The Land Down Unda!
It turns out one month of winter per year is the ideal amount. This gives you time to enjoy a wintery Christmas, get some skiing in, and then start hating the cold enough to move to a warmer location... queue Australia! I've been dreaming of going to Australia for who knows how long, so when we landed in Melbourne I couldn't help but laugh and pinch myself. Finally made it! It's not a short trip to get to the opposite side of the world, it was 30 hours of traveling and we arrived on their Sunday morning so we did our best to stay awake all day. It was so nice to be back in summer weather. I watched another cricket game in a random park and continued to not understand the sport - maybe one day. Then we went on a free walking tour throughout the city. Doug got his first serving of Australian pizza for dinner that night and then, due to a free upgrade in rooms at the hostel, we passed out in our own private room while watching the Australian Open on TV around 9pm.
Melbourne city center
The next day we had tickets to the Australian Open and it was awesome! We saw so many matches of all types - men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and juniors. The best was the last match in which the American Tennys Sandgren made it to his first Quarterfinal in a thrilling 5 set match against the #5 ranked Austrian, Thiem. We also had a mini Illini reunion with Mike Cation who now broadcasts for the USTA at the tournament but used to be the announcer at my soccer games at Illinois! The AO was set up great, with several outdoor lounging areas in front of big screens playing the matches going on that day. In all, we watched about 10 hours of tennis that day and successfully burnt our arms and top of our legs.
The next day we had tickets to the Australian Open and it was awesome! We saw so many matches of all types - men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and juniors. The best was the last match in which the American Tennys Sandgren made it to his first Quarterfinal in a thrilling 5 set match against the #5 ranked Austrian, Thiem. We also had a mini Illini reunion with Mike Cation who now broadcasts for the USTA at the tournament but used to be the announcer at my soccer games at Illinois! The AO was set up great, with several outdoor lounging areas in front of big screens playing the matches going on that day. In all, we watched about 10 hours of tennis that day and successfully burnt our arms and top of our legs.
Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open
Hisense Court after American Tennys Sandgren upset the No. 5 seed
The following day we took it easy, did some planning and enjoyed the sunny summer day in a park near our hostel before meeting up for dinner with friends Doug had met in Iguacu Falls, Argentina. We also tried Vegemite - the famous Australian spread (jam?) - and it was comparable to Malort, the most vile liquor there is. Sorry Australia, it's just not good. The next day we took a flight up to Brisbane to spend a few days there and reunite with our friend Ioanna who we met in Medellin, Colombia! Ioanna's friends, Tess and Calde, we're kind enough to take us in for the few days we were in Brisbane - big thanks to them! Our first day there we went into the city and walked around in the very humid, Florida-like heat. We went to the South Bank, Kangaroo Point, and Queens Street area.
Downtown Brisbane from Kangaroo Point
The following day we got to experience Australia Day with a group of true Australians. It's basically the same as the Fourth of July minus fireworks (they're illegal here) and add in some kangaroo. Turns out kangaroo meat is quite tasty. Needless to say, a great day, so great in fact that Doug succumbed to it's greatness before 8pm... On top of a kangaroo floatie, with a beer still in his hand.
Australia Day festivities!
Australia Day got the best of young Doug
Next up was Whitsundays for some scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. It was a short flight from Brisbane. We attempted to have a beach day when we arrived but the rain decided to ruin that idea for most of the day. We managed to watch Rodger Federer win his record 20th Grand Slam title that night! The next day we did a day boating excursion to Whitehaven Beach and then did two scuba dives in the Great Barrier Reef off the nearby coat of Hook Island! We had a gorgeous day and the islands were beautiful. Whitehaven Beach is 99% silicone sand so it's got the awesome bright white color making the water super clear and blue and it doesn't get hot and burn your feet!
I-L-L Australia! Lookout over Whitehaven Beach at Whitsundays
Sea turtle we saw while diving in the Great Barrier Reef
After flying back to Brisbane the next day we picked up a rental car and drove up to Noosa heads. The next day I did some trail running in a nearby park along the ocean and hit hells point and dolphins point. While I was in the center of the park I encountered a wild kangaroo! He was too quick for my camera skills but lifelong dreams were completed in that moment. Afterwards I hit up the beach and got annihilated by the waves while attempting to surf. No one else was surfing there so I guess I should have used the context clues, but then again, those types of things don't tend to stop me. Once recovered on the beach under the sun, we headed up to Hervey Bay.
Noosa coastline from Hell's Point
The following day we got to experience Australia Day with a group of true Australians. It's basically the same as the Fourth of July minus fireworks (they're illegal here) and add in some kangaroo. Turns out kangaroo meat is quite tasty. Needless to say, a great day, so great in fact that Doug succumbed to it's greatness before 8pm... On top of a kangaroo floatie, with a beer still in his hand.
Australia Day festivities!
Australia Day got the best of young Doug
Next up was Whitsundays for some scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. It was a short flight from Brisbane. We attempted to have a beach day when we arrived but the rain decided to ruin that idea for most of the day. We managed to watch Rodger Federer win his record 20th Grand Slam title that night! The next day we did a day boating excursion to Whitehaven Beach and then did two scuba dives in the Great Barrier Reef off the nearby coat of Hook Island! We had a gorgeous day and the islands were beautiful. Whitehaven Beach is 99% silicone sand so it's got the awesome bright white color making the water super clear and blue and it doesn't get hot and burn your feet!
Sea turtle we saw while diving in the Great Barrier Reef
After flying back to Brisbane the next day we picked up a rental car and drove up to Noosa heads. The next day I did some trail running in a nearby park along the ocean and hit hells point and dolphins point. While I was in the center of the park I encountered a wild kangaroo! He was too quick for my camera skills but lifelong dreams were completed in that moment. Afterwards I hit up the beach and got annihilated by the waves while attempting to surf. No one else was surfing there so I guess I should have used the context clues, but then again, those types of things don't tend to stop me. Once recovered on the beach under the sun, we headed up to Hervey Bay.
We attempted and failed (due to cloud cover) to watch the super blue blood moon that night. Unfortunately, it rained most of the next two days so instead of doing a day tour to Fraser Island, the only sand island in the world, we did some "work" aka travel planning and 2017 taxes... gross. We then followed the rain down to Gold Coast or Surfer's Paradise, a city given the nickname "Little Miami". We didn't do a whole lot there because of the rain but we did meet a bunch of cool Brits in our hostel dorm room and had a fun night of playing drinking games in the hostel. It was our first experience with goon here (goon=wine and it's the only reasonably priced alcohol here so it's what the unemployed backpackers and college kids drink).The next day we went to Byron Bay, an awesome little beach town with authentic shops and good surfing. We spent the afternoon surfing/body surfing and then hit up the local brewery to nurse the goon hangovers. The next day was just a long driving day to make our way towards Sydney. We stopped for the night in Newcastle, an ex-port town trying to revitalize itself. I was pleasantly surprised! After doing a long run around the town and along the beach, it's clear the city has a lot of potential.
The next day was Super Bowl Monday (weird) so we got up early to make the drive down to Sydney to watch the game in a bar - thank god we didn't have to see another Patriot/Brady win! Then we spent the rest of the day walking around the city, hitting up the Sydney Opera House, Botanical Gardens, The Rocks, and other areas of downtown. We were staying in Bondi, the famous beach area. The whole city has an awesome vibe, everyone seems to be super fit, and basically I loved it. I mean how many major cities can you live in and surf every day? It kind of felt like a cross between NYC and a beach town. One of the days we took a day trip out to the Blue Mountains for some hiking. We saw the famous Three Sisters peaks. The area felt very similar to the Appalachian Mountains.
Our time in westernized civilization is over, we thoroughly enjoyed Australia! Up next is Indonesia to get our scuba diving on!
The Newcastle coast
The next day was Super Bowl Monday (weird) so we got up early to make the drive down to Sydney to watch the game in a bar - thank god we didn't have to see another Patriot/Brady win! Then we spent the rest of the day walking around the city, hitting up the Sydney Opera House, Botanical Gardens, The Rocks, and other areas of downtown. We were staying in Bondi, the famous beach area. The whole city has an awesome vibe, everyone seems to be super fit, and basically I loved it. I mean how many major cities can you live in and surf every day? It kind of felt like a cross between NYC and a beach town. One of the days we took a day trip out to the Blue Mountains for some hiking. We saw the famous Three Sisters peaks. The area felt very similar to the Appalachian Mountains.
Sydney Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background.
The Three Sisters Peaks in the Blue Mountains
Sunrise from a coastal path over by our hostel in Bondi
Our time in westernized civilization is over, we thoroughly enjoyed Australia! Up next is Indonesia to get our scuba diving on!
Comments
Post a Comment