highlights in 6 months

All tour talk aside... travelling the east coast of australia had its perks. here are some of my highlights i've had in the last 6 months...

one of the best parts of travelling australia? ... was seeing that a cafe culture DOES exist in australia ... i went to so many great cafes through my travels and best part of it all was that they actually stayed open past 6 p.m. *gasp* ...sorry townsville... the rest of australia's got this one...

i remember one time we weren't in a time crunch to get to a port, so captain jeremy made a decision to anchor out somewhere. so the decky guys took down the zodiac and we found ourselves exploring a close by beach somewhere! ... and my first time in the zodiac...

this is one of my besties katie morrison. she said she would never sail on the ship. i think her nightmares of great whites taking her life out in the open sea convinced her she would never ever be part of the ship. who knew she would have a change of heart ... i was stoked. who wouldn't want to experience 6 weeks of travelling australia with one of your closest besties? ... ... sleeping (literally) 2 feet from each other down in our cabin, chai's & long blacks, mcdonalds every port, laughs in between tour groups and deep & meaningfuls late at night ... glad you were there with me katie. there were times i would've thrown myself overboard if you weren't there to keep me sane ...

People would always ask me what my favourite port was ... and it was a close call. but there was just something special about hobart, tasmania that made me fall in love. people said it reminded them of wellington, new zealand. it was artsy and cultured, nippy in the morning and evening but sunny during the day, and i just found it easy to get around with the compact layout of the town ... hobart definitely had a warm, homey, friendly feeling to it all and i wouldn't mind going back one day ... one day ...

Another highlight was when i left the ship for a week and went to Portland with Shey & Jennifer to do some school programs ... take 3 big, loud personalities and put them together for a week and you can only imagine what went out... we are wearing matching $4 panda hats from woolworths in this picture ... doesn't that say enough? ...

Out of all our sails... i will never ever forget the sail from ulladulla to geelong. in between the perfect sunsets and sunrises and clear night skies, i saw for the very first time dolphins swimming alongside us as we sailed. at first it was 1 dolphin, then 6 then 10 then it was a whole school of cheeky dolphins...

15 out of 16 ... what a life ...

bare with me while i backtrack and vomit blog for a moment ...

Lets take it back to the beginning of August... This is where the 16-port Australia Tour officially ended for the YWAM ship! ... unfortunately, it didn't work out for me to make it to the last port to Thursday Island but for the most part- 15 out of 16 ports was pretty darn awesome. i have nothing to complain about. i still remember the first moments of stepping on to the ship back in february, sitting in my bunk downstairs and saying to myself, "what the heck am i doing?!" ... and nearly 6 months later, i look back thinking about where i was able to go, the people i got to meet, the friendships i've made and the moments of realizing the huge significant platform of change we've had travelling this nation. words don't do much justice ... and thats why i do what i do with media. check out the recap video i put together of what we were able to do and where i've got to go most of the year ... what a life ... what a life ...

port 15: cairns

Cairns. a 4 hour drive north of Townsville.... the only city that i've actually been to before the tour and it was great to be back... and it was great to be back on the ship for tours after a 3 week break. i was a bit rusty but i managed.... and i'm not going to lie, it was a bitter sweet week for me though... it was the last stop for me for the Australia Tour... *sigh*... regardless- i wanted to end well and i did... this city is pretty touristy and so we came across a lot of backpackers. usually open-minded european ones that were up for anything... up for seeing the world and an adventure... and soul searching for something significant to live for... you can say, the perfect target audience for what were doing if you ask me... so the responses were great!

and then that prolonged goodbye... sunday night came. and so me and janna said farewell to our friends that were sailing on to Thursday Island and on to PNG without us... we got in the car and began the 4 hour drive back to Townsville... somehow closing this chapter in our lives... i'm not going to say THE END... because my friends ... it isn't....

port 14: townsville

This wasn't just another port city we were visiting for a week ... it was Townsville.... the final berth city of the M/V Pacific Link!... we sailed into good 'ol T-ville and there they were... the 80+ YWAM RTO excited staff waving & welcoming us with the colourful flags of the nations on the break wall... i'm not gonna lie- we felt pretty darn special and it was an overwhelming welcome home... i'd like to think all the excitement was about the individuals travelling back on the ship - but i know it wasn't 100% about that... it was more about the significant moments that was unfolding right before us, that my directors and leaders were praying, dreaming and fighting for for years.... the Pacific Link was home... in Townsville.

And so the busy week began full of tours, receptions, fundraisers, and all that jazz … we have so much favour with the Townsville City Council, the churches, schools, etc. so call it a 'big deal' … whatever you want to call it. fact is- we've been going off about this ship tour for ages and now that our friends, partners and sponsors from Townsville actually see that the ship is here is yet another exciting thing to see more people come on board.

the ship was in townsville for 3 weeks and it was fun having it in town... but the show must go on...

port 13: bowen

ahh. and so we made it to bowen... bowen is the location for the epic film "Australia"... and so as you walk around this small town, you'll see lots of memorabilia and all that jazz that claim its fame to this movie.... I wouldn't blame them. it was a wonderfully made movie... i love Bowen and I loved where we were docked... look at that jetty! it was seriously a 10 minute walk and though it seemed like it went on forever, i didn't mind it at all... it was good 'jojo time' to think and clear my head on the days events and the sunsets were amazing ... and as for tours, anyone that would take time to walk down that dodgy wooden jetty to come see us had to have some sort of genuine interest in what we did... and thats what it turned out to be... and that what we like... thank you bowen.

... who gets to do this? ...

again, i found myself walking up to the aft deck on our sail from gladstone to bowen, looked out at the beautiful massive uncomprehending big blue ocean and asked myself (again), "now, who the heck gets to do this?"... there it was again... thankfulness.... and so there we were, ahead of schedule... so the captain took us through the Whitsunday Passageway and we anchored somewhere for a good 4 hours. the boys went fishing... some went for a swim ... and some of us got in the dingy to get to the beach around the corner to explore... far out... again, who get to do this? ... now i'll let the photos speak for itself...