Monday, June 21st, Bondi Beach (Sydney), 12:22 pm, temp 20C
Last time I left off we were up in the Daintree Rainforest. We had to leave Friday morning at 6:40 am and drive south to Fort Douglas to catch our Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling 8:30 am. It was raining, dark, and foggy which made the drive interesting. The road was very narrow and curvy but luckily I had a couple days experience under my belt. Once we got on the other side of the river the skies cleared and it looked like we would have a lovely day. We booked the Poseidon tour which they say takes out the fewest people and does three dive locations. We were the first on, I grabbed a spot in the sun and the other three sat in the shady area. I met two couples who are traveling from slightly north of Melbourne all the way to the northern tip of Australia. Round trip would put them at 10,000 kilometers round trip. They have a Ute with a top pop up style camper, sounds like a fun trip. We chatted the way out to the first dive, took about a little over an hour. We snorkeled around the first reef area for about forty minutes, I had ear plugs which worked perfect for diving below. The coral and fish were amazing, loved every minute of it. Aunt Carole and Judy had their own guide who took them on a board around the reef.
The second stop was a better, more variety of fish which I tried to take photos not sure how well they will turn out using a disposable underwater camera. After the second dive we had a buffet lunch and relaxed in the beautiful sun. while relaxing on board we could see a small shark off the side of the boat, swimming around the boat. Aunt Carole decided to stay on board for this stop, Judy was adventurous and went out with Julie.
the third stop was the best, the guides took out three groups and explained about the reef and fish and tried to show us sharks at the bottom who were sleeping. Again, Aunt Carole & Judy had their own guide who took them out on a board. Next time they go out snorkeling they will claim to be first timers just so they can get the special treatment again. This stop was amazing, I couldn't get enough of diving down to see the different coral and fish. Time went by too fast. I still can't believe we were actually at the Great Barrier Reef and we snorkeled!!! Kinda like the first time you see the Grand Canyon, it doesn't seem real.
We headed back to land, got in around 5 pm, changed and hit the road for our drive back to Cairns. We dropped the car off at the airport and took a taxi to our hotel. Aunt Carole & Judy headed out for dinner & shopping, Julie & I headed to the resturant next door for fresh seafood. We met the owner who has 3 different locations, very nice man. We ordered fresh oysters which were gigantic, the largest I've every seen and Prawn Wantons for appetizers. For dinner I had garlic prawn salad and Julie had Garlic prawn pasta, both were delicious. With dinner I had a kinky Cosmo & Julie had a Chardonnay. For dessert, the bartender let me sample a couple of flavored dark rums made in Australia, very nice. He made me a cinnamon ice cream, coffee, dark rum dessert. It was delicious. Aunt Carole and Judy joined us for a beer. We turned in early as we needed to be up around 4:30 am for a 6:20 am flight to Sydney.
Saturday, June 19th Sydney
We arrived to Sydney at 9am, took the shuttle to our hotel, checked our bags and I booked my "climb Sydney Harbour Bridge" tour for 12:55pm. The other 3 were not interested in climbing the bridge, they headed out to check out the area around Circular Quay (harbour area around our hotel near the Opera House). The four of us walked to "The Rocks" area to find a place for lunch. Ate lunch at a great local place and walked up to where the Bridge Climb started. At the climb, they take you though signing your life away, breath test (alcohol test), and get you in your beautiful grey jumper (jump suit). they we head in to get all the other stuff you need; harness, head gear, hat, etc... The climb is up to the top of the bridge which is 440 feet and amazing views of the Harbour and all the sights around. It was a beautiful sunny day, about 22C and a pretty strong wind. It took us about an hour to do the climb and then we stopped at four different stops to take photos. It was an awesome experience, the guide was informative about the history of the building of the bridge and Sydney. Well worth the money. Afterwards, Julie and the ladies had booked a 5 pm tour of the Sydney Opera House, the architecture of the building is amazing!!! Wish we had time for a concert. There was a big night light show going on while we were in Sydney, the Opera House had a variety of images displayed on the "sails" which changed. Lots of people were there to see it and photograph the different images. Afterwards we took the ferry to Manly Beach and had a fantastic dinner by the beach. Got back to our hotel around 10 pm.
Sunday, June 20th, sunny & 22C
Today we did the Hunter Valley Wine tour. It was another gorgous day, sun was shining and the temperature was fantastic. We did 3 wineries, had a fantastic lunch, stopped for chocolate tasting & cheese tasting. Got back to the hotel around 5:15 pm. Had a nice relaxing dinner of Veal and Pasta.
Monday, June 21st cloudy & raining, temp 15-18C
Today we did a city bus tour, I am sitting in a little shop at Bombi Beach. Quickly wanted to update the blog. Not enough time to fill you in but when we get back I will upload photos. We took Julie out for breakfast at Maxx Brenners Chocolate House and had waffles with chocolate, ice cream, bananas, and strawberries. It was perfect start to the day.
gotta sign off, we fly back tomorrow.
this has been a trip of a lifetime for all four of us. Each of us have our own favorites on this trip. Mine was snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef!!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Day Nine
Thursday, June 17th, 2:38pm Daintree Rainforest National Park, temp 27C
Wednesday, June 16th, Cairns
We had decided to rent a car in Cairns and drive ourselves up to Daintree, about 2.5 hrs north if you don't stop. Early Wednesday morning, Julie and I walked to Hertz and rented a Camry, 3 days for about $250AUD. Originally we were going to do a tour but decided driving ourselves up would give us more freedom and save us money. The big question is who would drive on the wrong side of the road? I volunteered to drive since I had spent a year in Hong Kong living "the opposite side" of what we do in the US. The car rental clerk handed me the keys to the car and the maps to Julie, we headed out and of course I head for the left side of the car instead of the right side. As I start the car i tell myself "left side, left side, must stay on the left side of the road". We drove to the hotel to pick up Carole & Judy and load luggage, only a slight problem with almost doing a U-turn at the wrong place but got it straighted out, no worries as the Aussies say.
We took Captain Cooks highway all the way up to Daintree. We made multiple stops, our first main stop was at Port Douglas. Beautiful beaches with nice warm water. The weather was perfect, blue sky and about mid 80's F or 27C. We drove into town and walked the shops and had a nice cool beer in an Irish Pub. Continued our drive north stopping many times to take beautiful photos. We did find a WWII memorial off the beaten highway for a young girl who was the only civilian casuality in Eastern Australia.
To get to Daintree you have to take a vehicle ferry across the Daintree River, 5 minute trip. It was an amazing drive, gorgous sites with very narrow roads on our way to the hotel. We arrived around 6 pm, checked in & headed out for dinner. Had a nice relaxing dinner of grilled and fried fresh local fish, seafood platter and white wine. After dinner we deaded back to the hotel, hoping we would NOT run into a Cassowarry (huge blue turkey, hope to spot one for a photo opp). The drive back to the hotel was so dark unlike anything I have experienced. We played cards and shared a couple of bottles of wine from McLarne Vale are (wine country outside of Adelaide). It rained all night (really, in a rainforest???), I had my earplugs in so the rain & birds did not keep me awake unlike my roommate Julie.
We did not get up too early today, got on the road about 9ish, stopped for meat pie breakfast and made our way up north. There is only one road in Daintree Rainforest, pretty narrow and thankfully I stayed on the left side of the road. It has not been difficult driving on the left, just have to focus a little harder. We stopped at a couple different locations to go on the walk paths through the Rainfoest, the walks usually took about half an hour to forty five minutes. It was nice & relaxing with informative stops along the way. We also stopped at Cape Tribulation Beach and walked along the surf, again the weather is PERFECT. So relaxing and gorgous views.
We booked our snorkling trip to the Great Barrier Reef for tomorrow morning. I am going to try & scubba dive but have gotten a slight cold (sinus) and we have an early Friday morning flight which might be a problem for my ears. Once I am on the boat and can talk to the guides, they will help me determine if it will be safe for me. The other three will be snorkling. I can't wait to see the Great Barrier Reef, this is a place that is on my "to do list".
Interesting things:
Aunt Carole has picked up an interesting accent during our trip
Judy is a great traveler for having just met the day of our flight over
Lemmingons are a great coconut/chocolate cake snack, thanks Christine for introducing us!
Well, I better sign off for now. The other three are sitting in the car drinking beer waiting for me.
Wednesday, June 16th, Cairns
We had decided to rent a car in Cairns and drive ourselves up to Daintree, about 2.5 hrs north if you don't stop. Early Wednesday morning, Julie and I walked to Hertz and rented a Camry, 3 days for about $250AUD. Originally we were going to do a tour but decided driving ourselves up would give us more freedom and save us money. The big question is who would drive on the wrong side of the road? I volunteered to drive since I had spent a year in Hong Kong living "the opposite side" of what we do in the US. The car rental clerk handed me the keys to the car and the maps to Julie, we headed out and of course I head for the left side of the car instead of the right side. As I start the car i tell myself "left side, left side, must stay on the left side of the road". We drove to the hotel to pick up Carole & Judy and load luggage, only a slight problem with almost doing a U-turn at the wrong place but got it straighted out, no worries as the Aussies say.
We took Captain Cooks highway all the way up to Daintree. We made multiple stops, our first main stop was at Port Douglas. Beautiful beaches with nice warm water. The weather was perfect, blue sky and about mid 80's F or 27C. We drove into town and walked the shops and had a nice cool beer in an Irish Pub. Continued our drive north stopping many times to take beautiful photos. We did find a WWII memorial off the beaten highway for a young girl who was the only civilian casuality in Eastern Australia.
To get to Daintree you have to take a vehicle ferry across the Daintree River, 5 minute trip. It was an amazing drive, gorgous sites with very narrow roads on our way to the hotel. We arrived around 6 pm, checked in & headed out for dinner. Had a nice relaxing dinner of grilled and fried fresh local fish, seafood platter and white wine. After dinner we deaded back to the hotel, hoping we would NOT run into a Cassowarry (huge blue turkey, hope to spot one for a photo opp). The drive back to the hotel was so dark unlike anything I have experienced. We played cards and shared a couple of bottles of wine from McLarne Vale are (wine country outside of Adelaide). It rained all night (really, in a rainforest???), I had my earplugs in so the rain & birds did not keep me awake unlike my roommate Julie.
We did not get up too early today, got on the road about 9ish, stopped for meat pie breakfast and made our way up north. There is only one road in Daintree Rainforest, pretty narrow and thankfully I stayed on the left side of the road. It has not been difficult driving on the left, just have to focus a little harder. We stopped at a couple different locations to go on the walk paths through the Rainfoest, the walks usually took about half an hour to forty five minutes. It was nice & relaxing with informative stops along the way. We also stopped at Cape Tribulation Beach and walked along the surf, again the weather is PERFECT. So relaxing and gorgous views.
We booked our snorkling trip to the Great Barrier Reef for tomorrow morning. I am going to try & scubba dive but have gotten a slight cold (sinus) and we have an early Friday morning flight which might be a problem for my ears. Once I am on the boat and can talk to the guides, they will help me determine if it will be safe for me. The other three will be snorkling. I can't wait to see the Great Barrier Reef, this is a place that is on my "to do list".
Interesting things:
Aunt Carole has picked up an interesting accent during our trip
Judy is a great traveler for having just met the day of our flight over
Lemmingons are a great coconut/chocolate cake snack, thanks Christine for introducing us!
Well, I better sign off for now. The other three are sitting in the car drinking beer waiting for me.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Day Seven
Tuesday, June 15th, Cairns 9:46pm
Sorry it has been forever since I have had access to a computer. Let me see if I can do a quick review of our travels
Friday, June 11th arrive Adelaide 6:30 pm
Dropped off at the bus station, call of a taxi which will hold all of our luggage and quickly travel through Adelaide to our 3 bedroom townhouse. The lights were on, waiting for our arrival. It is a very nice place, with an outside patio and full kitchen. My friend Christine stopped over and we headed for the grocery & liquor store. Decided to hang out at the townhouse for the evening.
Saturday, June 12th, Hahndorf tour. Cloudy/cool Temp 15C
Christine picked us up in the morning and gave us a quick walking tour of downtown Adelaide. Sights included the river Torrens, black swans, and gorgeous architecture. The we drove into the hills up to Hahndorf, small German settlement. Lots of little shops, similar to Carmel in CA. We first stopped at a strawberry farm, next did cheese tasting, and then to the pub for German beer and sausage/kraut. It was a perfect day. The ladies were a little chilled, I was okay:)
Sunday, June 13th Sea & Vines Wine Festival, McLarne Vale Sunny, temp 17C
There were 12 of us with a lovely sober driver all piled into a Hertz van. Christine & her sister Reg made some great snacks along with champagne to start the day off. We had 4 winerys on our itinerary, the first stop Middlebrook was for breakfast. The line was so long for food, we decided to share a couple bottles of wine and have breakfast at our next stop. The second winery Paxton we had salmon & fresh oysters (yumalicious). They had some lovely Shiraz and Merlot. The third stop was Shingleback which we did not enjoy the wine but had a fabulous time dancing to the great band playing 80's music. We decided to head to the pub and played some pool & the jukebox. Fourth winery Coriole, again had some nice whites & reds. My Aunt Carole, Judy & Christine ordered $20 magarita pizzas that took 1/2 hr to make. Let's just say the sun was shining, music was playing, and there was wine-a-flowing. The event was over around 4:30 so we heading back to Adelaide for a wonderful Chinese dinner. Got home around 7:30 and off to bed by 8:30.
Monday, June 14 - sunny day, 17C
It was a later start to the day for me. Aunt Carole & Judy went for a walk, I laid in the sunroom and Julie read her book. Chistine called about 11:00 and arranged to pick us up around 12:00. We packed a lunch and headed to the beach for a picnic. Judy & I walked the beach, I was the only one to put my foot in the water. It was the Gulf which flows into the Oceanic (or Southern) Ocean. We walked along the shops and then headed up to lookout point. Great view of the city. It was the last night in Adelaide and we had to have Kangaroo for dinner. Christine took us to a nice resturant where we shared a porterhouse steak, lamb shanks & Kangaroo. It was all so decious. For dessert we had homemade chocolate pudding with carmel sauce. Seriously good. WE said good-bye to Christine and packed for our morning flight.
Tuesday, June 15th - sunny day
We fly from Adelaide to Sydney and Sydney to Cairns, leaving at 9:30 and arriving at 4:30. Our hotel, The Sebel is very nice and right along the water. We went out for seafood dinner of Oysters and "Bugs" which is small lobsters in tempera, SO GOOD.
Tomorrow we are renting a car and driving up to Daintree Rainforest for two nights. Thursday is the day we will snorkle/scubba dive the Great Barrier Reef.
The trip has been amazing so far, the scenery undescribable, wish I could upload photos to share. That will have to wait until I get back to the US. The Aussie people are so friendly and welcoming, it has been a pleasure traveling their country. Gotta sign off, take care.
Sorry it has been forever since I have had access to a computer. Let me see if I can do a quick review of our travels
Friday, June 11th arrive Adelaide 6:30 pm
Dropped off at the bus station, call of a taxi which will hold all of our luggage and quickly travel through Adelaide to our 3 bedroom townhouse. The lights were on, waiting for our arrival. It is a very nice place, with an outside patio and full kitchen. My friend Christine stopped over and we headed for the grocery & liquor store. Decided to hang out at the townhouse for the evening.
Saturday, June 12th, Hahndorf tour. Cloudy/cool Temp 15C
Christine picked us up in the morning and gave us a quick walking tour of downtown Adelaide. Sights included the river Torrens, black swans, and gorgeous architecture. The we drove into the hills up to Hahndorf, small German settlement. Lots of little shops, similar to Carmel in CA. We first stopped at a strawberry farm, next did cheese tasting, and then to the pub for German beer and sausage/kraut. It was a perfect day. The ladies were a little chilled, I was okay:)
Sunday, June 13th Sea & Vines Wine Festival, McLarne Vale Sunny, temp 17C
There were 12 of us with a lovely sober driver all piled into a Hertz van. Christine & her sister Reg made some great snacks along with champagne to start the day off. We had 4 winerys on our itinerary, the first stop Middlebrook was for breakfast. The line was so long for food, we decided to share a couple bottles of wine and have breakfast at our next stop. The second winery Paxton we had salmon & fresh oysters (yumalicious). They had some lovely Shiraz and Merlot. The third stop was Shingleback which we did not enjoy the wine but had a fabulous time dancing to the great band playing 80's music. We decided to head to the pub and played some pool & the jukebox. Fourth winery Coriole, again had some nice whites & reds. My Aunt Carole, Judy & Christine ordered $20 magarita pizzas that took 1/2 hr to make. Let's just say the sun was shining, music was playing, and there was wine-a-flowing. The event was over around 4:30 so we heading back to Adelaide for a wonderful Chinese dinner. Got home around 7:30 and off to bed by 8:30.
Monday, June 14 - sunny day, 17C
It was a later start to the day for me. Aunt Carole & Judy went for a walk, I laid in the sunroom and Julie read her book. Chistine called about 11:00 and arranged to pick us up around 12:00. We packed a lunch and headed to the beach for a picnic. Judy & I walked the beach, I was the only one to put my foot in the water. It was the Gulf which flows into the Oceanic (or Southern) Ocean. We walked along the shops and then headed up to lookout point. Great view of the city. It was the last night in Adelaide and we had to have Kangaroo for dinner. Christine took us to a nice resturant where we shared a porterhouse steak, lamb shanks & Kangaroo. It was all so decious. For dessert we had homemade chocolate pudding with carmel sauce. Seriously good. WE said good-bye to Christine and packed for our morning flight.
Tuesday, June 15th - sunny day
We fly from Adelaide to Sydney and Sydney to Cairns, leaving at 9:30 and arriving at 4:30. Our hotel, The Sebel is very nice and right along the water. We went out for seafood dinner of Oysters and "Bugs" which is small lobsters in tempera, SO GOOD.
Tomorrow we are renting a car and driving up to Daintree Rainforest for two nights. Thursday is the day we will snorkle/scubba dive the Great Barrier Reef.
The trip has been amazing so far, the scenery undescribable, wish I could upload photos to share. That will have to wait until I get back to the US. The Aussie people are so friendly and welcoming, it has been a pleasure traveling their country. Gotta sign off, take care.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Day Three
Friday, June 11th - 3:15 pm, Adelaide
We are on a bus heading to Adelaide to meet up with my friend Christine. We have a short stop/break before another 3+ hrs on the bus:)
Arrived Wednesday, Sydney 7:15am 45 minutes late. We sat on the tarmac (spelling) at LAX for over an hour, what a way to start a 20+ hr trip. We left Sydney at 10:15 am for a short flight to melbourne. Arrived around 11:30, grabbed a cab to our hotel which was really nice especially the beds!!! Relaxed and then headed out on a free city tram. Made a couple stops, first to check out St. Paul's church (beautiful) next to Young & Jackson to view the famous nude painting. Ordered a bottle of wine, cheese platter, and bread/spread platter. Best thing ever!!!! Next we vetured out to check out some sights. Headed back to the hotel for 6 pm free happy hour. To bed around 9:30, slept til 6:30 am.
Thursday, June 10th - Melbourne
We had a 2-day tour booked for the "great ocean road". A small bus filled with 23 people, mostly younger who are touring around Australia. It was amazing drive which had me hanging out the window the first two hours taking AMAZING photos which I will share later. Judy had to hold my belt to keep me from flying out. Thankfully the Aussies drive on the wrong side or I would had a few issues of getting hit by passing cars. We stoppped for a fabulous lunch and then back on the bus heading to the rainforest. We ended up staying in a hostel at a cost of 23USD, 3 sets of bunk beds, the 4 of us plus two girls from Ontario we met. We went to bed around 10 pm, had to be up and ready to go by 7:30 am.
Friday, June 11th - Hall's Gap
Gotta run, will finish later as my time is almost up and I have to get on the bus.
It has been amazing so far and it is only day 3!!! We did see Kangaroos and Kohola bears. What a beautiful country.
Chat soon.
Love to all
We are on a bus heading to Adelaide to meet up with my friend Christine. We have a short stop/break before another 3+ hrs on the bus:)
Arrived Wednesday, Sydney 7:15am 45 minutes late. We sat on the tarmac (spelling) at LAX for over an hour, what a way to start a 20+ hr trip. We left Sydney at 10:15 am for a short flight to melbourne. Arrived around 11:30, grabbed a cab to our hotel which was really nice especially the beds!!! Relaxed and then headed out on a free city tram. Made a couple stops, first to check out St. Paul's church (beautiful) next to Young & Jackson to view the famous nude painting. Ordered a bottle of wine, cheese platter, and bread/spread platter. Best thing ever!!!! Next we vetured out to check out some sights. Headed back to the hotel for 6 pm free happy hour. To bed around 9:30, slept til 6:30 am.
Thursday, June 10th - Melbourne
We had a 2-day tour booked for the "great ocean road". A small bus filled with 23 people, mostly younger who are touring around Australia. It was amazing drive which had me hanging out the window the first two hours taking AMAZING photos which I will share later. Judy had to hold my belt to keep me from flying out. Thankfully the Aussies drive on the wrong side or I would had a few issues of getting hit by passing cars. We stoppped for a fabulous lunch and then back on the bus heading to the rainforest. We ended up staying in a hostel at a cost of 23USD, 3 sets of bunk beds, the 4 of us plus two girls from Ontario we met. We went to bed around 10 pm, had to be up and ready to go by 7:30 am.
Friday, June 11th - Hall's Gap
Gotta run, will finish later as my time is almost up and I have to get on the bus.
It has been amazing so far and it is only day 3!!! We did see Kangaroos and Kohola bears. What a beautiful country.
Chat soon.
Love to all
Friday, June 4, 2010
Heading to Australia
I am off to visit a new continent, the land of OZ on Monday, June 7th. The planning of this trip started over a year ago when I was living in Hong Kong. My friend Christine who I met in 2008 while living in Hong Kong is from Adelaide, Australia told me about a wine festival she goes to every year that takes place the 2nd weekend in June in Adelaide. I had decided it was a perfect excuse to travel over 9000 miles to drink wine. My cousin Julie, Aunt Carole, and her friend Judy (soon to be my friend) are joining me on the adventure. Below is our intinerary, hope to blog and share our stories/pictures everyday. Stay tuned.
Date Day Itinerary City staying
7-Jun Monday leave
9-Jun Wednesday arrive 6:30 am
9-Jun Wednesday Fly to Melbourne
10-Jun Thur Great Ocean Road Tour
11-Jun Friday Great Ocean Road Tour Adelaide
12-Jun Saturday City tour Adelaide
13-Jun Sunday Wine festival Adelaide
14-Jun Monday recover & tour Adelaide
15-Jun Tuesday fly to Cairns
16-Jun Wednesday Great Barrier Reef Cairns
17-Jun Thursday Rainforest Cairns
18-Jun Friday Rainforest Cairns
19-Jun Saturday fly to Sydney
20-Jun Sunday sydney
21-Jun Monday sydney
22-Jun Tuesday fly to MSP
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