When you find yourself in Darwin, you're on top of the "world, down-under". In 2011 I would board a small tour bus and for a few weeks travel the outback down to Melbourne. For once, I was glad to not be driving...I thought I had seen barren horizons before, but nothing like the outback. I would eventually make my way to Tasmania for a week of manic touring. I would return to Tasmania in 2015 to hike the Overland track, and a few weeks driving along the coast north of Sydney. There's just something about the angle of the sun down there; it produces the most amazing sunsets.

On that same 2011 "rounding" I made my way from Sydney to Aukland, and board another bus; this time the "Kiwi Experience". For a fortnight I would be the "old wise veteran" on a bus of eighteen to twenty-two year olds as rode and drank our way around the edges of both islands in New Zealand;a truely unforgettable time. Then I spend another month trekking three of the great walks of the southern island from Queenstown. Embrace the rain, and bring a baggie for your gear..things are going to get wet.