I’ve been sloooooowly covering my Queensland trip from last month on the blog. In case you missed those posts or are fresh on the Frugal Frolicker train in 2015, here they are:
- I Got Naked On South Molle Island
- Highlights From A Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight
- My Chilled Out Whitsundays Sailing Trip
- I Saw All The Beaches On Magnetic Island
One really cool thing to note is that this was the first trip I took with a pretty sizable Instagram following. I’d been working on building my audience in the months preceding my move to Australia, and I had nearly 4000 people following my Queensland instagram feed. While it’s gratifying to get nearly 200 likes per photo now, the best part is seeing all the interaction that takes place in the photo comments. People mentioning their friends and urging them to check out my feed, folks asking me about photos, words of praise – it’s all good stuff.
I consider myself a photographer first, travel blogger second. I’d been a professional wedding photographer for years before jumping into the travel blogging world 2 years ago. Which is to say – photography is kind of my thing. So if you’re going to follow me at all, Instagram is where it’s at.
TO SEE HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY TRAVELS IN REAL TIME, FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM!
Now, how about some highlights from my Queensland instagram photos?
Airlie Beach
I spent the first week of my trip in and out of Airlie Beach, the hub for all Whitsundays travel. The town itself is centered around one main street lined with tourist outlets, hostels, and small shops. There’s a man-made lagoon just between this street and the beach, where backpackers hang out during the day before partying all night. Those are about the only two things to do in this town.
South Molle Island
I had a glorious time on this small island in the Whitsundays, where I pitched a tent, hung up a hammock, and camped for two nights all by myself. Naked. The views from higher up on the island were to die for, which I enjoyed during a sweltering afternoon trek.
Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight
I ticked one major item off my bucket list when I took a scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef with GSL Aviation. It went by so fast, and it looked exactly like every aerial photo you’ve seen of the reef – but still it was SO worth doing. I still can’t believe I saw the famous Heart Reef!
Whitsundays Sailing Trip
I was a little worried about being on a boat for 3 nights, thanks to being sporadically hit with motion sickness basically my entire life. But aside from feeling dizzy on one night, I was completely fine! And those nights I slept on Solway Lass were the best nights of sleep I’ve had in the 6 weeks I’ve been in Australia thusfar.
Sailing the Whitsundays was one of the best travel experiences of my life! Is there anything better than the wind in your hair, sun on your skin, and a good book in your hands? When I wasn’t engrossed in my reading or dozing off, I’d watch the islands pass by from the ship. And when we weren’t sailing, we were anchored at various islands snorkeling or exploring. And man, that Whitehaven Beach is something else. I can see why it was voted one of the Top 5 best beaches in the world last year!
Townsville
After the Whitsundays, I headed up the coast to tropical Townsville for Christmas. I didn’t get to spend much time here before shuffling off to Magnetic Island, though I did enjoy a late afternoon stroll down The Strand, the town’s waterfront walking path.
Magnetic Island
I spent my first Christmas abroad on Maggie, a fairly accessible island in northern Queensland. It was really weird trading in hats and gloves for a bikini on this holiday, but being on a gorgeous beach made me slightly less sad to be missing out on my usual Christmas traditions back home.
Now: can we talk about how the photo below scored over 2000 likes on instagram?! Sometimes I get really excited about posting a photo because I know it’s awesome, and perhaps even one of my favorites. This was NOT one of those times, and I definitely didn’t expect it to do so well. So why did it, then? Do people really dig zig zags?
My 4 days on Magnetic Island were largely spent exploring all the beaches on the island. Literally all of them. Apparently I don’t know what a true beach vacation is because I can’t sit still!
Oh and how about that time I got to hold a koala?? They are just the cutest things! I about died when I saw a little baby in the sanctuary at Bungalow Bay. I’m not big on animals aside from cats, but I think koalas may hold a solid #2 on my list now.
TO SEE HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY TRAVELS IN REAL TIME, FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM!
