Face to face with calm turtles, gentle rays and curious sharks, the surface sending shimmering rays of vibrant sunlight through the water, casting a magical glow over you. A turtle sees you and soars closer, curious about the strange creature in their home. Dazzling colours and glorious, rippling surface patterns scatter, reflecting off the bottom of the shallows. It's breathtaking, and yet you've never been able to breathe easier.
The climbing vines clinging to the trees, the countless waterfalls among the trees, the barrelling glacier-fed rapids that lined the road in sections. It was all so mesmerising. It is no wonder why the Maori people hold Milford Sound so close to their hearts and their culture.
And that was truly just the start...the colours just exploded around us...colourful fish surrounded us as we swam further into this underwater oasis, magic sparkling around us as the sunlight shimmered down from the water's surface. And I had no idea that being here with our friends could possibly get any better.
And then, imagine this...millions of years after your entire species is long gone, an individual of a species you will never see for yourself happens upon your footprints; immortalised remnants of your life, of your very existence. Pure happenstance and suddenly two species, millions of years apart, are connected.
It took a few seconds before I realised what we were barrelling towards. We stopped halfway across the frozen lake and got out to spend some time bonding with our sled teams while they rolled around in the fluffy snow.
The national park is an entire island and is the natural home and only place on Earth today where the Komodo dragon lives and breathes in its natural habitat. The Komodo dragon is practically a living dinosaur and it plays an important role in how scientists continue to form their understanding of evolution.
I genuinely have never seen anything like it. Mt Agung was peeking through the clouds, it was so high, and in between the infinity pool that we had all to ourselves and the volcano itself were rice fields of the brightest greens you can possibly imagine
They walk over, lifting their trucks and literally start feeling in our pockets and just taking the bamboo pieces. Two tiny babies, with a group of four adults, were eating bamboo shoots.
The full moon lantern festival happens once a month, and it is essentially a celebration of the moon. As the sun goes down, the streets of Hoi An's old city light up with thousands of lanterns, people come out to celebrate and the moon casts a calm glow over everything. It is magical.
Hai Van Pass encapsulates lush green mountains of emerald and lime green, views of a coastline that is so blue and picturesque it seems impossible, a bright blue sky, and a road that winds through the mountains at angles so crazy it feels like you are on a roller coaster of epic proportions. The road weaves through the mountains, rewarding you with the most beautiful views over the South China Sea.
A dizzying array of colour literally surrounds you as the fish swim with you. The Great Barrier Reef is renowned for a very good reason…and I promise that there is nothing like it. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and it more than earns its place.
