DREAD.

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I love adventures, anything that involves stepping out of my door for exploration, count me in. I'm the restless type, and "we learn every day" is my favorite quote to defend why I love adventures and traveling so much.

It's good to love adventures, and maybe take risks even, but the one thing I don't do on my adventures is take risks. I'm not subscribed to the school of thought about risk and reward. I would rather not have any reward, what do I need it for anyway?

I've seen and heard stories of people who risked doing crazy things and challenging the universe end up dead. Where's the reward in death then? No, thank you, I'll pass.

I have lots of countries to visit on my lists, countries I would love to visit for their wonderful atmosphere, beautiful cultures, and tourist-worthy sights in them.

Australia is one of those places, it's on my list because I love and long to visit there someday, but I'll be damned if I risk it. I just have it on my list as a reminder that you can't get all you want.

It's cool, really cool but a flight to Australia from Nigeria takes about 18 hours without factoring in the stops. I hate long journeys by road much less by air when I can't just ask the driver to stop cause I'm bored. Some people argue that New Zealand is farther than Australia, but it's simply not my cup of tea.

Wait! Is love not about making sacrifices? I love the country and badly want to get a feel of the place, so why then should distance be a barrier? I just might visit someday I initially thought.

I decided to research further and I found some interesting facts about how beautiful it is. It's a country and continent in the southern hemisphere, bordered by the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area and has a population of approximately 25 million people. The country is known for its unique flora and fauna, including iconic animals such as kangaroos, koalas, snakes, and wallabies. Australia is also home to diverse landscapes ranging from the vast Outback to coastal beaches and vibrant cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Some of Australia's main industries include mining, agriculture, and tourism.

I read up on all the above and I was sold until I came upon the snake part. Hold up for a minute, Australia is home to snakes? I didn't know see that coming. I watch Nat Geo Wild a lot and have seen clips of lots of snakes in Australia, it's funny how the human brain works, but somehow, my brain didn't connect the Australia on TV to the Australia in my head. Funny right? I probably didn't catch on early because I can't stand the sight of snakes and I always switch the channelsm when snakes start showing.

So, I researched further and discovered that different species of snakes move around Australia and even enter people's homes. They are quite harmless they said, but I don't suppose a snake will announce it's intention before striking.

I have a very deep phobia of snakes, I can't even stand to look at their pictures or watch their videos for long.

I don't know if it's the African in me or if it's a personal issue but if I so much as see a picture of a snake before bed, I'll have a very restless night. Imagine being in a place where snakes are all over the place for someone like me, it's a heart attack straight.

That being said, I love Australia a lot, it's one of the top three among my dream countries, but sadly I won't be visiting even if I was given a visa for free and my ticket paid for. Or maybe I'm not sure I will even if the things I read aren't entirely true, I still wouldn't visit cause the seed of fear has been planted into my head, and I'm not going to look at it the same way again.

I don't see myself visiting but stranger things have been known to happen.

It's safe to love it from a distance though, you know talk about a long distance relationship.

"It's better safe than sorry" wouldn't you agree?