We arrived in Sydney late last night. Our hotel is fantastic! We are right in the middle of everything. The Opera House is just around the corner. The Harbor Bridge is a short walk the other side. Inside it's another suite with separate bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and balcony. We've been lucky with good hotels at the beginning and end of this vacation (although there were no deals on this one, it was expensive).
Today we relaxed, explored the city, and got our bearings. It's a wonderful, vibrant city. My wife said it reminded her of Boston, but I've never been so I can't say if that's true. Certainly seems like a good comparison, a harbor town, very old, British connections, and they talk funny. Only draw back I see is their train system is a little more complicated than it seems it should be. But we're figuring it out.
We made dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant. It was one of the best meals we've ever had and also ranked as the second most expensive meal we've ever had. Conveniently my wife did not realize this restaurant had been voted one of the best restaurants in the world for 2 or 3 years in a row until after we were already seated. Oh well, we're on vacation.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Australia Day 9 - More rocks
After spending the night in a quaint cottage in Port Campbell, we journeyed around more of the sites along the Great Ocean Road. We saw Loch Ard Gorge, Thunder Cave, and the Blowhole. All of this area was made famous by one ship wreck, but this entire coast line was treacherous to navigate and served as the final resting place for many ship wrecks.
We moved on to see the Arch, London Bridge, and the Grotto. All very cool and beautiful in their own right. Similar to Ayers Rock it's hard to be more descriptive without boring you so I'll leave it there. We headed back to Melbourne to catch a flight to Sydney and our final leg of our Outback Adventure!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Australia Day 8 - Keep Your Eyes on the Great Ocean Road
We flew into Melbourne yesterday and this morning we picked up our rental car. So begins the part of the vacation I was most apprehensive about. We paid for an automatic transmission, we got the insurance, a GPS, and the fuel option to minimize all variables and possible distractions along the way and allow me to concentrate on the road!
Obviously everything is backwards in these cars. The steering wheel is on the right, the turn signal is on the right ... that took some getting used to. But thanks to the GPS we navigated out of the airport and city without much difficulty.
The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of highway along Australia's southern coast near Melbourne. It is similar to the Pacific Coast Highway and Big Sur in California. The GOR is a 2 lane winding highway that hugs the coast and climbs up and around sheer cliffs. The Indian Ocean was on one side of you and a serene country side on the other. Lots of rolling hills with farm land, cows, and sheep ... it reminded us of the Shire from Lord of the Rings. To say the drive was beautiful would be an understatement.
If I had been driving on the right hand side of the road and I had a high powered European sports car I would have loved to have opened it up a la James Bond. Instead I was slow and deliberate and truthfully barely enjoyed the views (except for when we stopped).
Along the way there were several turn offs for taking pictures and a few hiking trails (one of which we explored). But the most famous vista along the Great Ocean Road is a rock formation called the Twelve Apostles. As the name suggests at one point there were 12 huge rocks lined up in the water. I believe now there are only 5 or 6 still standing. We arrived near sunset and the views were incredible. It's hard to describe but with the waves crashing and sun setting there was something very moving about these rocks. Perhaps I was just glad to have survived the last 3-4 hours driving on the wrong side of the road!
The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of highway along Australia's southern coast near Melbourne. It is similar to the Pacific Coast Highway and Big Sur in California. The GOR is a 2 lane winding highway that hugs the coast and climbs up and around sheer cliffs. The Indian Ocean was on one side of you and a serene country side on the other. Lots of rolling hills with farm land, cows, and sheep ... it reminded us of the Shire from Lord of the Rings. To say the drive was beautiful would be an understatement.
If I had been driving on the right hand side of the road and I had a high powered European sports car I would have loved to have opened it up a la James Bond. Instead I was slow and deliberate and truthfully barely enjoyed the views (except for when we stopped).
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Australia Day 7 - Ayers Rock Camping
As the only Americans we did our best to build good international relations. A couple from The Netherlands at one point offered us candy. Not wanting to be rude we gladly accepted. It was a salty, black licorice candy that is apparently very popular in the Netherlands. It must be an acquired taste. We were able to choke it down without regurgitating.
We also chatted with a brother and sister from Switzerland who were back packers. They were spending 6 months all over Australia and planned to spend another 3+ months in the US and Canada. Of course I'd heard of back packing but never in the context of a job or lifestyle. Very interesting people (but can't say I'd want to switch places with them).
Thankfully we were more than equipped to handle the hiking, so our amateurish hiking attire was not a problem. The day we landed we hiked around the Olgas, watched the sun set behind Ayers Rock (very beautiful), and ate a delicious dinner back at the campsite (bbq kangaroo is great!).
That night we camped out in style. The tents were basically permanent and had beds, lights, and wood floors. Plus we had a cook in a kitchen to provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restrooms and showers were community, like you'd see in a park back home. Basically this was my idea of camping!
The second day we watched the sun rise over Ayers Rock (also very beautiful) and then hiked around the base of Ayers Rock. After that we rushed off to the airport for our next leg of the vacation (everyone else stayed for 2 or 3 more nights filled with more serious hikes and less luxurious accommodations).
Two things to know about Ayers Rock (aka Uluru) and the Olgas (aka Kata Tjuta). First they are both important and sacred Aboriginal sites and there is some difficulty in balancing preservation of their history and culture and allowing for the huge influx of tourists to see these wonders of nature. Climbing to the top of Ayers Rock is not yet forbidden but it is strongly discouraged. The day we were there it was closed due to high winds so we didn't have to choose between climbing a big rock and insulting an indigenous people.
The other thing is these are both amazing geologic features. They are huge rocks jutting out of the ground in an otherwise flat and baron landscape. To give you some perspective, Ayers Rock is taller than the Eiffel Tower and it's a 9 mile walk around the base! It's said to be the largest single rock in the world! We took a ton of pictures and it was a really neat experience. But there just isn't much more I can say about a bunch of rocks, so I'll end it here.
We also chatted with a brother and sister from Switzerland who were back packers. They were spending 6 months all over Australia and planned to spend another 3+ months in the US and Canada. Of course I'd heard of back packing but never in the context of a job or lifestyle. Very interesting people (but can't say I'd want to switch places with them).
Thankfully we were more than equipped to handle the hiking, so our amateurish hiking attire was not a problem. The day we landed we hiked around the Olgas, watched the sun set behind Ayers Rock (very beautiful), and ate a delicious dinner back at the campsite (bbq kangaroo is great!).
That night we camped out in style. The tents were basically permanent and had beds, lights, and wood floors. Plus we had a cook in a kitchen to provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restrooms and showers were community, like you'd see in a park back home. Basically this was my idea of camping!
Two things to know about Ayers Rock (aka Uluru) and the Olgas (aka Kata Tjuta). First they are both important and sacred Aboriginal sites and there is some difficulty in balancing preservation of their history and culture and allowing for the huge influx of tourists to see these wonders of nature. Climbing to the top of Ayers Rock is not yet forbidden but it is strongly discouraged. The day we were there it was closed due to high winds so we didn't have to choose between climbing a big rock and insulting an indigenous people.
The other thing is these are both amazing geologic features. They are huge rocks jutting out of the ground in an otherwise flat and baron landscape. To give you some perspective, Ayers Rock is taller than the Eiffel Tower and it's a 9 mile walk around the base! It's said to be the largest single rock in the world! We took a ton of pictures and it was a really neat experience. But there just isn't much more I can say about a bunch of rocks, so I'll end it here.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Australia Day 6 - Travel to Ayers Rock
This morning we were picked up to fly into Ayers Rock. The highlight of an otherwise uneventful travel day was the fact that we were chauffeured in a stretch limo (all by ourselves). I think it was dumb luck, we certainly didn't pay for a limo to pick us up.
We are sad to leave Palm Cove, but traveling in a limo is an appropriate end to this segment of our vacation. Now we can stop pretending to be living the lifestyles of the rich and famous and return to the lifestyles of the middle class and obscure.
This short Ayers Rock trip will consist of camping and a couple of hikes. It will certainly be a change from our time in Palm Cove but we're looking forward to it.
Ayers Rock is in the middle of the country and there isn't much else around for 100's or 1000's of miles in all directions. For all intents and purposes it is "The Outback" that we all think about in Australia. I was surprised how green it was and later learned it's really a semi arid desert. There is an airport, a resort with 2-3 hotels, and 2 pretty incredible rock formations. Without the later there would be absolutely nothing here.
After landing we were picked up by the tour company. Right away I had a bad feeling. #1 … we were the only Americans, #2 … we were clearly the only ones who were NOT serious hikers (i.e. big hiking back packs, boots, all sorts of gear, while we had sneakers and a couple bottles of water). Thankfully in the end neither of those ended up being a real problem. More on that and our camping adventure in the next posting.
We are sad to leave Palm Cove, but traveling in a limo is an appropriate end to this segment of our vacation. Now we can stop pretending to be living the lifestyles of the rich and famous and return to the lifestyles of the middle class and obscure.
This short Ayers Rock trip will consist of camping and a couple of hikes. It will certainly be a change from our time in Palm Cove but we're looking forward to it.
Ayers Rock is in the middle of the country and there isn't much else around for 100's or 1000's of miles in all directions. For all intents and purposes it is "The Outback" that we all think about in Australia. I was surprised how green it was and later learned it's really a semi arid desert. There is an airport, a resort with 2-3 hotels, and 2 pretty incredible rock formations. Without the later there would be absolutely nothing here.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Australia Day 5 - Daintree Rainforest
Today we did a tour of the Daintree Rainforest, which apparently is the only place in the world where the "rainforest meets the reef". We took a boat ride up the Daintree River and saw a couple of real, wild crocodiles (although they were hiding pretty well). We walked around the rainforest a bit, it was hot and humid, but very beautiful. After lunch we took a swim in a creek running through the rainforest.
Most of the excitement came before lunch. Our guide thought he spotted some crazy bird and wanted us to see it. Unfortunately he was going too fast and got stuck in a ditch. The men-folk and I were enlisted to push. I'd like to say we single handedly got it out of the ditch, but it wasn't until another tour bus pulled us out that we were back on the road. But it was fun nonetheless … all apart of our outback adventure!
And in addition to all that excitement, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention feeding and petting the kangaroos. The place we ate lunch also had a small collection of animals including 2 kangaroos and 2 wallabies. It was cool being that close to them, but they were so lazy they barely got up when you tried to feed them. In any case, my wife was satisfied that she got to scratch one animal off her long list of "animals she must hold or pet while in Australia".
And in addition to all that excitement, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention feeding and petting the kangaroos. The place we ate lunch also had a small collection of animals including 2 kangaroos and 2 wallabies. It was cool being that close to them, but they were so lazy they barely got up when you tried to feed them. In any case, my wife was satisfied that she got to scratch one animal off her long list of "animals she must hold or pet while in Australia".
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Australia Day 4 - Great Barrier Reef Batman!
Today we booked a snorkeling tour to the Great Barrier Reef. This particular tour had a permanent platform anchored to the outer reef. This platform was something between a floating Ritz Carlton and an offshore oil platform (think something out of the Kevin Costner movie "Water World"). It had a below water observation deck, platforms to get in and out of the water easily, and a semi-submersible sub. Plus lunch was included!
On the 90 minute trip to the platform we were informed that its jelly fish season and it was strongly encouraged to wear lycra suits while snorkeling. There are lots of jellyfish (or stingers as they call them here) that can seriously hurt or kill you. Not wanting either of these we followed orders (as did 99% of everyone else on the tour).
Needless to say I looked ridiculous. The only saving factor was that everyone else looked as ridiculous as me. My wife got a black suit, making her look like a seal. While I got a blue suit and looked like a tall smurf.
Anyway the embarrassment of the lycra suit not withstanding, the snorkeling was awesome! It was considerably better than our first snorkeling experience in Hawaii. We were on the outer reefs and basically as far out as you could go. We could see the continental shelf and the waves were breaking against it ... it was very impressive. We saw all sorts of cool, colorful fish and marine life (but no jelly fish … so yes I looked stupid for no reason). I took a lot of pictures (none under water) but they really fail to capture the vastness and beauty.
On the 90 minute trip to the platform we were informed that its jelly fish season and it was strongly encouraged to wear lycra suits while snorkeling. There are lots of jellyfish (or stingers as they call them here) that can seriously hurt or kill you. Not wanting either of these we followed orders (as did 99% of everyone else on the tour).
Anyway the embarrassment of the lycra suit not withstanding, the snorkeling was awesome! It was considerably better than our first snorkeling experience in Hawaii. We were on the outer reefs and basically as far out as you could go. We could see the continental shelf and the waves were breaking against it ... it was very impressive. We saw all sorts of cool, colorful fish and marine life (but no jelly fish … so yes I looked stupid for no reason). I took a lot of pictures (none under water) but they really fail to capture the vastness and beauty.
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