Hey y’all…..much apologies for the extreme delay in updating the blog 😦 schoolwork and activities got the better of me and I wanted to make sure I had the time to write properly!
So the family made it across the Pacific to visit the beautiful Australia!! I met up with them in Melbourne, where we stayed for five days. Then we all traveled to Sydney for another five days before I had to head back to classes ( 😦 ) and the fam continued on to see Brisbane for four more days. Mom, Haley, and Aidan traveled back home, but Dad went to Auckland, New Zealand for a week of work in his office there. FUN TIMES!!
Day 1
For some stupid reason, my friends and I decided to stay up ALL night before I had to catch my six am flight to Melbourne….why…So naturally I was buggered and I slept like a baby on the plane to Brisbane and the plane to Melbourne. Sunrise flights are my favorite though.
The fam bam had made it to Melbourne a fair few hours ahead of me. They checked into the hotel and began their ‘self-guided’ tour of the city by walking EVERYWHERE. They toured the CBD and made it all the way down to the stadiums and the Royal Botanical Gardens. I met up with them for lunch at Grill’d (I’ve now had Grill’d in THREE states) 😮
Then we continued to explore Melbourne on foot. [I had Starbucks (my first love) for the first time in ages] and we checked out the two things Melbourne is famous for: Laneways and Street Art. Laneways are developed alleys that bring a unique vibe to this city. They are filled with shops and food stops. The less populated laneways are covered in beautiful works of street art.
We stopped for a rest along the scenic Yarra river that runs through the center of Melbourne. We relaxed as much as we could in the COLD. I’ve sure been spoiled in Queensland because it was freezing by comparison in Melbourne. A jumper and jeans were required….but my wishful thinking only brought one zip up and one pair of leggings (sorry mom) so ignore the fact that I appear to be wearing the exact same thing in every single Melbourne photo. That night we got back to the hotel and sent Aidan and Dad out to find pizza for dinner. They returned with yummy yummy pizza and I quickly passed out on the couch.
I actually woke up around 10 and felt like walking around, so I went out to see Melbourne at night. A lot busier than Townsville on a weekday night, there were heaps of cars and people buzzing about and it felt really good to be back in a big city. Hunger struck and I stopped into Macca’s for a cheap chicken burger before heading back to the hotel for a sleep.
Day Two
We awoke and braved the cold (I’m talking actual 60 degree weather!!) to the Melbourne Harbor. Now the CBD has a wonderful…FREE…transport system. There’s a free tram zone that covered everywhere we needed to go. So we walked around the harbour’s edge. Saw some really cool boats and brand new purple-windowed apartments along the docks with strange sculptures. Melbourne definitely had it’s own vibe.
We hopped back on the free tram and headed to the popular Queen Victoria Markets. Half of the market was outdoors, filled with touristy shops, AFL (footy) stores, and fresh produce. The other half was indoors and had food. Everything from freshly made sandwiches to fruits and sliced meats and cheeses. We grabbed a baguette, cheese and salami and then hopped back on the tram to head to Docklands. As soon as we stepped off the tram at the Docklands shopping centre, it started to rain. Not sprinkle, not pour, but rain. It was cold and dreadful, but a bit nostalgic. We found a covered table to stop and devour our farmer’s market lunch.
We stayed indoors for the rest of the night, but we did stop at starbucks once again. 🙂
Day Three
We purchased a trip to Philip Island – famous for housing the world’s smallest penguins! We got up early and hopped on a charter bus for an hour to reach the small island just south of Melbourne city. We stopped first at Churchill Island farm. There was a beautiful remastered farm area, completely touristy. Animals roaming about, every kind imaginable, and there were demonstrations of sheep herding and sheep shearing. Aidan and I snuck off for a lil cute photoshoot and then we hopped back on the bus to the next stop.
Next stop was a small Koala sanctuary where we saw quite a few koalas in the wild! They were sleeping of course (that’s all Koalas do). But cute nonetheless. We also some adorable roos. Back on the bus before sundown when we headed to the final destination….the Penguin Parade. Now some back story, the species Little Penguins are only found in southern Oz and NZ. And at Philip Island they come ashore every night, hundreds of them, and waddle ashore and walk as far as five miles to get to their burrow. It happens around 6:30 and they wash ashore in herds as to not be vulnerable for birds to attack. Tourists are able to view this miracle every night! We stayed in the Penguin Plus section, which allowed us to get as close as possible to the little guys. The only downside was that there is no photography allowed…NONE…they were real strict. So photo ops where near nonexistent.
However, the stars that night were the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Someone finally pointed out the Southern Cross constellation to me and I could’ve stayed there all night looking at them. Except it was freezing and I wanted to sleep. The bus ride home was a bit long and they played Surf’s Up (which if you know my Dad is just too ironic). Sleep sleep sleep.
Day Four
Today we did what some Aussies only dream of doing. We traveled on the Great Ocean Road! This highway stretches along the perfectly scenic coast of Victoria. It passes famous landmarks, such as Bells Beach (considered the best surfing shore) and the Twelve Apostles (a natural wonder of remains of shoreline). We began the trip like the day before on the charter bus heading out of Melbourne. We stopped along a river’s edge just out of the city for a quick morning tea. We had Bush tea, lamingtons, and yes! Vegemite. These are some of the reactions:
Vegemite is actually disgusting. Anyways, we continued on and stopped every twenty minutes or so for a five minute photo op stop. Beaches on beaches on beaches. My heaven. We traveled along until we reached the town of Apollo Bay where we grabbed some yummy lunch and walked on the beach.
We continued on to reach the Twelve Apostles. There used to be 12 free standing cliffs, but now there’s only 8 left standing. The viewpoint paths were PACKED with people. SO. MANY. SELFIE. STICKS. I cannot exaggerate that enough. But still we got some great views of the Twelve Apostles until the grumpy clouds rolled in.
The bus ride back had barely any stops. But we got to walk down these crazy steps to reach the beach. And we stopped at the shoreline where a fabled shipwreck occurred. Everything was SO PRETTY. The shores were just beyond incredible. By far the best day trip I’ve had in all of Australia. It was great. So glad I got to experience it with my family!! On the bus ride back they played this real Aussie movie, Red Dog, which was really really good until it was really really sad. We all slept a bit after a long day. That night I took the fam to eat at Nando’s. A chicken place I went to with Nana and Papa back in Manly Wharf, and wanted them to try. THEY WERE NOT IMPRESSED. Maybe I talked it up too much, but I enjoyed the feed.
Day Five
We woke up and packed up but had a little bit of time before needing to get to the airport…….so we headed to Starbucks!! Haha I can’t help it. Along the way we went to some shops and I found a present for a friend and a really cute pineapple ring! Anyways, we passed by RMIT, a university that my old roommate Christina will be studying abroad at next semester! Then we headed to the airport and left Melbourne for Sydney! Overall, Melbourne was a really cool city. It has a lot of artsy, unique vibes. It’s often dubbed Australia’s best city, but I don’t think it was my favorite. My fave was the things we got to do outside of the city! If I went back I would want to ride the Melbourne Star (the ferris wheel) and….maybe just explore more when it’s sunny out! 🙂
When we got to Sydney it was nice and sunny, and we met some Seattlites on the plane! We made our way to out hotel and were pleasantly surprised to find that we somehow ended up in the penthouse apartment, complete with spectacular views, posh beds, and a fully kitchen. It was GREAT. Mom of course had no plans to leave. We relaxed for a bit, and then I took them on a walk around the major Sydney sights at night. We stopped at the grocery store to buy breakfast stuff and decided to make dinner that night in our fancy kitchen. We made roast chicken and potatoes and it was yum. We all relaxed and fell asleep quick in our posh apartment.
Day Six
We continued to explore Sydney on foot. I’m so glad I walked around enough before this trip that I knew the layout of the city without needing to spend time checking a map. We saw Hyde Park, the Sydney Tower, Queen Victoria Building (which my fam was not quite as impressed as I with). For lunch we walked all the way across the Domain to Wooloomooloo and ate at Harry’s famous pie shop. We walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens to get to the beautiful Opera House and we ended up at Circular Quay.
We arranged to have a harbour boat tour for Afternoon Tea! We boarded the Captain Cook Cruises ferry boat and found a nice spot up top. We spent about two-three hours touring every inlet of the Sydney Harbour. We started by passing the Opera House and Wooloomooloo and then toured a bit of the celebrity houses (hello Russel Crowe!) and ended up at the easternmost end where the harbour meets the sea. We saw hundreds of sailboats (they call all sailboats yachts) out on the harbour. We saw some secluded beaches, some shark watch areas, some lighthouses, some nature reserve parks and downed some lovely Aussie teat and afternoon snacks! We then went around the western side of the harbour by crossing under the Harbour Bridge and seeing Darling Harbour and Barangaroo Point. The cruise was beautiful, we got to see so much, and it was perfectly clear day to do it. Great idea Dad!
After the cruise we walked as the sun was setting all the way to Darling Harbour. We wandered the heaps of restaurants before deciding to eat at…..you guessed it….the same place as before. We went to Watermark or something. I had the risotto and mom had the chicken parm and we split. It was as yummy as before! This time we stayed in the harbour for another two hours or so to catch the fireworks. Then we walked back to our hotel.
Day Seven
Today, Sunday, public transit travel is $2.15 unlimited. So we took this opportunity to firstly try to find some Sunday farmers markets. This was a bust (Dad’s fault :P) and we ended up at Sydney’s Chinatown for a hot minute. We hopped back on the trains to reach Circular Quay, to get on a ferry boat to take us to Manly. By midday I was once again walking around Manly Beach. We looked at the shops and walked along the crowded beach. For lunch we stopped at this cute mexican place and shared three plates of nachos and some Coronas. It was the best nachos I’ve had in the entirety of Australia!!
We then boarded the ferry back to the CBD and then decided to take the train across the bridge to reach Milton’s Point and Luna Park. It was nighttime now and a bit chilly. But Luna Park, which is a small amusement park, is really creepy looking in the day time, but is quite nice at night. Next to it is the Sydney 2000 Olympic pool, where Michael Phelps won his first gold medal! So that’s pretty cool. We went home after that, but we did so by walking across the famous Harbour Bridge. It was about as cool as possible to see the city lit up from high above the water. We slept real well after all that walking.
Day Eight
Haley, Dad, and I awoke at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise over Sydney Harbour. While getting up early is NOT MY FAVE, seeing the sun rise above the Opera House is something I’d get up to every morning. We walked down to the viewpoint across from the Opera House and watched for an hour or so as the sky lit up. A cruise ship even came into harbour just at dawn. Quite spectacular.
Today was the day we headed to Bondi Beach 🙂 We took the train and bus to get there, and then we hung out in the sand for a while before deciding to try some surfing lessons!! Haley, Aidan, and I were taught by a big hulking Aussiehow to surf. It is so difficult!! Getting hit over and over by SALTY water and rough waves really takes a toll on you….but it was incredible fun!! All of us got up multiple times and we all had a blast!! That tuckered us out quickly so we grabbed some chips straight after at one of the beachside cafes. Bondi is definitely one of the best beaches in the world and has always been renowned as one of the best surfing spots ever! So it was pretty great to get to surf there!
After Bondi we cleaned up and then began to head out for the fam’s first footy game!! The North Queensland Cowboys were playing the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney! So we donned our blue and gold and went to sit in the Cowboys section of ANZ Stadium. The large stadium was unimpressively filled with red and green striped fans. (I mean what the hell even is a Rabbitoh!?!?!) But anyways, after a fairly even first half, the Cowboys got try after try and ended up winning the game!! It was fun to sit the away section for this one!
Day Nine
For the last full day in Sydney I (perhaps mischievously) convinced my family to check out the famous Eastern beaches of Sydney. This involved a tad bit more walking that I originally expected, but I was STOKED to do the famous Coastal Walk!! We began at Coogee Beach….and walked all the way to Bondi Beach. After Coogee you reach Bronte Beach, then Tamarama Beach, and finally Bondi Beach. It is easily the most beautiful coastline I’ve seen. Pristine beaches. Each with their own personality and pros and cons. I think Coogee had the best sand, Bronte had the best waves, Tamarama had the best shallow rock pools, and Bondi has the best surf and atmosphere! All are incredible though. So scenic!! I’m SO SO SO glad we got to do this…although the tired feet of everyone else didn’t match my enthusiasm. 😛
After much walking, Mom, Dad, and I went to have a relaxing afternoon pick-me-up at the famous Opera Bar. Situated literally under the Opera House with the best view of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and Circular Quay, the Opera Bar is iconic. We had three different brews and shared a plate of bread and sweet potato crisps. Yum. Meanwhile Haley and Aidan wandered around in search of souvenirs.
We relaxed back at the hotel before heading out for dinner at Mom’s choice of restaurant: Jamie’s Italian. Jamie Oliver is the famous Australian chef from Food Network and the chance to eat at a celebrity chef’s restaurant was just too good to pass up!! We reserved a table earlier, so getting in was a breeze. Then the night took a small turn…the customer service was horrid! It took forever to get an order in, to get our appetizers and our meals took an absurd amount of time. Haley’s dish came a solid ten minutes after the rest of ours. And even worse….the plates were TINY. Aidan got five tortellini…..and they weren’t huge. It was delicious. Worthy of the celebrity chef name….but the service was such a turn off. I know it’s Australia….but this is a touristy spot…c’mon mates!! Oh well, Mom had a blast and that’s what’s important!!
Day Ten
The last morning in Sydney consisted of solely checking out and heading to the airport. A bit sad as the fam bam was heading to Brisbane for a few days and I had to head back to Uni because I had a mandatory practical 😦  The trip overall was a dream! I can’t believe the five of us got to conquer two Australian cities and had a blast. We took more pictures than I thought possible and made memories that will last a lifetime!!
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