I’ve been thinking a lot about how to put into words how it feels to be here, doing what I’m doing. To be honest, I still have no idea. I don’t feel like this is “real life.” Technically I’m working in Australia, but it doesn’t feel like a job at all. It feels like I’m on vacation – a permanent vacation because who knows when it will end? This weekend I went on a little vacation within a vacation (“vacation inception” as my friend Kelsey described it). Three friends – Kelsey, Tessa, and Jen – and I packed up my jeep to the brim on Saturday morning and set off on a road trip up to the Sunshine Coast. We drove straight up a single-lane highway for three hours and finally reached Rainbow Beach, named because of its different colors of sand – black, white, and every shade of brown, swirled together like a rainbow.

Tessa, Jen, Kelsey and me at Carlo Sandblow

One of our goals for the weekend was to go sand boarding – which is kind of like sledding, only you’re in the sand – so on our way up we pulled over and “borrowed” a For Sale sign out of a front yard to use as our sled. Before hitting the beach, we drove up to the Carlo Sandblow, a huge sand mass that overlooks Rainbow Beach. When we stepped out onto the sandblow, there was sand in literally every direction for what seemed like miles (excuse me, kilometers). It formed a sort of half pipe, so we climbed up the side, hopped on our sign, and sand boarded face first, eating sand all along the way. After getting sand in every crevice of our bodies, we hiked down the sandblow where we reached a cliff with the most amazing views I have ever seen. To the right was Double Island Point, where heaps of people drive along the beach to camp, and all in front of me was beach and the bluest water. The girls and I played in the sand all afternoon and after getting tired and dirty, we collapsed on the edge of the cliff and stared out, taking in this magnificent view.

Tessa sand boarding

Carlo Sandblow and Rainbow Beach

Carlo Sandblow and Rainbow Beach

After a quick walk along Rainbow Beach and a dip in the water, we headed back down the coast a little ways to Noosa, a really popular little beach town on the Sunshine Coast. We checked into our hostel and hit up a few of the local bars that night, and the next day we woke up bright and early and headed straight for the beach. Noosa’s beaches are beautiful with sand so fine that it squeaks underneath your feet when you walk on it and water that is crystal clear so you can see little fish swimming around your feet.  We laid on our towels, soaking in the sunshine and listening to the music playing at the surf club behind us. Every now and then we’d take a break to walk around town to get gelato or smoothies and window shop at all the cute little beach stores. After several hours, we said goodbye to paradise, hopped back in the car and drove home to Brisbane – all along the coast, with the beaches in view and the sunset ahead.

Noosa