Australia

4/23/2024

For a Google Map list of locations - check this out

Weather

We went in March, where the summer is transitioning into fall, and the rainy season was in the very beginning of transitioning into dry season. This meant that the weather forecast was still rain, rain, and more rain. However, weather can be unpredictable, and we were fortunate to encounter almost no rain, even in the rainforest areas of Port Douglas/Cairns. While Sydney was perfect, with temperatures 60s to 70s, Port Douglas was a pretty hot 80s consistently.

Sydney

A beautiful city was so much to explore! Some things to note
Transportation - It's incredibly easy to get on the trains/buses/light rails. They will take you from the airport to the city, and all over the city. Just tap your credit card/phone/i-watch and you're on. Even the ferries follow the same method. Just remember to tap when you exit as well so you don't get charged extra/fined (for the buses, the tap station is usually at the bus stop). Uber is also everywhere here.

The British system - yup, everything is opposite here from the USA. Stand on the left, pass on the right. Look to your right first when crossing the street, driver's seat is no the right.

Some highlights
We stayed at Circular Quay, which tends to be more of a tourist/business district. This meant, however, easy access to transportation, ferries, and a lot of sightseeing

Taronga Zoo - It honestly felt a bit silly to go all the way to Australia to go to a zoo and see like... African Giraffes. It was neat to check out either way, and the ferry to the zoo was really cool to take. If you're looking for more of an Australian experience, however, check out Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park! It's only Australian animals, and they let you get close up to and feed a bunch of them. Would recommend that over the zoo, although it's a bit further out of the way. We found a tour that took us there and to the Blue Mountains. Next to the zoo is a pretty little beach called Whiting Beach, and a viewpoint called Little Sirius Point that are worth taking the short hike to and checking out.

From Circular Quay, it's a short walk to the Royal Botanic Garden. Get a great picture of Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge from the Fleet Steps there. Walk around through The Rocks, to Barangaroo, down to Darling Harbour. Chinatown is nearby there. The Queen Victoria Building is a beautiful historic building that's cool to walk through. The shops in it aren't as interesting.

Our trip has less focus on the culinary side, but some things that stood out include Chat Thai (amazing thai food), Masala Theory (best butter chicken ever, everything else is also great), Shadow Baking (amazing bakery). Maybe Sammy is doing some cool stuff with cocktails, and Wildflower Brewing is a bit further away but has been making some great wild ale (sour) beers. If you do end up in Merrickville, however, head over to downtown Enmore. The Winery in Surry Hills has a great wine program in a really cool outdoor garden.

Bondi to Coogee is a must do. It's about an hour walk, but it is an absolutely amazing oceanside scene.

Blue Mountains is also an area full of breathtaking views. Lincoln's Rock and Three Sisters are popular sights. You can rent a car and go, take public transportation, or go via tour. We opted for a bus tour cause it was the least hassle.

more below on Port Douglas

Harbour view from the ferry

Koala at Taronga Zoo

Sydney Opera house view from the ferry

Whiting Beach

Feeding Wallabies at Featherdale

Lincoln's Rock, Blue Mountains

Three Sisters, Blue Mountains

Shadow Bakery

Bondi Beach

Port Douglas

Here's where the rainforest and great barrier reef access is. We flew up to Cairns, rented a car, and drove to Port Douglas. Rex Lookout is a great place to stop and take a picture. Some have luck spotting a crocodile at Crocodile Viewpoint, we we did not. Four Mile Beach is a beautiful beach to walk along, especially during sunrise/sunset. Prior to May however, it's stinger season and warning signs are all over to avoid going in the water. The north end of the beach does have a small roped off area that people were swimming in.

Downtown Port Douglas was cool to walk around. This is definitely a fancier resort town come winter, as the summers are quite hot and rainy. Wrasse & Roe is a delicious seafood spot there.

Heading north, we left early to get to the Daintree Ferry. For a fee, we parked the car on there and took the few minute ride across the Daintree River. During tourist season, apparently the line can get quite long. We stopped by the Daintree Discovery Centre, which was a great place to learn about the rainforest, although I'm not sure it was worth the admission fee. This might be the last place with a bathroom with garbage cans/toilet paper however.

Just past the ferry, stop at Mount Alexandra Lookout. As luck would have it, the day we traveled up was the first day the road to Cape Tribulation was open. Severe weather at the end of 2023 wrecked a lot up here. The Kulki Boardwalk was barely open, and the Lookout was closed at this time. Myall Beach, Dubuji Boardwalk, Madja Boardwalk were beautiful places we checked out. Stopping for ice cream, Daintree Ice Cream Company was delicious, while Floravilla was eh.

Of course, the thing to do up here is to take a tour of the Great Barrier Reef. We found a tour that was a total of about 9 hours - it took an hour just to get to the reef. It was worth it - some of the best beautiful sights I've ever seen.

Back near Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge is a beautiful place with aboriginal protections and a place for many to take a scenic swim. It'll cost a ticket for a bus ride there and back from the visitor center unless you want to take the walk.