Phillip Island & what it does to me in Australia

I have now visited another sight around Melbourne, namely Phillip Island. The island is about two hours away.

The stopover was the 'Moonlit Sanctuary'. A kind of zoo for Australian animals. I had imagined the whole thing differently, more like a safari where you can observe the animals in their natural habitat. Unfortunately, the opposite was true. Enclosed wombats, koalas with only two trees in their enclosure to perch on, birds, including eagles, in cages that hardly offered space for flying. Animals that walk the same route in the enclosure all the time because they go mad, as the limited space is not their natural habitat. And all this so that we humans can stare at them. Of course, it was cool to pet a kangaroo. But if you take a closer look at all this with open eyes, it's just sad and I actually left there in tears. After I told the bus driver what I think of all this, he stopped talking to me.

The landscape on Phillip Island was a dream. Just as we were driving over the bridge to the island, there was the most beautiful sunset to see. Wallabies hop around everywhere on the island, watching the buses. The highlight of the trip were supposed to be penguins that come onto the island from the sea after sunset. Unfortunately, this is a really touristy thing. We all sat on a kind of grandstand and were talked to until the penguins came out of the water. When the time came, certain people naturally didn't follow the rules. They stood up, walked around, took photos...which made the penguins waddle back into the water out of fear. That was really sad, because without us tourists, the animals could have just gone home in peace. I left immediately and didn't watch it until the end. The bus driver was not surprised to find me the first one at the bus.

After this trip (which I had already booked from Germany) I can say that I will no longer do such touristy things. I can only advise everyone not to go to the zoo, etc. This is never appropriate for the animals and will only continue as long as there are people who look at it and pay for it. Studies show that a visit to the zoo has no educational effect on most children. There can also be no talk of species conservation, as newborns are often killed because some animals reproduce too often. If anyone is interested, I can gladly send appropriate links. Or you can find out for yourself.

In any case, I prefer to look at animals when I happen to see them sitting, hanging, or hopping somewhere, and I am even more delighted then. And they are certainly too.  

But I have also taken a lot of positive things from this trip. The landscape was incredibly beautiful. So beautiful that tears of joy came to my eyes after leaving the bus for the first time on the island. I felt like I was at the end of the world and yet in the middle of it. 

Furthermore, I have found that I quite enjoy traveling by bus. I don't have to worry about anything, can be alone or in company. I liked that and I can imagine traveling through Australia like this if I don't find a suitable travel partner. Someone I get along with so well that I can imagine spending a long time in the car with them. The bus seems like a good alternative for me. There are also plenty of offers for backpackers.

But the most beautiful moment for me was on the way back to Melbourne. It was already dark. The most relaxed music was playing on the radio and we were driving straight towards the huge full moon. That was another moment when I thought: 'Wow. You're actually sitting in an Australian bus and driving towards the moon'. Again, tears of joy came to my eyes because the moment felt so perfect. In such situations, I realize what I am doing right now and then I am a little proud of myself because I finally took this step. Proud that I am sitting alone at the other end of the world in a bus and feel so comfortable. I haven't been here for long, but I haven't regretted this trip for a single moment. On the contrary, with every new challenge, I learn more about myself again. After every difficulty or every decision, after every low point, it always gets better than it was before. 

I can literally feel myself growing out of myself. Sometimes that hurts a lot. At the same time, it makes life even more worth living, and after every pain, the beautiful moments are even more beautiful than before. I am so grateful that I can feel all of this. In the past, I was more like 'numb' through life. No special joy, no special emotion, no gut feeling. Everything was somehow indifferent or was thought about a hundred times. If I couldn't deal with something, I distracted myself or ate something.

By now, I have learned more about how to read myself. I know why I react the way I do and when, and therefore I can be kinder to myself. Allowing myself 'bad' days and moments, because they are important for me to continue developing. I enjoy every second and am happy about the doors that are open to me, the opportunities that I have.

On the way to finding myself, this journey is the most beautiful gift I could have given myself. I am so grateful and look forward to everything that life has to offer me.