Australia was never on my radar. After all, I left Hawaii to get away from island life (sounds absurd now, doesn’t it?). My first brush with Australia was through the 1986 hit movie Crocodile Dundee, and while it was entertaining, it didn’t exactly make me want to hop on a plane.
No, throughout my childhood and young adulthood, Australia would remain at a great distance no matter how talented Olivia Newton-John, Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman are. Like most Americans, we grew up ignorant and uninterested in the others. Of course, that’s changed greatly with the internet; we’re free from the shackles of what mainstream media puts in front of us. But Australia? Why in the world would I want to go over there?
Even when I moved abroad and met lovely Australians, touched them and talked to them like regular people (is my humor coming through?), I shrugged, still not really interested in ever going. I could take it or leave it. New Zealand held much more fascination after The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yes, I want to walk the path to Mordor.
It wasn’t until I participated in the blogging challenge Changing Seasons, then hosted by Su, that I saw for the first time, how beautiful Australia is. Bloggers like Su and Tracy showed me through their rich photography the vast variety of wildlife that the Land of Oz has to offer. Then I learned that Australia has some bangin’ coastlines and drives. Whaaat?
So, that’s where I want to go. I love nature, and I can’t believe it took me so long to discover that Australia has it in spades. I mean, I knew it was diverse, but it’s one thing to know and another to see. Hopefully, one day I’ll get the chance.
Do you like road trips? Any memorable ones you’d like to share?
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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