Julia
There are some people in your life that you meet and just know your paths will cross again. That was Julia Kelley.
We overlapped working at the Grampians Eco YHA for only 10 days, but in the backpacker travel world, that time frame feels so much longer. We slept in the same room, made beds and cleaned bathrooms together, filling our hours with wine tasting to befriending the local vineyard owner to become his AirBnB cleaners to shivering at sunrise.
Julia spent 5 months in Torquay learning how to surf, fulfilling her number 1 goal coming to Australia. She bought a trusty station wagon after a chance mention to a friend (who she then hiked the Overland Track in Tasmania with - have I mentioned how small the world can be?). Then, what is Australia without some time in the Outback? Working as a cook on a cattle ranch, she was exposed to bull riding and catching, playing with puppies, and the joy of looking at the stars around a campfire.
Before Australia, she spent years in France working as first a teacher and then with a study abroad program at a university, volunteered in Ireland, walked the El Camino de Santiago in Spain, earned her masters in International Education - you might say she loves to travel.
Her laugh fills the room and her goofy spirit is one of the best. We met again in a dusty campground in the center of Australia in May - trading places on this huge country so we were able to trade tips and advice - and then to spend her last weekend together in Sydney in August. I know we’ll meet again Julia - keep being you!
The Pebbles Campground | Tennant Creek
The Pinnacles | Grampians National Park
Beer & Wine tasting at Pomonal Estates with Becs | Pomonal, VIC
Reunited Again! | Sydney, NSW