Why I Love Australia

Reasons For Falling in Love with Australia

In +15 years of travel blogging, I have often been asked: Why do you visit Australia? My answer has always been short and simple: Because I love Australia.  Australia is an excellent country for women travelling alone over 50.  On my solo travels in Australia, I discovered beautiful places that had sometimes been hard to leave.

Here are the places I love in Australia and why I fell in love with the country.

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What I love about Australia

With +15 years of solo travel in Australia, I have been to hundreds of places in Australia. Although I don’t have a favourite one, these are the best places to travel alone in Australia, and the different ways of exploring the country made me fall in love with Australia.

Sydney

I’m very fond of Sydney cause it’s the first place I visited in Australia, and it made me instantly feel good. I love Sydney. I spent my 40th Birthday there in 2004 on my first backpacking trip to Australia. There are plenty of walks and fun outdoor activities in and around Sydney. Also, Sydney was the starting or ending place of many discovering trips to the East Coast of Australia, by bus, train and road trips around Australia.

Melbourne

Melbourne has got something special. I loved it on my first trip. What I liked most is how relaxed people are in the city. You can tell that people love their town and are happy with it. Of course, there is always something that needs to improve. But I would dare say that this Australian city is no. 1 in Australia for making travellers feel at home.

And I was not making the city CBD too expensive to get around and stay in. The Melbourne free trams in the CBD highlight the many fun things to do alone in Melbourne.

Adelaide

Adelaide is a city with an evolving story. I have been there four times on my travels in Australia. While my feelings were initially neutral, my excitement grew over the years as I saw Adelaide showing its distinctly twofold character: a quiet place to live in but simultaneously a dynamic personality. Indeed there are lots of events and exciting things to do in Adelaide. I love biking, and Adelaide, with its parklands, is an excellent place for cycling to the beach.

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Perth

I have been to Perth solo seven times on backpacking trips, aboard the Indian Pacific from Adelaide to Perth, and spent a long time house-sitting in North Perth and on the northern beaches. From there, I went on road trips exploring the Perth region on day trips. Perth is a delight with its relaxed lifestyle and fun outdoor things to do solo in Perth.

Margaret River

The Margaret River Region was a massive surprise to me. In 2008, when I first travelled to Western Australia, my idea of the South West was pretty ignorant. I thought there were only forests and surf beaches. When I started my solo road trip to South Western Australia, I was in awe of this region’s beauty, richness and diversity. I could think of settling there for a while and making it home.

Adelaide

Adelaide is a city with an evolving story. I have been there four times on my travels in Australia. While my feelings were initially neutral, my excitement grew over the years as I saw Adelaide showing its distinctly twofold character: a quiet place to live in but simultaneously a dynamic personality. Indeed there are lots of events and exciting things to do in Adelaide. I love biking, and Adelaide, with its parklands, is an excellent place for cycling to the beach.

Margaret River

The Margaret River Region was a massive surprise to me. In 2008, when I first travelled to Western Australia, my idea of the South West was pretty ignorant. I thought there were only forests and surf beaches. When I started my solo road trip to South Western Australia, I was in awe of this region’s beauty, richness and diversity. I could think of settling there for a while and making it home.

Darwin

I love Darwin. This is a place I felt at home straight away after my arrival. I love the relaxed atmosphere and the wide-open view over the harbour. I love Darwin’s isolated beaches, markets, and phenomenal sunsets. On my first visit, I remember walking into a Church on a Sunday morning and sitting with locals. It made me feel at home and part of the community. Here you can read a list of fun things to do in Darwin alone.

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Adelaide

Uluru

I loved visiting Uluru twice and hope to go back again sometime. In many places in Australia, you can feel the energy and a deep peacefulness emerging from the earth. Viewing Uluru on a road trip and walking around the base was an unprecedented experience that gave me goosebumps and stayed with me for a long time.

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Great Ocean Road

I went on a Great Ocean Road Trip adventure a couple of times. Once on an organised small tour and once on a road trip on my own. I loved the freedom of discovering it at my own pace and making wildlife encounters along the way. I want to return and do more walking, maybe the 90km Great Ocean Road walk tracks.

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South Western Australia

I first discovered Margaret River in 2013. In 2017, I travelled down south to explore beautiful South Western Australia with Denmark and Albany. Here you can learn about my road trip to South Western Australia. And my favourite things to do in Albany.

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North Tropical Queensland

North Tropical Queensland is a region of Australia. I like it very much for its distinctly Australian character: The rainforest and the wealth of tropical vegetation with its incredible native tastes and local produce. I travelled around by bus on my first trip. On the second trip, in 2014, I hired a car in Cairns and explored the entire area.

I spent time camping solo in Cape Tribulation and enjoyed many fun and free things to do in Cairns. I also went on a day trip to the Atherton Tablelands. With good dry weather, September is among the best months to discover North Tropical Queensland.

North Western Australia

The North West Coast of Australia is immense; you must break it down into smaller regions. Besides South West Australia, another region I love is the northwestern coast from Coral Bay up to Broome.

South Western Australia

I first discovered Margaret River in 2013. In 2017, I went on a road trip down-south to explore beautiful South Western Australia with Denmark and Albany. Here you can learn about my road trip down south WA. And my favourite things to do in Albany.

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Broome

I first visited Broome in 2008 in February with hot and humid weather, so on my return visit in 2015. I went on a guided tour from Broome to the Kimberleys.

Kununurra

From there visited the Eastern Kimberley on a scenic flight over the Ord River to the Bungle Bungles. This area is imposing because of its geological formations and the second-largest water system, making it an exciting and unique ecosystem. While it is not recommended for solo travellers, I loved exploring the Kimberley region and enjoyed the walks and many things to do in Kununurra.

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More reasons why I love Australia

• I love Australia because of the friendly Aussie.
• I love meeting the locals, listening to their stories, and learning about their culture.
• I also profoundly love Australia because of the freedom, lightness and safety that reign everywhere.
• I love the inspiration I get from the isolation in the Australian Outback.
• I love the isolation, the solitude,  the emptiness and the magnificent sunsets of the Australian outback.
• I love Australia’s Outback colours: its deep blue sky, rugged red earth, and lush green to golden brown vegetation.
• I love to wake up in the outback by screeching corellas and the crisp air caressing my hair.
• I love Australian native animals. I love spotting kangaroos.

My travels around Australia are full of positive emotions and inspirational life experiences that fuelled my energy and enthusiasm to venture into solo travel and travel blogging.

Go to the Guide to Solo Travel in Australia

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