Brisbane

What an interesting city.. to say the least. We were always stumbling upon something whether it be museums, coffee shops, or in Abbie's case - the stairs! So much has happened to us in such a short amount of time. It's amazing how things just sort of work out. I'll admit before we left I was absolutely stressed about our plans, or lack there of rather. I didn't have enough time to map out the details so I may have been freaking out a little bit -- I can about imagine my mother laughing at this point. I was dragging her out to sea with my tidal wave of emotions. "MAY have been freaking out?" ...... Okay fine, in all honesty if my episode was the
equivalent of a natural disaster it would have been something along the lines of hurricane Katrina. Reflecting on it now, I guess these thoughts and emotions trickle back to my last post and continuous effort to let go. It's hard to close your eyes and jump in without knowing where you are, where you are going or how you'll get there.

But alas I ended up exhusting myself enough to just say screw it, we will figure it out in Brizzy. This was one of the best decisions I have made this entire trip. Sometimes we need to give life the space to push us in the right direction. Because lets face it, nothing ever goes exactly to plan. Things are never as I expect them to be. Why force some sort of direction if my point is simply to wander? Everything happens for a reason.

So anyways here is my quick tid bit on Brisbane:

I should have video taped us walking through the airport. The looks we got for carrying 3 bags of luggage were priceless. Five stumbles, two run away suitcases, one wrong turn, twelve

cheeky remarks, one train ride and hundreds of laughs later we arrived at our hostel. It was a fairly scary experience at first. The idea of sharing a room with 22 people of mixed age, nationality and gender wasn't sitting with me very well. The first day I was paranoid all the time about my stuff left in the room. After a while you just come to realize that everyone is here doing the same thing. We made friends from Ireland, Belgium, Scotland, England, Italy, France, New Zealand. All of us are here traveling, learning and experiencing this beautiful planet. It's amazing how you can be raised on the opposite side of the earth, and still have so much in common. I loved my experience at the hostel. The sleep isn't great and the showers suck, but staying in a hostel is an experience I think everyone must have at least once in their life. As for the city, I wouldn't want to spend too long here but it's fun to explore and definitely beautiful.

The river that runs through the city provides the community with public boat transportation. University students and business men alike use them for their daily commute. Depending on how far you go, you can get a ticket for about five dollars, valid for two hours. It's great for exploring the city. Southbank was my favorite area. They have a little lagoon for swimming and heaps of delicious places to eat and lounge. This district has the largest are museum in Australia, a giant ferris wheel and loads of open space to jus relax. There is a lot of culture here. It's easy to find little farm markets on the weekends, and there seems to be a lot of Irish people, and Irish influenced places. We went to an Irish pub one evening ( with our lovely Irish friends of course ). The place was filled with dark wood flooring, wooden tables and pillars, stone walls... a real

cozy pub atmosphere. I loved it. However, my two favorite places in Brisbane are the Cloudbar and the Chocolate Bar. I'll be making posts about these places individually later - they deserve their own page entirely! haha

Night two in Brizzy. I met a really wicked guy headed down the coast with his brother to do some surfing. Since we didn't map out the details and we really didn't have any plans, we are now headed down there to stay at a beach house for a few days. And of course, learn to surf from the pros!!

We will be back in the city in a few days to pick up our van, and continue on our journey. Because of our slight detour, we had to book our van for a few days later than we had originally predicted. Yet as if to reassure us of our actions life handed us another piece to our puzzle. Due to our travel dates, and the need for a specific van to be in a certain place at a certain time, we got it 50% off the price we had quoated. And well, that's that. We have our van ready to go, no plans where exactly to stop, just a few ideas, a camera and some music. Now if I can just manage to drive on the other side of the road...

Okay anyways time to begin the post on Burleigh Heads.... stay tuned, it's gunna be a good one!

The video for this one was just a quick something I put together in a matter of twenty minutes. It's not too good but at least you can catch a glimpse of the city as well as us girls in our.... 'brighter' moments :] Enjoy.

Love from Aus,

The stark sisters and the queen herself.

www.moohoodles.deviantart.com

Let go, let go and jump in

Letting Go:

It's something most of us will do often in our lifetime. So why is it so damn hard? I've had to let go heaps of times. To friends, houses, memories, schools, states, jobs, you name it. So why doesn't it get any easier? Surely some where between the 9 moves, 8 school changes and multiple years in a long distance relationship I may have learned SOMETHING. Whatever happened to the saying practice makes perfect? How long do I have to practice for!!

I guess to break it down the hardest part this time circulates are the word Goodbye. I hate this word and all it's variations. Auf Wiedersehen, Sayonara, Au revoir, Dasvidania, Arrivederci. Some doomed meaning all around. They all basically say "hey, thanks for the memories. I won't see you later. Goodbye"

Leaving home was much easier than leaving Cairns. When we left home all of our lovely friends and family from all over came to wish us off, it was quite the party from what I remember :] I never had to say goodbye to these people. I knew I would see them again. Leaving Cairns on the other hand.. I may never make it back here to this magical place. I probably won't see anyone that I have met here ever again - Except my favorite english girl Abbie, since she is traveling with us. I'm thankful for the memories; but the realization that it's all just become a memory, a small bleep of an existence in the illusion of time, makes my heart sink and my breath shorten. So many things left un done, so many words left un said. And oh so many people I would love to cramp in to my already excessively over sized luggage parade.

Still, my question is, how do we allow ourselves to keep on keeping on? Not just with travel but with life, with our relationships, our possessions, our journey.

Here is a quick few things I have learned in this moment, for this particular sitation, about letting go.

1. Cry. For me, holding it back only makes it worse. If sadness comes, I must express it as it comes or I just end up being a hot mess for the poor soul sitting next to me on the airplane.. Except that one time I met a pro skateboarder on the plane while I was bursting tears. He asked me if I was okay, great ice breaker ;) Anyways I'm exceedingly thankful for Marley at this point. It's nice to have someone who understands. Someone I can be a hot mess next to on the plane - and not be at all ashamed or embarassed.

2. Acceptance. Definitely easier said than done. Once I've given myself a few minutes - okay sometimes days - to dwell on the memories and what I'll miss, I accept. Accept the change, and push away the regret and worry as I slowly crawl back towards my baseline of emotions. The place I can feel balanced and stable again.

3. Glad Wrap. Wait whaaat? Glad wrap, wtf? Yes, glad wrap. You know, that annoying clear stuff that literally CLINGS to everything but your leftovers. - My brain is a bit fuzzy from the elevation of the plane and the drying of my tears so bear with me here as I try to relate this- It's the clinging that presents one of the biggest barriers for me. Refusing to accept, clinging on the memories that I don't want to die. In reality though, they never die, they are constantly a part of us and those who we shared them with. The universe has recorded these memories, and tehy are still in the present, some where - Assuming my white knuckle grip doesn't suffocate them first. It's a soothing reminder that my past is there for me when I need it, always.

4. Live in the moment. I'm beginning to think this may be the secret to life since it seems to solve so many of my issues. But in it's relation to 'letting go' it seems pretty self explanitory. Surfacing myself back to the now, I begin to remember the excitement this entire trip with holds! When it is time to move on it's time to move on. Stop glad wrapping for now, there will be something that clings on again as these moments in time progress. ( Like surfing!! ) Then we can rinse and repeat this whole process, yay! ..........

5. Melodic Healing. Biggest crutch for me is music. It has the ability to strengthen and hinder with one simple familiar melody. I realized while sitting here typing that my music was terribly slow and perhaps a little depressing. It kept my mind trapped babysitting my memories, make sure they are all still there and doing okay. So instead I decided to change the pace a little bit and handed Marley one of my headphones. Aaaaand just like that Another Night by Real Mccoy was blasting through my speakers. I dare you to try and be sad to that song! Hah! After 3:56 of everyone on the plane looking at us while we reenact Night at the Roxbury whilst singing with no regard to our tune or volume ((I'll spare you that video footage)), our moods have shifted, our spirits rise and well, the adventure continues.

Letting go isn't a destructive process nor is it about getting rid of or throwing away something. I'm merely just letting it rest where it belongs. Taking it for what it was, leaving it how it is. Opening space for all the new energy coming my way. In about an hour we will be in Brisbane. A new chapter started in a book that will forever exist' in us, in the universe....and apparently on the world wide web as well.

Living in the moment

The most recent adventures of the stark sisters, and the queen herself- Mrs. Abbie Lennox, have taken us to Green Island.

Just about 30k off the coast of Cairns, Green Island is a coral cay. Basically it was created from coral and skeletons accumulating together over time.

Anyways this spectacular island is a tropical paradise, rainforest on land and reef in the water. Although the reef here was damaged in 2011 by Cyclo

ne Yasi, it's still home to an array of exotic marine life.

These nifty and totally fashionable ninja suits we

are wearing are for the infamous stingers - or

jelly fish. If you have ever flipped past the Discovery Channel, or National Geographic you have probably heard a tid bit about the stingers in northern Australia. Now is the season that they take over the water, and as far as I'm concerned they are a force not to be reckoned

with.

That and pretending to be Charlie's Angels for a day was more invigorating than flaunting my red bikini.

Okay so I've sat with this little white box box

open for about 15 hours now, and I can not even formulate words to describe how beautiful this place truly is. So here is a video, shot and compiled by a girl who really has no idea what she is doing.

Hopefully these few pictures and video can speak for me on this one.

N Joy

P.S Thanks for the pictures Marley! http://moohoodles.deviantart.com

My favorite Australian Beach picture, thus far.

Tips for Travel

Just some advice and recommendations on travel from a girl who really has no idea what she is doing.

1. Just Do It! Lets face it, who doesn't want to travel? If you want it, put forth the conscious effort to do it! Looking at the big picture, the process can seem long, expensive, overwhelming. At the same time paradise awaits! So why do we open the flood gates of our mind to the millions of excuses we have been unconsciously clinging on to just for this moment. You know, the one when your mouse is hovering over the 'purchase' button at Delta.com and the fear of change and anxiety of costs settles in.... Okay maybe that was just me. But it took a few days in thought to realize, why am I making excuses to NOT do something that I want to do?? It was time to let go of the fear, embrace the change, validate myself, and rid myself of the materialistic mindset. Which leads me to my next point:

2. Money. No doubt it makes the world go round, but you don't need much to go around t he world. The most accessible options are usually the most expensive ones, but if you can convince yourself that you don't need to stay at a resort, or even a hotel for that matter, your travels will be cheaper. I read an article about a man who left the United States with $1,000.00... he has been traveling around the world for twelve years. This might be a bit too long to live the nomadic lifestyle, but my point is, traveling is cheaper than you think!

Just because we are traveling doesn't mean we have to be on a full fledged vacation. In Australia working and traveling usually go together. There are hundreds of harvesting jobs all around the country. Many backpackers travel as far as they can, and when they need money they stop off and harvest bananas, mangoes, flowers, sugar cane, you name it. Workers are always wanted in this field and although not many of us actually want to sit and pick mango all day, working for a week or two in this setting is a great way to allow yourself to continue on through the country.

3. Airfare. There are thousands of airline sites all offering "the best deal!". Honestly, I never use the direct sites of airline carriers. Delta.com offers some "last minute deals" which are cheap, maybe 10 percent of the time. Southwest.com also has deal calculator called 'Ding' this isn't a bad choice if you don't care where or when you travel to. Even sites like Expedia and travelocity are lacking in their ability to find the cheapest ticket (though that doesn't mean you shouldn't check them). Utilize all options! I search through at least 7 sites before I buy a ticket.

For international travel my first go to is Kayak.com. Kayak compares fares from all different carries to that area. If you are traveling internationally it will show you flights from the local airlines, which tend to cost less.

It will also show you costs of travel on a calendar so if your dates are flexible, you can be sure to get the best possible deal. Momondo, lastminutedeals, cheapoair, and studentflights are all wonderful options to check out. If your planning ahead of time, sign up for a few price alerts from them, they will email you when a cheaper ticket price has been posted.

I'm currently booking a flight to Brisbane. I found my ticket through Kayak and am flying on a local airline, Virgin Australia. This airline offers checked bags $12 for 23kg (~50lbs). However before you book your international flight it's important to check their baggage allowance. Most other countries will limit the number of bags you can check (if any at all).

4. Travel Light. Yeah, this one seems obvious. However to me, traveling 'light' is three suitcases (40-50lbs each) and a backpack. Ehm...this is just too much shit, even for a years travel. Less is more, and it's surprising how minimalistic I have become since my world was flipped upside down. Make sure you have all your favorite "essentials". For example Marley and I have considered buying out Costco of their Tampax Pearls and having them shipped to Australia... it's the things you don't expect to be awkward and different that ARE. Tampons may have topped our list for biggest culture shock thus far. Pack any specialty items that you have taken a liking to, they are worth the space. Among that we have really taken to the Aussie fashion, but we have no space in our suitcases to squeeze any more clothes. Anyways, remember that you need to bring your souvenirs home some how... and don't forget your tampons!

5. Google It! No, seriously. Google it. The internet allows us to unlock a world of knowledge if we just take the time to research it. If you are looking to drive while in a country there are a lot of cheap options for renting cars and campervans. Companies will offer relocation deals for as little as $5/day ... some are even FREE rental! This option isn't for everyone. You are limited in the amount of days you can have the vehicle and the availability is always fluctuating. Unfortunately this option won't work for Marley and I this time around. Most of the vehicles that need to be relocated are departing from Sydney, not going to Sydney. Still, it doesn't hurt to browse around. The site I used was http://www.standbyrelocs.com but there are heaps of others!

Another great way to save is through the local websites. In Australia, Gumtree.com.au is the best tool for traveling. They post job offers, trades, barters, rideshare, accommodation, skills/language swap, the list goes on and on. You can sometimes get a free ride to another city, as long as you help drive, or simply pitch for petrol.

Anyways now a days we have access to practically the same information as travel agents.

Next time instead of facebook stalking at 1am, put on some good music and plunge in to googles search engine. My latest research track has been Island by The xx

Enjoy :]

And so it begins..

Oi.. I finally got motivated to start a blog on the adventures of Marley and I whilst traveling through Australia.

We have been in Cairns since October and are finally headed to Brisbane on January 14. From there we are making our way (in a hippie van) down the eastern coast of Australia. I'll do my best to hack some internet so that we may share videos, pictures, quotes, tangents, and any random notable thoughts throughout our adventure! =)

Don't forget to follow Marley's deviant art page for all the breath taking photos along the way.

http://moohoodles.deviantart.com/

<3 the Starks