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 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... 

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 mountains, visiting the Three Sisters, Katoomba, Leura and going on some bushwalks. Such a beautiful place!

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!

Thank you Australia for a wonderful stay and to all the friends I have met along the way!

Now I have been on the road for almost four months. First three months in New Zealand catching up with family and friends, and now three weeks in Australia. 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...