I just spent a wonderful ten days with my Mom in the land down under. It’s been hard being so far away from home, maybe more so for my family than for me, and it was so good to have time to show my mom what my life has been like here in Brisbane. She arrived just in time, but extremely jetlagged, for an Aussie Thanksgiving – and with my host family away on holiday afterwards, we spent the week in this wonderful house. Her main request was to experience some Aussie wildlife. We went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary so she could cuddle a koala, and I think she would agree with me now that they aren’t as cute and cuddly as they seem. They’re actually pretty hard and smelly with really sharp claws. We had a blast at Lone Pine though, hanging out with all our new kangaroo friends.

New mates

We also spent a day in the city of Brisbane. We wandered down the Queen Street Mall to the Wednesday food market where we grabbed some free samples of fruits, veggies, candied nuts, and some lunch for the road. We walked down to Southbank and I found myself looking at the city with new eyes, as she noticed little things that I’d grown accustomed to. We sat at the beach in Southbank and soaked up a little sun, then quenched our thirsts at the outdoor Surf Club.

Mom and I at Southbank

I had originally planned to be running around all week, up and down the coast, wanting to show my mom all the best things I’ve seen around the area in the short amount of time she had here. But instead, we sort of threw away all our plans and just relaxed, wanting to enjoy our time together. We lounged around the pool, watched movies, cooked meals, and caught up on some lost time.

Then over the weekend, we set off on a mini road trip down to Byron Bay. I had wanted to make it down to Byron since I arrived in Australia – it’s famous for its beautiful beach and hippie vibe – but I’m glad I waited to explore it with my mom. We drove about two hours south of Brissy and arrived in the small hippie town, and I think we both immediately fell in love. We ate tacos for lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach before heading to our hostel. I had wanted my mom to experience hostel life, but when we showed up at the Arts Factory – an extremely alternative hostel with all types of “funky abodes” – we stuck out like a sore thumb. I think we were the only people who had showered that week, and when they showed us to our “room” (one bed underneath a tarp of a tent, with a broken bug screen, right next to the swamp) we realized we might not be as earthy as we thought. So instead, we made some last minute changes and moved our bags down the road to the Bamboo Cottage.

"Come Play" in Byron Bay

Byron Bay was beautiful. It had such a laid back feel and I could have stayed there forever just to people watch. No one wore shoes, and everyone had dreadlocks or flowers in their hair. Musicians sat on every street corner, bleach blonde hippie children roamed the beach with their surfboards, and topless women bobbed around in the water. Every night, a handful of people formed a drum circle by the beach and everyone who happened by ended up getting lost in the music.

Captivated by the drum circle

On our last morning in Byron, my mom and I woke up at 5am and went to the Cape Byron lighthouse. We drove through winding roads in the dark and hiked along a trail to watch the sunrise from the most easterly point of Australia. I don’t think I’ve ever been closer to the sun. The sky turned pink, orange, yellow, red. I could not be more blessed to have such a perfect end to a wonderful week with my mom, exploring the other side of the world together.

Sunrise at Cape Byron lighthouse