Australia..... We finally did it. Our trip of a life time. We had more fun then we expected to have.
When we left LAX, we were on a plane with 90 nuns and several priests. We did not know that the pope was going to be in Sydney for World Youth Day. So we felt safe. We were packed into the plane like sardines for 14 hours.
In Cairns we did visit The Great Barrier Reef. The water was so beautiful, so many different shades of blues and greens. Then off to a trip on the Kuranda Train with a Skyrail ride through the Rain Forest. Steve learned to throw a spear and a boomerang from the Aboriginals. That tour also included a buffet lunch that was wonderful.
In Golden Beach we had a first car rental where Steve drove on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. Every time he tried to use his blinkers he had the windshield wipers going. We did a pineapple plantation tour which was tasty. We were in Golden Beach for 3 days.
Our next stop was Sydney. Our condo was right downtown so we did not need a car. The trips were a city tour and the a harbor cruise with a seafood buffet. On the cruise we saw the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. Pictures don't do justice to how beautiful that was. When we got off the ship we were in Manley Harbor. We discovered that the Wildlife Zoo and the Aquarium were there so we decided to spend a day there. The next day we were on another bus (a smaller one) going to the Blue Mountians. Which is sort of like our Grand Canyons. It was a great ride to see the countryside and all the small towns. The mountians were majestic and sort of like our Grand Canyon but with more trees. Day three we were back down at the harbor to the zoo and the aquarium. We saw all the animals of Australia and the most vivid blue butterflies ever.
Our fourth stop had us landing in Melborne where we picked up another car for Steve to chance his skills again. We were off to Ballarat where the condo was once a boy's boarding school in the 1800's. It is a grand place with so much history. We were on our own, so we planned what we did. One of the first things was to drive the Great Ocean Road. 184 miles of coastline. One of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. We stopped everywhere we could. It was beautiful. Seeing the countryside reminded us of Tino and his love of ranching. We just kept saying he would love it. The next day we went to Sovereign Hill. One of the orginal gold mining towns of Australia. We had our first meat pie. Steak and mushroom. Yummmm. We decided to take the train into Melborne to find Scott's honey that he wanted. Melborne in the 2nd largest city in Australia and I swear all of the people were in the downtown area that day. it was so crowed. Found the honey (not what Scott wanted) and got back to Ballarat. We found that Ballarat also had a small zoo so we went there also. We were so happy that we did. When we walked through the doors we were feeding kangaroo. What a sight it was neat.
And before we knew it our 20 days were up and it was time to go home. When we got to the airport we were bumped up to business class. OH MY GOSH.... We had recliners and linen and glassware. We even got sleepwear to change into.
When we left LAX, we were on a plane with 90 nuns and several priests. We did not know that the pope was going to be in Sydney for World Youth Day. So we felt safe. We were packed into the plane like sardines for 14 hours.
In Cairns we did visit The Great Barrier Reef. The water was so beautiful, so many different shades of blues and greens. Then off to a trip on the Kuranda Train with a Skyrail ride through the Rain Forest. Steve learned to throw a spear and a boomerang from the Aboriginals. That tour also included a buffet lunch that was wonderful.
In Golden Beach we had a first car rental where Steve drove on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. Every time he tried to use his blinkers he had the windshield wipers going. We did a pineapple plantation tour which was tasty. We were in Golden Beach for 3 days.
Our next stop was Sydney. Our condo was right downtown so we did not need a car. The trips were a city tour and the a harbor cruise with a seafood buffet. On the cruise we saw the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. Pictures don't do justice to how beautiful that was. When we got off the ship we were in Manley Harbor. We discovered that the Wildlife Zoo and the Aquarium were there so we decided to spend a day there. The next day we were on another bus (a smaller one) going to the Blue Mountians. Which is sort of like our Grand Canyons. It was a great ride to see the countryside and all the small towns. The mountians were majestic and sort of like our Grand Canyon but with more trees. Day three we were back down at the harbor to the zoo and the aquarium. We saw all the animals of Australia and the most vivid blue butterflies ever.
Our fourth stop had us landing in Melborne where we picked up another car for Steve to chance his skills again. We were off to Ballarat where the condo was once a boy's boarding school in the 1800's. It is a grand place with so much history. We were on our own, so we planned what we did. One of the first things was to drive the Great Ocean Road. 184 miles of coastline. One of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. We stopped everywhere we could. It was beautiful. Seeing the countryside reminded us of Tino and his love of ranching. We just kept saying he would love it. The next day we went to Sovereign Hill. One of the orginal gold mining towns of Australia. We had our first meat pie. Steak and mushroom. Yummmm. We decided to take the train into Melborne to find Scott's honey that he wanted. Melborne in the 2nd largest city in Australia and I swear all of the people were in the downtown area that day. it was so crowed. Found the honey (not what Scott wanted) and got back to Ballarat. We found that Ballarat also had a small zoo so we went there also. We were so happy that we did. When we walked through the doors we were feeding kangaroo. What a sight it was neat.
And before we knew it our 20 days were up and it was time to go home. When we got to the airport we were bumped up to business class. OH MY GOSH.... We had recliners and linen and glassware. We even got sleepwear to change into.
