We are all visitors here, in this time, in this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow and to love, and then we return home. – Australian Aboriginal proverb Spent some time with good hearts in my soul place. It’s so good to be home. M. x  

The world is huge and we are tiny. Explore it. ✧♡• In just under two and a half hours from Brisbane you can escape to paradise.  You know those places that you instantly connect with, that pull at your heartstrings in an unfamiliar but almost comforting way? Calling you back again so much so that you spend days dreaming about your return, before you even leave? I was pleasantly surprised and completely blown away with the incredible untouched beauty of Vanuatu. 

Life is not about milestones, but moments • The open road, fresh air in our lungs and laughter filling our bellies: eight days on the road with Tourism Queensland and Toyota Australia.  One of my biggest photo updates this year. I’m feeling incredibly grateful to have spent time with good friends exploring all the natural wonders of my home state along The Pacific Coast Way, a 1700km stretch linking Brisbane to Cairns. 

The stars will remind us of the beauty in our struggles and we won’t feel so lost anymore. I recently spent a week on the road with some of my favourite Australian Photographers/Instagrammers and friends. We took the Grand Pacific coastal drive which starts in the Royal National Park, less than an hour south of Sydney and makes its way through the Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven regions.  

Beautiful things don’t have to cost the Earth • I was recently a part of @etsyau’s #city2outback adventure featuring Evie and Essie, based in the picturesque foothills of Hobart’s Mt Wellington. The Children’s clothing label Evie & Essie is the joint love of best friends and lifelong crafters Suki Hopgood and Sarah Crawford. Suki and Sarah hosted myself and the Etsy team for a few days, showing us around the unique beauty of Hobart with the city and its surrounds being a constant source of both inspiration and escape. 

I was really excited to head back to the Northern Territory, this time to explore a new region and parts of the Top End which I hadn’t yet made it to. The Northern Territory is truly is one of my favourite places in Australia and the world; the natural beauty, culture and that night sky are all second to none.

Today in the Courier Mail with thanks to Linda Silmalis. helloworld x Insider Journeys. “While Laos is often foolishly skipped by travellers, those who do venture here often come for one of two reasons – to learn more of its wartime past or to spend time with its elephants.”

“I wonder if the things that remind me of you, remind you of me.”  I recently went on a whirlwind (and I really mean whirlwind) adventure to Colombia with Kathmandu. What can I tell you about it? My itch for South America has only just been scratched and I’m left wanting more. We hit the ground running and began filming at the airport in Medellín city. I’ve never hidden that I am not much of a city girl, but I think the cute streets, botanical gardens and salsa-dancing nightlife in Medellín are attractions I’ll go back for. 

“Can we take a ride? Get out of this place, while we still have time.” My heart feels heavy today. Reminiscing on this afternoon drive and always an adventure with you. Still, learning to let go. 

Recently I had the unbelievable opportunity to visit “The Land of a Million Elephants,” LAOS with Helloworld and Insider Journeys. I’m going to break this post up into two parts because I’ve travelled to SE Asia multiple times and I hadn’t yet made it to Laos, always adding it to the “I’ll-do-it-next-time-list” and I’ve, as to be expected, fallen head over heals in love with the incredibly, beautiful and untouched country. 

A little write up as part of a “Micro Adventure Series” with We Are Explorers – Thank you for including my work and a small story behind each image.

Saturday afternoon just gone I was sitting on the beach for hours with one of my best friends, we were discussing the impermanent nature of life and how ‘when we were younger’ (that sentence itself makes me feel old, but what is age?) we used to have countdowns looking forward to certain events or certain holidays.

“I wanted to create something tangible and to give back to a country that gave me so much…” 

Recently I was invited to Hervey Bay to stay at the Oceans Resort and Spa Hervey Bay, an Ascend Hotel Collection member who’s passion is to connect their visitors with the local. My Grandparents have lived in Hervey Bay for the last 22 years, so I was really excited to get a chance to head back up to this amazing, little part of Queensland. 

One day / 10 photos. One an hour from sunrise to sunset. Bourail to Nouméa, New Caledonia. 

I wanted to do this post a little different to the way I normally do, because we did a lot of seriously amazing things in Dubai and I’ll let the photographs do the talking, but I just wanted to share the personal highlights for me. So, my top things to do in Dubai:  Adventure, adventure, adventure! Dubai is one of the biggest playgrounds in the world. Take a day trip to the Hatta Hajjar Mountains. Just go and go high! The layers of the mountains and alien like landscape is unreal. 

Wollongong is one destination in Australia I’ve always wanted to visit, so when I booked this job earlier in the year I was really excited about it. It would be a working-reunion of sorts with some of my favourite travel buddies and personal mentors. Plus, my friend and ridiculously talented Photographer Will Patino has been showcasing the best of Wollongong for years now and I couldn’t wait to get down there and see it for myself.  

Because she says everything I can’t (and so well) here. x With you, always.

Any time with you is time well spent. From the floors of the airport to this beautiful destination, with all the highs and lows in-between. Worth every minute. 

From ‘Into The Wild’ in Borneo earlier this year with Geckos Adventures! Intrepid Travel Group has a few films in ‘Adventure in Motion’ short film competition.