3 more days in Australia

It has been exhilarating and sometimes lonely, but as my 17 day holiday to Australia comes to a close, I feel more confident than ever that my camera and I will be just fine as we move to the next 5 continents. More confident than ever. Boldened. Filled with peaceful happiness.

I've relearned many lessons I've learned earlier in life over the last several weeks. Trust my gut. Go with the flow. Enjoy the moment. Create excitement. Find the beauty. Everything is going to be ok.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 21st) we visit Airlie Beach, which becomes my launching point for a visit to the Great Barrier Reef.

The ship excursion is described as:

Board a premier day-cruise vessel to the Great Barrier Reef for an adventure-packed day at a reef pontoon to snorkel and explore. The underwater world is filled with vibrant fish, coral and a variety of marine life. There's a host of activities in store - swimming, snorkeling, a semi-submersible, an underwater viewing observatory, Transfer from the ship's anchor to the pontoon is approximately two hours each way. Depending on weather conditions, spend approximately 2.5 hours at the pontoon. A full buffet lunch is included.

The bucket list keeps on getting ✅

Hold a koala

Feed a kangaroo

Watch Australian surfers

Climb the outside of the tallest building in Australia (Q1)

Visit the Great Barrier Reef

(Get the best tan of my life)

Make new Aussie mates

I would say it's been pretty successful holiday and gives me so much to look forward to with my sights on Europe for 25 nights over June and into July. Thinking about adding a few "filler" trips too. Maybe Puerto Vallarta for Pride, New Orleans, and maybe even a trip back to the Yoop. Also thinking pretty seriously about extending my trip to Africa and visiting some of the mainland continent...

Life is good. So much to see if you want to and take a moment to just open your eyes. There's beauty all around us. Just like myself, and likely so many of you that have dreamed of visiting Australia, many of Aussies would like to visit the US to see our sights. They're there to be seen, just don't take them for granted.

I am REALLY hoping to get to upload GoPro footage of my snorkeling in Vanuatu and the Great Barrier Reef before I arrive back in the States on Friday.

Stay tuned.

-Cole from Colorado

And just in case you didn't see it on my socials last night, the sunset was indescribable. Pinch me.