We were on a schedule from the time we woke up this morning - we had to be packed up and checked out of the AirBnB by 11:00. We didn’t get up early but also didn’t really sleep in; after having breakfast and making lunch for the day we tidied the unit up, took out the trash and recycling, and completed our final packing. The one downside of staying at an AirBnB is that you don’t just get to leave your mess, so we had to budget some extra time into the schedule to handle the housekeeping items.
Continue Reading »We had a slow start to the morning after staying up late dancing the night away. We slept in until around 9:00, and were in no rush as we had breakfast and got ready for the day. We left the AirBnB shortly before 11:00, and spent what remained of the morning exploring the gay village in Sydney. This area, known as Darlinghurst, is where the majority of gay themed stores and bars are.
Continue Reading »The sun was still rising when we got up this morning. After a quick breakfast we left the AirBnB and walked to the Museum subway stop, the first stop on our trip to reach the Taronga Zoo. We took the subway towards Circular Quay, and disembarked at the station there just before 9:20. There were several routes we could have taken public transit to reach the zoo; we chose the route that includes a ferry trip from the Central Business District to the Taronga Zoo Wharf as it would be the fastest.
Continue Reading »Today we took a trip down to the Royal National Park to see the coast and enjoy the scenery. We got up around 6:30, had a quick breakfast at the AirBnB, and got ready to go. We walked from the AirBnB to a Budget car rental located at King’s Cross, which was a short 10 minute walk away. As we walked up to the rental car office we noticed the hotel we had first stayed at in Sydney - it was just across the street!
Continue Reading »This was the day we returned to Sydney. We got up around 7:00, had breakfast, and packed our things. We had a leisurely chat with Jeff and Marilyn over coffee, and then got into the car around 9:00. They took us for a bit of drive to Lake Macquarie, a saltwater lake just south of Newcastle that connects into the ocean. We got out and walked around the lake for about 30 minutes - it was a bit cooler than yesterday, but the wind had died down so with the sun out it was a nice temperature.
Continue Reading »We woke up to the sounds of cockatoos outside our window shortly after 7:00. We both had a fantastic sleep, and so we felt very refreshed as we got up, got cleaned up, and had breakfast with Jeff and Marilyn. They had offered to show us around the Newcastle area, and shortly before 9:00 we got into their car and began our day. We started by driving into Newcastle itself, a trip that took about half an hour or so.
Continue Reading »Today was a travel day. We slept in a bit later than usual, as our flight wasn’t scheduled until late in the morning. We didn’t have much to do at the AirBnB except finish packing and give the place a final clean. We headed to the Cairns airport via an Uber around 8:45. It was a short drive, and we arrived shortly before 9:00. We had a bit of a quirky driver, he was super friendly but apparently didn’t believe in wearing shoes while driving.
Continue Reading »Today was a combination of a couple things that I really enjoy - travel and trains! We took the Kuranda Scenic Railway from Cairns to Kuranda, which was something I had booked ahead of time in order to guarantee us seats on the train.
We got up shortly before 7:00 and left the AirBnB shortly before 8:00; we drove the rental downtown to the Cairns Central mall. We stopped in at the Coles (an Australian grocery store) where we grabbed some food for breakfast and lunch.
Continue Reading »Today was a first - driving on the left side of the road! I had booked a rental car for the day so that we could drive south of Cairns and visit Wooroonooran National Park. We woke up early, got ready, and then took an Uber to the Cairns Central grocery store. Here we picked up supplies for lunch and some snacks for the day, then walked over to the Budget car rental office (located across the street from the Cairns Aquarium).
Continue Reading »Our final day on the Great Barrier Reef, like many of our days on this trip, began early. Our first dive, on Flynn reef at a dive site named Little Tracy, was a dawn dive. We woke up at 5:45, had our dive briefing at 6:00, and after getting suited up and completing our buddy checks jumped into the water right at 6:30. The sun was starting to rise as we began descending.
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