What's In My Rucksack #1

It's almost a month until I leave for Australia but I've still got so much to do in that time! I'm still working pretty much 6 days a week, which seems like full time, even if I sometimes only do 4 hours a day, I still feel totally involved in my job and it's gonna be so hard to get out of that rhythm! I have my leaving-do coming up on the 27th of August, which should be really good with all my besties from Ikea :-) 

This week, my parents are also coming back to Southampton to pick up all my things that I've gathered together and used during my 3 years at University, which is making me quite sad, as this means that Uni is definitely, finally and forever over! Ed is coming to visit me as well in a couple of days and hopefully when he's here, he'll help me gather my CV or something together so I am actually ready to find a job on the other side of the world to save up money I am actually going to use to travel round Australia! 

I'm having my jabs in two weeks time! Not sure what I actually have to have but I've got this little booklet that tells me what jabs I've had in the past, so I'll sure be taking that along to the doctors office!

Come September then, I will be leaving Southampton. Another sad but good thing! I'm flying to Germany with Ed for 4 days so I can show him where I was born and where I used to live, as well as get hold of some traveller's cheques from my German bank account. Hopefully, I'll also be visiting my grandparents in that time, as I haven't seen them since June last year and always love my Grandma's amazing cooking & baking :-) 

Anyway, as I'm getting overly excited about leaving and I have to think about what I'm going to take in my huge suitcase soon, I thought I'd do a 'what's in my bag' post, except that it's what will be in my backpack!

This is my backpack: 

It's just a daypack, so not to worry, I am taking a suitcase, too! It's by Lowe Alpine and the model is Airzone N32. I tried on so many different ones in the shop but finally settled on this one (or manly my dad advised me on this one). It fits up to 30 litres and even has a rain cover, which is pretty handy. For some reason I chose the pink one, even though I'm not really the pink-stuff kinda girl but it was more attractive than the brown or weird bluey colour! I'll be taking this with me when I'm just travelling to one place for a couple of days or a week, as it'll fit all the things I need!

Firstly, I'm packing a couple of tops! These ones are from Topshop, they're on a 2 for £10 offer I think and colourful ones are my favourites. I'm going to Australia when the southern hemisphere is moving into summer so it'll be really hot and I already know that I'll be wearing these most days, as they're comfortable, cotton & easy to wear with everything! 

I'm packing a sunhat (this may not fit in my backpack but I'll be taking it wherever I go!) because I have blonde hair and light skin, which means that my head will burn in a second if I don't protect it. This one is from the Accessorize sale and I love it!

These are my favourite shorts. They're from River Island about 2 years ago and I've worn them every summer without fail. They're like my replacement for denim shorts, which I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm sure they'll get worn all the way across the globe, just as much as in England.

While travelling along the beautiful shores of Eastern Australia, I'll always be needing a good bikini! This one is from Hollister and it came to Marrakech with me, where I loved it and it'll come to Australia, too! I can't exactly see myself surfing in it but I'd love to give it a try! haha Definitely already envision me falling of the board! 

Some espadrilles will also be coming with me, as a second pair of shoes. I'm taking a pair of converse as my proper travel shoes but these will come in handy when I'm not hiking or lugging my bags on & off airport conveyor belts! I got these in the Primark sale, along with 2 other pairs for £1 each (bargainous!!) but for a bit of a better quality, they also have them in Office, where I got some other ones for £10. 

As you can tell, I've already used this! I took this travel belt with me to Marrakech and all my money survived! Whoop! Although it's a bit uncomfortable to wear, it's so necessary! I'd be so upset if I hadn't taken good care of my money/ valuables and they got stolen so I'll be using this all the time!

A lock will also come in useful if I'm staying in hostels or shared accommodation. You never know who you can trust when you're over thousands of miles away from home! 

This is my sleeping bag! Isn't it cute! It's so small, which is amazing. I haven't actually used it yet, hence the tag... It's the Karrimor Global Traveller 700 model, which is an ultralight model and obviously really thin but it'll be summer in Australia so I doubt I'll be needing a much thicker one plus my lovely friend Sarah, who worked at Blacks, advised me on this so I'm pretty happy :-)

I always get bitten and I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to some insects, as I often get humungous swellings (and I mean HUGE) after an insect bite so I'm not leaving England without this! I'm not sure if I'm getting any malaria jabs so I'll have to take some tablets and just spray this on as if all the insects in the world were coming to get me! haha

This little first aid kit is also coming with me and, while I'm hoping that I never have to use it, I find it adorable! Standard size, it comes with all the bits and bobs you'd expect. Got all these items from Blacks but I'm sure you can find them cheeper somewhere else like GoOutdoors.

This is one of my other essentials and should really come in my wash bag but it's quite a big bottle so it will come in my backpack, too. Factor 30 is probably the minimum I will/ should take. My skin burns really easily if I don't literally slather this all over my body (plus not using sun tan lotion puts you at pretty high risk of skin cancer; listen up Brits!!) but with it on I can still get a pretty nice tan!

And lastly, I'm taking my trusted Lonely Planet Australia Guide! How amazing does the picture on the front look? I actually can't wait, if the country is anything like the landscape in the film Australia, then I'm definitely in for a nice treat! 

What are your travel essentials? Have I missed anything vital?