Day 14: Goodbye, Australia

It started raining today! Not bad timing for my last day in Australia! I picked up a few last Australian goodies to bring home, said my goodbyes, and hopped in a cab for the airport. And yes, this time, they checked my I.D. 

A million thanks go to Jesse and Michelle for being such fabulous hosts! And another million thanks go to Brooke and Joanna for accompanying me on this adventure. Hopefully those of you keeping up with this blog enjoyed the pictures and stories. Thanks for tuning in. :) -Mack

Day 13: If Feels Like a Bee Sting

This morning, we said goodbye to another travel buddy. Jo boarded her plane back to Park City, Utah. And then there were three....

Jesse, Michelle and I went to spend another low-key day on the beach. We went to Bondi Beach this time. Jesse and Michelle came back from swimming in the ocean, but not unscathed! It seems Jesse was stung by a Blue-Bottle Jellyfish, AKA the Portuguese Man-of-War. He said it felt "fine," just a little like a bee sting. Then I read him an excerpt from the book I was reading, about the kind of permanent scarring you can get from these kind of stings. He promptly took a walk down the beach, to try and 'walk it off.' Soon after, the lifeguards made an announcement that the water seemed to be infested with the little guys, and if we decided to swim, we would get stung. I stayed on the beach.

For my last night in Sydney, or all of Australia for that matter, we went to dinner at Circular Quay. This is the part of Sydney on the water, a couple steps from the Opera House. You can't beat the views! Our Thai food, apparently an Australian favorite, was delicious. We headed home and I started packing my bags....

 

Day 12: So Manly

After such a late night out, we took a while to get out of the house! Jo and I went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which was amazing. We saw a great section of Aboriginal art, which was my main priority once at the museum. The exhibits were great, definitely worth a couple trips to take it all in.

Then we caught a ferry across the bay, over to Manly Beach. The ferry rides was about 30 minutes of incredible views! The beach was another sight to see. Once getting of the ferry, we had to walk down a promenade of shops and restaurants and eventually ended at the beach. I spent a little time on the beach, and a little time in the shops. I'd realized that I'd hardly spent any time looking for some special odds and ends to bring home!

That night for dinner we picked up a little something special for dinner - kangaroo! Can you believe you can just buy kangaroo in the supermarket?! Jesse grilled some up for us, and I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. Read this interesting article about eating kangaroos.

 

Day 11: I got Shore Dumped

We rode the bus back to Coogee beach, and spent the day on the sand and in the water. I hopped into the water to do some bodysurfing, but the waves were pretty intense and I caught big one...or it caught me. I'm not sure how it exactly it happened, I was basically folded in half, slammed on my head, heard a few things crack, and stood up with a head packed with sand. I later learned the term for this is "shore dumped." I was just thankful I was able to stand up, after I heard my back and neck crack the way it did! I spent the rest of the time, safe, on my towel.

At night, Jesse and Michelle took us out on the town. We at dinner in Surry Hills, on the "trendy" Crown Street. Then, we went to a piano bar in King's Cross. King's Cross was full of bars and dressed up Australians. Somehow we managed to get home at 4am! 

 

Day 10: Return to Sydney

We flew from Brisbane back to Sydney, and no one ever checked my ID at the airport - not at check-in, not at security, not anywhere! Very strange, and unlike the US. Back in Sydney, we rested and stretched our legs after a week of sightseeing (from inside a car). 

We made a quick trip to the Australia Museum. 

That night, we went to a Rugby game at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Wests Tigers were playing the Sydney Roosters. The halves were 45 minutes long, and they never stop time during the game, so they're always the same length. It was the perfect length to be at a sporting event! 

 

Day 9: View From the Top

Early wake up call to start our hike to the summit of Mt. Warning! It was a 3.5 hour hike up and back down. Jesse, Jo and I traveled along a trail that led us through rainforest and vegetation. You could hear the birds squawking and crowing, but in an 'exotic' way - not like the birds you hear chirping out the window. It sounded fake, almost! The view from the top was gorgeous. It was a great hike.

We piled back in the car, and drove to Brisbane. We were staying in Brisbane for the night, since we had an early flight to catch in the morning. We had just enough time to find a nice patio to order a drink and grab some dinner.

Day 8: Where are the Koalas?

More great Muesli for brekky!

We drove to Noosa National Park in search of Koalas. No such luck. But, we saw a couple goannas and had great views of the ocean.

We sad goodbye to Brooke and dropped her off at the Brisbane airport. Suddenly our group of 5 was down to 3. We then spent another few hours in the car, en route to Mt. Warning.

Day 7: "Bit of a Hoot"

Noel, our amazing tour guide for the day, picked the 4 of us up at our hotel at 6:30 AM. We were about to embark on an all-day tour of Fraser Island. We hopped in a pretty fancy SUV that was prepped for beach and bush driving. Right away Noel was teaching us interesting facts about Fraser Island and the places we were passing on the way.

Fast Fraser Island facts: It is the largest sand island in the world, and it is the only sand island with a rainforest growing on it.

Before our ferry arrived to take us to the actual island, we parked on the beach for morning coffee, mimosas, and treats. Not a bad start to the day! As soon as we drove off the ferry and onto the beach of Fraser Island, we saw a Dingo our scavenging for food. Noel sped along the beach, dodging the incoming waves, even getting up to 120 km/hour! He took us through rainforest, walked us along the most prestine stream, showed us plants that were 3,000 years old, and pointed out the wildlife along the way.

At lunchtime, we took a dip in Lake McKenzie. The color of the water was amazing, especially against the white sand beach. While we swam and took photos, Noel set up our catered lunch, with wine and all! By the time we were dropped off at our hotel doorstep, we were tired but more than pleased with our adventures on Fraser Island.

Dinner at a local Thai spot ensued, and Jesse challenged me to a Curry-Off, where we had to eat spoonfulls of the spiciest curry dish until the other one caved. I think a free beer was on the line - I gave in once I started to feel a little lightheaded.

*Noel liked using terms, such as "bit of a hoot!" I can't remember the others at the moment...

Day 6: Meat Pie

So, apparently Australians like thier meat pies for brekky (Aussie-speak for "breakfast"). Jesse wanted nothing to do with it, but the girls jumped on the bandwagon and ordered a bacon and cheese pie for brekky. The consensus was, "not bad!"

It was time to say goodbye to Byron Bay and hit the road again. We travelled up the Gold Coast and made a quick stop at Surfers Paradise. The name sounds more fabulous than the actual town. If you like booze cruises, foam parties and amusement parks, you would like this town.

After lunch we got back on the road toward Noosa, our final destination for the night. But before getting there we had a few more adventures and photo ops to take advantage of. First, the Glass House Mountains, 16 volcanic mountains that hold spiritual significance to the local Aboriginal people. On the road up to the lookout point we saw a kangaroo grabbing some dinner on the side of the road. When we pulled over to take pictures, we saw that she had a little one popping its head out of her pouch! Needless to say, that was pretty cool - I took about 500 pictures of the kangaroo bending over and eating, the kangaroo standing up and eating, the kangaroo looking at us and eating...you get the idea.

Next sighting, a "big" black spider.

Last cool sighting, a couple Wallabies having some dinner. We watched them for a bit and took another rediculous amount of pictures. They eventually hopped away, which was just about the cutest thing watching thier tails bounces up and down in unison as the hopped!

We finally found Noosa and our hotel. In the dark, Noosa was a great little town! We were anxious to see it in the daylight!

Day 5: Coastal Rainforest

Today we ate breakfast at another beachside cafe, Shelly's. In order to burn off the breakfast we hiked around Cape Byron. After meandering through the coastal rainforest, we stopped to take pictures at the eastern-most point in Australia. The vegetation was like I would imagine a coastal rainforest to look, I suppose - green, viney, exotic - overall very gorgeous. Brooke was attacked by a parrot, we saw dolphins playing in the surf, and I had no giant spider sightings.

Next, we hopped in the car and visited a near-by town that we heard was having a 'bikes & kites' festival. Lots of kites, lots of kids...it was hot and we were ready for some beach time. Back to Byron where we laid in the sand until we were nice and roasted.

Day 4: Big Banana

I have to say, when it was time to get up this morning, I was relieved. I had a fairly restless sleep, mostly becuase I swear Australian bugs were in my bed.

We had breakfast on an outdoor patio overlooking the ocean. I had the best mueseli of my life, good enough that I even took a picture of it. :) Back on the road, our first stop was "The Big Banana." Apparently Australian's have a thing for 'big' stuff - built in 1964, the Big Banana is credited with starting the craze for 'Big Things' in Australia. This Banana has even been hailed as a national icon!

We traveled through the little town of Maclean, a town that takes its Scottish heritage seriously. Even its telephone poles display their pride and are painted plaid! We opted not to stop for haggis.

Before reaching our final destination for the night, we saw the "Big Prawn." Another on the list of 'big things.'

Finally, we reached our lodging, put on our swimsuits and headed straight for the beach in Byron Bay. Nearly as soon as we stepped in the sand, the sky opened up and we bolted to a bar to escape the downpour. The Beach Hotel is apparently "the mother of all bars," and with its location looking over the beach, it's not a bad spot to duck out of the sun or rain! Soon we found ourselves watching the sunset while we sat in the sand and drank an ice cold Aussie beer.

Byron Bay is a bustling beach town, filled with surfers, hippies and families. It's an eclectic mix of people, great for people watching! With near-perfect temperatures, soft white sand, great surfing and delicious mix of eateries, we were happy to know we still had another full day ahead in this spot.

Day 3: Road Trip Begins

All 5 of us loaded into our Toyota Camry, and started our adventure North. First stop, Hunter Valley, Australia's "wine country." Some of the earliest vineyards were planted in the early 1800's. We only had time to stop at 3 wineries and one cheese shop, before getting on the road again. But, we had a fabulous lunch of fresh cheese and crackers, and wonderful Aussie wine!

Lindeman's Winery

Audrey Wilkinson Winery

We then spent hours on the road, with our final destination for the night being Coffs Harbor. We shared a room at a hostel, and a few of us found this to be quite an 'adventure.' Brooke was the biggest trooper, after finding out she had to rent sheets. I swear the bug we killed was a cockroach. And, upon making up the bed, Jesse found out it is not a good idea to stand and watch Michelle make the bed, with his mouth open. The hostel pillow somehow flung toward his face, and landed in his mouth. Possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a long time, and possibly the most disgusting thing that's happened to Jesse in a long time.

Day 2: Sydney Zoo

Today, we went to the zoo. Highlights: getting up close and personal with a Koala, the views on the ferry ride across the Harbor. And, I'm finally feeling like I've fully recovered from jet-lag. Finally!

 

Day 1: "Estrogen Invasion"

So, the gang is finally complete. Brooke joined up with us this morning, and we are officially starting what Jesse calls, our "Estrogen Invasion" of Australia. He's been a good sport so far. He only once said something when Joanna commented the fabulous length of Brooke's eyelashes.

Our first full day in Sydney was sunny and sandy. We hiked from Coogie Beach to Bondi Beach on a stretch of trails that wind along the coast. The weather couldn't have been better, the beaches have the softest, light colored sand and the water is gorgeous bright blues.

I saw my first Australian insect. It was HUGE. I took a picture and tried to capture the scale of it. Somehow I'm the only one who has spotted any insects. Don't worry Dad, I'll try to take pictures of all the venomous things I come across.

After a full day of sun and sand we took the bus home and spent hours pouring over travel books, trying to decide where our next adventure will take us. Looks like we'll be taking a ROAD TRIP!

We've arrived in Australia!

Joanna and I arrived in Syndey, safe and sound. Joanna flew in on the A380-800 Airbus. Google it if you're unfamiliar. :) I had the whole row to myself, so I was able to stretch out and sleep quite comfortably. We both slept for most of the flight, and missed all the cool in-flight movies. It's St. Patrick's Day in Sydney. Jesse and Michelle greeted us in festive t-shirts. We're discussing where to go grab some coffee, and plan to enjoy the WARM WEATHER. Below is our first photo together in Australia - our cab ride from the airport!

We spent lunch on a rooftop enjoying lunch and 80 degree weather. Later that night we went out in search of green beer.

 

First stop: Park City, Utah

Made a weekend stop in Park City for some snowy adventures. Max & Joanna hosted us, and showed us a great time. Sledding, skiing and mechanical bulls = recipe for good pictures. It's Sunday afternoon, heading to the airport soon...Next stop, Sydney!