Australia

There is so much I want to say about Australia, and sitting here in the airport, waiting to leave, I am genuinely trying hard not to cry.

I feel like I am part of this country now, and I'm leaving before I'm ready. I have had such an incredible time (keep your eyes peeled for my last blog post which I forgot to upload, concerning my last trip to Queensland) and I have spent seven amazing months with wonderful people. 

Since I've been here, a lot of things have changed back home, and I'm anxious to get back and work out what I'm going to do with my life, but looking out the window at this great big Australian sky, there's nowhere I'd rather be. The feeling of Australia, as many travellers will tell you, is contagious. There are so many beautiful things and fantastic people and amazing places that even after seven months, I feel like I haven't done enough.

The past few weeks, since I've somewhat run out of money, I haven't been doing more than hanging out with my favourite people (and horses), but even that has left me content and happy. Leaving here is breaking my heart.

From here, I'll be travelling to Singapore, and will undoubtedly have a wonderful couple of weeks seeing the sights with Tom, so for that reason, I am staying positive. I am also looking forward to getting home to my family - seven months is a long time!

Still, it was so hard saying goodbye to Courtney and her gorgeous dog, Diesel, my lovely friend Lauren, and of course, my aunt and uncle, who have put up with me all this time. On top of that, Thursday was my last day riding, which meant I had to say a difficult goodbye to my wonderful riding teacher, the lovely people I've been riding with, and last but definitely not least, the beautiful quarter horse, Bailey, who I have fallen completely in love with.

In a way, this was my hardest goodbye. Bailey and I spent several weeks working together, fixing each other's problems. She is an underworked, naughty young mare, and she spent at least half her time trying to buck me off. But she never had me off, and leaving her, knowing she's for sale for far too much money was a real worry for me. I'm not sure where she'll end up, and while I know I can always come back to my friends and family here, Bailey probably won't be around when I get back.

So, in short, although I'm excited for the adventures ahead of me, I'd still like to stay a little longer and spend some more time with the lovely friends I've made. I'm not ready to say goodbye.