Australia

My wanderings now find me in a rainy Sydney, where I am staying at an airbnb by Bronte Beach. I arrived in Australia three weeks ago, where I spent my first week in Melbourne, staying in the “cosy shed” airbnb (a garden shed converted into a cosy room with its own bathroom) at the home of a creative couple who write poetry, design clothes, travel the world and bake the best vegan chocolate cake I have ever tasted. 

From Melbourne I made my way along the southeast coast by train and bus. Halfway between Melbourne and Sydney, I stopped for two nights in the seaside town of Merimbula. The hostel I had booked turned out to be empty, so I got my dorm room upgraded to a private room free of charge and had the whole place for myself!

Ah, my day in Merimbula... A lazy, sunny day of strolling along the beach, watching the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening, turning the sky a soft shade of pink. I love the freedom of exploring new places on my own. I love being with friends and meeting new people too, but my social side has a certain limit, and eventually it comes to a point when I need my own space.

The next day I had to get up at 5am to catch the bus to Sydney. I have never been much of a morning person but there is something special about watching the early morning light transform the landscape. After a 10 hour bus journey, we finally arrived in Sydney...

The next day, I took the train from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, where I stayed for one week at a workaway place in Hazelbrook at the home of a family who treated me to the most delicious Ethiopian food. There I helped out with their four-month-old puppy – a gorgeous flat coated retriever called Aloy.

On my days off, I explored the Blue Mountains, visiting the Three Sisters, Katoomba, Leura and going on some bushwalks. One day I found a cave, and finding it made me feel like a little girl again, off on a magical adventure in the wild. There is something so special about caves. They make me feel like I am in the womb of Mother Earth.

Here in Sydney I got to meet my penpal Elise for the first time. We have been writing letters for almost 10 years now and I always had a feeling we would meet some day. It was so fun to finally meet someone who I have been writing to for so long. Thanks Elise for showing me around Sydney!

I love travelling, and my heart is overflowing with thanks for all the beautiful memories and friends that I have met over these past few weeks in Australia.

Now I have been on the road for almost four months. In February I arrived in New Zealand where I spent three months, catching up with my family and friends, returning to sanctuaries of old and reconnecting with my roots. And now I have been here in Australia for three weeks. What a journey it has been! And tomorrow I will fly back to Sweden...

With home on both sides of the earth, I will always be something of a nomad, but on days like this I find myself longing for the bright green birch leaves and cold lakes of Sweden. It’s a nice feeling, in a way, to long for home. I have never felt such a longing for the north as I do now. Looking forward to barefoot wanderings in the mossy woods of Swedish summer...