I guess it is finally time to wrap this thing up. Pictures of our time in Australia have already been posted on the social media sites, so here are some words (and of course more pictures) to tell you about our time in the land down under.
The main attraction that pulled us to the southern hemisphere was the Great Barrier Reef. With climate change, we don’t know how much longer the reef will continue to be labeled “Great”, so we had to go. We started this last leg of the trip in northern Queensland, in the town of Cairns, the primary jumping off point for boat trips out to the reef. Despite it’s focus on tourism, we really enjoyed the town. It has a bustling souvenir night market with food court, and a wonderful esplanade with a beautiful swimming lagoon. (Side note: These “swimming lagoons” are free man-made pools with sandy beaches, built in city parks along waterfronts in a few Australian cities. They are crocodile and jelly fish free. A very cool idea.) We didn’t spend much time in Cairns as we were destined for the sea.
We went somewhat big and booked a 2-day 1-night excursion with the company Reef Encounter. It was expensive but they treated us well. A boat took a large group of us on the 1.5 hr trip out to the reef while the staff fed us breakfast and gave us informative talks. At the reef, those of us on an overnight trip were transferred to a bigger boat that stays out at sea and serves as a floating hotel. We had a decent private room and the other social rooms were very comfortable as well. The schedule of our time on the boat went as follows; snorkeling, food, rest, and repeat. I will talk about each of those categories below.
Snorkeling: We visited 3 different spots on the reef, which offered a little bit of diversity. The weather was clear blue skies but windy and somewhat cold. The water was choppy, making swimming a chore and causing me to use a flotation device just to be able to catch my breath out there. The positives about this time of year is that the waters are clear of jelly fish, which can be a big problem during other seasons. The reef was amazing in spots but also bleached and dead in many places. The crew gave us briefings with whiteboard maps so that we knew where to swim to see the good stuff. We saw a nice variety of coral and colorful fish, including some of the bigger fish we have encountered, such as a Maori Wrasse. We didn’t get a good picture of the Wrasse but here are some of the images we did get.
The Food: They fed us very well, I realize there isn’t need to say much more than that. Three squares a day, with snacks, warms drinks, and homemade dessert at night. We naturally grouped up with some other Americans during meal time and greatly enjoyed the conversation.
The Rest: Everything was comfortable, with big couches to relax on and a sometimes functional hot tub out front. Our room had a private bath and a decent bed, we couldn’t ask for much more. Only negative was, on our departure day, we got kicked out of our rooms at 7:30AM so that they could be cleaned and ready for the new arrivals.
In Summary: The tour seemed to be more geared towards scuba divers than snorkelers. They got more chances to get in the water such as a night dive and a sunrise dive (which we had the option of going in the water at that time but it was much too dark and cold). We just would have liked additional opportunities. Side note: Julia bravely did a brief scuba trial but quickly realized it wasn’t for her. She isn’t ruling out another attempt with better instruction and a more gradual introduction in shallow waters.
We prefer a more relaxing experience while snorkeling and know that it was just a product of the windy weather. The calming floats in Bali spoiled us. Despite this, we are very glad we did the overnight tour and could have done more. It is the closest we have come to a cruise ship experience, something we have openly wondered if we would enjoy. We can now check the Great Barrier Reef off on our list. We recommend it if you are ever in Australia, but probably wouldn’t suggest a trip halfway around the world just for it when there is amazing snorkeling and diving in the Caribbean. Maybe check out the 2nd largest reef in Belize and save some money.
Back on the dry land, we had a return flight to the States leaving from Sydney in 10 days and needed to find transportation. Trains and planes down south were very expensive and lacked the freedom of movement we desired. We had learned a few weeks ago that rental car companies often need vehicles relocated to major cities (see websites such as imoova, and transfercar). A Campervan was our top choice but selection was limited. With time running out, we luckily spotted a small sedan that needed to be relocated from Cairns down to Sydney with a company called Apex. The deal was unlimited miles, 7 free days, and AUS$25 per day after that. And so, just like that, we were road-tripping through Australia, driving on the right side of the car, down the left side of the road. The following will be a brief rundown of our route and scenic stops.
Day 1: Cairns to Nome, ~400 kms
We drove south, with a brief stop at Babinda Boulders where we did a nice easy walk along a river that flows throw some giant rocks. The other scenic stops were Mission Beach for a quick view of the Sea and then we took dirt roads through the forest to see some natural “spa pools”.
We grabbed fish ‘n chips in Townsville before settling down for the night in the quiet town of Nome.
Day 2: Nome to Mackay, ~450kms
Our goal for this road trip was to be near the water as much as we could while driving, so we stopped in the touristy town of Arlie Beach. We strolled the shops, grabbed lunch, and gazed at their pristine beach-side swimming lagoon.
For sunset, we drove out to Cape Hillsborough where we had read that the Wallabies can be seen jumping around. After we did our own jumping on the beach, we finally saw some of the interesting creatures grazing in the grass. It was too dark to take any good pictures but the way they move is fascinating.
We stayed the night in Mackay where we ate pizza.
Day 3: Mackay to Agnes Water, ~600kms
The road this day took us more inland and through the beef capital of Australia, Rockhampton. It ended up being one of our better stops, we ate some giant hamburgers and then strolled the free zoo.
Our final destination that day was Agnes Water.
Day 4: Agnes Water to Brisbane, ~550kms
Our place in Agnes Water was just about a hundred meters from the beach, so we ventured out dark and early to catch the sunrise. Then we made the short drive north to the town of Seventeen Seventy, named after the 2nd landing of James Cook on Australia in May of 1770. It lies on a scenic rocky peninsula that we explored a little.
In the afternoon, we ate Sushi in Noosa Head and drove along the water down to Sunshine Coast, stopping at multiple viewpoints along the way. We spent the night in Brisbane, strolling the downtown area and eating at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant.
Day 5: Brisbane to Ballina, ~200kms
In Brisbane, we got to meet up with a friend whom we had met back in 2015, while we were backpacking around Central America. She joined us for breakfast and it was fun to catch up. We spent the rest of the morning checking out the city’s parks, city hall, and the stunning South Bank Parklands.
Later in the day, we drove through the bustling metro area called Gold Coast. It made me think of Southern Florida/Miami, with skyscrapers towering above long stretches of sandy beaches and an intricate system of waterways and inland canals bordered by housing developments.
We stayed the night in Ballina and found fish ‘n chips for dinner.
Day 6: Ballina to Bonny Hills, ~400kms
The town of Ballina had a disc golf course and luckily the visitors center sold some souvenir discs, so I got a chance to play a nice little course.
We stopped in Coffs Harbor for a large fried seafood basket before settling for the night in Bonny Hills.
Day 7: Bonny Hills to Sydney, ~500kms
For the last leg of the road trip, we took a little detour through the Hunter Valley wine region to try the local specialty known as Semillon. We did wine tasting at First Creek and Keith Tulloch, both were pretty good but not worth-trying-to-pack-home-a-bottle good.
We rolled into Sydney in the early evening, staying in the Alexandria neighborhood, walking distance to the train system.
Day 8: Sydney
We kept our car for the final 1.5 days of our trip, deciding it was worth it to pay extra to have the ability to explore other parts of Sydney before returning it to the Apex office by the airport just before our departure.
With our 1 full day in Sydney, we took the train into the heart of the tourist area. We walked around the Opera House, ate lunch along the Harbour while fighting off seagulls, then explored The Rocks neighborhood and the Bridge.
That night, we met up with a friend from Portland who has been living there for the past few years. We got drinks with a sunset view and padded our dumpling count at a dark underground spot before meeting up with his wife at a popular authentic Thai place in the business district. It was a great wide ranging taste of Sydney.
Day 9: Sydney to Portland, OR USA, ~10,783kms
The final day of our trip. We packed our bags for the last time. Our flight didn’t leave until the early afternoon, so we had some time to explore the city a little more and take advantage of our rental car. We stumbled upon a Bahn Mi spot while looking for a post office, so that provided a nice final picnic lunch which we enjoyed while looking at the gorgeous Bondi Beach. Arguably Australia’s most iconic beach, Bondi is popular for it’s proximity to the city, it’s consistent surfing waves, and the cliff side swimming pools. We sauntered part of the clifftop walk to Coogee until it was time to make our way to the airport.
We returned our car without a scratch, checked into our flight, and spent the last of our AUS$ on snacks. The trip home took us through Honolulu, where we got the chance to meet up with Julia’s “2nd Dad” for a few hours of hiking, disc golf, and swimming in the clear Hawaiian waters.
It was a great feeling of accomplishment to be wrapping the trip up. We saw a lot of amazing places. Maybe too many. Now that we are home, our most common response to people who ask about the trip, is to say it was amazing but tiring. Loyal readers of this blog may have noticed more of a cranky old man vibe in my posts. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was cranky, but I will own up to the feeling old part. Blazing heat and busy streets take more of a toll on the body and mind. We wanted to take advantage of being on this side of the world and couldn’t let an opportunity go unexplored, so we kept moving. Adding Japan and Australia onto the end probably wasn’t the wisest move logistically, but I can’t say I wouldn’t do it the same way again. We gave ourselves little time to rest. The week in Boracay helped a lot but it would have served us better to take a week off like that in the middle of our trip instead of the end.
All that being said, the trip was near perfect. We got a little bit of everything from this amazing part of the world. The highlight will probably have to be seeing Mt Everest from on top of Gokyo Ri, standing at 17,575ft above sea level after hiking for 8 days. That memory will stick with us forever.
So, I think that wraps up our Southeast Asia adventure. Sorry it took so long to write this, I don’t really have a good excuse. We will post a brief update, hopefully before Christmas about what we have been doing the past 3 months. Also, there will be another trip stats post for you to enjoy that should be published here in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading.
D = 361
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