Australia is awesome! I know that word is overused and trite, but this is a case where it fits. After two months in Australia, I’ve barely scratched the surface, but here are 10 reasons you should consider going down under to Oz… Faces & Places  1) The people – Amanda & Maurice, Lenore & Lindsey, Soraya, Clare, and Derek, took me into their homes and their lives, and shared their country with me. Australia is full...

Northern Tasmania has much to offer the outdoor enthusiast, be it bushwalking or beach walking, and the wine scene isn’t anything to sneeze at either, with the famous Tamar wine region nearby. I was fortunate to spend a couple of weeks in Port Sorell, with some day trips to nearby areas, including the renowned   Cradle Mountain.  After passing through the town of Scheffield, famous for it’s multitude of murals, which were...

Tasmania is where? Isn’t that a country somewhere near Australia? An island maybe… That’s what a lot of people from other parts of the world seem to think (ok, I admit, while still in the States, I thought it was a country of its own, and maybe Tasmanians would prefer it that way). It’s actually a part of Australia, and a very beautiful part, where many mainland Aussie’s come to get away from the heat, go...

So you’ve been invited to stay with someone while you travel, maybe a friend or acquaintance, maybe someone you met through couch surfing, or while on a tour. How can you make sure you’re the kind of guest they’re genuinely sorry to see leave instead of the one they can’t wait to see go? There are no guarantees things will go smoothly no matter what the circumstances, as people and personalities and customs vary so much....

About Melbourne, a friend said to me that Sydney is like a person who’s born beautiful, with it’s natural harbor and scenic attributes, and that Melbourne has had to create itself. And what a great job it’s done! My adventure in cosmopolitan Melbourne started as soon as I got off the tram at Clare’s adorable little apartment on Flinder’s Street, right in the heart of the city. (I met Clare on a tour to Uluru a few weeks before and she invited...