Ever since I was a kid, I have loved koalas. I am very stereotypical in my appreciation of animals in that I love cute animals: I love dogs, koalas, pandas, and kangaroos. I appreciate tigers, lions, leopards, and cheetahs, and I’d clearly be terrified if I ever came across one near me that was not in a cage, but I’d never say I love them. Marsupials are a particularly interesting type of animal to me, as someone who grew up in the Northern Hemisphere, because they have… POUCHES. How can that not be fascinating to a human being, who relies on things like jackets and pants to have pockets to store things?

Probably to the detriment of animals across the globe that we actually need and make a true difference, the entire world is not too much different from me in their appreciation, fascination, and love of cute and relatively useless animals: tens of millions of dollars are spent by people and governments to preserve and help grow the population of koalas and pandas, another cute, fat, and lazy animal that pretty much does nothing. While both are useless and do little to help the planet, we all cannot help but gush and giggle at their silly, clumsy movements and every chew of eucalyptus leaves (koalas) or bamboo (pandas).

So that was basically me when I got to see koalas again this trip, first at the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary, then at the Blackbutt Reserve. We got to see koalas moving along branches, chewing endless gum leaves, and simply sleeping. And with koalas, because they are so slow moving, you really have to observe them for a while to really see any “action.” Koalas spend anywhere from 18-22 hours per day sleeping. They spend the remaining time awake eating, moving through trees and branches, grooming, or mating. It sounds so ridiculous, but to this day, I could probably spend several hours standing there, watching a single koala move around branch to branch, chew on gum leaves, and simply blink their eyes, and I’d be relatively satisfied as though I were watching a live theater show.

My general sentiment in a weak defense of myself is: I’m allowed to have a few indulgences, and well, this is one of them. Not every single thing I do and like has to be to help the world progress and be better. And I suppose my love of pandas and koalas is one of those things.

I have a number of Instagram followers who reside in Australia. Some of them actively comment on my Instagram stories, and others I’ve actually had some private conversations with via Instagram messenger. One of them lives in Sydney, and she asked how long I’d be in Australia and where I’d go. I told her that Chris’s family is in Melbourne, so we’d spend the majority of the time there, but we always do a side trip somewhere else domestically. This year, Chris chose Newcastle in New South Wales. Her response was, “Why are you going there? Usually people only go to Newcastle if they have family. International tourists (like me) don’t really go there.”

I appreciate her conversation, as I do anyone who is technically a stranger on social media who wants to have non-combative conversation or engage with me in a positive way. But I secretly kind of love it when people ask me the question “Why are you going there?” of any place we go. Other people tend to dislike it. But I actually relish it because it’s ultimately indicative of the fact that not all the places we choose to go to are “mainstream,” that they may be roads less taken and traveled to. Perhaps they are gems that only locals or those within a country or given area know about. It’s one huge perk (or what I think is a perk) of having married someone who is from another country with family still residing there: it’s an opportunity for me to immerse myself in that culture and see places that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have visited, or visited to the level of depth that I have.

Places that are on the most traveled-to lists, destinations like New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, ALL OF ITALY — these are places that need no explanation when people choose to visit them. No one ever asks, “Why are you going to Paris?” because the cosmopolitan city speaks for itself in its name. But there are so many other places less traveled to that are incredible and have special things about them. Back in 2018, I got so many concerned responses, warning messages, and “Why are you going there?” questions from people when I shared we were going to Colombia. Now, Colombia is ON THE MAP. Americans are going there in hoards. It’s one of the “it” places to visit. Endless bachelor/bachelorette parties are happening there.

We spent the day exploring Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary, Nelson Bay, and Tea Gardens today. We indulged in a sumptuous seafood platter, complete with fresh creamy oysters and mussels that Kaia went nuts over. We saw some gorgeous views at Gan Gan Hill Lookout of the Tomaree Coastline. We also spent some time at the beach, where Kaia had endless giggles and threw a tantrum when we told her we had to leave. Who knows — one day when tourists have tired of Sydney, Melbourne, and Cairns when visiting Australia, Newcastle and the surrounds may be next on the map!

The first time I came to Australia was in 2012, when I got exposed to the wine region of Mornington Peninsula here in the state of Victoria. In subsequent years, I’d had the privilege of visiting a number of other famous wine regions, including the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Adelaide Hills in South Australia (where much of the world renowned Australian shirazes hail from), and the Margaret River region all the way in Western Australia. Most people who have been exposed to Australian wine outside of Australia are aware of the high quality Shiraz wines. But I’d say that taste wise, the Hunter Valley wines seem less known or understood. The reason for this is that the Hunter Valley has a dryer, hotter climate than other wine growing regions of Australia, which then allows the grapes to fully ripen on the vine, producing a much different flavor. The wines seem a tad sweeter here, and almost a bit brighter and more effervescent than the typical Shiraz you’d get in South Australia.

We visited a couple different smaller producers to have tastings, including De Iuliis Wines, Hunter Distillery, and Hanging Tree Wines. Some of the standouts included a surprising Shiraz from Tasmania, a brut (“champagne” but not from Champagne, France, obviously) made here and with local grapes, and a delicious lychee liqueur that literally tasted like fresh crushed, juiced lychees. The surprising thing about the shiraz wines here is that they feel much lighter and zestier than the ones we enjoyed in South Australia. The brut wines (sparkling wines) also had a fruitier, buzzier flavor than the champagnes or sparkling wines from elsewhere.

I’ve really loved the wines in Australia, and have been excited to do a wine tour across this country over the last 12 years. In wine shops in the U.S., we are seeing more and more of them as people abroad are discovering them. But the best ones are obviously here (and well, exported to China).

Yesterday evening, we took a flight from Melbourne to Newcastle, New South Wales. We’ll be spending the next four days here. Newcastle is a seaport in New South Wales. It’s the largest coal exporting harbor in the world. Also known as “Newy,” Newcastle is known for its harbor, beaches, and proximity to the famous Hunter Valley wine region. While here, we’re planning to see and taste the wine region, enjoy the beaches, and also experience the beautiful coastline. Also, we cannot forget the seafood!

While on our short flight over, we were served an in-flight meal. Even in economy class, flights in Australia always give you food to eat, and I tend to forget this since on U.S. carriers, I’m used to getting a simple beverage at most and some crappy packaged snack. Chris had pre-ordered a kids meal for Kaia, which included some sweet we wouldn’t let her eat, as well as strawberry-flavored milk. To date, Kaia had never had any flavored milk before. American flavored milk would likely be too sweet, so we always steered clear of those and kept her away from bottled juices as much as possible given excess sugar consumption. But this time, we let her try some of the strawberry milk. Though she seemed to like it, she didn’t actually want much of it and abandoned it. The flavor of the strawberry milk was nostalgic for Chris, though, so after he shared some with me, he proceeded to finish drinking the rest of it. I will admit: this strawberry milk was far less sweet than the equivalent back in the States, and it was actually pretty enjoyable.

When the flight attendant came around to pick up all our rubbish and food trays, he laughed when he saw that it wasn’t Kaia who was drinking the strawberry milk, but Chris! I’m sure he wondered whether Kaia’s parents had actually ordered the kids’ meal for Kaia… or whether they secretly ordered it for themselves to enjoy as closeted adult fans of flavored milk and kid treats. It was a pretty comical moment during our short flight up.

The other thing I always forget when I fly on non-U.S.-based carriers is how high the quality of service is versus U.S. carriers. On all the flights on Qantas on this trip, the flight attendants have been extremely accommodating, attentive, and kind, particularly to Kaia. It makes me wonder why U.S. airline staff always seems far more entitled than Australian airline staff just on delivering… customer service, which is exactly what their entire jobs are. If you can’t even do your basic job functions well, why are you even choosing that position?