Do you ever look back at the last month of your life and wonder what just happened?? Well I do a lot. Time is moving so quickly. They say time flys when your having fun which is true but gas pedal. Let’s rewind. Noni came to Australia. Yes let me repeat Noni came to Australia to visit me and Katie! The plan to come to Australia was quite last minute and the spontaneity just continued. The second day Noni was here she got a nose piercing and I got another piercing as well(on my ear). We got our piercings at a place called Kings tattoo in Newtown. We felt slightly out of place sitting in the tattoo parlor as locals walked in with arm sleeves and many piercings. Katie considered getting a smiley face tattoo but ultimately decided against it. Sigh. Do you ever have those moments with friends when something seems absolutely so right? This was one of them. In retrospect, definitely a good call leaving behind the smiley face. Post piercings why not do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb? We walking to the top as the sun was setting and got to see glittering Sydney from the top of the bridge. Wow. A truly surreal and humbling experience that reminded me of why I love Sydney so much. We showed Noni around the city a little, hitting up Pancakes on the Rocks late night and grounds of Alexandria for brunch + donuts. Yum.
Next adventure. Coastal track hike through the Royal National park. We began the hike at Otford lookout and then walked 8 miles through rainforest like terrain along with rolling hills. We passed the Figure 8 pools as well, unfortunately avoiding them due to the swell! Along the way we entertained ourselves with deep conservations and hiking games. We finally arrived at North Era camp ground where we set up camp for the night. Nothing better than a dinner of pita bread dipped in Nutella and peanut butter a top a beautiful hill as the sun sets over the ocean. Noni, Katie, and Abby and I contemplated very important life mysteries such as the existence of unicorns. The full moon and stars bright up above reminded me of how precious this world is. I remember saying to the girls, ” I have never been this content”. The next we woke up a little chilly and muddy but began our hike to the end, Bundeena lookout. 15 miles of hiking the second day! We walked by waterfalls in the rocks, massive cliffs, wedding cake rock, red rock formations, and numerous white sand beaches. At one point I thought I had spotted the famous white whale Mingaloo, unfortunately it was not her but still special! Thanks to Abby’s impeccable sense of direction we did in fact make it back. The coastal track was unlike anything I have done. We collectively felt as though within the span of two days we had been in 10 different climates. Every mile felt like a different environment- desert, beach, canyon, etc! Noni highly considered staying in Australia after this hiking trip, must have been pretty spectacular or we were just great company. More to come 🤘