Australia

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

It all started with chicken parmagiana. I mean, what better way to start a six week Edgeventure than a homemade Aussie classic by Melbournes hottest couple. And our hosts for week one, Cat & Rory, were so kind to share more than just their culinary delights; we were welcomed in their home, shared a Christmas barbie with their family, shown the sights and sounds of Melbourne including an incredible rooftop tiki NYE celebration and a house party of epic proportions. Be sure to make it to the end of the video. You will never have heard a rendition of Creep like this before.

But it wasn’t just about a week-long Melbourne drinking sesh. A lot of Lonely Planet must-see boxes were ticked off. Without boring you with the full itinerary, our highlights included:

• Zipping our way through the Mountain Ash and giant ferns in Otways Rainforest
• A brief encounter with, according to Australian Geographic, Austrialia‘s third most dangerous snake. Cat spotted the mainland tiger snake on the beach by the 12 Apostles and Gibson Steps. Whilst we took a pit stop for some fruit and yoghurt, it was chowing down on an entire bird!
• Remember the lighthouse in Round the Twist? If not, you soon will.
• Taking a dip at the famous Bells Beach
• Learning about Australia’s most notorious armored bandit. A visit to the State Library of Victoria to see Ned Kelly‘s bullet-ridden iron suit is a must!
• Getting up close and personal with native Aussie wildlife. Koalas, kangaroos, turtles, sharks, stingrays, cane toads, wild dingoes, kayaking with dolphins, a surprise visit from a huntsman in the loo and the cutest Little Penguins waddling up the beach of Phillip Island
• Wilson’s Prom. Wow!
• The coastal drive from Melbourne to Sydney and a few chance encounters with four very familiar Irish faces
• Exploring Sydney‘s The Rocks & Circular Quay. The Opera house is truly breathtaking, there’s a great market and some awesome spots to get talking to the locals. Check out Inga enjoying her pint of Guinness in the pics below. Her captivating stories included her husband trying to kill her, multiple times!
• Everyone said to walk Bondi to Coogee. Now we know why.
• Hamilton Island. Everything about this place is just magic.
• The Great Barrier Reef. An underwater colour explosion teeming with marine life. The helicopter ride over Heart Reef was out of this world.
• An off-road sand dune Edgeventure exploring Fraser Island. The pure waters of Lake McKenzie, white silica, the Maheno Wreck, Champagne Pools, Indian Head and a bit of whiplash thrown in for the craic!
• There’s only one place to learn to surf. Surfers Paradise.
• There are too many foodie heaven spots to list but it’s safe to say the Aussies know how to eat and we have the excess kilos to prove it!

On the photography front, it was a bit of a challenge. It was a real surf’s up, beach-life holiday and I had enough sand in cracks and crevasses to worry about without worrying about the camera too. That being said, I hope you’ll agree that I’ve stepped up a level on these. I put a lot of effort into lighting, creativity, composition and multiple exposure stacking…I’m kind of addicted to those.

As always, I really do hope you enjoy. Now go ingest!

If you made it this far, <fist pump!> and you’re still hungry for more, here’s a wee clip of our Edgeventures. Footage isn’t as good as it could’ve been, it was only for a bit of fun anyway, but “Mr. Tech Wizzard” here didn’t realise image stabilisation is disabled in 4K resolution on the Gopro. Doh!.