I have always dreamed of visiting Australia
and this month saw me tick it off my bucket list. This was a once in a lifetime
opportunity, so we made sure to make the most of it and do everything we wanted
to do whilst that side of the world, exploring three very different places,
with a few days in Hong Kong on the way home, but keep your eyes peeled for a
separate post on that.
Brisbane
We began in Brisbane as we have friends who
moved out here. The
city is beautiful, very modern and really up and coming but overall there isn’t
too much to it, especially for tourists, so we explored the areas outside of
Brisbane mostly.
Things
to do:
In the city: Kangaroo’s Point. Have an outdoor BBQ on one of the free to use BBQ stations and watch the sunset of the city skyline and river.
In the suburbs: Have breakfast at Kith n Chow, in Mount Gravatt. Trust me, it’s the best breakfast you’ll have there! It has everything from smoothies, to breakfast platters and it all tastes insane!
In the city: Kangaroo’s Point. Have an outdoor BBQ on one of the free to use BBQ stations and watch the sunset of the city skyline and river.
In the suburbs: Have breakfast at Kith n Chow, in Mount Gravatt. Trust me, it’s the best breakfast you’ll have there! It has everything from smoothies, to breakfast platters and it all tastes insane!
An hour out of the city: Australia Zoo, specifically the Animal Hospital Tour. It is Steve Irwin’s zoo and still run by his family today. I know zoo’s can be seen as negative, but they show you the work they’re doing to rehabilitate animals and the conservation of species. The hospital tour is such an eye opener and shows you the work done with wild animals, as well as zoo animals. It costs $19 and all proceeds go towards to running of the hospital.
An hour and a half out of the city: Gold
Coast. As Brisbane has no beaches, its great to go for swimming, surfing or
sunbathing, whatever you like. The only downside would be it’s a bit of a party
place, unless you’re into all that, but having worked in the nightlife industry
for five years I’m 100% over that.
Sydney/Bondi
Brad’s sister lives in Bondi, so it killed
two birds with one stone visiting the big city and the chilled suburb. Bondi, I
couldn’t recommend enough! The vibe is so relaxed, everyone is overwhelmingly
kind and its such a creative place, it just felt right. Sydney was
understandably very touristy but also felt very much like New York in my
opinion. Aside from the harbor area, it could have been any other city in the
world.
Things
to do:
In Bondi: Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. A beautiful way to see Bondi and it’s surrounding areas and beaches. The walk was longer than we realised but so worth it. The views were stunning, the beaches were insane and the sunset just topped it all off. If you go after June you have a very high chance of seeing a whale, as they migrate through that area (and I’m so gutted we didn’t get to see that!!).
In Bondi: Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. A beautiful way to see Bondi and it’s surrounding areas and beaches. The walk was longer than we realised but so worth it. The views were stunning, the beaches were insane and the sunset just topped it all off. If you go after June you have a very high chance of seeing a whale, as they migrate through that area (and I’m so gutted we didn’t get to see that!!).
In Bondi: Breakfast at Vida. Bondi saw me lose my acai bowl virginity and it was a-ma-zing! I’m never a breakfast kinda gal, but Australia saw me enjoying my breakfast more and more and if we had these kind of places in York, I’d be enjoying it a whole lot more! Smoothies, acai bowls, every healthy breakfast you could imagine. Just trust me and go. It also doubles up as a surf store.
In Bondi: Coffee at Gurtrude and Alice. This little gem doubles up as a
bookstore and coffee shop. Their food is simple but tasty, try the prosciutto
and mozzarella toastie or Old School breakfast roll. It has a classic, charming
feel to it and all the staff are lovely.
In the city: its pretty obvious isn’t it? Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, what else. Yes, its touristy, but it has to be done and they are pretty amazing to see. If you’re travelling into the city from Bondi, get the ferry. It takes 15min and you see everything from a completely different perspective.
Two hours out of the city: Blue
Mountains. I know, this sounds like an absolute trek out of the city but if you
can get there then 100% do it, without hesitation. We had a hire car so it
wasn’t too difficult, but I think there are tours you can go on too, with
organised transport. We hiked two hours from Evans Lookout and it was honestly
one of the most amazing places I have ever been.
Cairns
Cairns as a whole is very small, I wouldn’t
recommend more than a few days there, unless you’re going out to the Great
Barrier Reef and diving/snorkeling, which is why we went. We stayed at the
Shangri-La hotel, right on the harbor, which was beautiful, before spending two
days and one night out on the reef doing five introductory dives. I seriously
cannot describe how this felt (aside from the sea sickness – we went out in the
middle of a storm!) but if you ever get the opportunity to do it, you must!
Things
to do:
In Cairns: drinks at Salt House. These were the first cocktails we had on our trip and they were insane! They have happy hour 5pm-6pm and although its pretty pricey (and we obviously chose cocktails that weren’t included in happy hour) if you like the cocktails/drinks within the offer then it’s a cheaper way to do it.
In Cairns: drinks at Salt House. These were the first cocktails we had on our trip and they were insane! They have happy hour 5pm-6pm and although its pretty pricey (and we obviously chose cocktails that weren’t included in happy hour) if you like the cocktails/drinks within the offer then it’s a cheaper way to do it.
The Great Barrier Reef: generally, this is why people go to Cairns, lets be honest. We went on a two-day, one-night diving course with Deep Sea Divers Den and did five introductory dives. Neither of us are qualified, and although we didn’t get a qualification from this, we still got to learn how to dive and see the reef up close! You can go with Deep Sea Divers Den if you’re a beginner, qualified diver or if you just want to snorkel, so absolutely anyone can go! They also offer one day trips as well as multiple days and the boat you stay on is lovely with great food.
After Cairns we travelled over to Hong Kong
for a few days before flying home. All in all, Australia was an incredible
experience and I truly feel so lucky that I was able to explore it.
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