I’ve been traveling in Australia for almost three weeks. I’ve had fun the entire time, but have felt frustrated at times trying to figure out what to do and where to go. No a bad problem to have. While in Melbourne I spent so much time online sending out email requests to stay with people from Couchsurfing. It stressed me out. I’d been staying in hostels in Melbourne and spending a lot of money because I’m a diva and wanted a private room. Haha! I made the choice to go to Darwin with a couchsurfer named Violet. We talked about traveling together, but I knew she wanted to head west after spending three weeks in the northern territory. I wanted to head to the east coast and only wanted to spend 7-10 days in the NT/Outback. I made the choice to join a tour group in Darwin. The tour went for 7 days and visited every place I wanted to see in the outback. I was going to spend a good amount of money on the tour, but was happy with my choice. Plus the tour would give me the freedom of knowing where i’d be for 7 days. I booked travel to Cairns on the 13th after the tour. I was feeling GREAT.

On the tour bus on the way to Kakado I was in my head about my choice to take the tour. Should I have stayed wit Violet and traveled with her and other couchsurfers in the Outback? Didn’t I want to be willing to lean into discomfort on my journey.

Towards the end of first day on the tour I found myself sitting on a cliff in the Uber region of Kakado. It was beyond breath taking. I realized I didn’t make a decision to join this tour, but rather a choice. As much as my journey is about going outside my comfort zone it’s also about enjoying myself and meeting different people. No matter what choice I made it was the correct one. Besides I’m happy to spread some LOVE and joy to the tour.

When I left for Australia I took the sim card out of my Iphone. I could only imagine what my roaming charges would be if for some reason (probably drunk) I started calling back to the state. So I took the card out to eliminate that all together. My friends at the genius bar at the Apple Store in Santa Monica assured me I would have no problem using email, Facebook and twitter if I could get Wifi. It’s been very spotty and non-existent thus far and that’s been all good with me.

I picked up a Voda cell phone in Australia to make calls. My parents are the only people in the states with that number. I’m able to connect with friends back home through email and Facebook, but there’s no instant connection while not online. It’s an amazing feeling. I realized how much I depended on my instant connections. I was at dinner the other night without my Iphone and with my Voda phone with only two numbers in it. Both hostels. I had no one I could call or text even if I wanted to. I couldn’t Facebook or Tweet. I sat there and enjoyed my dinner : )

As I write this on my sim cardless Iphone on a tram heading south from Melbourne my Voda phone rings. It’s a new friend inviting me to a dinner party. Writing this on my Iphone gives me a sense of familiarity, but having the Voda phone gives me a sense of adventure. On a side note I’m stoked to still have angry birds to play : )