Last week I finished working in Hervey Bay. But no, I didn’t leave right away. That week I spent my time with people that are important to me and whom I’ve got to know better during past few months. It was sad and hard to say goodbyes on different days to different people, some of them leaving as well.  But I’m glad I got to know them all, some of them better than others. It felt like leaving home again and no wonder since all those people were like family to me. How I miss going for a coffee and cake, having ice creams, talking about everything, listening to good music, watching movies, just sitting at the breakfast eating pancakes, having someone to talk to.

Last Monday I arrived to Great Keppel Island and I fell in love with the island straight away! The island is stunningly beautiful and there are so many trails you can walk and see new places as you go. My first thought was to stay for three nights but it just wasn’t enough so I extended my stay for three more nights. The island life is just so relaxing. I sleep in a tent, in a bed though and during the night you can hear possums wondering around, bats screaming up in the trees, curlews calling to each other. The electricity is on roughly from 6 am till 11 pm and it suits me just fine. To walk in the darkness you just use your flash light so you won’t run into anything, possums for example like I almost did last night. On Friday we had a really nice bonfire at the beach and we sat there for hours. There are no roads on the island, just tracks and trails going from place to place. The beaches are stunning and snorkelling is a good way of passing time but so far I’ve just walked and enjoyed the sun. After darkness there isn’t much to do but to sit around, eat, talk with people, play cards and since it gets colder during the nights everybody heads to bed fairly early, cos in bed it’s nice and warm at least! There are no proper shops on the island so you just bring all your food from mainland with you.

I know I just finished working in Hervey Bay but I just fell in love with the island life so much that I’m going to work there for my accommodation for a while. I just don’t want to leave. Well, I had to come to mainland today to get food cos I barely had anything left. It’s hard to try to think what all I will need for the whole time but I’ll try to get the right amount of food. I know I definitely need cookies, sweets and chocolate! :D

When you travel you get to meet a lot of different people. We’re all used to different things depending where we’re from. Some miss proper bread, some miss good Italian food in a restaurant near their home, some miss good cakes, some miss good chocolate. I miss proper rye bread, and some good sweets you can’t get here. But I guess you kind of replace them with different things or you just get used to eat a bit differently while you’re travelling. And people do get creative when travelling. It’s possible to bake bread or make a pizza without oven!

While travelling you meet a lot of new people and you get some new friends too. But being away makes you appreciate your friends back home, or at least it’s the way I feel. I miss my friends and sometimes their words make me cry because the words mean so much. And like one of my dearest friends said: “These kilometres between us don’t change our friendship - at most they will make the friendship even stronger.”

"It takes a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye."
- Anurag Gupta -

It is often said that men are better drivers than women. But what I’ve experienced in past couple of months disagrees with that statement badly. I’ve witnessed a guy trying to get out of the parking space by going back and forth several times when there were only two other cars in the whole car park! The van I was driving was next to his and then there was a car on the other side of the driveway behind him one space to his left. But if you decide to reverse just to the driveway not to the empty space behind you I guess it can be hard to get out! :D I so wished I had my camera with me – it would have made a funny video on Youtube! Oh, and last Friday! I had been watching football and when I got back to the car park, what did I see? A campervan partly parked in the space I had the car in and not much space between the cars. I was just thinking how someone could park a van so badly, and my first thought was that it must be a woman! But then I saw a guy by the van getting out and obviously planning to just walk away. I asked:  “Are you really leaving that car like that?” “Yes, I’m not good with this camper van. I’m not used to driving such a big car.” “Well, I’m not used to this small car and I need to get out.” I was driving Bill’s BMW deluxe convertible so I was a bit terrified to drive it! The guy: “Well, you can get the car out, can’t you?” “Well, I don’t seem to have an option, do I? I really need to go.” And I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut: “You’re a man and you should be able to park a car!” My friends (both male) were just laughing and listening to the conversations. That guy shouldn’t be driving since he doesn’t even know how to park the car!

I’m not that much into football but it was nice to go and watch the match Germany vs. Italy last Friday. And since I was watching it with Germans I supported Germany of course. It would have ruined the whole atmosphere if I had been supporting Italy. The previous night when I was talking about watching the game with a friend I said if I was in Finland I would support Italy. He said: “Ok, now you’re not allowed to come and watch the game.” The comment came with a laugh and I promised to support Germany so I wasn’t excluded from this early morning game watching – luckily!

This is my "home" beach. :)

Sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me cos I feel comfortable here on the other side of the world and I don’t seem to miss home. I do miss people, don’t get me wrong. But it seems I’m adapted to be away and I’m not letting myself to get depressed or anything just because I don’t have my friends and family here to talk and spend time with. I’ve made some new friends and life is very different here for me but I don’t seem to need much to be content and happy. Dreams don’t come true without a price. And I knew the price I was going to pay to be away from everyone.

Sometimes I’m sad when I see other people skyping with their family and friends. I’ve skyped probably three times in past three months. So no wonder I’m starting to “lose” Finnish words and I feel weird if I speak Finnish with Finnish travellers. I may be rude but I must say that luckily I haven’t had to speak Finnish with travellers for a while! But at the same time I’m a bit sad that there aren’t more Finnish people travelling cos I already prefer English now, what will it be when I’ve been here for a year? I already have to look up in the dictionary a little too often for words – Finnish words!

My mum is coming to visit me in November and I’m so excited! I just want to plan our trip together when I actually should be planning my own travels starting in about two weeks when I finish working here in Hervey Bay. I’ve been invited to Noosa so I’m going there first but then I should be travelling up north towards the warmer climate. I’m both excited and sad to leave. I’m so happy to go and travel to see new places but also sad not to have the familiar friends around to talk to anymore. I know I’ll meet new people, I don’t have to be alone, but it’s not the same as talking with people you’ve got to know a little bit better.

"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."
- Lois Wyse -

If I had been in Finland
I would have been
sitting there with them. ♥

Here I am on the other side of the world and what do I miss? Spending the midsummer in the countryside. On Thursday evening I was sitting and thinking that if I was in Finland there would be a big chance I would be in the car on my way to the countryside like so many other Finnish people too. It has been a tradition for a few years for me to spend the midsummer in the countryside with my best friend, her boyfriend, parents, cousin, uncle, aunt, a bit different mix of people every year. It’s so nice to relax, eat and spend time with others. We do have a habit of eating a lot! :D Breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee, dinner, evening snack and whatever you feel like eating whenever you’re hungry. And no one minds if you want to a have a nap or you get up at midday. The sauna! How wonderful it is to get warm in the sauna and then swim in the cool water, and back to the sauna. Your hair feels so smooth after washing it in the lake! And the midsummer bonfire! I miss standing there in front of the huge bonfire watching the flames. But it’s the people who make the midsummer as great as it always is. And my dear friend made me part of it by sending me a couple of photos and greetings from everyone. It really made me happy.

Midsummer bonfire

I must say have really and truly great friends. I sometimes feel so bad when I don’t feel like writing and emailing and I just sit watching a movie or reading the news. It often moves me to tears to read my friends’ emails. The other day I was reading an email from a friend and it was a great way to start the day, but her words made me cry. Her words meant so much to me.

I’ve sat on the beach here countless times but still the scenery makes me stop and admire it. Today I sat there and look in the horizon, you couldn’t see where the sea ended and the sky started, it looked so beautiful! I have a huge amount of pictures taken on the beach but I couldn’t pick any favourite. All the moments worth taking a picture has been so wonderful that you just can’t pick one moment and one scene. Today’s mirror clear water and the horizon made me think of Fiji.

It’s really nice to work in a hostel but it can get tiring to meet all people and basically start the conversations with all the same things: where you from, how long are you travelling for, where are going to travel, what do you do back home etc. And since people don’t usually stay here that long, you go through that conversation every day for several times. It’s wonderful to hear all different stories but just sometimes it would be nice to just talk about things in your life with someone who knows you well enough so there’s no need to tell the history to understand the present. It’s sometimes frustrating because it’s not the same to write and an email to a friend as to sit face to face and just talk.



Paddle out for whales in Hervey Bay

There seems to be a curse on weekends when I’m having my day off. It’s usually raining and if not raining it’s really grey and it looks like it might rain any moment. Well, it gives a good opportunity to be lazy and just relax but it would still be nice if it was sunny. So today it’s grey and rainy but I still ventured out to have a look on paddling for the whales. Many people took part in paddling and equally many were watching from the beach. There were whole families on a kayak, a girl with a body board, people paddle boarding, a couple even had their dogs on their boards! :D

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."
- Elbert Hubbard -

The weather was just horrible over the weekend. And I must say you were able to see the atmosphere to drop with the weather. Everyone just sat quiet and looking depressed. I worked the weekend so I didn’t care about the weather so much but I must say I prefer sunshine. In the evening on Sunday I was literally like a kid when I saw a rainbow. I was just driving when I saw it in front of me with really bright colours, I was amazed. But when I parked the car and stepped out I was awestruck to see the rainbow forming half a circle. I almost run to my friend’s car and my first words were: “Have you seen the rainbow?” I’ve never seen anything like that before! There are no words to explain how amazing it looked. Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me.

When I heard a loved one back in Finland has been in a bad car accident I was shocked. I was relieved to hear it from him himself but still it stopped me, I was speechless. My hands were shaking and I felt tightness in my chest. I cried, I don’t know why, he’s not badly hurt, but still. I’m relieved to know he’s okay. Of course he’s traumatized and I can only wish that the time will help him to overcome what happened.
I googled the date with the name of the place it happened and read all the news I could find, even though they all said the same things. And I still have the news of the accident open on the browser and keep on reading them.
What bothers me is that no one told me when it happened. It happened a month ago, I was told today. I just keep on thinking that if he’s okay, why no one told me? Not to upset me since he’s okay? But why? I know I’m far away and I don’t have the kind of friends here as I have back in Finland but I’ve always said I want to know if something happens. If something happens I want to be able to make my own decisions what to do in those situations, not someone else to make decision for me by not telling. I know I’m probably overreacting being upset but I just hate it when I’m not told. Hearing bad news is never easy and it definitely doesn’t get any easier even though the time would pass, it still will be the first time I hear about it whether it’s the day it happens or a month afterwards.

Just a normal day.

When people come to Australia they are worried about spiders, snakes and sharks. I’d rather be worried about traffic accidents. There are a lot of poisonous snakes and spiders here but they are not likely to come and hunt you down! It’s my fourth time down here and I’ve seen just one snake in wild. I’ve seen a few spiders but they not usually bothering you unless you go and try to irritate them or they feel threatened by you. Hairy spiders look ugly and they can be poisonous, but common sense helps a lot. And sharks, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone ask if there are sharks here in Hervey Bay. There are sharks everywhere in Australia! But if you’re going to be worried about being taken by a shark, you should be even more worried about travelling by car or bus on the roads!

I should be starting to travel again at some point next month and it feels weird! I consider this my home so it feels like leaving everything familiar behind again. I know my way around here, I have a couple of friends here and I’m happy here. And next month I have to find the traveller in me again to go and find new places, to find new adventures, new experiences. I’m excited as well, but I have no idea where I’m going to head first. I thought I had planned it all but nothing seems so simple anymore. I can’t even decide whether to travel by bus or train! :D Luckily I still have time to figure out where I want to go and what I want to do. Everything is possible.

"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
love like you'll never be hurt,
sing like there's nobody listening,
and live like it's heaven on earth."
- William W. Purkey -

I meet all these different people here at the hostel and I’m so happy about it. It’s just so great to have conversations with these people and hear their stories. One day I had these amazing conversations with an American soldier, not-active in duty anymore. We talked about so many things – the financial situation in the world, differences between the countries, dreams, relationships, revelations that will come to you when you travel, and so many other things! But last Wednesday beats any day when it comes to meeting different people. This elderly couple got off the bus and walked over to our hostel’s shuttle bus and asked if we had any room for them, they hadn’t booked anything in advance. They told how they just started in Cairns (staying in a hostel there as well!), then went to Magnetic Island and then Rockhampton. They do live in New Zealand, but they are staying in hostels, travelling by Greyhound and have no return ticket home. How amazing is that?! I could never ever in my life imagine my grandfather doing the same, never! I thought the couple was in their seventies but was tremendously surprised to hear that they are in their eighties. They are quite an example to younger people. I wish I’ll be like them when I’m that old!

Sometimes I just feel old because I meet mostly backpackers still in their teens or in early twenties. It just feels that I’m world apart from their way of thinking.  I didn’t come here to party and spend my money on alcohol, but so many young people seem to be doing exactly that. Why to waste your money travelling to the other side of the world to get drunk night after night? You could easily do it back home you don’t have to travel to do that. But hey, I’m never been like that when I’m travelling, so no wonder I can’t understand it or am I just too old to understand?



I was too busy reading my book
that I didn't have time to go to the beach. :D

I spent the weekend in Noosa and it was so good to have a break and get out from Hervey Bay. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it before I got into the car and we drove away. I felt so free! :D And the weekend was great. I didn’t have to do anything and I was able to relax and read my book without anyone interrupting with questions, it was great! It was wonderful to be part of the family, and do just normal things like having breakfast together, watching tv in the evenings together, going out for dinner or just talking and spending time together. And I couldn’t have had any better family to spend the time with. They made me feel like I was home and part of the family. I was told by Lyn that I was like a cat relaxing in the sun because when I was nowhere to be seen she just had to look for a sunny spot around the house and she would find be reading my book and enjoying the warmth of the sun. :D The weekend was definitely the best so far!

It was awesome to have a weekend off even though it was really cold. The coldness here is not in comparison to Finland. It doesn’t get freezing cold here but when the temperature outside is around seven degrees during the night it means it is freezing cold inside the house! Even during the day it was so cold in the house – it was warmer outside! I was alright sleeping under the covers but when you had to get up in the morning it was so hard because I just wanted to stay in my warm bed not get up to feel the cool air on my skin. I may have to go shopping for some warmer clothes if it stays this cold! :D

I never thought I would end up watching Eurovision song contest here on the other side of the world! :D But there I was on Friday evening watching the semi-final with others. It felt funny that they actually air it here and get people comment on contestants and voting their own favourite. I used to watch it back in Finland when I was much younger but haven’t been that interested to watch it anymore like my mum is. But there was no excitement to watch the end because Linn told us they had won, Sweden I mean.

I don’t know if I should be worried if I’m not 100% sure a song is by a Finnish band when I hear it. :D The song was in English and my only excuse is that I haven’t been listening to Finnish music for four months, other than the ones I have on my laptop. We were driving to Noosa and Bill had a cd playing and I didn’t expect to hear any familiar music from Finland! He got the cd from a Swedish girl but still it felt a bit funny to hear the song especially when Bill told he really likes the song. I don’t mean Finnish music is bad but I didn’t expect to hear a song by a Finnish band played loudly in the car! :D

"Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing tosay is what counts."
- Margaret Lee Runbeck -



It doesn't matter where I am, I'm still the same crazy Finnish girl who stays up all the hours to watch ice hockey. :D I really did stay up all last night to watch all quarter-final games. What could be better than a big screen and no one interrupting the watching? Only thing I’m not happy about is that the games start with half an hour delay on Youtube, but hey, you can’t have everything. I just have to stay out of Facebook and Finnish news sites during the games so I can watch without knowing the result. Knowing the result just ruins all the excitement. There’s no game I would watch and wouldn’t care which one of the teams win, I always have my favourite. There isn’t always any reason how I have my favourite, but who cares? But you bet I’m always on Finland’s side when they are playing!

When you’re travelling you can do your research on hostels and pick the one you like. It’s your choice and you’ve been able to do all you research where do you want it to be, what you want from the place and so on. If you want to have a supermarket next to it, do your research. It’s not the hostel’s fault if supermarket is bit of a walk away. And it certainly is rude to go rolling your eyes and saying isn’t there anything closer by, especially when the person you’re talking to tries to give your options of walking to the supermarket or a smaller grocery shop or getting a lift to a supermarket. If you’re having a bad day, don’t take it on people who are trying to help you. I really wasn’t proud to be Finnish when I heard this story of the rude Finnish girl today.

This is where I spend a lot of my time when I'm not working.

A couple of weeks ago we had some Finnish girls staying at the hostel and I made the mistake telling them I’m Finnish. After that I said I won’t tell I’m Finnish for Finnish people that stay here. I just can’t speak Finnish in this environment! And yesterday we knew we had a couple of Finnish girls coming, and what Bill did? He had told a Finnish girl to speak in Finnish to me. I was talking in the reception with Lyn when this Finnish girl came to the front desk, she said something and I just said “Sorry?”.  And Bill just laughed.  



I may not always eat healthily,
but I couldn't eat this for breakfast!

Sometimes when I’m too lazy to cook anything for lunch or I haven’t been shopping for anything so I opt for an easy way and get just some take away food. I know it’s not that healthy, but I just can’t be bothered to cook every day. And when you’ve work hard for a few hours and would need the food right away, it’s just too easy to go and buy something. It doesn’t help that you can get a chicken n’ cheese burger for $2 in McDonald’s. I often find myself walking there to buy ice cream as well, maybe too often! This week has been bad considering I’ve gone to McDonald’s a bit too many times! I should get worried if the boy at the counter recognizes me! :D

On one of my days off I headed to Maryborough. It’s nothing special, but it’s nice to get away from Hervey Bay and just walk around in a new place. It’s a small place but it was a beautiful day to walk around and sit in the park. I really liked the old buildings (not old in European standards, but old buildings for Australians) and I almost felt like stepping into a world a hundred years ago. It was also a day for Maryborough Heritage City Markets, which wasn’t anything that special but at least it brought some life to the city, at least I’m guessing so. And this month Maryborough has been on the news because there has been sighting of a big saltwater croc in Mary River near Maryborough. It’s the first ever confirmed sighting of a saltwater croc this far south. I wouldn’t want to see it close by!

For all people I left behind back home I’m travelling around and seeing new places. But at the moment I’m just living pretty normal daily life of a working person. There’s nothing special, I’m just living here and working. And I do like it a lot! The weather is definitely better here and surroundings are a little bit different. It’s great that after working I can just walk to the beach and enjoy the sun, can’t do that too often in Finland. But it’s also a different kind of job that I have here than I did back in Finland. If someone thinks I worked a lot sometimes back in Finland, it’s nothing compared to the work here sometimes. And even when I have time off I’m partly in a working mode. Only because I’m not only working, I’m also living in the place I work in. And if someone comes up to me and asks something I’m not going to say I’m having a day off, go and ask someone else, it’s not in my nature to be rude or unhelpful. It’s sometimes hard, but it’s my own choice to work here. And I really do like my job. But I must admit that I’m waiting for my weekend off in Noosa next week!

"They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything."
- Bil Keane -

Missing sunny and hot days already.

.I had to surrender last week and give up wearing shorts all the time! :( I was so used to the warm weather that it was a shock when out of the blue on Wednesday evening coldness arrived. I had planned to be up north by now so I didn’t bring many pieces of warm clothing, maybe I have to go shopping some! :D  Winter is supposed to be pretty nice here, mostly sunshine, cold nights, warmish (at least by Finnish standards!) days. Saturday was anything but a nice sunny day! The day was full of pouring rain, coldness and miserable greyness. It’s been raining this evening as well. :( Just have to hope the weather will get better.

Yesterday for the first time at work I felt like working in a kindergarten! Though even five-year-old kids can clean after themselves after eating, but it didn’t seem to be the case here last night that adults could manage the same. How is it possible that these grown up people who can travel the world are unable to do their dishes and clean after themselves? I just wonder how they manage if they live on their own… I really wanted to say them all: “I’m not your mother who cleans after you, so please at least do your dishes!” Of course I didn’t say a word, just cleaned everything. Next time I just might say something about it.

Me and Bill

I really like this job I have. It doesn’t get boring since I’m cleaning, driving, working in the reception and doing whatever needs to be done. I also meet workers from other hostels at the bus stop. We sit together and talk while we’re waiting buses to arrive, which are pretty often late! :D On Saturday the weather was just so miserable that I sat in the bus with a couple of girls, because they didn’t want to go out to wait for the bus. I heard a bus come and was surprised to see Premier coming in, exactly on time! Even bigger surprise was to see Greyhound coming from the opposite direction at the same time! And yesterday felt like Christmas – both buses came early! And I can tell you, it really doesn’t happen often!
Small joys can brighten up the day but the best moments are spent with the people I work with. They really are amazing people. I've laughed, joked and cried with them. They are my family here.



Alexandria Bay

My stop before Hervey Bay was Noosa and I loved it! It was small enough to walk around but not too small to get bored. I really liked walking in Noosa National Park. The beaches were beautiful. I liked everything in Noosa. One of the best days there was a day when I walked Coastal Trail appreciating the scenery. I could have stayed sitting close by where the waves hit the rocks for ages in Alexandria Bay. It was so relaxing to see those waves and listen to the sounds of the sea. I walked a lot in Noosa just to look around and see what it’s like in different areas. Even on a rainy day I enjoyed walking and running for ten kilometres.

Music brings a lot of memories from different moments, different people. Apulanta’s song Maanantai always reminds me about someone who was, and still is special to me. And the song reminds me of him only because he didn’t know the song and wondered how I knew the words. I can listen to so many other songs too and they will remind me of my sisters, midsummers spent on the countryside, nights out with work mates, people that have been part of my life for years, wonderful moments spent with friends and so many other memories. Sometimes I just sit and listen to all those songs that bring back the memories, some songs over and over again.

Sunshine Beach, Noosa

Alexandria Bay, Noosa

I’ve been here three months and I feel so weird speaking in Finnish! We have two Finnish girls staying at the hostel and they are the last ones I’m going to tell voluntarily that I’m Finnish! I’m so used to speaking English, especially when I’m working that Finnish just doesn’t come out naturally. I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing. I can still write well in Finnish and I didn’t seem to have too much trouble speaking Finnish with my mum, but English feels more natural.

Today I was asked if I ever want to have children. Of course I want to have, was my answer. I didn’t have to think twice. Then we have to find you an Australian boyfriend, I was told by Bill. Well, who knows what happens in life. Things usually happen when you least expect.



"You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still,
it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone,
not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart,
you feel like you have known the person for forever....connections are made with the heart, not the tongue."
- C. JoyBell C. -