I think everyone should have a bucket list - a list of things they have to accomplish in their lifetime. I'm not trying to be morbid or anything....this should be exciting! During the months of July and August, I successfully was able to check off a handful of items off my list. Even better, I got to do it with two of my best friends. If you asked me about my bucket list a mere two years ago, half these items wouldn't be on it....yet, that's the fun thing about it. Your list can be private, public, silly and serious all at the same time. It is always changing and growing, especially if you throw traveling into the mix. Here's a few of mine that I've gathered from my last six weeks in the Land of Oz.Bucket list number #24: Living in a van.
During the last week of July, one of my best friends, Christa, came to visit for our final month in Australia. Living right near the "gateway of the Daintree Rain forest" in Port Douglas, Queensland the three of us went on a day trip into the wild. We were packed into a tour bus and had a hilarious Aussie tour guide about our age....so no, it wasn't quite like crocodile hunting with Steve Irwin. We walked through the rain forest, went on a 'croc spotting' tour and I was even chased by an Emu at the koala sanctuary. The following day, the three of us said our goodbyes to Port Douglas and headed to Cairns. We hopped on another tourist opportunity and took a boat to Green Island - where the Rain forest meets the Great Barrier Reef. I wasn't too impressed with the snorkeling as I had already dived in a much more secluded area...but all and all, we still spent a gorgeous day on a island in the inner reefs :) Now the adventure begins. For the next three weeks, we rented a campervan to drive down the East Coast to Sydney. We lived, breathed, ate, slept and drove 2500 km in this car. And did I mention it was only meant for 2 people?? It was a tight fit, but we managed. Check!
Bucket list #31: Living the life of a Gypsy
To backpack down the coast of Australia, everyone has to do it the "right" way at least once. It took Em and I almost a year to get it right, but we finally decided to take the plunge and do it. Well, and the fact that we were trying to stretch our hard earned Australia dollars as far as possible....For our first stop, the three of us took the van and headed down to Townsville and on to Magnetic Island. I think simply driving on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road to get there deserves a spot on my bucket list alone. Magnetic Island was one of my favorite spots in Australia. It is a small island with secluded beaches and amazing wildlife...there's not even a traffic light in sight. Our thought process - A. we paid heaps for this van. B. secluded beaches?! C. we have goon, a stove, a cooler of food and a sink with a bucket of water all located nicely in our trunk......so yes, D. we're camping out for free by the beach!!! In the 15 days we stayed in this van, we slept in a hostel a total of 2 nights. We became pros at sneaking into random hostels to use their hot showers and kitchens. "Pay $10 for a campsite? Why? We have a van! That 10 dollars should go towards something much more useful than a place to sleep!" That's how our vacation worked. No more lapse of luxuries like in the old days of family vacations, steady houses or regular meals....we lived the lives of 3 gypsies and had an unforgettable experience. Most nights were spent by a beach - simply talking, enjoying semi-cold beer, making backpackers food and meeting other people from around the world doing the exact same thing we were. As they say, we were *living the dream* 
Bucket list #16: koalas, emus, kangaroos, wallabies, pythons, huntsman spiders, crocodiles...and other Australian creatures
I can now say that I've officially seen all of these animals in the wild! I've seen them all the way from the Great Ocean Road, Victoria through the Nullarbor Dessert to Perth, WA to Port Douglas, Queensland and to the Daintree Rain forest in the north. I'm not going to lie, spiders terrify me. Growing up, I was that squeaky voiced girl that would yell for my dad every time I spotted a spider the size of my thumbnail in the tub. I never used to believe in desensitization of phobias, but after my experiences I'm a firm believer. In Perth, we had a "common house pet" - a huge funnel web spider with a body at least 2 inches in diameter above the kitchen sink. Only in Australia would you keep this in order to kill the other poisonous spiders....ask any of my roommates, I was not happy about it! One night in July in Port Douglas, I stopped by Em's work because she had something cool to show me - a gigantic python snake that was hanging out on the tree next to the entrance of the restuarant. I was so excited that I just wanted to get a better view...it didn't occur to me that I should probably back away NOT towards the deadly reptile! Flash forward to back home just last week, my dad yelled to me about a big spiderweb blocking the doorway to the outside patio. My response, "no worries, it doesn't have a colored stripe. It's not even poisonous!" I guess I've come a long way in one year :)
Bucket list #63: Sunset at the Opera House
It had been a 15 long, incredible days living in a van and we had finally made it to Sydney! It was a bittersweet feeling entering the city - I was excited to once again enter into city life, but also couldn't shake off this feeling that it was the beginning of the end. The three of us tried to cram as much touristy stuff into our 3 days as physically possible....we walked through the Botanical gardens filled with bats, ran up the stairs of the Opera House, took a ferry to Manly Beach and even made the hike to Darling Harbour. It was great to see many of the sites that Em and I missed out on during our last visit on New Years Eve. The last afternoon in Sydney, Em and I both decided to do our separate things for the day. Odd, I know. I called her up - she said, "Hey I'm sitting right next to the Opera House overlooking the Harbour Bridge, writing down quotes. The sun is about to set. Want to join?" I hung up the phone and was immediately on my way. When I got there we both started laughing....when, WHEN will we ever be able to have a phone conversation like that to one another again??" 
Bucket list #42: Unofficial, Secret Tour of Melbourne
Back to my home away from home. I love this city. Melbourne is infamous for it's unreliable and often rainy weather, but somehow it pulled through and was sunny and warm for our last four days in Australia. It was perfect. The greatest part about this city - so many places are hidden or simply known by word of mouth, sort of like speakeasies. I truly believe one can live here for fifty years and still find out about a new restaurant or area of town that they've never been too. On our last Saturday in Melbourne, Em and I met up with our two friends (shout out, Jamie and Jess) in our favorite alleyway while getting "the best soup in Melbourne" for lunch. That was the beginning of one of my favorite days in Australia. From then on out, Jamie decided to take on the role of our tour guide for the day. We strolled around the city center, drank "the best coffee", acted like bogans on the tram, busked for money....we were trying to accomplish as much as possible on our "Melbourne bucket list". We had a notebook going so Em and I could make sure we made it to our old houses and favorite streets to say goodbye. It was one of those unique days where you simply go exploring with your friends and see where the day takes you. At one point, Jamie took us to a pub behind an old record store...somewhere I walked by each week in St. Kilda and still never knew it existed. We were the only ones in the secluded beer garden, but had a great time. The owner came up to talk to us about the music and little did we know - he was the son of the lead signer of ACDC! At sunset, the cheesy English writer that she is - Em, wrote a wish, “My wish, right now, in the here and now – is to cherish these fleeting moments, for they end too fast. As well as to love and appreciate the people, because even the smallest impacts last a lifetime. ‘To think in such a place, I lived such a life.'"
Saying Goodbye to Oz. I was holding back tears. It was our last night in Melbourne and I was sitting there hard as stone at our friend's apartment - not able to grasp that I was leaving this country of Australia in a mere 5 hours, not wanting to realize that I had no idea when I'll next see my friends....not fully understanding how I felt about leaving. I was tired and exhausted. I had just spent the last month couch surfing and living in a van! I couldn't wait to see my family and friends from back home...and at the same time, I didn't want to leave this place. My friend, Jamie, was about to head out. This is a guy that had to go back home in April from Melbourne to Ecuador - I never thought I'd see him again. But here we are. He says, "Patsy, it's just the drift of life. Man, goodbyes happen - but hey, I have no doubt that we will see each other again down the road." I've finally realized he's right. If you're adventurous in life and truly doing what you want- what's holding you back? I believe if you're smart and want something enough, anyone can save money and make it happen. It might be a challenge, but would life be as exciting if it wasn't? If my friends from Australia want to have a reunion in Spain in 2, 5 or 10 years, I'm already planning for it because I'm not going to miss it! I used to think that you had to wait for that "perfect" time in life for things to work out - the perfect time to go to school, the perfect time for relationships, the perfect time to move....my experiences this past year and the friends I've made along the way have changed that perception for me. It's not what happens to you in life, but it's what you do to make life happen. So thanks, Australia, it's been incredible :)
Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the
greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in
magic will never find it.
~ Roald Dahl
