Kangaroo Island - going overseas without a passport.

Kangaroo Island. It's one destination why overseas visitors come to South Australia. But how many South Aussie's have been? I've been quite a few times now, but only once for a holiday. It's truly a beautiful place and has so much to do. In one week, I could not possibly discover it all. 

My three favourite things about KI?
1. Little Sahara - yippee. Grab a board, and skid down the dunes. Laugh a minute, and spectacular views across the dunes from the top. 

2. Seal Bay - watching sea lions grunt, groan and heave just metres from you. What's not to love about watching these creatures? So cute.
3. Stokes Bay - a beach with access through a small opening in a huge cliff. It sounds so secret. Bright white sand, rock pools and peace wait on the other side. Squeeze through.

Three things I'd love to do on KI?
1. Stay at a luxury holiday home with views over one of the gorgeous beaches.
2. Stay at Southern Ocean Lodge
3. Sail the coast on a beautiful summers day, dipping in the ocean to cool off wherever I please.

Who has been? And what is your favourite thing?

So, what are you waiting for?

We are only in this life for a short time - what are you going to do with it?

For the love of life. Personal and professional development.

Do you believe in constantly improving yourself and your knowledge? Do you like learning new things? Do you strive for getting better? I do. I love learning. 

This year, I made a resolution to stop learning and start implementing. That resolution got broken a few months in when I signed up for Marie Forleo's B-School. Then, again, when I signed up for a blogging business pack. And now, here I am in Perth, with a sore bum, having been in a three-day conference. 

The 2015 Nikon AIPP Event is an annual event held each year, for photographers and videographers to learn, be inspired and network. This year, it was in Perth. Next year it's in Melbourne.

I love the conference, and although I didn't have major 'aha' moments this year, I have come away massively inspired and with warm fuzzies, having gained more photography friends. Listening to amazing creatives such as Ryan Schembri, Patrick Moreau, and Cameron Frost while chatting with photography icons David Dare Parker and Brooke Shaden, I love the passion we all share. 

Takeaways for a making the most of a conference?
1. Talk to as many people as you can. Overcome your shyness. We are all in the same situation.
2. Give away more positivity - in the form of comments, compliments or just telling someone they did a good job/you like their product.
3. Three-day conferences are long. Don't feel bad if you have to stand up at the back of the room. Also, don't eat too much heavy food at lunch and get the snooze happening.
4. Enjoy the networking nights that are booze filled - but not too much. You paid good money to go, why waste it on needing to stay in bed or feel crap.
5. Get out and wander outside whenever you can. The fresh air and sun rejuvenates you for the next session.
6. Don't be afraid to approach the speakers - they are only human, like us. They are not a better human being than us; we are all the same.

So, what do you do for personal development? If we aren't growing, where are we going? If life is a journey, we need to be constantly moving forward, pushing ourselves to learn and experience new things. Imagine being stuck at a crossroad for life - never experiencing what lies beyond. Imagine what we are missing out on while waiting and not moving forward.

Tell me your plans...

The perfect time for photos - is when you have a camera.

There is no such thing as the perfect day for taking photos. Or weather. Just get out there and take them. 

Yes, the light at the start and end of the day is beautiful, soft and colourful but you can still get great shots during the midday sun. 

Grey sky? At least there are no shadows to deal with. 

Bright, sunny day? You have colour that pops. And you can have fun with shadows and lines of geometry and design. 

Night? Pop the camera on a tripod and get star trails. Or have fun with painting light. Use a torch and run around. 

You can get great shots in summer or winter. Rain and wetness add vibrancy and colour to objects. It gives them punch. And raindrops on objects is a macro subject in itself.

So, don't let the rain and cold weather put you off getting outside with your camera. Grab a camera protector - even if it's a plastic bag - and go have some fun. 

You can't get better without practice.

Strange things happen...

'You know, this is Paradise? It's paradise. There is nothing better - anywhere.' 

This is what I hear when the man, speedwalking down Legian beach in his white jocks and singlet, stops and chats early one morning. I dare not say otherwise, even if I believe it not to be true. He makes his point, bids me a good day, and continues his power walk.

Bali is a wonderful country, and an easy place for a holiday for Aussies. I love to holiday there and have explored many different areas. But paradise? I haven't seen that yet. Not in Bali. It takes quite a bit to make 'paradise' on my list. 

The dirty beaches and waters, the ultra persistent street hawkers, and the built up concrete cities shadow the friendly people, the scenic mountains and rice paddies and the beaches of surf. 

My idea of paradise would include squeaky white sand beaches, rolling surf every day. Lots of rainforests to discover. Casual and friendly town vibe with cafes and little shops. Getting around on mopeds and jeeps. Latin music and dancing in the streets, and a temperature that is just a few degrees cooler than Bali coastal areas so I can still get out and do stuff in the sun during the day. 

What is your idea of paradise? I know we are all different. I'd love to hear.

Why is travel so addictive?

I had my first overseas holiday in 2012 - with my mum, cousin and Aunty. We went to Bali and stayed in Legian. A very different Bali to the country Aussies visit now. 

I then lived in Brazil for a year. Then went on an around the world six-week trip. Then lived in various parts of Europe for over a year. I've also had lots of holidays to exotic destinations over the years. Yes, I've spent lots of money on travel. But what cost can you put on the experience, cultural learning and fun? 

Travel is something that will last a lifetime, unlike the newest iPhone or TV. I'm happy to go without some 'luxuries' to save my money for travel. I'll even trade presents for a trip. Any day (or year). 

What do you give up to travel?

When tranquility turns to high pitched squeals - and it's not the monkeys.

On our recent trip to Bali we decided to venture north, to The Menjangan. This beautiful, tranquil resort is set in national park on the north coast of Bali. Roofless people movers bump up and down over the dirt tracks, quietly transporting guests from lodge, to reception, to restaurant, to beachfront. We are surrounded by forest, monkeys and birds. Trees arch over the dirt tracks as if reaching out for us, as we putt and bump along on the roof seating.

At the beachfront, couples laze back in canopied beach huts, sipping on cocktails at happy hour. Monitor lizards rustle in the mangroves. Staff hush quietly behind the bar and in the activities hut.

We are in the restaurant the morning after we arrive. Monkeys play in the trees just over the railing. We are sitting on a deck high up in the treetops, overlooking a valley of greenery. Again, the staff silently look after us. All we can hear are birds, and the monkeys swinging about. Sometimes they break out into a sqwauk, probably when one takes the branch of another. They are cheeky. 

Suddenly, another squeal echoes through the forest. Followed by another. Then a thump. Ashton has had enough of his sister harrassing him. He doesn't want to have breakfast here, he would prefer to be at the beach. He wants to play somewhere else. He wants his breakfast. He wants to go to the pool. He doesn't like Belle. He wants to go back to the room. He wants to sit where Belle is sitting. He wants to sit on mummy.

Serenity and silence has gone - far away. What do we do? Guests are surely going to start staring at us with raised eyebrows. Staff are definitely going to ask us to leave. Ashton goes on. Oh my. I can feel my face going red (or even more red in this heat). There is nothing we can do to calm him down.

And then, as suddenly as he started, he stops. Ashton finds the sling shot to scare the monkeys away from the deck, and he's all quiet again. Hmm. Random. The joys and surprises of travelling with a three year old. 

We depart quickly after breakfast, and hibernate the morning away in our room, and the pool just outside. We wait for a knock at the door, but it never comes. We also go to dinner early - trying to avoid as many people as we can. And before Ashton cracks it again. We survive. No one tells us to leave, no one raises eyebrows at us - or at least, not while we are looking.

I'm sorry for any guests there that had to bear witness to this. I hope you understand, or one day will. 

Another Kangaroo Island fling.

I'm a volunteer photographer with the AIPP Reflections project. We are photographing as many World War II Veterans as we can, around Australia. www.aippveterans.com

This week I set off with Nadia Marlow to photograph the veterans of Kangaroo Island. Nadia had never been to KI before, so we squeezed in some sightseeing in between shoots.

On our way to Ken's house, who lives on the last soldier settlement farm in KI, we veered off to Little Sahara. The light was golden, and we raced up to the top. It's great road tripping with another photographer; you can have fun with cameras with no complaints. We ran down the sides of the sand dunes, and we man crawled up again, and then Nadia pulled elaborate poses for 'photo poses 101'. 

We found an awesome little cabin at Waves and Wildlife at Stokes Bay for the night. Arriving in the dark, we bump our way along the track. We know we are close to the ocean, we can hear it roar - and we've seen pics - but can't see anything in the blackness. The next morning, we wake up to a scene of grey, with our little shrub trees near the cabin bending nearly parallel to the ground. We think we aren't going to get any photos, or a chance to adventure, but within 30 minutes, the rain has gone, the wind has settled, and the sun comes out. We race about, up the hill, and down the hill, checking out the beach and views. It is a special place - just a handful of cabins set on a grassy (and rocky) patch of land right at cliffs edge. Kangaroos and wallabies lounge about, watching us wander. In summer, this place would be even better.  

Of course, with all the driving - KI is quite big - we have to burn some energy. Prospect Hill is good for that. Gets the heart pumping, and the views from the top are worth it. I would say, 'they take your breath away', but the breath has already gone from climbing.

I decide to count the number of steps on the way down. I know I miss a few, but decide it's around 374 plus the last few that I forgot to count near the carpark. Well, I was a bit wrong. Sealink's guide says 512 steps. They are quite easy though, and it only takes about 10 minutes to climb.

We head to Emu Bay to visit the Lavender Farm, which was shut, so end up walking along the beach. A stretch of white beach that goes on and on, I want to come back here in summer. We spy beach shacks on the hills behind trees, and dream of the holiday that could be had. 

After our two days, I thought about what I like most about KI. It's the peace and nature-based experience, but I can have some unique experiences like Little Sahara and Seal Bay too. 

Do what you love. Why not?

Remember when we were kids? We used to do what we want, and not care too much for what others thought. Imagine if adults could be more like kids? Wouldn't it be fun. I'm not sure what I world would look like - but it would be different. 

Once a day, at least, do something fun. It could be singing in the shower, it could be saying hello to a stranger, it could be jumping on the bed… heck, you could even put on wellies and jump in muddy puddles. 

The importance of having goals, but being flexible.

Have goals. Live your dreams. But don't forget that sometimes, the path can take turns, have pitstops or end slightly off course. The goal you were once striving for may have changed colour, shape and form. Or, another goal may be in it's place. Accept that goals and dreams change, but don't forget to set them.