On April 25th, Mike, Dad & I made our way out to the Great Barrier Reef. Let me start off by saying that I don’t normally experience motion sickness. Then again, I don’t normally ride a boat out into the open ocean. During the first part of the boat ride, we were still within the Whitsunday Islands, so the water didn’t seem so rough. Just before we got out into open water, I decided it would be a good idea to grab a cup of tea. Bad idea. It took all I could to keep that cup from spilling everywhere! Then after quickly drinking it, my stomach started to turn. Luckily for me that whenever I experience motion sickness its only a queasy feeling and nothing more! Two hours later, we reached the reef! After getting changed into our stinger suits, flippers and snorkel masks, we made our way into the water. The reef is made up of over 3000 individual reef systems, making up the world’s largest coral reef. I thought that the experience was awesome! The water wasn’t too rough because the reef breaks up most of the ocean’s waves, however it was still rough enough to make me feel slightly nervous. The goggles that you wear play an optical illusion on you and it feels like you can reach down and touch everything, even though you’d probably have to dive down a few feet closer to do so.
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| Colourful Coral at the Great Barrier Reef! |
After a day out on the reef, we headed back to mainland. I felt better during the way back, compared to the way out, even though the waves were much worse. I think because I hadn’t ate or drank anything right before leaving was the only reason I was okay. As I looked around the boat, it seemed just about everyone was feeling much worse than me.
The next day, we did a tour of the Whitsunday Islands. Our first stop was Hook Island to first take a look at some ocean life from an underwater observatory and then to do some snorkeling. It was raining and I was already cold, so opted out of the snorkeling for the day. Mike & Dad still went in the water though and had about 45 minutes before we needed to get ready to head back onto the boat and over to Whitehaven Beach. The sun decided to come out for a short while, during this stop. I enjoyed just sitting on the sand and watching the world go by (and the wind surfers!)...until it started to rain again, then I was ready to get back on the boat. Our next stop was Daydream Island. It was still raining and cold, so I stayed inside for the first part enjoying a very expensive strawberry daiquiri and then did a quick walk around the island. All and all, I enjoyed the tour, but I think it would have a been a lot nicer if the weather had cooperated a little bit more.
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| Dad & Mike all ready to snorkel at Hook Island! |
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| Enjoying Whitehaven Beach! |
On the 27th, I was woken up to grab my camera and go take pictures of the sulfur crested cockatoos out on our front porch! Dad saw one in a nearby tree and so placed a piece of food on the ledge for it. Next thing we knew, they were all flying in one-by-one! Altogether I think there was about 12 there at once! They just started walking on the table and chairs, looking up at us screeching, as if they wanted us to feed them more! This was probably the highlight of the day, since the rest of the day was spent making our way back down to Mackay to fly back to Sydney that night.
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| Our new friends |
On the morning of the 28th, we met up with the Kiwis! Karen, John, Brian & Laura arrived the day before in Sydney, but as we didn’t get in before late, we met up with them for breakfast at the hotel we were all staying at. It was raining on this day, so we opted for some indoor activities, including the Sydney Aquarium & Sydney Wildlife World. We wouldn’t have time to check out the zoo, so this was a great (and warm) substitute! For dinner that night we ate at P.J. Gallagher’s, an Irish pub, and we all went home happy and full.
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| Jellyfish at the Aquarium! |
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| Sleeping Koala, up on the rooftop at the Wildlife World! |
During our second day in Sydney, we started the day off with a lookout over the city from the Sky Tower. Unlike other lookout towers I have experienced before, you have to pay an additional fee to get outside (65 dollars extra). However, from what I gather it is a unique experience, although I still kept my feet indoors where there is a great 360 degree lookout through glass.
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| View from the Sydney Tower. If you look in the distance, you can see the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge! |
After getting a feel for the city from above, we headed back down to ground and made our way towards the harbour & the Sydney Opera House. After lunch, and looking at the Opera House from outside, Mike and I split up from the rest of the group so we could do an indoor tour of the magnificent building. During the tour, we learned that the building was only estimated to cost around 7 million, and to be completed in 6 years. In reality it actually took 16 years to complete, and at a grand total cost of... drumroll please... 102 million dollars! Wow, that estimate was way off. Just the same, I fell in love with the building, as many did, and admire Sydney for having such an iconic building. If you ever have a chance to go to Sydney, I would definitely recommend doing the tour, if you can’t go see a show that is! The inside is quite a thing to behold! ( I don’t have too many pictures from inside, because you aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the actual theaters themselves). After our tour, Mike and I made our way to Paddy’s Market. We only had about 15 minutes there before closing time, and so we headed back to the apartment to meet up with the rest of the gang. We watched the beginning part of the royal wedding, before heading to the Athenian Greek Restaurant for dinner (which also had the royal wedding playing in silence on the big screens).
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| Me, in front of the Sydney Opera House! |
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| Mike, on the steps leading up to the Sydney Opera House |
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| One of the lobby's inside the Opera House |
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| Great place to have a drink and wait for the show, overlooking the Sydney Harbour |
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During our final day in Sydney, we met up with Dad’s friend Ian, who grew up in Sydney. Ian has a boat and was more than happy to take the 8 of us out on and tour us around the harbour. It was a great day, and it was really spectacular to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge from another perspective!
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| Another View on the Sydney Opera House, from the water |
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| Sydney Opera House & Sydney Harbour Bridge, just before sunset |
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| Mike, on our tour around the harbour |
On the morning of May 1st, it was time to say goodbye to Mike, as he was flying back to Seattle for work, and the rest of us would be flying back to Adelaide. Once we had all flown back to Adelaide and met up at the airport, we headed back to the house I’m staying at, where I met back up with Emily and her boyfriend Steve. Once mom, dad and the kiwis got settled into their accommodation, we took a quick look at the city before getting groceries to bring back for the barbie (bbq). On May 2, Emily and I wanted to show the Cleland Wildlife park to everyone, so we headed there for the day. I think everyone enjoyed it, and I was happy to see some of the roos again and to hold a koala this time!
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| Dad, Mom and I with a koala named Rusty! |
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| Cute little joey poking his head out at our voices! Was sooo cute! |
After dinner, we said goodbye until the 7th. I had class that week and Emily, Steve and I had a tour booked to Kangaroo Island for the 5th and 6th. Mom, Dad, Karen, John, Brian and Laura were heading out on the 3rd to explore some of the regions just beyond Adelaide.
On the 7th, we met up again and headed to the village of Hahndorf in the morning. I had previously rode the bus through Hahndorf on our way to Mount Barker, and remembered it as having a very attractive main street, which reminded me a little bit of the village of Bayfield, back home. The village is home to Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement, with plenty of specialty shops and storefronts.
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| Ye Old Ice Creamery in Hahndorf. Didn't get anything as it was early in the morning, but may have to make a trip back! |
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| bikes in recognition of the down under tour, which passed through Hahndorf earlier in the year |
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| quaint little house in Hahndorf |
Our next stop of the day was Victor Harbor. We enjoyed lunch at a park close to the water, before making our way over to Granite Island. Mom, Dad, Karen, John & I got on board the horsedrawn tram which runs every 20 minutes, taking us over to Granite Island from the mainland. The tram can easily be outwalked. Granite Island is home to a colony of about 150 little blue penguins, however we didn’t see any during the day. After our day out we headed back to Adelaide where we would be meeting Emily, Steve and Steve for dinner at Scoozi Cafe (the same Italian restaurant we went to for my birthday).
After dinner it was time to say our goodbyes, as the rest were heading back to Sydney the next day for their flights home and Emily, Steve x 2 and I would be heading off fishing for the day.
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| Mom, Dad, & the Kiwis! |
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| Our chauffeur from Victor Harbor to Granite Island |
Thanks Mom, Dad & Mike for coming to visit!!! I had a great time and it was great to have some family time! Also thanks to the Kiwis for coming to visit! I hope you all enjoyed the Adelaide area!
Until next time!
Alison
