Wheehew, I’ll be off on a one-month solo backpacking trip up the Australian East Coast! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I came to Australia five years ago. But unfortunately, I’d always been too young to go off on my own. But this year’s summer is probably the best year for me to embark on this exciting new journey on my own as I am in my final year of university. I have a feeling that I won’t be around next summer in Australia, I’ll most likely be traveling somewhere in the world at that time. So I figured I’d better have an adventure on the home turf first before I go on anywhere else!

Can I just say, I truly, truly love this land. It is full of exotic landscapes and absolutely breathtaking sights, especially along the coast! I’m so excited to stop by each place and just spend time on my own – hiking, basking in the near-perpetual sunshine state of Queensland, swimming in the warm turquoise waters, and just doing a heap load of reflecting and reading!

Also, another awesome thing about this trip is I’ll be taking my baby with me!

Yes, my guitar, if you were wondering! :)

I’d been hunting high and low for a good, sturdy hard case for it so I can take it on my traveling escapades from now on. Thankfully, I found something that fit its traveler-guitar-sized dimensions perfectly. I was elated to the max. Yah like, the max. Because as you know, I can hardly survive prolonged periods of time without my piano. So guitar would make a brilliant substitute. But thankfully, I’m beginning to see the guitar as a beautiful instrument that I can master on its own and I have been writing many worship songs on the guitar nowadays too.

What I especially love about it is the fact that I can take it with me anywhere and everywhere. And without fail, a guitar or a ukulele is the thing that always, always gives me the opportunity to bridge a gap between other fellow travelers. See that’s the magical thing about music. It crosses boundaries and connects you with others like no other thing can do. I love it. So, so much. And I thank God for it with all my heart.

So anyhow, I will be off! I can’t wait for what lies ahead. The people I’ll meet, the places I’ll get to immerse myself in, the quiet moments I’ll share with my Maker, far from the crowds, the busyness of daily life, the noises of the world out there. This isn’t just another trip to have a jolly good time and go for a holiday. I want it to be intentional. I want to travel intentionally and use every opportunity, whether I am with others or in solitude, to search my heart and mind, to allow God to speak into my thoughts and give me clarity about my life and the decisions I should take day-by-day as well as for the days to come.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the photos and travel journals to come!

Many blessings,

Janielle