Delightfully Dunn: Traveling Down Under

Things are getting pretty serious over here at my delightful little blog.

And by serious, I mean more fun!

I have my very first guest blogger today! :)

....all the way from Australia!

I know what you're thinking....

"I stopped by to see you, not some stranger."

But you are in for a treat, I promise.

(In fact, I'm a little worried you might stop checking up on me altogether just so you can visit this bloggy blog all the time.)

I can't remember how I stumbled upon Kristy's blog, Unspoken Conversations,

(you know how that clicking/stalking business works)

but I am sure glad I did.

Kristy talks about real things that we can all totally relate to.

Things like nurturing your relationships (she is so in love with her fiance and it's super sweet), taking care of your hip pocket (hello money tree), and traveling. She even does this thing where she flies you all around the world (a new, fabulous place each week) via her blog!

Talk about one cool chic.

After chatting it up with Kristy for a while

(and realizing even though we're thousands of miles and a whole season apart, we both love UGGs and blogging)

we decided it would be fun to travel together.

And of course, we're bringing you with us.

So currently, I'm over in Australia sharing all things America.

Check it out here.

And Kristy's here, in America, sharing all things Australia.

(I was really hoping there would be a free koala bear out of this deal.

Eh, maybe he got lost in the mail?)

Take it away, Kristy!

P.S. I always like to read Kristy's posts with my best Australian accent (which isn't very good) just for fun!

Life in Australia

Today I’m super excited about writing a guest post about all things Australia to hopefully entice some people to come and visit. My name is Kirsty and I am the creative brain behind Unspoken Conversations. I’d love for you to pop over and check it out. A HUGE thanks to Marianna for having me today. I am new to the blogging world and I am constantly amazed at just how rewarding it is to share my life experiences, and those of peoples close to me, to create awareness about things that matter. Secondly, I am SO excited to meet new people from around the world. Thirdly, I am inspired by other peoples blogs...and Marianna’s is one of them!

Anyhoo, life in Australia ROCKS MY SOCKS.

I am a MASSIVE BEACH BUM. I LOVE summer and soaking up the sunshine at the beach, kicking back in my large floating water mattress device, and lazying around in the shallows with a cider in hand! That’s how you usually find me in Summer in Australia. That or being towed behind a boat sea biscuiting (like a giant tyre tube), or camping under the stars watching the fire, playing drinking games like bijerrrkkkkk! The beaches in Australia are breathtaking. I go swimming with dolphins regularly down at my favourite beach. There’s a pod that trawls the coastline for fresh salmon. I am from a small country town of 1,000 people and we have beaches all around us. I love the fact that I can go to the beach and be the only person there. I don’t have to fight for a spot on the beach with half naked overweight perves, or skinny little itty bitty things that make me jealous. I can bust out my bikini, cellulite and all and NOT CARE! I also LOVE fishing. We used to take our boat out as a family when I was younger. The thrill of catching a fish is so exciting! And mmmm they taste soooo delicious! I also love catching squid and scrapping off oysters from the jetties.

Christmas Day usually consists of me getting up SUPER early, cranking the Christmas carols, enforcing that everyone wears their Christmas hats and handing out the presents. Dad usually cooks a bbq with steak and a seafood sauce with salads, cherries, chocolate rum balls and all of the delicious Christmas treats. We then usually laze around in the pool all afternoon, drinking cider out of the esky which is strategically positioned right next to the slow up pool, eating prawns, and enjoying the sunshine and relaxed atmosphere. We always play a game of croquet in the afternoon although sometimes we struggle to hit the ball over our bulging bellies!

I have a love/hate relationship with our Aussie winters. Part of me loves nothing more then lazying around in my woollen ugg boots and trackies with my doona on the couch drinking hot chocolate and playing netball on Saturdays BUT I hate how cold and rainy it gets. I know it’s no where near as cold as in other parts of the world, but when our temperatures drop from 40 in Summer to 15 in Winter it feels FREEZING! Nothing beats the fresh smell in the air after a good rain though and I do love how green every becomes after a good rain.

I absoloutly LOVE the diversity of Australia. I live in South Australia. We are surrounded by eucalyptus trees, amazing wine regions (YUM!), stone fruit trees and amazing beaches. The climate is hot and dry in Summer and cold and wet in Winter. My second favourite place in Australia is QUEENSLAND! It’s soooo beautiful and like a whole other world. I have been to the Great Barrier Reef 3 times and let me tell you IT’S AMAZING! There are so many different varieties of fish and the reef is JUST BEAUTIFUL. I have also been sky diving up there (OMG so SCARY but SO FUN!). It’s very tropical in Queensland. It’s hot and humid. There are mango, frangipani and coconut trees, rainforests and so many beautiful places to visit. My favourite places are Cairns and Port Douglas.

Believe it or not, you can also go SKIING in Australia (but only in Winter and only in certain places). I have been to Mt Buller in Victoria. It was SOOOO much fun!

There are also the dry desserts that are barron surrounded by red salt bush and not much else across the Nullabor to Western Australia and in the Northern Territory near Ayers Rock.

Every time I travel overseas I almost feel guilty because there’s so much of Australia that I’m yet to see.

If you are planning a trip to Adelaide then I’d recommend 6 weeks.

Week 1 – fly into Sydney. Visit the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the markets, and chill out at the beaches along Sydneys shores. If you could, I would also squeeze in a visit to the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney. They are truly spectacular.

Week 2 – Fly up to CAIRNS. Visit the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforests, go to a wild life park and check out the koalas and kangaroos, laze by the pool and enjoy all things tropical and natural beauty.

Week 3 – Fly to Darwin and have a look around. Fly down to Ayers Rock and check out the famous scenery around there.

Week 4 – Fly over to Perth. Perth is a GORGEOUS city. There’s wine regions down in the Margaret River with the most beautiful untouched beaches.

Week 5 – Fly to Adelaide. If you LOVE wine then there’s the Barossa Wine Region, The McClarin Vale and the Adelaide Hills (sooo many delicious reds, whites and champers!).

Week 6 – Road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. You will see the rugged coast line of Australia. Fly out from Melbourne!