroos & koalas and holding a snake! My day out at Caversham Wildlife Park was probably my favourite day so far in Australia, and potentially even one of the best days of my life. The fact that I just sat there for twenty minutes with a kangaroo, managing to get so close that I accidentally got poked in the eye with its ear. It even struck a few poses! My day at Caversham also proved to me that I open my mouth far too much, not just from talking so much, but in photos. Given that my brother practically owns a zoo (think multiple snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, geckos, etc.), I figured it was only right that I got my hand on some reptiles. Though everyone else was terrified to even go near the snake, I asked to hold it on my own, but unfortunately wasn't allowed. They clearly thought I was going to run off with it/completely bottle it, drop the snake and run screaming from the room... Here are some photos (I won't lie, they're mostly selfies) I took on the day...

Getting Competitive!

I come from a very competitive family. One of my fondest memories is my Mam tossing her money across the table and claiming that she hated us all during a game of Monopoly, all because I wouldn't sell her a card. I'm either very competitive or not competitive at all, there's no inbetween, I just didn't expect my competitiveness to come out during a recent early morning spent kayaking. Someone suggested we have a race and I started off saying "it's just fun, it doesn't have to be competitive", but then I witnessed him start to paddle and I went for it. I also won *insert all the princess emojis*. It probably explains why I was so tired afterwards and fell asleep for the next three hours. Next up was brunch (what's a weekend without brunch?!) and a trip to the Fremantle Street Festival where I witnessed a woman throw a man around like he was a pile of feathers. She is my spirit animal.

King's Park.

When you search for the best things to do in Perth, nearly every site (including Google & Trip Advisor) will list King's Perth as the #1 thing to do. Though I wouldn't say it's the best, it is a great thing to do. Whether you just want to go for a walk, have a picnic or play some family games, there's plenty to do. There's also a war memorial and some botanical gardens for those that are looking for a bit more culture. I've been a handful of times now, both at night and during the day, and can safely say that it's worth going just for the view. Just a short walk from the centre of the park is also a DNA sculptor, which I visited and climbed during my last visit as a way of celebrating my unconditional offer to study Forensic Science. from my top university choice.

Lesmurdie Falls.

I'd say our recent trip out to Lesmurdie Falls was pretty successful. We might have originally hiked to the wrong place but, other than that, like I said - it was pretty successful... Or at least it would have been, had there actually been a waterfall at Lesmurdie Falls. Taking a trip to see a waterfall in the middle of one of the hottest summers that Perth had seen for decades probably wasn't the best idea, but we had fun none the same. With there being no water, I decided I wasn't going to hike up to the top like everyone else, I was going to scale the cliff like a monkey. People genuinely cheered, clapped and asked me how I did it. I ended up not taking many photos (it's surprisingly hard to whip out your camera and take photos when you're scaling a cliff), but here are a few that I did manage to take...

Serpentine Falls.

As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty sure the #1 thing that people want to do or see when they visit Australia is see a kangaroo and a koala. Though there are quite a few places that you can see them in wildlife parks, it's rare to see them in the wild - especially koalas, which you only really see in certain areas of the east. However, when I found out that there was a national park, where kangaroos roam around, just twenty minutes from my aunt's house, I knew I had to go. Though I didn't get as close as  I would have liked (I wanted to respect their place and also didn't want it to punch me like you see in films, haha!), I still got some amazing photos. 

February in Photos.

February is a month that has bought a lot of change for me, with the biggest being moving half-way across the world to Perth, Australia. I had no plan, I just knew that I was going to head off on an adventure. I don't even know how long I'm going to be here for, which meant I had to say my goodbyes to some of my favourite people and also my favourite places.