This was the last stretch of our massive road trip around Australia. We had gone to beautiful coasts, and seen sacred sites such as Mount Uluru, and now we were heading back along the coast to Sydney. The drive was the same as the first week of this trip. Stunning. The coast boasted beaches that could be on the front page of any travel magazine, stretching miles along the ocean, blanketed by a mysterious sea spray. Many were also full of Surfers. One of the most popular beaches we visited for surfing was Noosa. It was a whole peninsula just off of a town dedicated to surfers. There were looked-after paved paths stretching all over the land, and there was a relentless torrent of perfect waves in the ocean. It is clear to say that the surfers here were being treated. We did a hike around the peninsula as a day trip, and it is safe to say that these beaches were my favorite. The dramatic rock face proudly jutting out of the restless sea and several meters high white waves. The whole hike was incredibly lush, it was essentially a wild jungle.
However, I am not here to talk about the beaches. Today’s blog is about Brisbane. Over the past month, we have gone to many cities, including Sydney and Melbourne. Both were great cities, ill be it, with great food life and public parks. But none of them stuck out to me as Brisbane did. For one, the whole city was centered around a river, which led to river walks and many public parks. Speaking of which, in Brisbane, there is a river-side park, unlike anything you have ever seen. Like everything in Australia, they are very looked after. Second, because of the very low crime rate it isn’t littered with trash and graffiti. That also means that the public facilities are so much nicer than other countries such as America. But the most outstanding thing about this park was the beach. You heard me, the beach. In the center of this park is a beach, and it wasn’t just some small pitiful one you would see in a local playground, this one was big. Around the Beach were shops and cafes, and it gave me a sort of Bali vibe. Walking further along this park the water became a water park, and if you walked a little longer it became a river within a forest. The whole place was just unfathomable to my eyes, it just couldn’t be real let alone free for anyone. Yet in this country, public facilities are all on another level. Even the botanical garden in Melbourne had me gasping in awe.
Now it’s time to cross the river into the city district. Here, trees and shops lined the streets. There were even more public parks on this side, where people could be found resting like a pack of lion seals. It was a very livable scale, and if I had the option I would consider living here. Another thing I forgot to mention is Australia is very arty. We visited many museums in the span of the past few weeks, And in other cities, we visited the art districts which had streets covered in murals.
What I am trying to say out of this is that Australia has emphasized quality of life. From everything being looked after to the amazing public facilities to the creative and open vibe, and even to the fact that work hours end at lunch so everyone can have time to relax. This country is not messing around. So if there is one thing I learned about these past few weeks in Australia, it would be that you always need to keep your eyes open. For my whole life, I had overlooked Australia as some sort of downgraded version of America, but this trip has shown me otherwise. If we didn’t go to Australia now then I probably would have never come here and would have never experienced everything that this place had to offer. This flexibility is what not just my time in Australia had taught me, but it is something that I slowly started to grasp the longer I did this world trip. Unfortunately, this once-in-a-lifetime trip has to end soon but that is just how things are, and for the people who come across this website, I just want to say that as the world changes, it is important to view it open-mindedly, and not limit yourself to a biased view of the outside world. I can say confidently that the world isn’t a scary place, in fact for the past year it was somewhat my playground, so for everyone who can, go and explore this wonderful planet while you still can.