MY FAVOURITE TRAVEL MOMENTS OF 2015

2015 has been a great year full of memories I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. There’s nothing I enjoy more than flicking through old photos and remembering exactly how I felt at that very moment. The moment might have been and gone, but the memory will always be there to make you smile. Making memories that you can cherish forever is what life’s all about.

With that being said, here are my best travel moments of 2015 :)

1. PARTYING IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

2015 got off to a bang when I flew to Sydney on New Year's Day for a Contiki tour along the East Coast of Australia. We were staying in a hotel in Kings Cross so headed out to a local bar where things got crazy pretty quickly. Lets just say it involved a lot of alcohol, pole dancing and making lots of new friends! I can remember thinking 'oh my frigging god I'm partying in a bar in Sydney 9000 miles from home' and I literally felt like I was living my dream.

2. STROLLING THROUGH THE OLD MARKET SQUARE AS THE SUN SETS
IN LEUVEN, BELGIUM

This photo doesn't really do the moment justice, but you can get a feel of how beautiful the Old Market Square in Leuven is in my vlog here (skip to 8:30) The sun was setting, it was lovely and warm and the streets were filled with people eating, drinking and enjoying themselves. It was such a lovely atmosphere - a combination of the buzz of a city with the architecture and beauty of a small Belgian town.

3. BATHING IN THE BLUE LAGOON IN GRINDAVIK, ICELAND

An obvious choice! What's not to like about chilling in 38 degree water sipping rosé whilst the sun sets behind you?

4. DRINKING GOON ON THE BEACH AT SURF CAMP IN COFFS HARBOUR, AUSTRALIA

You've probably seen this photo 100 times before but it's honestly one of my favourite photos ever! It sums up exactly how perfect that evening was... sat on the beach with new friends, watching the sun set, drinking goon and just feeling completely content. We then got extremely drunk whilst playing drinking games and spent the night partying on the beach. Absolute heaven!

5. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS & DRINKING WINE IN OUR DRESSING GOWNS

IN CHESHIRE, UK

As much as I love going abroad, I've had some equally amazing moments throughout 2015 at home in the UK! Me and my uni gals try and meet up as often as we can, so in the summer we all went to Emily's house for a BBQ and spent the evening sat around her outdoor fireplace (which is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!) toasting marshmallows and drinking wine. It was honestly one of the loveliest evenings I've ever had!

6. HAVING A BBQ AFTER SWIMMING IN LAKE MCKENZIE ON

FRASER ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

After a relaxing afternoon swimming in Lake McKenzie on the stunning Fraser Island, my Contiki tour group were led to a private area for a BBQ lunch. For some reason, I always remember this moment as being an absolutely perfect way to end a very special day. I love crystal clear water, I love 30 degree weather and I love BBQ's, so I was completely in my element!

7. WHITE WATER RAFTING DOWN THE TULLY RIVER IN CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA

I think this photo pretty much sums up why white water rafting down the Tully River in Cairns is one of my favourite travel moments of 2015! I loved the adrenaline of feeling like you were going to fall out of the dingy on the grade 4 rapids, but equally loved floating around in the tranquil water surrounded by some of the most stunning scenery I've ever seen in my life.

8. RIDING AROUND LANGMORN STATION ON A TRAILER
IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

I'm sure you're beginning to notice that the majority of my favourite travel moments of 2015 are from my trip to Australia! I was there for 2 weeks and, as it was a holiday of a lifetime, I did pretty much every activity there was to do! So it's not surprising that I made a lot of amazing travel memories :) One of my favourites is riding on the back of a tractor around Langmorn Station wearing cowboy hats and drinking vodka in true outback Aussie style!

9. CLIMBING THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE

Please excuse my Rudolf nose... the sun did not like my pale English skin haha! Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge was the one thing I always wanted to do, so I was a bit lost for words when it actually happened! I'm so glad we ended up doing a night climb as we got to see the sun set over Sydney half way up the bridge and the Sydney Opera House all lit up against the black sky at the top of the bridge - the best of both worlds!

10. SKYDIVING IN SURFERS PARADISE, AUSTRALIA

You might think that jumping out of a plane at 12,000ft having only had 3 hours sleep (oh and did I forget to mention I was still drunk as it was my birthday the night before?) sounds like hell, but trust me... DO IT.

What are your favourite travel moments of 2015?
xxx

CONTIKI BEACHES & REEFS / AUSTRALIA DAY 5

Breakfast was at 6.30am this morning in time for our 7am surf lesson. Poor old Kirsty ended up missing it because she was so tired/hungover she couldn't be bothered to get up. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was SO much fun, I even stood up a few times and kept my balance for a good 10 seconds before falling off! If there's one thing I've realised since going to Australia it's that I really love the water!! The Aussie surfer dudes certainly lived up to their stereotype as well! Tanned, blonde curly hair... I honestly don't think I saw an unattractive Aussie the whole time I was there!

After the surf lesson we packed our suitcases again and headed 3 hours North to Byron Bay. Byron Bay is basically the Brighton of Australia, known for it's laid back and hippy vibes. We made a quick stop at Cape Byron, Australia's most easterly point, to visit the lighthouse and see panoramic views of Byron Bay. I can't even describe how hot it was that day, definitely regret wearing a long sleeved t-shirt! After we checked in at the hostel, we all headed out for food then me and some of the girls had a look around the hippy markets that lined the beach. I was so tired that day from the early surf lesson that all I wanted to do was head back to the hostel, shower and sleep for a million years. I chose my bed over the beach (I'M SO LAME) but a girl's gotta sleep when a girl's gotta sleep! Because Contiki is so fast paced, you barely have time to shower and get ready properly before you have to meet up with the group again for dinner. It really is GO GO GO, so I was pretty naive to think I had time for a nap!!

We all met for dinner then went to a bar afterwards which was seriously the coolest place ever! We got free drinks on arrival, there were face painters (typical Byron Bay!) and everyone was dancing on the tables and playing drinking games where you could win prizes. I don't know why (maybe because I was still ridiculously tired), but I couldn't get drunk and I just wasn't in the mood at all. Me and one of the Aussie guys decided to bail and headed down to the beach instead as neither of us were really feeling it that night. The strip of shops by the beach were full of buskers and the pavements were overcrowded with travellers in their tribal hareems and backpacks, sat on the concrete surrounding the buskers and just listening and enjoying as they played. We happened to pass a guy playing his acoustic guitar singing Ordinary People, which fyi is one of my favourite songs ever. That moment in particular was probably my favourite of the entire trip. Where else in the world would a group of strangers actually sit on a pavement together listening to a random busker play the most perfect rendition of a John Legend song? It really was so lovely (clip of busker will be on Day 15 if anyone is interested).

The beach was really busy at night, full of people drinking and having BBQ's (yep that's right, a 24 hour communal BBQ where people bring there own meat) and smoking that drug that happens to be very popular in Amsterdam if you know what I mean...

I'm a bit of a hippy at heart so I honestly felt so at home in Byron Bay and I can't wait to visit again very very soon!

xxx

CONTIKI BEACHES & REEFS / AUSTRALIA DAY 4

Today was one of our travel days as we spent 6 hours driving from Sydney to Coffs Harbour. We had a few stops along the way for lunch etc. but in general, the coach days on Contiki were absolutely fine. If you go to Australia, you expect to travel vast distances so it really wasn't an issue. Australia is roughly the same size as the whole of Europe after all! Plus it's a great way of catching up on sleep/social media and getting to know the people you're travelling with. I spent the entire journey talking to one of the American's who lives in California, works for Facebook and has met pretty much every celebrity in Hollywood... Crazy!

I think we got caught in traffic so we ended up arriving at Surf Camp later than expected.  We made it just in time for dinner, but when we arrived it really was not what I was expecting! Surf camp is basically like the summer camp you see on the Parent Trap, but nowhere near as fancy! Not like it mattered, it was just such a contrast from the posh hotel we had just left! The cabins we were staying in were as basic as you could get, but we were warned that they would be the worst accommodation of the trip so it was fine. The place was FULL of travellers, and once you had lined up and got your dinner served to you on plastic plates (school dinner style) you had to find a place to sit on the outside picnic benches. You had to sit wherever was free, so the entire group split up and sat on different tables with complete strangers. Of course everyone was really friendly, but it felt so weird chatting with people on day 250 of their travels when we were only on day 3! It's safe to say I had some serious travel envy!!

I'd never of thought it, but our night at Surf Camp was probably my favourite night of the entire trip! We were staying right on the beach so every evening everyone heads down to the shore, Goon in hand (Australia's most famous beverage - basically a dirt cheap box of wine) ready for a night of drunken craziness. Our Contiki group played the worlds largest game of "I have never" (pure bants) and before we knew it the beach was packed, it was pitch black, everyone was wasted and my friend Sarah was skinny dipping...

We made our way back to camp and spent the rest of the night sat by the fire.

It was the perfect way to end a crazy night!

xxx