Michelle Fleur Studio Blog

Wow, it’s been a wild and wonderful past 12 days. We’ve been on the road, heading from Perth towards the eastern states, and now we’re in the first capital city of our trip, Adelaide. Getting here has led us through some of the most isolated regions of Australia, including the long journey across the Nullarbor. The Nullarbor is iconic and after hearing so much about it, it was a real treat to get to do it. I must admit that it wasn’t half as lonely or ‘boring’ as I‘d imagine

In a few days time we will be on the road, heading east towards the other side of the country. The reality of leaving the west coast is sinking in hard and I've had to accept that these dreamy two years of living in what surely must be one of the most beautiful places on earth, is over. Such is life. It would be easy for me to slip into a malaise at this point, as I don't want to leave, but you know, change is inevitable and I'll save myself a lot of grief by being appreciati

The weather was a bit miserable last week. It was meant to be warm and Spring-like but instead it was mostly cold, wet and a little dour. I like to get out and about for a while every day but last week's dreariness had me stuck inside and by Thursday afternoon I was getting a bit of cabin fever. So, I decided late Thursday evening that I needed some serious nature time pronto. What did I do? Well, I went to hang with the whales the very next morning! Yay! I'm very lucky that

On leaving El Questro and heading for Kununurra we decided to take a little detour to see Wyndham, Western Australia's northern-most town. I'm so glad we did because Wyndham was like nowhere else I have ever been and it felt as though we were in some strange post apocalyptic outback Australian town on the edge of the earth. It felt a bit Mad Max to me, but I couldn't really tell you why. Arriving in Wyndham you are greeted by a very large crocodile statue that begs to be phot

You know how there are the 'Great Drives', like Highway 1 on the West Coast of the USA, Stelvio Pass in Italy or the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, yeah? Well, I've never seen the Gibb River Road on any such list, but I'm convinced it should be on all of them. Why? Firstly, because it is filled with natural wonders - epic gorges and pristine waterholes, and grand vistas that reach out forever and ever and ever. Secondly, because if you do it and make it to the other side in on

I've just returned from a three week adventure in the north west of Australia - an area known as The Kimberley. Much of Australia is sparsely populated with the main populous region being the east coast. The north west of the country is about as remote as it gets and in the wet season a lot of places are completely cut off from the outside world, accessible only by small plane or helicopter. We headed off at the end of the dry season to experience this iconic region by road a

Well, well, well. Gosh and wow. Oh my stars! Holy mackerel! I'm EXCITED people! "Why", I hear you ask? Because I just had the most extraordinary experience with a beautiful Southern Right whale! I mean, it was truly something amazing and the sheer awesomeness and thrill of it is still coursing through my bones. Oh oh oh, it was up there as one of the most magical moments of my life - like running into a grizzly in Yellowstone, or lying under Wave Rock on a clear night looking

I'm moving back to Queensland in 4 and a half months. I have mixed feeling about it. On the one hand I'll be happy to get back to my friends and family and my little fur ball, Venus. But on the other I will miss this place dearly, and especially all of the underwater adventures we have had here. For me, living by the sea has opened up a new wondrous world to me! I think you can see my passion for all things ocean related in my work and that is a direct result of living here.

On June 4 I celebrated my 40th birthday the best way I know how - on the water with a bunch of big, beautiful, rambunctious humpback whales! Truly, I could not think of a more perfect way for me to spend the day. We saw so many whales that I lost count and there was much activity on the water as groups of males tousled and fought for female attention. We saw some epic battles, with slaps and shoves and loud vocalisations. I'd never seen this kind of behaviour before on a whal