You may remember a blog about van life across Eastern Canada from one of our teachers last year, if not, read it here! Well, Mrs. Alanna Devereaux is yet again back from travelling the world and has wonderful tales to tell. She’s shared her experience travelling Australia with her husband below.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
And the breath of all mankind”
Job 12: 7-10
My husband and I spent the last six months traveling around Australia and living in a rooftop tent. Being in a warm country during a Canadian winter was very strange. That meant that we spent Christmas holidays enduring temperatures averaging from 30-35 degrees daily. It was different for us to eat seafood and dips out on a veranda wearing sunscreen and shorts for a Christmas meal.
Nevertheless we took on the extreme heat and headed down the east coast hitting up all of the tourist destinations including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Byron Bay before making our way towards the big cities like Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. After many hours of driving and locating free camping spots along the way, we finally made it to Geelong where a ferry called the Spirit of Tasmania took us on a 10 hour journey to Tasmania.
We spent three months living and working in Tasmania. Tasmania seemed to fit our needs a lot better than the mainland of Australia. The temperatures were much cooler, making it easier to sleep in our rooftop tent. Of course in between all of the road trips and traveling, I made time to work with students at CVS. Overall, we loved exploring the sandy beaches, mountain towns, and the hustle and bustle of the busy cities.
We feel so blessed that we were given the opportunity to travel and explore Australia. The landscapes and views that we came across were absolutely magnificent. My favourite part was being able to witness the beauty of God’s creation. I couldn’t help but think about what an artist God truly is as we watched the sky turn all kinds of colours from the sunrise and sunset. The peace that is felt after summiting a mountain is indescribable. We spent over 7 hours one day hiking in Kosciuszko National Park.
It was just us and the beauty of God’s creation. There were two mountains to summit that day. One path was crowded with people hiking to and from the main summit. The other was a little off the beaten path. Did we want to take on the challenge and hike both? We didn’t know how long hiking an extra mountain would really take. We decided that it was worth the adventure. It took about 2 hours of extra time, which doesn’t seem long, but we had already hiked 3 hours prior and hiking up and down rocks isn’t exactly simple. When we got to the top of Mount Townsend (pictured right), it was like the world we left behind surrounded by crowds of other people didn’t exist anymore. It was a cloudy day, but when we got to the top, the skies cleared and the view of the mountains were 360 degrees. We never passed anyone on this trail; there wasn’t a single person in sight. We had it all to ourselves. We sat and enjoyed our hard work. It was quiet and peaceful. The sky before me was nothing like I had ever seen. The colours were of all different versions of blue and the outlines of every mountain was incredible. Even though we could barely lift our feet walking back to the parking lot, the pain was definitely worth the reward. Adding to my list of gratefulness, I never would have thought how much I took for granted having a body that can move in a way that allows conquering such mountains. Mount Townsend and Mount Kosciuszko weren’t the only mountains we tackled on our trip. We took the time to explore other mountain ranges in Tasmania. Cradle mountain (pictured below right) was at first a failed mission with lots of rain, many clouds, and cold temperatures that we weren’t fully prepared for. We left all of our winter clothes at home afterall. We tried to keep our spirits up as we were greeted by two wombats munching on grass (pictured below left). When we decided to turn around and hike back, the sun came out, dried our clothes, and gave us the most glorious view. I will never forget our experience in Australia. Learning more about myself and growing a deeper relationship with God through nature has truly been a gift in which I will be forever grateful.
