On Sunday (yeah, THIS Sunday, just a couple of days from now), I’m leaving for a trip to Australia. My husband and I will be visiting Perth, where he’s speaking at the Perth Writers Festival. After that we’ll head over to Melbourne for a week before we go home. Since I’ve never been to Australia, I’ve been doing a bit of research on what to see and do while we’re there. So far I’ve determined that we definitely need to visit Rottnest Island to see some quokkas, and I don’t know if I can leave the country without petting a koala. Other than that, though, we don’t have anything planned except for enjoying the late summer weather. Which brings me to my packing list. While I’ve posted before about my travel essentials, I’m trying to figure out what to bring specifically for this trip, and here are some of my Australian essentials.
1. Sunscreen – Even though the summer is winding down, the sun is brutal in Australia, so I’ll be slathering myself with sunscreen. My current favorite is Juice Beauty SPF 30 Tinted Mineral Moisturizer, but I’ve heard that really good, high SPF sunscreens are available in Australia, so I may pick some up while I’m there.
2. Hat – I just bought this big crushable travel hat, because I’m really taking the threat of sun damage seriously.
3. Melatonin – Last time I traveled to a drastically different timezone I took melatonin to help with the jetlag, and I think it helped reset my internal clock. Since Perth is 16 hours ahead of Portland, it’s going to be a hell of an adjustment, and I’m hoping melatonin will help.
4. Swimsuit -Although it’s tempting to get a new one (like this beauty), I have a couple of bathing suits already that will do the job just fine.
5. Books – A couple of friends got me into Alice Munro, and after reading Runway, Lives of Girls and Women is next on my reading list. I’ve also got a copy of Tiny Beautiful Things that I’ve been saving for a plane ride. With about 20 hours of travel time each way (yikes!), I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on my reading.
What do you think of my list? Am I missing anything major? If you live in Australia, or have ever been, do you have any recommendations for things to see and do around Perth and Melbourne? Any awesome books/sunscreen/travel essentials to recommend? I’m all ears!
Ooh how exciting! Make sure to definitely pack some winter gear as well because it’s been quite rainy and cool lately. Melbourne especially is known from going from one extreme to another, I always pack my coat when visiting Melbourne.
Ooh, good to know. Thanks Tegan!
Don’t forget a good quality pair of sunglasses, and I would highly recommend the Cancer Council brand of sunblock, it’s SPF50+ and excellent value for money. Also, if your traveling outside of the major cities keep informed of bushfire alerts Summer = bushfires in Australia and we’ve had far too many recently. Stay hydrated and enjoy your trip!
Karen, thanks for the reminders and recommendations! I’m running out of sunscreen, so I’m going to look for that kind. Thank you!