Nomadic Boys recently celebrated its 4th year anniversary. During this time, we’ve visited nearly 80 countries together, mainly in Asia, North/South America and in Europe.
One place we’ve not yet been to, which is way up high on our bucket list, is Australia. As any good gay boy knows, a pilgrimage to the land of Kylie is a must. The gay scene of Sydney is huge, especially during Mardi Gras in February. Plus, once you’ve watched Priscilla, you KNOW you need to rent a big pink camper van and do the pilgrimage gay road trip through the Australian Outback. We’ve put together our top 3 wish list of gay travel highlights in Australia we really want to experience.
#1 Priscilla-like Australian road trip
“I hereby christen this budget Barbie camper, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert!”
The famous 1994 movie about 3 Australian drag queens doing a big road trip across the Australian outback with some of the most dramatic outfits you’ve ever seen, has become one of the most influential gay movies of our time. It’s also responsible for inspiring many (ahem!) gay boys to want to rent a big camper van, paint it pink and sashay across the massive expanse of Australia’s Red Centre.
For us, this is a must in Australia. We’ve often talked about how to do this – arriving on the West coast in Perth, renting or buying a large car or van from somewhere like Gumtree, then making our way East to Sydney over several weeks, or perhaps doing more specific road trips across Australia from a more specific base. Whichever way we decide to to it, we both agree we need to recreate our very own Nomadic Boys “cock in a frock on the rock” moment in the middle of the Australia’s isolated Outback…
#2 Mardi Gras in Sydney
We’ve been to some of the best gay prides in the world. The Canada gay pride in Montreal was simply phenomenal and in Mexico, the Puerto Vallarta gay pride was another massive highlight. But the one gay pride that we are repeatedly told we HAVE to visit is Mardi Gras in Sydney.
The Sydney Gay and and Lesbian Mardi Gras is one of the largest gay festivals in the world and has now become one of Australia’s biggest tourist draws. It takes place around February time, during the Australian summer. It includes a large colourful parade, many parties, famous drag queens like resident queen, Courtney Act, and more. It has also seen many celebs attending in the past like Kylie, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton-John, George Michael and many many more.
Seby during the parade at the Canada gay pride in Montreal
#3 Diving in the Great Barrier Reef
Well ok, this one’s not specifically gay orientated, but if you’ve been following our blog, you’ll know we love the underwater world and do loads of scuba diving and snorkelling whenever we can. Some of our favourites include diving in the Komodo National Park in Indonesia and snorkelling in the Galapagos islands in Ecuador.
When comparing notes with fellow divers, the Great Barrier Reef always comes up as a highlight by everyone who’s been there. The GBR lies off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia and is the largest living thing on Earth – even visible from outer space. It’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It’s huge, comprising thousands of reefs and countless species of colourful fish, molluscs and starfish, plus turtles, dolphins and sharks.
Sadly the GBR is also slowly dying with the advent of climate change. The rising temperates are causing considerable coral bleaching at an alarming rate over the past few years. The coral needs around 10 years to recover, but when the coral bleaching takes place consistently every year, back to back, the chances of recovery are becoming more and more unlikely.
“So visit it now that it’s still alive boys”… is the usual conclusion we receive from fellow divers who tell us about how magical diving in the Great Barrier reef is.
Aspiring to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
What have we missed?
Please let us know in the comments below to help grow our gay Aussie wish list…
The post Our 3 gay travel highlights in Australia we dream of appeared first on Nomadic Boys.