After an amazing year of travel in 2013 and 2014, that had us living out of a suitcase for nearly two years, 2015 was the year of staying home in Australia.
I wasn’t sure how I’d cope with the change but it wasn’t as hard as I thought. There were adjustments to be made but after a short settling in period, it was great to be back home!
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Rottnest
We started our year as we always do…spending summer at Rottnest.
We both love this idyllic lifestyle….lazy days spent relaxing, beach walks, eating freshly caught crayfish, reading a book or two or maybe even writing the odd blog post!
The minute the weather changes, it is time to head home and look for activities that have us escaping winter. A quick trip to Melbourne was not the answer and had us looking for sun on our return!
Read:
Rottnest Island in January
A Taste of Rottnest: Crayfish
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Road trip to Kalbarri and Carnarvon
We love a road trip so early in June we hit the road to spend some time with friends in Carnarvon. The drive from Perth to Carnarvon usually takes 10-12 hours but for us, it was a five day road trip!
Even though the Pinnacles National Park is only two hours from Perth, we had never visited before. Isn’t this often the case….you usually see more of other countries than your own!
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The best time to see the monolithic rocks that the park is known for, is at sunset when the suns rays highlight them adding a touch of colour
From here it was on to Kalbarri. With river gorges carved by the Murchison River and dramatic coastal cliffs this is an area of natural beauty. The year round holiday resort is always a popular place to visit.
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Finally we made it to Carnarvon. We even drove further up the coast to see Carnarvon’s famous blowholes.
Read:
The Pinnacles: Western Australia’s Mysterious DesertÂ
The Natural Beauty of Kalbarri
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Broome
With winter well and truly entrenched in Perth, we stayed only long enough to pack our bags for Broome. Having been in Europe at this time in the previous two years, we were looking forward to getting back to this fabulous town. It’s the perfect winter escape!
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The days start and end on Cable Beach…morning walks and sunsets drinks are the order of the day. Lazy days in Broome indeed!
Read:
Lazy days in Broome
What to do in Broome
Broome’s Hidden Flying Boats
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Sailing in the Whitsunday Islands
A few weeks later we flew to the Whitsundays and cruised these beautiful islands with friends. I had never been here and this was a trip I was looking forward to. This part of Queensland is very beautiful. Whitehaven Beach is often touted to be the best beach in Australia but I’ll argue this one in favour of many of Western Australia’s beaches.
The last couple of days were spent back in Hamilton Island for the start of the Hamilton Island Race Week…definitely a great time to be there!
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Melbourne
I love visiting Melbourne.
Melbourne’s restaurants are amongst the best in Australia so the trip always turns into an eatathon! We started the week with a fabulous meal at Tonka, the fabulous Indian fusion restaurant in Flinders Lane and followed it with dinners at Supernormal, Mr Miyagi and Minamishima….great restaurants if you’re looking for somewhere to eat.
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Hobart
Before too long we were on the move again, this time to Hobart for a Tasmanian Tastecation!
Hobart is the perfect city for a tastecation. We spent a day in the Coal River Valley trying the locally made chocolates, cheese and wine. On Saturday morning we wandered through Hobart’s Salamanca Markets, walked around historic Battery Point and then spent a wonderful afternoon at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) The museum is so impressive…you should not miss it! Our last day was again indulging our taste buds on the local produce of Bruny Island on our wonderful Bruny Island Gourmet Tour.
Read:
A Tasmanian Tasecation with Travelodge Hotels
Our Bruny island Gourmet Tour
A Long Awaited Visit to MONA
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Brisbane and the Gold Coast
Wow…what a fun trip this was! You’d be surprised how much you can see in 48 hours in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I hadn’t been to Brisbane for a very long time and the changes this city has made are incredible. It really is a fabulous city now. Southbank is alive at night…it’s restaurants were buzzing and people were using the parks, beaches and gardens that have been created along the river bank.The cultural area is also along the river from there and the Gallery of Modern Art has some amazing exhibitions.
We hopped on Brisbane’s Airtrain and one hour later we were checking in to our hotel on the Gold Coast. The view from the Skypoint Observation Deck says it all….
Our balloon ride over the Gold Coast hinterland offered another aspect of this area that is usually known for its beaches and theme parks.
Read:
48hrs in Brisbane and the Gold Coast
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Melbourne
Another week in Melbourne, more restaurants to try and visits to the city to make. Melbourne has one of the most vibrant city centres in Australia. It’s city laneways are known for their coffee shops and street art. I always love wandering around them taking in the wonderful atmosphere and, when the weather behaves as it did, it’s even better!
Read:
The Ever Changing Street Art of Melbourne
The Beauty of Melbourne’s Notorious Weather
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Margaret River
Three hours south of Perth is the Western Australia’s premier wine growing are, Margaret River. A weekend here feels like a month! There’s beaches to explore, wines to taste and delicious food to eat. Whilst we were there, the Margaret River Gourmet Escape was being held giving us another opportunity to taste food and wine from the area and to meet a few well known chefs!
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As I write this, I realise it was a busier year than I thought…no wonder it went quickly!
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Thank you all for your wonderful support again this year. I love hearing from you either here on the blog or, if you’re lucky enough to see posts, on facebook.
Instagram grows daily for me. I find it an easy way to connect with everyone so pop over and say hi. If you’re not on Instagram and would like to follow our travels, you can do so without having to post a photo. You’ll find me at atasteoftravel
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Travel plans have been made for 2016 and already changed! Who knows where we’ll be or when! Wherever we are, I look forward to you joining us.
Best wishes to you all for a safe and happy 2016.
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 A Taste of Rottnest Island: Crayfish
What to do in Broome
Seven Weeks in Croatia: The Highlights
An Introduction to Istanbul for the First Time Visitor
All those beaches look incredible! I’m going to get to as many as possible next year.
We really do have some fabulous beaches here Andrea. it’ll be fun for you to check them out! See you soon.
Wish you a happy and creative New Year 2016. Thank you for sharing all of your inspiring adventures in text and pictures
Thank you Cornelia and thank you for your support. I love talking travel and sharing the things I learn. Hope you have a fabulous 2016 too!
It’s always good to travel closer to home, too. A great set of highlights and, let’s face it, your country is full of great places to see. Love all the photos. Have a great 2016! 🙂
Julia
Thanks Julia. Yes, sometimes it’s good to stay home for a while. I’m not sure I could have packed the suitcase again this year. I’d have loved to have been back in Europe but it was time to stay home. We’re lucky that Australia does have so much to offer and there’s a lot we haven’t seen!
I love Rotto, such a special place. Looks like you had lots of adventures last year.
We’re back at Rotto as I write this! It’s our home away from home in summer! Yes, we had some wonderful adventures without leaving the country.
What beautiful photos! Pete was sorry that we didn’t venture on to Broome after our stint in Darwin, but it wasn’t meant to be. Now after seeing your photos, I regret it, too. I’d so love to try some of the yummy restaurants in Melbourne, too. A very eventful year for you!
Thanks Betsy. Broome is waiting for you on your next visit! We’re off to Melbourne next week so there’ll be a few more restaurants to recommend. I really must write a blog post on those we’ve been to! Do you think you’ll come to Australia again?
Wow! 2015 looks like it was an incredibly busy year for you with plenty of time spent packing/unpacking – maybe not such a big adjustment after traveling full-time as you’d thought! After logging in about 6,000 miles on the roads of the US this fall we realized how fun it is to be a tourist in our own country. It’s surprising how foreign travel can make you see your own country with a “new” eyes and a fresh appreciation. You’ve shared so many facets of Australia in your gorgeous photos it’s easy to see that you love it as well as why we need to visit!
I was really worried about how we would adjust to life in Australia Anita, especially after spending so much time in Europe. It took a bit of time to adjust but we ended up having a busy year so all was well! We visited places we hadn’t been before which is always fabulous and as you say, a great way to appreciate the country. I hope you do come and visit. Don’t forget to include Western Australia in your itinerary when you do!
Stunning photos, loved the recap, especially the reading list at the end of each place. You’ve kept our interest in returning to Australia alive – Happy Travels to you in 2016!
Thanks Jackie. Australia is waiting for you! If you do come, don’t forget to visit us in Western Australia!
It is always fun to see these end of the year recaps, looks like you had a good one. Here’s hoping 2016 is even better!
I love reading the recaps too! I was surprised how much travel we did in the year when not a lot was planned. I hope this is the same with 2016
It’s funny that you call this a year of staying home, but traveled so much! Australia has so much to see! We were fortunate enough to take a five-week trip there and it still wasn’t nearly enough. May 2016 be another great year for you!
We did travel a lot Rachel when I think about it. I always love to go to Europe but I was just as happy this year seeing as much as we did of Australia. As Anita said you often return from Europe to see your own country with new appreciation and it’s true.
One of the nice things about traveling closer to home is that travel can be more serendipitous. Looks like you covered a lot of ground “staying put.” 🙂
Best wishes for the New Year! I’ve enjoyed following your travels.
So true Irene. it was surprising how the year fell into place and how much of the country we saw on the various trips. I wonder what 2016 will bring for both of us!
Oddly enough for United Statesers, we’ve visited Western Australia several times, but never Melbourne because my husband’s colleague lives in Perth. We took their advice and visited Rottnest Island, Freemantle and some Margaret River wineries. I agree with Anita that travel elsewhere can cause you to appreciate your own country with new eyes. Best wishes for wherever you roam in 2016.
Great to hear that you’ve been to Perth a few times and visited some of our favourite areas. We spend a lot of time at Rottnest and try to head down south as often as we can. When is your next visit?
Wow what a terrific photo essay of your year in Australia. That Tasmanian Tastecation looked very delicious. I really enjoyed all the beautiful photos and the style of your post. Well done!
Thanks Sue. The Tasmanian Tastecation really was fabulous and a great idea by TFE Hotels to promote it as this. WE thought we’d miss Europe but we had a fabulous year here!
What an incredible year through the lens of your camera, the views are stunning. While we’ll always love to travel abroad there is still so much of Australia for us to see that I’m sure our wishlist will never be empty
Thanks Toni. Australia really does have some fabulous places to visit! Our wish list is increasing at such a rate that I worry if I’m going to fit it all in!