Melbourne
Until this point, Australia had been full of natural beauty: sandy beaches, rugged coastline, unique fauna, and the biggest coral reef in the world. I couldn’t help feeling like I didn’t quite get it though. While I’d like to come back for the things I’ve had to skip through lack of time or money, for all the lovely things to look at I felt no draw to return to any place I’d been. That was until I arrived in Melbourne.
After visiting what must be close to a hundred new places in the last six months, I’ve started to get pretty good at sensing the vibe of somewhere pretty quickly, and Melbourne immediately felt energised, exciting, varied, positive. I was proved correct as I explored further, the skyscrapers feeling Singapore impressive rather than New York claustrophobic, and the dark alleys exciting - full of street art and hidden bars and cafes - rather than dangerous. I wanted to eat in every restaurant and drink coffee in every cafe I passed, and though I couldn’t try them all, I’ll remember my kangaroo steak at Max Hardware and repeated coffee and bagels at Jungle Juice. I wish I could have stayed longer to try other places, and return to my favourites. It’s apparently the world’s second most liveable city, and I can really see why.
And so my time in Australia had come to an end. A slightly odd experience overall - I arrived a little broken and needing to recover, leading me to skip some of the more famous experiences - K’Gari, Lady Elliot Island, Hervey Bay to name a few. I wasn’t enamoured with much of the east coast, but Melbourne and the Great Barrier Reef stand shoulder to shoulder with the highlights of the last 6 months of travel.