Starting over: thoughts from Australia

Brighton Bathing Boxes

When I went to Australia in July 2024, I didn’t have a clear plan. I had only one big goal, a dream I’d had since I was a child: to visit the Australia Zoo — an iconic place known around the world, which I’d watched countless times on TV.

Beyond that, there was a mix of fear, excitement, and curiosity for everything that would happen along the way.

Westerfolds Park

My adventure began in Melbourne, where the idea for this blog was born and where I wrote six out of the seven articles already published (you can read them again here).

Then I moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, living between Caloundra and Bundaberg to get closer to my goal.

During a whole year in the land of kangaroos, I grew up a lot. I discovered an incredible ability to adapt to new and challenging conditions and situations.

I spent a long time living in hostels, met people from all over the world, worked in the fields, did gardening, and even cleaned a shopping centre. I even found a second family who treated me like a son — and I thank them with all my heart.

Then, in February 2025, my dream came true: I became a volunteer at Australia Zoo!

It was, no doubt, the most incredible experience of my life!

I can’t share the details of what I did, but I can say I have been lucky enough to work closely with extraordinary animals: cassowaries, emus, dingoes, koalas, kangaroos. Also, lemurs, meerkats, echidnas, and Tasmanian devils.

However, if I have to say what truly made this experience special, I have no doubt: the people. A welcoming and positive environment, as well as professional and highly competent, makes a real difference, both in how you work and in the results you achieve. And that is what I brought home with me at the end of my journey, more than anything else.

I want to dedicate a thought to all the people I had the privilege of working with, and thank them for the kindness, patience, and respect they showed me.

I didn’t write much during my time at the zoo. Not because I didn’t have time, but because I was fully immersed. I tried to fully live every moment, to observe, listen, and learn as much as I could. And maybe that was the right choice.

Now, looking back at photos, notes, and memories, I realize how much I’ve gathered. Not just information, but inspiration, ideas, and insights to keep building this project.

This blog starts again from here: from an experience lived intensely, which left me with so much to share.

There will be new articles, new stories, new animals.

If you’d like, keep following me on this journey — nature still has so much to reveal, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.