Sydney, Australia - By Heather Brama Oh boy, what have I done? This last blog post from Australia was ignored for almost a month meaning two things....1. It will be void of details. And 2. I spent the last weeks in denial that the trip is really over! But our good friend Dana pointed out to me via text that I am indeed in Minnesota and that I should understand and accept that the weather just has mood swings here. We stayed at Billabong Gardens in Newtown, an eclectic suburb of Sydney. Our accommodation felt like visiting a grandparent who has lived in their home since they were a child while the neighborhood was built around them...we loved it. Our first full day in Sydney was packed with adventure as we embarked on a journey to the Blue Mountains. We had an awesome guide who was actually from the Blue Mountains and really loved showing tourists his 'backyard.' The mountains indeed had a beautiful blue haze due to sunlight reflecting off the dispersed eucalyptus tree oils in the air. While on the tour we took a bushwalk to a viewing point of the Wentworth Falls waterfall, named for one of three explorers to successfully cross the mountains in 1813. Our second stop was to an aboriginal site where a kangaroo was carved into the rock. The aborigines never wrote anything down so the purpose of this carving is somewhat unknown but most believe it is the site where boys went on their first hunt and became men. For lunch we stopped in Leura which was hands down the quaintest-most picturesque town ever. After lunch we journeyed on to Scenic World where we rode the steepest inclined railway, 'walked on air' in the glass floor skyway over Jamison Valley (270 meters above ground), and descended to the valley floor in the cableway. All the while we were provided with the most amazing views of Katoomba Falls, the Three Sisters Mountains, Orphan Rock and Mount Solitary. Our last stop in the mountains was to King's Tableland...and oh the photos we got here!! Please refer to any picture that looks like we are on the edge of a giant cliff...because we were. The tour also included a river cruise along the Parramatta River where we passed the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was extra special that evening because there was also a fireworks display over the city. We would 150% recommend this tour company - it was by far the most affordable, with awesome caring staff and the most activities out of all the BM tour companies - Oz Trails. Our last day in Sydney was spent seeing every corner of Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, and Bondi Beach. We went by bus, train, boat and foot! We ended the evening back in Darling Harbour with dinner and an Imax 3D showing of King Kong. Yes, we ended our world tour at a movie and it was awesome. :-)
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Byron Bay, Australia - By Heather Brama We may have narrowly missed the Byron Bay Bluesfest but there was no shortage of live music left for us in this bohemian surf town. During dinner one night we enjoyed melodies by Hoy, an indie/folk band from Melbourne. We danced like no one was watching to a DJ at Cocomangas after being serenaded at The Rails by creative arrangements of Ed Sheeran-like songs. Everyone shouted the 'one more song' thing at The Rails performer who smiled as he responded, 'oh come on guys, I've got high school in the morning,' and then proceeded to play one last epic song. It was about a ten minute walk down the beach into town from our accommodation at Byron Beach Resort. We were so happy with our stay here. The place had a boho/beach vibe that was perfect for the area. It was also away from the craziness of town and had quick access to Belongil Beach. There are two restaurants on the almost empty road including Treehouse on Belongil, an eclectic retro styled place where we ate toasted banana bread every morning on couches that could have decorated the set of That 70's Show. We also had a delicious wood-fired pizza here one night called the Portobello Road (a white pizza with mozzarella, baked portobello mushrooms, brie, caramelized onion, garlic oil and parsley). It poured rain for the majority of our stay here but we made a successful gift shopping day out of it...seriously, if you get a gift from us it is safe to assume it came from BB. We also purchased a few gifts for ourselves that we are quite pleased with...so again, if you see us with something cool, it probably came from BB. A few of my favorite stores included the following: Next up is Sydney, our last stop in AU before flying back to MN to see family and watch our friends have babies and get married!! Brisbane, Australia - By Heather Brama It’s back…our love of city life! Seven countries later we fell for Brisbane – a big, beautiful, bustling city on the Gold Coast of Australia. As I write this I am sitting in XBase Brisbane Uptown Accommodation, our hostel for the last few days, and I've been struck rather hard by one loud thought. So I turn to Chris and say, ‘Hey babe, does Brisbane remind you of Minneapolis?’ I am met with the fastest “Yes, absolutely!” I have even heard come out of him prior to a second dose of coffee. And it’s true, there is a river cutting the city into two parts with a plethora of different styled bridges crossing it, beautifully unique skyline, extra (Minnesota) nice people, bike paths and coffee shops – EVERYWHERE! There is one big advantage here though, we have arrived at the beginning of winter and the weather is gorgeous. Luckies. We woke up early our first full day to take a bus out to Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. Did you know that his parents first opened the zoo and were fighters for those who cannot speak for themselves long before the croc hunter ever existed? The zoo has been greatly expanded since those days and the current staff parking lot is the same size as the whole zoo used to be. Bringing awareness to the need for protection of the world’s little gems is still a focal point in every show, activity and exhibit at the zoo. It was chilling to hear that in the last 100 years the wild tiger population has decreased from 100,000 to under 5,000 and we've already lost 3 sub-species completely. We really enjoyed meeting new creatures such as Tasmanian devils, red pandas and cassowaries. The main show, Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors, was exhilarating as we learned about hunting practices of salt water crocodiles and what not to do when you in areas where they are known to live. The show also featured some astonishingly well trained birds included the enormous and magnificent condor who we first met at the Colca Canyon of Peru this February. An exciting time for both of us was going into ‘Kangaroo Heaven,’ an enclosure where you can get up close and personal with Australia’s most well-known resident. It was a full day at the zoo but we returned to the city in time for dinner. We each ate a backpacker special from the Guilty Rogue which included a gourmet burger of your choice, chips and a drink. After eating we were uncomfortably full so decided to take a walk around the city. We quickly spotted the Wheel of Brisbane lit up with over 60,000 pink LED lights across the river on the South Bank. It was stunning and we had to ride it so we found our way there, purchased tickets and into the night sky for eleven minutes we went. Brisbane really embraces the arts and we were fortunate enough to stumble upon an exhibit showing art composed by individuals with various mental illnesses. It was a donation based entry fee with money going to a foundation for mental illness. The art was also for sale with 10% going to the foundation and 90% to the artists themselves. For dinner on our last night in Brisbane we ate on the patio of Ole – a Spanish tapas restaurant that was delicious. It turned into a true date night since after our meal we headed to the movie theater to see Divergent. Since we both devoured the entire Divergent series while on this trip, it was fun to watch the film during our last week abroad. This morning before packing up we hit the streets in search of breakfast. We chose The Cutting Board, a quaint corner café in the heart of the city where we got to sit on the sidewalk and watch the suits walk to work. |