Sydney
Upon
arrival at Sydney Airport on the 23rd of December, we caught the
Airport Train that brought us to city in 15 minutes. Once we’d reached the City Rail Network, it
took only another 15 minutes before we could check in and drop our baggage at
the hotel. Already at this point we
started to like Sydney as its transport network was so adequate, convenient,
and tourist-friendly. After that
long-haul flight and a busy morning, we decided to spend a relaxing afternoon lying
down at the well-known Bondi Beach where people learn to surf. Unless surfing is a primary goal, however,
Bondi Beach is nothing more than a nice clean beach. For those with a tight schedule, Bondi Beach
might not be a must-see.
We went
sightseeing on Christmas Eve. The iconic
Opera House was smaller than expected; nevertheless, it’s the most impressive
architecture in Sydney. Royal Botanic
Gardens was probably not a main attraction, but from which we got a best view
of Opera House together with Sydney Harbor Bridge. We spent most of the day wandering around
this prosperous Sydney Harbor where there were street performances, shops,
ice-cream and local snacks, and diversified choices of restaurants, before
walking to Darling Harbor, which was only 3km away. While we were about to dine in a roofless
table in a seafood restaurant beside the Harbor, there was a firework display right
over. What a surprisingly wonderful
Christmas Eve!
Blue Mountains
On 25th
morning we left Sydney and headed northwest by car. We had a Christmas day in Katoomba, the most
visited town in the Blue Mountains.
First, Scenic Railway, the steepest railway incline in the world,
brought us down the valley. It was a
very exciting ride. Second, there were a
few pretty waterfalls on the way of various walks clearly signposted when
strolling along the Scenic Walkaway. I
was enthusiastic to boost calorie consumption.
Finally, Scenic Cableway took us on a 545 meter ride during which there
was a breathtaking panoramic view into the Greater Blue Mountains World
Heritage Area rainforest of the Jamison Valley.
Three Sisters were magnificent.
No wonder they deserved to be an icon of Katoomba.
Hunter Valley
From
Blue Mountains we headed northeast and spent a night in a small town called
Gosford. The next day morning we set off
to Brisbane Water National Park, which was just a 15-min drive away. Again, it was a day of hike. Resting points were some rocky platforms in
front of pretty waterfalls that cooled us off.
We really loved the peaceful and beautiful nature in Australia. Likewise, the view of extensive fields in
Hunter Valley or Wine Country, the Australia’s premier wine growing district 170km
north of Gosford, was another bit of picturesque nature. We sampled some of Australia’s finest wines
and enjoy top quality cuisine, before reluctantly leaving this whole piece of
spacious green for continuing our journey to the north.
This
holiday heaven called Port Stephens composing of 26 beaches was simply marvelous
especially when the clear seawater mirrored the azure sky and shiny sun. The first stop was Nelson Bay. There was lots of parking, but so were the
people. Luckily we were able to park
shortly outside Nelson Head Lighthouse where we visited the lightkeepers house
and the attached light room. Tomaree
National Park was the next stop. Instead
of seeing pretty waterfalls, it was an exciting adventure into wildlife. Right at the entrance I was frightened as a
huge lizard came all of a sudden crawling across the trail just 4 meters away
in front of me. It was really huge! It was a pity it happened so fast that we
were not able to capture this huge friend.
Various animals also showed up to say hi while we were on our way to
reach the top. It was quite an
exhausting hike at about 28 degree Celsius, but we had no regrets when we were
standing at the top enjoying perfect panoramic views over the bay. We then left Nelson Bay for other nice spots
such as Shaol Bay and Fingal Bay for the rest of the day.
Last Few Stops in New South Wales
Continuing
up the coast, Seal Rocks was another popular area for its many premier surfing
beaches. Even though we never surfed,
all these nice clean Australian beaches were best spots for a relaxing
sedentary day. On 30th
morning we were approaching the very north of New South Wales. We didn’t do much in Coffs Harbor, except for
getting a photo of the famous Big Banana, in order to earn more nice times in
the beachside town Byron Bay and meet our schedule to arrive in Brisbane by New
Year Eve afternoon. Unexpectedly, after
a 3-hour drive, we could do nothing but shopping in Byron Bay, as the blue sky
and sunshine finally wanted a day off. It
was the only rainy day throughout the 18-day journey. We settled in a hotel early this night.
Brisbane
Here we
were in Queensland on 31st morning.
After a nice walk at the long Broadbeach and a happy lunch time at one
of Queensland’s largest shopping centers called Pacific Fair, we departed Gold
Coast for a stop at Tamborine National Park on the way to Brisbane. There were some more pretty waterfalls. It was a bit of a rush. We arrived at Brisbane City Backpackers at
19:00. While we were about to head to
South Bank to watch the fireworks display, it was quite an amazing discovery
when I came upon the rooftop garden of this hostel where everybody was ready
for the 20:00 fireworks tailored for family with kids who needed to go to bed
early. It was a full clear view there! We had a very happy New Year.
Nothing
was planned for the 1st of January.
We wandered around a central district of Brisbane where we came across a
big tourist information center. We
intended to ask whether there were anything interesting to see in Brisbane
city, but then we realized all most featured destinations were about animals. Since we needed to head 300km north and
settled in Hervey Bay this night for catching a tour next early morning, we
picked Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which was located only 15-min drive away from
where we were. I had already come close
to koalas and kangaroos years ago, but this was an unforgettable first time I
held a koala in my arms and was surrounded by a mass of kangaroos enjoying
themselves freely at their spacious home.
Fraser Island
Fraser
Island is considered the largest sand island in the world. It was also Queensland’s largest island, and
the largest island on the East Coast of Australia. Shortly after arrival at Fraser Island at
around half past nine, we boarded a big four wheel drive that brought enough
excitements as it drove along bumpy roads.
The first stop was the well-known freshwater lakes called Lake McKenzie
at which the beach sand was nearly pure silica.
I loved the beautiful water color of this lake. Also noteworthy was the Seventy-Five Mile
beach running along most of the east coast of Fraser Island. We had a long ride on this beach. It was fun!
Other spots included Central Station, Wanggoolba Creek, Pinnacles, the
wreck of the cruise ship Maheno, and Eli Creek.
Fraser
Island is definitely a holiday paradise.
Joining a tour, however, isn’t the best option for us lovers of freedom. We woke up very early just to catch the tour
bus that spent lots of time detouring around Hervey Bay to pick up everyone at
different hotels before departing for the pier.
Also, we were obliged to follow a schedule. For example, we could spend only one hour at
the paradisal Lake McKenzie, but too much time
at spots that we didn’t find extraordinary.
We always prefer individual visit to tour group, but visiting Fraser
Island without joining a tour sounds quite hard. Individual visitors on the islands were
mostly Australian vacationers, but not overseas travelers.
Great Keppel Island
Most
time of the next day we were on the road, as Hervey Bay and the next stop
Rockhampton were 400km apart. We did
understand the advantages of being on a coastal scenic driving route in
Queensland, so we stopped at coastal towns and beaches on the way for lunch,
tea time, and relaxation. On 4th
of January, we headed to the ferry pier where we departed for Great Keppel
Island. Passengers were deposited at the
island’s main beach that didn’t appear exceptional. We hiked for more than half an hour before
arriving at the beautiful Shelving Beach best for snorkeling. Seawater there was clean, clear, and baby
blue. We had lots of fun swimming with
fishes over coral reefs. There was no
tour schedule to follow. We just needed
to be very aware of time of departure of the returning ferry, because the ferry
did only one round trip to and from Great Keppel Island each day.
Whitehaven Beach
The next
morning we arrived at Meridien Marinas Abel Point of Airlie Beach, a popular
point of departure for Whitsunday Island.
As we realized how clear the seawater right at the marina was, we were
expecting much more at Whitehaven Beach, Queensland’s cleanest beach well-known
for its distinctive white fine sands on which we walked barefoot comfortably on
that hot day. Water was clean, clear,
and perfectly blue. We were certain it’s
the most beautiful beach we’d ever seen.
I always appreciate how successful Australia government is to protect nature. Dogs are not permitted on the beach and
cigarette smoking is prohibited. It was
a great day. What a pity time was quite
limited as it took a long time to travel to and from Whitsunday Island.
Paronella Park
While we
were looking for something to do on 6th of January, we were told that
Paronella Park, located exactly on our way towards Cairns, was worth a visit. The park was built by a Spanish man named
Jose Paronella in the 1930s with diverse facilities inspired by Spanish
castles. The spectacular Mena Creek
Falls attracted my attention the most. The
pretty waterfalls, fountains, bridges, and plants in the gardens were all best
choices of shooting background. It was
fun feeding the starving fishes too.
Regarding wildlife mentioned in the tourist brochure, we hardly saw
anything else except for lizards, animals found almost everywhere in
Australia. We were happy we didn’t miss
this nice park, though the entrance fee was AUD38, fair enough.
The Great Barrier Reef
The
Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over
2900 individual reefs. In order to minimize
chances of disappointment caused by adverse weather conditions or even just
cloudy sky with a little rain, we’d booked separate tours to two coral cays,
Michaelmas Cay and Green Island, for 7th and 8th of
January respectively. It turned out to
be two perfect sunny days, yet we were right anyway to go on two tours, firstly
because the two cays themselves were different beauties, secondly with the long
way from and to Cairns time allowed at the Cay was just not enough for scuba
diving, snorkeling, and sightseeing all in one day. It was an unforgettable experience to swim
with sea turtles and abundant fishes over the beautiful coral reef.
The
Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over
2900 individual reefs. In order to minimize
chances of disappointment caused by adverse weather conditions or even just
cloudy sky with a little rain, we’d booked separate tours to two coral cays,
Michaelmas Cay and Green Island, for 7th and 8th of
January respectively. It turned out to
be two perfect sunny days, yet we were right anyway to go on two tours, firstly
because the two cays themselves were different beauties, secondly with the long
way from and to Cairns time allowed at the Cay was just not enough for scuba
diving, snorkeling, and sightseeing all in one day. It was an unforgettable experience to swim
with sea turtles and abundant fishes over the beautiful coral reef.
