Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

On Tuesday, June 5th, we flew back into Sydney. There was a storm as we landed in the area. We were fortunate to gather our luggage, get a taxi, and find our lodging. We thought it took a long time until we saw the news where some people had to wait 3 hours in the airport to get their luggage. The wind and rain were so bad that the baggage could not be removed from some of the airplanes until the storm had passed. Sydney is a great waterfront city, but it was colder and rainy.

On Wednesday, we took the green 555 bus. It's a free bus that makes a loop through the more popular stops in Sydney. It was perfect for us. Our first stop was Circular Quay to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We also walked over to the Royal Botanical Gardens before returning to the bus.

On Thursday, we took a tour bus (one of those red double decker buses) through the Sydney and Bondi Beach areas. We visited Darling Harbor and Paddy's Market. That night as we wandered through shops, someone spotted Alan's Atlanta Braves sweatshirt and started doing the "tomahawk chop". We stopped to talk to him. It turns out that he is Austin's age and lives about 5 miles from us. We talked for awhile, but didn't get his name. You go half way around the world and meet a neighbor down the street!

On Friday, we took the ferry to Manly Beach. We really liked this area. Parrots were flying along the scenic water walk. There were signs on the walkway regarding penguins, but we didn't see any of those. The beach had spectator seating so we could watch the surfers riding the waves in their wet suits. This was our last full day in Australia. We packed up in the evening and prepared for the long flight home.

On Saturday, June 9th, we returned home to Austin and the dog. I don't think they had as much fun as we did!

Ayers Rock, Northern Territory, Australia

On Saturday, June 2nd, we left Cairns and flew to Yulara, the small resort community located near Ayer's Rock, which is also called Uluru - the Aboriginal name. We could see Ayer's Rock as we drove to the resort. It is spectacular. The temperature was comparable to what we had in Cairns. It was cool in the shade and felt really good in the sun! When we arrived, we walked around the resort to get our bearings. They have just the basics in this tiny community. I only saw one gas station, one grocery store, one police station, and one medical center. Most of the area is built around tourism so there were several motel options and a campground. There is also a free shuttle that makes a loop around the resort.

While walking around, we came to a gathering place for the community. We saw native dances. In one of the dances, emus, kangaroos, and other animals are imitated. Didgeridoos were played, spears were thrown, and stories were told. It was a good introduction to the culture and it was free - our favorite price.

On Sunday, we headed for Uluru, Alan and Amanda climbed the rock. It was a beautiful day for climbing. It was windy at the top (or so I hear). When the sun was out, they were creative with their photography and took pictures of their shadows. They imitated the animals they had seen in the cultural dances and made other goofy poses, but they were cute pictures! We spent the day at the rock and returned to the resort in the afternoon. After a brief rest, we headed out for a scenic camel ride at sunset. It was the night of the full moon. It could not have been better.

 On Monday, we took a tour of Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas. It is another large rock formation. You can see it in the background of the pictures above when Amanda is on the top of Ayer's Rock. We walked the Walpa Gorge, a path between two of the large rock domes. When we returned from our hike, we ate at the Outback Pioneer where you choose your meat and grill it yourself. We sampled kangaroo, emu, and crocodile.

We decided that Ayer's Rock was our favorite location. Our visit here ended too soon. On Tuesday, June 5th, we packed up and headed to Sydney.

Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Because we were still adjusting to the time difference, we were waking up very early while we were in Cairns. This actually worked well for us because we had full days planned. We had a fabulous villa in Cairns. It had a balcony with views of the ocean in one direction and the mountains in the other direction. If we were at the villa and it was daylight, chances are that we were on the balcony! On our first full day in Cairns, we visited the zoo where we fed the kangaroos. Amanda also fed the pelicans and got to hold a koala. We also saw a cassowary, emus, kookaburras, and a red panda. We loved the zoo.

After our zoo visit, we drove into Cairns to get our bearings. Alan did an excellent job of driving on the left side of the road. There is only one main highway leading into Cairns with quite a few roundabouts so it wasn't too hard to keep track of how to get around. We passed fields of kangaroos and sugar cane. It was amazing! There were "kangaroo crossing" road signs along the highway.

We then stayed at the villa for the afternoon. We strolled down to the beach where there were signs warning about crocodiles and marine stingers (jellyfish). We did not get in the water.

 On our 2nd day, we went to the Great Barrier Reef! Again, Amanda and I took our Dramamine and we were off. We took a tour. The boat carried our group about 26 miles out to the reef. We, fortunately, did not get seasick. The tour company has a permanent station at the reef with underwater viewing, snorkeling equipment, and glass bottom boat tours. The water was choppy and the day was overcast and windy. Alan and Amanda got in first. It took me awhile longer. I don't like cold water. Again . . . amazing! Then we were treated to a buffet which was great . . . until the rough ride back. However, we made it back without getting sick!

On our 3rd day, we took the Kuranda Skyrail and Train rides. The skyrail spans 7.5 kms over tropical rainforests and took about 1 1/2 hours. There were two stops along the way where you could exit your gondola and walk on trails through the rainforest. It was a rainy day in the rainforest. Fortunately, umbrellas were provided at each stop. We also saw  Barron Gorge. At the end of the skyrail was the village of Kuranda. After visiting the shops and eating lunch, we caught the train down the mountain. This ride also took about 1 1/2 hours. Kuranda Scenic Railway Train was built over 100 years ago and winds through 15 tunnels and over 36 bridges.

 

On our last full day in Cairns, we ventured north to the Daintree Rainforest area. It was another day with overcast skies. We took a river boat cruise to see the saltwater crocodiles on the Daintree River. "It is important not to step close to the riverbank and absolutely never swim in the river." They didn't have to tell me twice!

We then drove to Cape Tribulation. We had to take the Daintree Ferry to get across the river to the cape. We saw "cassowary warning" road signs along the windy, narrow roads. We ate lunch and headed to the beach. On our way back toward Cairns, we visited Mossman Gorge (which is also part of the Daintree Rainforest).

We made it back to Cairns in time to do some souvenir shopping. After that, we had to head back to the villa and begin packing for the next leg of our adventure.

 (Cassowary photo from our zoo visit.)

On Saturday, June 1st, we said goodbye to Cairns and boarded a plane for Ayers Rock.

Our Trip to Australia - - the beginning

Amanda has wanted to go to Australia for a long time. We decided to make it a family vacation after she graduated. Austin was invited, but he made a grown-up decision and decided to stay home and focus on his college classes for summer semester. If he went on the trip, he would miss the first two weeks and when the semester is only 8 weeks - - he would miss a pretty big chunk. The conciliation price was that he got to take care of Rylie! What fun!

Our adventure began on Saturday, May 26th. The plan was to fly from Atlanta to Dallas, TX to Brisbane, Australia, and to Cairns, Australia. A couple of hours before we were to leave for the airport, we get a phone call from the airlines. Our flight from Dallas to Brisbane had been cancelled and we were being re-routed. Our journey would be from Atlanta to Chicago to Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, and then to Cairns. We were happily upgraded to premium economy for the overseas leg of the flight. AND we needed to leave as soon as we hung up the phone. Fortunately, we were already packed and ready to go. Amanda and I took our Dramamine. Austin drove us to the airport and off we went. It was an incredibly long trip.

In the Sydney airport, we saw Krispy Kreme! We were shocked at the prices.

So . . . we left Atlanta around 1 PM on Saturday, May 26th, crossed the international date line, and arrived at our villa in Cairns around 6 PM on Monday, May 28th. It was a long trip.