It All Began With An Adventure Of A Lifetime
Everyone has their place, their one dream paradise. For me, it was Australia. A country so remote, that 80 percent of its plant and animal life are found nowhere else in the world. Alycat’s Walkabout was born out of my overwhelming desire for a true Australian experience.
It began with a simple concept. If I wanted to experience the real Australia, I needed think beyond simply being a tourist. So, in 2014, I set out on a six-week adventure, volunteering my photo and video services to non-profit conservation and outdoor recreation groups—two causes I am very passionate about. These projects took me all across Australia and even over to New Zealand. I had the opportunity to interact with the unique wildlife while working beside the people tasked with protecting it. It was incredible! I created the Alycat’s Walkabout webpage to help document those moments to share with everyone.
I was lucky enough to work with several amazing organizations: Conservation Volunteers of Australia, The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy of Australia and Bike On New Zealand. Each organization offered up challenging projects for me to accomplish. I am forever grateful for those opportunities. I invite you to visit each of their websites and read about their efforts to change their communities.
It’s hard to put into words the impact that my first walkabout had on my life. My view of myself and the world changed greatly over those six weeks. I had traveled abroad many times before this trip, but it was with family or a school group and it was usually for vacation. This trip was different. It had a purpose and meaning. I was exposed to several different cultures and their views on the world. I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and tackle challenges that I had never faced before. In doing so, I discovered a new appreciation for myself and the many different cultures of the world. We are all so different, yet strive for the same things. My goal now is no longer just to visit another state or country, but to experience its culture—what makes it special and unique.
In a way, every community is like Australia. There is no other place like it in the world. And I want to experience why. That is how one trip of a lifetime turned into a lifetime of travel and Alycat’s Walkabout became more than a six-week Australian adventure. It became a journey around the world.