Experiencing something for the first time can be exhilarating, exhausting, and engaging. Looking forward to that experience can create feelings like anxiousness, happiness, and anxiety. It’s even more exaggerated when the experience is something you wished for but thought would never happen.

My recent trip to Australia falls into that last category. My wish: to go to Australia and photograph with Leanne Cole in Melbourne. You see, when she was in the U.S. in 2015, I had the great opportunity to take her to Santa Cruz and go down to Monterey for a day. She was visiting a friend in Saratoga. We both remember that day. I was amazed at how at ease she was with her camera. And the thought of visiting with her in Australia was a dream come true.

This exciting trip was with my friends Sandy and Peg who are sisters. They invited me along as their adopted sister. Peg was detained a day so Sandy and I flew the long trip together.

I had a day alone with Leanne, walking Melbourne, when Sandy went to pick up Peg at the airport. We had breakfast, lunch and met Sandy and Peg for dinner. What a wonderful day that was. Melbourne is an exciting city with amazing architecture and the Yarra river running through it. Here is a sample of images from that day.

Convention Center
Webb Bridge
Evan Walker Bridge
Flinders Station
The Manchester Building

The next morning Leanne picked us up and took us to Port Campbell where we spent 2 full days photographing iconic scenes—places I have seen in Leanne’s blog many times.

On the way to Port Campbell

Whaler’s Bluff Lighthouse

Leanne had arranged a wonderful rental house for us at Port Campbell where we enjoyed our 2-night stay. We explored the beaches and sights.

The Twelve Apostles
Loch Ard Gorge from above
Loch Ard Gorge below
London Bridge
London Bridge

On our way back to Melbourne, Leanne took us to a rainforest, Maist’s Rest.

I had never been in a rainforest before, and this was outstanding. The ferns (which I love) were huge. Here’s a peak.

We had a wonderful time and experienced new things. This was the highlight of my almost 1-month vacation. Thank you, Leanne, for driving and being our very own tour guide. I totally enjoyed our girl friend time and the fun with all four of us. We all appreciated your time. And I’ll admit that Australia has great coffee!

There will be future posts on my blog about this trip. From Melbourne we journeyed to Sydney and then cruised for 11 days. Maybe I can fit some into an LAPC post.

But today, your challenge is to show and tell us about a new experience you had. It could be a trip, the birth of a child or grandchild, a road trip to a new place, the possibilities are endless. As you respond, please link to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

We all enjoyed your responses to Sofia’s challenge of Spring. Your narratives and images were imaginative and beautiful. Some of you even got in the Spring mood while walking in snow! Next week, April 1, Donna Holland will be challenging you and she’s not fooling around! Be sure to look for her post.

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info. 

131 thoughts on “LENS ARTISTS PHOTO CHALLENGE #242: NEW EXPERIENCES”

  1. GREAT theme, GREAT GREAT photos. Superb!
    … “Do you come from a land down under
    Where women glow and men plunder?
    Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
    You better run, you better take cover”

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  2. to take a trip that encompasses city life, seascapes, countrysides, and rain forests is a dream for anyone. To do it with friends and the wisdom of Leanne is extra. I am glad you are back. WE missed you, and yet I look forward to even more of your journey.

    For me, the seascapes were fascinating, and I would have loved watching the tide at The Twelve Apostles and the London Bridge. What a great trip, Anne! And what a great place for New Experiences.

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  5. That was an amazing trip. A month is a great amount of time for a trip, especially one so far away as Australia. I’m glad it met your expectations. I love the rain forest photos.

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  8. What an amazing experience to have had Anne 😀! Lovely shots. May be one day I can visit Australia too! For now, I am wondering which of my pictures to pick for this challenge, as every day of being alive is a new experience 😀. Hopefully I will find some interesting moments to share!

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  9. This sounds as special as they come, Anne. I’ve seen lots of photos of Melbourne and the architecture does look amazing. I do like the look of Webb Bridge. It always makes me smile when I see photos of the Australian coastline because so much of it is mirrored here in the Algarve. I can’t say that about rainforest though, and I love your fern shots.

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  15. What a wonderful experience and beautiful photos to remember it by. I especially love the rain forest shots, but the architecture is stunning, too. Leann was one of the first bloggers who I “met” on WordPress, but she had fallen off of my radar. I was so impressed by her work! Now, I’m going to reconnect with her!

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    1. Thanks Susan! I’m glad this blog post is encouraging you to reconnect with Leanne. When Australia shut down, she couldn’t get out to do photography and started baking and gardening. I’m glad she’s back doing photography also. Let me know when you reconnect with her.

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  16. I had so much fun showing you around my city Anne and it was so good to catch up again after you taking me out in the US. I’m happy to hear you loved Melbourne. The coast was fantastic, I’m still working through my photos from there. Thank you so much for coming to Australia and letting me show you around.

    When I first saw this post come up in the reader I thought it was mine, haha. So glad to see some of your photos. Talk soon.

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  24. What a fabulous trip, Anne! These photos are great, especially these architecture images. So glad you traveled with Leanne. Beautiful London Bridge. Looking forward to seeing more.
    I’m having a little trouble with my laptop. My post is coming later.

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  25. What a fabulous trip, Anne! These photos are great, especially these architecture images. So glad you traveled with Leanne. Beautiful London Bridge. Looking forward to seeing more.
    I’m having a little trouble with my laptop. My post will be up later.

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  33. Loved your post Anne, which I’d been SO looking forward to! I think I was more excited for you than you were for yourself LOL. So happy your time with Leeanne was wonderful (as I fully expected it would be). Can wait to see more about your trip! Your images brought back some wonderful memories! We did 7 weeks in Aus and NZ, our longest adventure, and adored every second of it! I’d love to go back some day.

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    1. Thanks Tina! I did have fun. More fun in Australia than on the cruise. Lucky you, 7 weeks. I’m not so sure about the plane ride though. I think I’m getting a little too old for sitting 15 hours. Maybe Richard and I will travel along in our trailer.

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      1. LOL, we had the very difficult challenge of having to stop for a week in Tahiti! For doing that we cut the cost of the travel by over 50%. Of course we then spent the savings on Tahiti but hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do 😊. And…I might add….we were younger then!

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  34. Wonderful, Anne! The trip of your dreams! That, is something unforgettable. And a tour with Leanne Cole – wow, something to dream about. Looking forward to seeing all your photos and you understand I loved the rainforest photos!

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  43. Anne, oh that’s wonderful. Where have I been lately? I didn’t realise you had come downunder for a holiday. I love Melbourne and its regions. Brilliant photos. Thank you to Leanne for looking after you so well. Perhaps one day you’ll come again and I can show you around my part of Australia which is between Sydney and Melbourne.

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    1. Thanks Tracy! I checked to see exactly where you lived. Unfortunately, we flew to Sydney so we couldn’t stop. I didn’t have anything to do with the trip planning, except for meeting up with Leanne since we were going to Melbourne. I was a late add on. My friend’s family has timeshare points and one works for United Airlines. I’m so grateful to be able to tag along as an adopted sister on a trip that I otherwise couldn’t afford. Maybe if you come to the U.S.?? You never know, I didn’t think I’d make it to Australia.

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  46. What a wonderful adventure to have, and to be able to visit Leanne in her territory was great. I remember her trip to California on her blog, and I think it may have been through one of her posts I stumbled upon your blog – connections! Your photos are lovely, and to see such wonderful places is a real treat. Rain forests are really special – if you get a chance, drive up to Washington state and visit the Hoh Rain Forest – I did a few years back. Walk through the woods – the forest – see the cedars draped in moss – visit the area and enjoy it. The beaches, too, are amazing.

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    1. Thanks -N! It’s amazing how our own connection grew out of Leanne’s blog. Now that I’ve seen one rainforest, I’ll have to get up to Washington to see the Hoh rain forest. We just bought a new used trailer and need to go places! Thanks for the information.

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