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Over the last few days, I have had kangaroos and koalas on the brain.

It all started when I checked in on the queue in my Google reader, which has been woefully neglected as of late. I was sifting through the normal stream of travel related wonderfulness, sharing social media love as I went, when something caught my imagination.

Queensland, Australia in June?  Blogging trip to beautiful locations?  Where do I sign up?!?!

Problogger is holding a contest in cooperation with Tourism Queensland to find 10 creative and ambitious bloggers to take to Queensland, Australia in June for the trip of a lifetime.

The itinerary is set up to showcase some of the very best that this incredible country/continent has to offer, including some sights and experiences that have a special place on my bucket list.

I am really jazzed about the thought of seeing the Great Barrier Reef up close and personal.  It is one of the wonders of the natural world, and just like all reefs worldwide, it is under attack and needs to be protected.  If I get the opportunity to visit, I hope that by sharing some of that beauty I can inspire others to think a little more about the things that we do everyday that harm our oceans.

And c’mon, who wouldn’t be excited about seeing cute animals?  Australia has some unusual wildlife that is found no where else on earth.  I have been told by friends who live there that it also has an unusually high proportion of the worlds poisonous snakes, bugs and other things that can hurt me.  That’s ok, I am willing to take that risk if it involves seeing cute Koala bears, and maybe some kangaroos.  Travel is hard, but somebody’s gotta do it, right?

Maybe I can bring back some of those great Australian slang phrases.  I was hooked when I heard one of my Australian friends visiting the US say about someone, “He’s got a couple roos loose in his upper paddock.”  If I came back talking a little more like that, it would be just bonzer with me!

Perhaps the best part of the whole deal are two special blogging workshops with Darren Rowse of Problogger (held in a couple of amazing locations!)  I love my blog and I have been working really hard on making it fly.  I feel like these workshops would give my blog a huge success injection and give me the inspiration that I need to keep up the intensity level necessary keep pushing down the road to reach my blogging goals.

So, here’s to the power of positive thinking, mate!  T minus 50 days until I am in Queensland!

If you are on Twitter and want to follow the conversation about the contest, it is taking place at #QldBlog

If you really want to help me, you can tweet the following for me (and get all of your friends to tweet it, too!)

Please RT: Shanna @thereandbackmn should be 1 of 10 to win the ProBlogger Down Under Competition #QldBlog @ProBlogger http://bit.ly/IQnjph