When you international friends have seen more of the country you’ve called home then perhaps it’s time to take stock and why you don’t know more about your own backyard.

Being an avid photographer that would rather try than not, I’ve been getting into the art of photography for longer that I can remember. I’ll never forget getting my first digital camera back in 2007. And the magnificence of 3.2 megapixels. Sure it is ridiculous by today’s standards but for it’s time it was the top of the line! That camera and I were inseparable. I photographed nearly everything. Alas my 128MB memory card filled up quite quickly and I loathed deleting the photos. I liked to see the evolution of my photography style. All 2 weeks worth. Flash forward to the present and you’ve probably heard about my rant about the 256GB memory card.

As I was looking through my photos for the year, I realised that for the first time, I had, on average taken less photos than I did in the last few years. Which got me thinking that perhaps it just means I haven’t been to some of the more interesting places around here. And I remember having a conversation with a Canadian friend of mine about all the interesting places he has seen with his time, here in Australia and he started rattling off all the places that he would recommend. It slowly dawned on me, that he has seen more of this country in ONE year than I ever have. I can already hear your excuses and queries coming out…and before you continue. Yes, he had a casual retail job, yes he was sharing an apartment with his girlfriend close to the city and yes, he was only here for a year.

I sat up thinking… “What the hell was my excuse?” If my Great Ocean Road trip was anything to go by, it only reinforced my theory that this place is TRULY amazing. Of course you could find little gems exploring the city but what about the suburbs? And with the rise of programs like couchsurfing, sometimes it’s best to checkout what’s a little out of town and in suburbia! Heck, have you even explored your own neighbourhood? What about your own street at night? Things are quite contrasting between day and night. Even your own street. And yes, the irrational fear that someone might harm you comes to the fore…because there is a ticketing system that says you have to cross of this many people off your list and it’s shared across the country and they are all just waiting. For you. Tell me. What has that gotten you? Sitting on the couch watching the latest episode of . When was the last time you explored? Or even dared to go out of your comfort zone.

My TO DO

And in this spirit, I am throwing down the challenge to myself to see all the major capitals and nearly all weekends must be filled with great random weekend getaways that adhere to my principles…. and who knows, perhaps that could be the book I’ve finally wanted to have written. Ok… gets written. And these getaways could be applied to wherever you are. I’ve never been so excited about a project like this before!

What places do you want to go see? What do you recommend? Must see things or a trip that just must be done…And perhaps our journies might intersect. 256GB memory cards, just might become the next hot topic.