5 June 2020

For Christmas last year my son and daughter-in-law gave us a lovely book called “The Definitive Bucket List – travel experiences in Australia and New Zealand”.

At the time, one of us lived in The Netherlands and the other in Australia, so our holiday plans were full of possible European adventures. The book looked lovely but got put on the book shelves without too much of a look, I’m sad to confess.

Until, that is, we had this little thing called Coronavirus enter all our lives, and international travel became something to not focus too much of your thoughts on.

Travel within our own state is the immediate push from the government, with the possibility that later on in the year interstate travel may be hopeful, and even an international travel ‘bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand.

What a handy little book I now have in my bookcase!!!! How clever is my daughter-in-law??? (for I assume it was she who purchased it, not my son….you may think this is a harsh assumption, but you should remember that I’ve known that kid for 32 years…). 

So – ignoring all the long held dreams of foreign places to travel, let’s talk bucket list stuff in your own back yard. And by back yard, I speak as an Australian where our back yard is around 4000km wide.

There are some absolutely brilliant places to visit in WA – Exmouth (Ningaloo Reef), Karrijini, Broome, Dolphins at Monkey Mia, Albany, Pinnacles, Valley of the Giants, Pink Lake, and sooo many more. I’m sure some of them are on your bucket lists. Please go visit them. It will be worth the trip, I promise.

There are some places in WA I have yet to visit, that are definitely on my bucket list. 

Specifically:

Anywhere north of Broome, but in particular the Horizontal Falls, the Bungle Bungles and Kununurra.

Turtle season at Ningaloo Reef (yes I’ve been to Ningaloo many times, but never at turtle hatching season!!)

Killer whale tour from Bremer Bay

Hiking on the Bibbulmun Track (not all of it, obviously – just selected parts, and not with the camping overnight in a sleeping bag that I have to carry all the next day. And sections where there’s regular coffee shops – I’m sure they have these???)

Exploring the Goldfields

And then, when we get to go visit other parts of Australia, I have dreams of visiting: Alice Springs and Uluru – and in particular Parrrtjima (the Light festival, Alice Springs), seeing the Southern Lights in Tasmania, the Australian Snow fields, Coober Pedy, Flinders Ranges, Arnhem Land, Barossa Valley, Murray River houseboat trip and of course the Ghan train trip.

But my bucket list doesn’t stop there! If we get a travel bubble with NZ going there is some more exploring to do there! Although we have had a few trips there before, there are many places left to see – with the Bay of Isles first on the list of places yet unseen.

What’s on your Australian bucket list? Or for those overseas, on the bucket list in your own country?