Well we had been away from a beach for atleast 5 days so we thought it was about time we got back there! We took the train from Town Hall Station (right outside our hostel) to Bondi Junction and then got the bus to the beach. Bondi Junction was really nice with lots of cool cafes and lots of trendy shops. The Beach was great and we had a really good day weather wise for it aswell. We had some lunch on the beach and then Andrew went and hired a body board! We spent the rest of the afternoon lying around on the beach watching people surfing. I didn't go into the water because the surf wasn't that good and it wasn't as warm it was olny about 26 degrees C. Bondi was lovely though we loved it and if we had more time we would of gone back!
We switched hostels aswell and our new one is lovely! Its about 2 mins walk from Darling Harbour and our room is lovely. It has proper beds and tidy clean rooms.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Sydney - Day 2 - Opera House and Harbour Cruise
Again we were blessed with stunning weather when we woke up, so we decided today was the perfect opportunity to use our Matilda Harbour Cruise voucher kindly given to us as a present by Tim and Nicola Kirk. The cruises were on a large catamaran and took you all the way around the bay upto Rose Bay on the way to Manly, east of the city
Unfortunatley the company only ran 2 cruises per day and when we attempted to get onto the 11.30am cruise we were told that that particular trip was not running on that day so we had to change our plans and go on the 3.30pm trip instead.
Meanwhile we decided to make the most of the stunning surroundings and headed straight to the Sydney Opera House, dominating the landscape at Circular Quay. The building really is as stunning as all the photographs, although up-close it looks a lot different. We booked onto a tour which took us right inside the Opera House explaining how it was constructed and the history of the building. We were lucky enough to see both Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra and Austalian National Ballet warming up for their respective shows in the two main concert halls. The music venue was mightily impressive, the theatre less grand, but both equally sizeable. The building was designed by a Danish architect, the winner of an international competition in the 1950's. It took 16 years to build and around $107 million. Up close it really is a work of art as all the tiles change colour according to the light above. The structure is probably still way ahead of its time, and provides a stunning backdrop to the city.
Next we headed over to a region known as 'The Rocks', on the opposite side of Circular Quay to the Opera House. This is where some of the first European settlers landed in Australia, and is reflected in the architecture - old brick buildings connected by small cobbled streets housing quaint restaurants, cafes and gift shops. This one one of our favourite spots in the city, as it was a lot quieter and less touristy than places such as Darling Harbour.
Mid afternoon we headed back to the quay for our Matilda catamaran Cruise. As the sun was going down we sailed out of the harbour past the Opera House and Harbour Bridge with the CBD behind us. From out in the Harbour you begin to realise not only what a beautiful city Sydney is, but also it's vast extent. The suburbs of the city seem to stretch for miles round into hidden bays and coves. It is apparently one of the biggest cities in the world in terms of area covered. The cruise capped the day off perfectly, and rest assured we have got some super photos to show you all when we get back!
Unfortunatley the company only ran 2 cruises per day and when we attempted to get onto the 11.30am cruise we were told that that particular trip was not running on that day so we had to change our plans and go on the 3.30pm trip instead.
Meanwhile we decided to make the most of the stunning surroundings and headed straight to the Sydney Opera House, dominating the landscape at Circular Quay. The building really is as stunning as all the photographs, although up-close it looks a lot different. We booked onto a tour which took us right inside the Opera House explaining how it was constructed and the history of the building. We were lucky enough to see both Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra and Austalian National Ballet warming up for their respective shows in the two main concert halls. The music venue was mightily impressive, the theatre less grand, but both equally sizeable. The building was designed by a Danish architect, the winner of an international competition in the 1950's. It took 16 years to build and around $107 million. Up close it really is a work of art as all the tiles change colour according to the light above. The structure is probably still way ahead of its time, and provides a stunning backdrop to the city.
Next we headed over to a region known as 'The Rocks', on the opposite side of Circular Quay to the Opera House. This is where some of the first European settlers landed in Australia, and is reflected in the architecture - old brick buildings connected by small cobbled streets housing quaint restaurants, cafes and gift shops. This one one of our favourite spots in the city, as it was a lot quieter and less touristy than places such as Darling Harbour.
Mid afternoon we headed back to the quay for our Matilda catamaran Cruise. As the sun was going down we sailed out of the harbour past the Opera House and Harbour Bridge with the CBD behind us. From out in the Harbour you begin to realise not only what a beautiful city Sydney is, but also it's vast extent. The suburbs of the city seem to stretch for miles round into hidden bays and coves. It is apparently one of the biggest cities in the world in terms of area covered. The cruise capped the day off perfectly, and rest assured we have got some super photos to show you all when we get back!
Sydney - Day 1 - Aquarium
We got the Greyhound bus late and didn't arrive in Sydney until about 11.30 pm. The hostel we had booked into didn't have a 24hour reception, so they had given the key to the 24 hour shop next door. We collected our key and finally found our room. When we got into the room we diuscovered that we were in a 14 bed dorm and hardly anyone was back yet. The bed that had been reserved for us wasn't very safe as it shook very badly when we lent on it. so i moved to a different bed. The room was so messy we could hardly see the floor. There was clothes, dirty boxers and bits of food all over the floor. We stayed there one night and then moved to a 4 bed dorm and then spent the end of the week at a nicer hostel next to Darling Harbour.
On our first day in Sydney after switching rooms we went to the Sydney Aquarium. The aquarium was really good fun and had everything from river fish to big mean looking sharks! The aquarium had tunnels that you can walk through and the fish swim right over the top. There was some massive sting rays, which must of span atleast 1.5m. The looked so graceful as they went through the water. We even saw some super cute seals! The aquarium was really good and we both really enjoyed it.
We wanted to go to the Imax cinema but when we got there they weren't showing any films because they had a premier of U2 3D, so we couldn't go in !
On our first day in Sydney after switching rooms we went to the Sydney Aquarium. The aquarium was really good fun and had everything from river fish to big mean looking sharks! The aquarium had tunnels that you can walk through and the fish swim right over the top. There was some massive sting rays, which must of span atleast 1.5m. The looked so graceful as they went through the water. We even saw some super cute seals! The aquarium was really good and we both really enjoyed it.
We wanted to go to the Imax cinema but when we got there they weren't showing any films because they had a premier of U2 3D, so we couldn't go in !
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie
The journey from Bryon Bay to Sydney direct on the Greyhound bus takes around 13 hours, so we thought it would be wise to make a few stops on the way down to break up the journey a bit.
We spent tow nights at a nice hostel on the outskirts of the small tourist town of Coffs Harbour. The hostel was quite a walk from the town centre and harbour area, but not far from the beach and main shopping precinct. We used the time to catch up on some sleep, washing and bought a few bits at the shops. The town itself was pleasant with a big fishing community and picturesque harbour front. The weather wasn't brilliant on our second day so we relaxed at the hostel and planned our trip to Sydney!
Similarly the weather was awful at Port Macquarie, and we confined to the hostel for the one day we spent there. We didn't even manage to make it to the Koala Hospital across town as most of that was nt under cover!
Still, fingers cross the weather gets better for our trip to Sydney. We have planned just under a week there before we fly over to Auckland to start volunteering!
We spent tow nights at a nice hostel on the outskirts of the small tourist town of Coffs Harbour. The hostel was quite a walk from the town centre and harbour area, but not far from the beach and main shopping precinct. We used the time to catch up on some sleep, washing and bought a few bits at the shops. The town itself was pleasant with a big fishing community and picturesque harbour front. The weather wasn't brilliant on our second day so we relaxed at the hostel and planned our trip to Sydney!
Similarly the weather was awful at Port Macquarie, and we confined to the hostel for the one day we spent there. We didn't even manage to make it to the Koala Hospital across town as most of that was nt under cover!
Still, fingers cross the weather gets better for our trip to Sydney. We have planned just under a week there before we fly over to Auckland to start volunteering!
Byron Bay
A further 3 hours down the coast lies the small laid back surfer's resort of Byron Bay - our first experience of the state of New South Wales. This place was completely different to Surfer's, it was much more of a traditional surfer's haven with hippie's-a-plenty and loads of surf shops and vegetarian cafes. We both immediately thought it had the Glastonbury vibe about it, only with a massive golden beach and killer waves....winner! Incidentaly we spotted an organic healthy living food supermarket... the first in Oz so far, not big on healthy eating over here (although to be fair they do a hell of a lot of jogging)!
Again we were pretty lucky with the weather here on our 3 night stay so we made the most of the beach and the warm sea. This time we both hired Bodyboards and spent hours cathing wave after wave on the beach. Fortunatley none of the beachy resorts are overly busy here as its just turning into their winter (although it is still 26 degrees!) and all the school hols appear to have finished.
We stayed at a hostel called 'The Belongil Beach House', which really was a stereotypical beach retreat - 20 mins from the beach with a laid back attituide and even a spiritual massage and yoga service! The rooms were spacious with wooden floorboards and stained glass windows. It had a really friendly feel with lots of nationlities present...french, german, dutch, irish, american and english. We shared our room with a friendly couple from England who were driving up the coast in a van, we swapped experiences and tips about where to go and what to see as they had already been to SE Asia and NZ and we had done most of Oz they had left to do.
On our final day before heading down towards Sydney, the weather took a turn for the worse and we saw some clouds!! But the wind also changed and started to come from the north which brought the infamous 'Blue Bottle' Jellyfish down from the north, so we were advised to stay away from the water as they give you a nasty sting. so we decided this was the perfect opportunity to head upto the lighthouse on Cape Bryon, overlooking the whole of Byron Beach and beyond. It was a tough walk through some steep bush for about 5km, but finally we made it and enjoyed the view from the most easterly point of the Australian mainland.
Byron Bay is definitely worth a visit if you are in Oz, and has much more to offer compared to Surfer's Paradise. There is a really laid back attitude, the place seems to run at its own pace and is stuck in a bit of a time warp (in a good way!).
Again we were pretty lucky with the weather here on our 3 night stay so we made the most of the beach and the warm sea. This time we both hired Bodyboards and spent hours cathing wave after wave on the beach. Fortunatley none of the beachy resorts are overly busy here as its just turning into their winter (although it is still 26 degrees!) and all the school hols appear to have finished.
We stayed at a hostel called 'The Belongil Beach House', which really was a stereotypical beach retreat - 20 mins from the beach with a laid back attituide and even a spiritual massage and yoga service! The rooms were spacious with wooden floorboards and stained glass windows. It had a really friendly feel with lots of nationlities present...french, german, dutch, irish, american and english. We shared our room with a friendly couple from England who were driving up the coast in a van, we swapped experiences and tips about where to go and what to see as they had already been to SE Asia and NZ and we had done most of Oz they had left to do.
On our final day before heading down towards Sydney, the weather took a turn for the worse and we saw some clouds!! But the wind also changed and started to come from the north which brought the infamous 'Blue Bottle' Jellyfish down from the north, so we were advised to stay away from the water as they give you a nasty sting. so we decided this was the perfect opportunity to head upto the lighthouse on Cape Bryon, overlooking the whole of Byron Beach and beyond. It was a tough walk through some steep bush for about 5km, but finally we made it and enjoyed the view from the most easterly point of the Australian mainland.
Byron Bay is definitely worth a visit if you are in Oz, and has much more to offer compared to Surfer's Paradise. There is a really laid back attitude, the place seems to run at its own pace and is stuck in a bit of a time warp (in a good way!).
Surfer's Paradise
We took the Greyhound Bus from Brisbane for around 2 hours to the concrete surfing metropolis that is Surfers Paradise. We had heard mixed reports that it had a fantastic beach, but also that the place was full of huge skyscrapers...and this turned out to be pretty much spot on. Luckily we had fantastic sunshine for the 2 days we stayed there at 'Surf n' Sun' Hostel. There really wasn't much to do here other than sit on the beach or go surfing or bodyboarding, so thats exactly what we did! I (Andrew) had my first taste of the surf and hired a bodyboard from the hostel and had a wail of a time catching the massive (6-8ft waves).
Our hostel wasn't upto much really so we headed into town for some cheap eats, which seem pretty easy to come by all over Australia. You can get a pretty good steak here for about $15 - around 7.50 pounds. The trouble is trying to eat healthy - a lot of the cheap stuff comes loaded with chips!
Surfer's really has no character what so ever, but does exactly what it says on the tin by providing some of the best waves in Australia. It was easy to see why many people call this the 'Benidorm of Australia'- hotel after hotel with no natual features (other than a long golden beach) to speak of. After a couple of nights at Surfer's we craved something more stimulating and headed down to Byron Bay!
Our hostel wasn't upto much really so we headed into town for some cheap eats, which seem pretty easy to come by all over Australia. You can get a pretty good steak here for about $15 - around 7.50 pounds. The trouble is trying to eat healthy - a lot of the cheap stuff comes loaded with chips!
Surfer's really has no character what so ever, but does exactly what it says on the tin by providing some of the best waves in Australia. It was easy to see why many people call this the 'Benidorm of Australia'- hotel after hotel with no natual features (other than a long golden beach) to speak of. After a couple of nights at Surfer's we craved something more stimulating and headed down to Byron Bay!
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Australia Zoo
On Friday we decided to get some tickets to Australia Zoo - made world famous by Steve 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin. It was about a 2 hour trip from central Brisbane, and we decided to take the cheap option and go by train - our first experience of Aussie trains thus far!
The zoo was in a small town called Beerwah it was reasonably quiet in terms of visitors, but very commercialised and sometimes a little cheesy. In terms of animals however, we were very impressed with the huge collection of native species from snakes to koalas, kangaroos to possums. Of course there was a huge collection of feisty crocs and we visited the famous 'Crocoseum' to view the keepers feeding thew Crocs and other animals...'Crickey!' We were impressed by the layout of the zoo and the quality of the enclosures that had been made for them. At times it felt as thought you were actually walking through the real habitatat of some of the animals, rather than simply a caged enclosure. The zoo seemed keen to educate visitors in environmental conservation too - many of the exhibitions were aimed at educating both kids and adults as to how to live in harmony with the native animals, rather than fear and disturb them.
Our personal favourites of the day were the sleepy Koalas (we are still yet to see any in the wild), and the baby Asian Tiger demonstration in the swimming pool was breathtaking. There were plenty of Australia Zoo keepers milling about, many of them trained by Irwin himself and they all seemed very knowledgable and enthusiatic about the animals on show.
We were pleased to have visited a zoo containing the native animals of Australia rather than a generic zoo containing all the usual suspects from around the world. This gave us a real opportunity to see up close some of the animals that this vast country is famous for.
The zoo was in a small town called Beerwah it was reasonably quiet in terms of visitors, but very commercialised and sometimes a little cheesy. In terms of animals however, we were very impressed with the huge collection of native species from snakes to koalas, kangaroos to possums. Of course there was a huge collection of feisty crocs and we visited the famous 'Crocoseum' to view the keepers feeding thew Crocs and other animals...'Crickey!' We were impressed by the layout of the zoo and the quality of the enclosures that had been made for them. At times it felt as thought you were actually walking through the real habitatat of some of the animals, rather than simply a caged enclosure. The zoo seemed keen to educate visitors in environmental conservation too - many of the exhibitions were aimed at educating both kids and adults as to how to live in harmony with the native animals, rather than fear and disturb them.
Our personal favourites of the day were the sleepy Koalas (we are still yet to see any in the wild), and the baby Asian Tiger demonstration in the swimming pool was breathtaking. There were plenty of Australia Zoo keepers milling about, many of them trained by Irwin himself and they all seemed very knowledgable and enthusiatic about the animals on show.
We were pleased to have visited a zoo containing the native animals of Australia rather than a generic zoo containing all the usual suspects from around the world. This gave us a real opportunity to see up close some of the animals that this vast country is famous for.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Brisbane
We arrived in Brisbane mid afternoon after a short trip from Noosa. Our hostel was right bang in the middle of the city so we could walk to almost everything Brisbane had to offer. The first few days we managed to meet up with Katie and Nigel, Katie's friends from Uni. They had already been to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore so it was fascinating to swap stories and experiences we went out for a nice meal on the South Bank on their last night in Oz before they flew over to New Zealand.
Brisbane is a relatively small and compact city, everything of note is located no more than 15 mins walk from the river. The CBD is visually impressive lots of skyscrapers in a small place. Over the river the South Bank is the city's cultural center housing both Queensland and Griffith Universities. We visited the Queensland Museum and the Queensland art gallery on our day of culture. Both were free and really interesting, the former had a great collection of animals of Australia. We came face to face with some of the worlds most deadly creatures. The Modern Art Gallery hosted a huge David Hockney exhibition. This is by far the most 'on the pulse' place we have visited so far. Brisbane is the first place where cultural activities take precedent over natural landscape. There are plenty of hip and trendy shops and lost of outdoor music events and markets. We have been told Brisbane is lame compared to Sydney, so the best is still to come!
On our final day we took a trip to Queensland's Parliament House where state decisions are made. Visiting this place and the Museum was a good way of validating everything we had experienced on the way down from Cairns. We had a private tour of the Parliament building which operates in a similar way to Westminster, with representatives of all the major towns and districts in Queensland. Their equivalent of the House of Lords is no longer in use but the 'Commons' was still surprisingly formal and ceremonial. We took a walk through the City Botanical Gardens onto the Queensland Cricket Ground (The Gabba), south of the river. We didn't manage to get inside but a photo next to the sign was all we could manage. The Gabba is home to Queensland Bulls (Cricket) in the summer and the Brisbane Lions (Aussie Rules) in the winter. After 5 nights in Brisbane we were ready to move on we felt like we had seen everything the city had to offer.
Brisbane is a relatively small and compact city, everything of note is located no more than 15 mins walk from the river. The CBD is visually impressive lots of skyscrapers in a small place. Over the river the South Bank is the city's cultural center housing both Queensland and Griffith Universities. We visited the Queensland Museum and the Queensland art gallery on our day of culture. Both were free and really interesting, the former had a great collection of animals of Australia. We came face to face with some of the worlds most deadly creatures. The Modern Art Gallery hosted a huge David Hockney exhibition. This is by far the most 'on the pulse' place we have visited so far. Brisbane is the first place where cultural activities take precedent over natural landscape. There are plenty of hip and trendy shops and lost of outdoor music events and markets. We have been told Brisbane is lame compared to Sydney, so the best is still to come!
On our final day we took a trip to Queensland's Parliament House where state decisions are made. Visiting this place and the Museum was a good way of validating everything we had experienced on the way down from Cairns. We had a private tour of the Parliament building which operates in a similar way to Westminster, with representatives of all the major towns and districts in Queensland. Their equivalent of the House of Lords is no longer in use but the 'Commons' was still surprisingly formal and ceremonial. We took a walk through the City Botanical Gardens onto the Queensland Cricket Ground (The Gabba), south of the river. We didn't manage to get inside but a photo next to the sign was all we could manage. The Gabba is home to Queensland Bulls (Cricket) in the summer and the Brisbane Lions (Aussie Rules) in the winter. After 5 nights in Brisbane we were ready to move on we felt like we had seen everything the city had to offer.
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