Mildura Campus

Virginia Moore

So here it is, the very end of my Australian journey. I can hardly believe it, but in less than a week I'll be heading back to the good old US of A, that free-wheeling land of hot wings, trashy reality TV, and driving on the right side of the road. And sitting here now, writing this, I wonder — how can I possibly describe what this experience has been for me?

In such a short time, I've done so many things. I've jumped into the dark ocean at midnight in Western Australia, drunk off cheap boxed wine and the electric buzz of simply being there. I've stood on the top of towering Mt. Field West in Tasmania after three days of trudging through dirt and rock and forest with a stuffed backpack and ratty sneakers, all to reach the top and experience that dizzying rush that comes with sitting on the very edge of a 1400 meter drop off, the land spread out like a fierce kingdom before me. I've hurtled down the Great Ocean Road in a tiny rental car in the early morning, the ocean crashing down on one side while the rainforest rises up to the sky on the other. I've gone scuba diving in Bryon Bay, inches away from giant sleepy turtles and curious fish with rainbow scales. And, most recently, I've experienced what it's like to be in the heart of the great Australian outback. What it's like to stand in the middle of that red earth and be alone except for you and your soul and that empty blue sky, no concrete or timelines or singing cash registers, just you and whatever it is that you're made of.

And the most unbelievable thing is that doesn't even begin to touch on what this journey has been for me. No words I write can make you see Cottesloe beach on a bright sun-kissed day or make you hear the sound of birds calling through the Tasmanian rainforest. Nothing I say can make you feel a wallaby sniffing your hand in the Grampians or make you taste the shocking (and disgusting) flavor of Vegemite for the first time. However, these last two incredible weeks have given me the opportunity to share part of my journey through photography. Hopefully these photos can give you a little bit of Australia that I can't with my words alone, and share the sensation of being in the strange and wild outback.

Virginia Moore

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