Australia - Sydney and Cairns

We arrived in Sydney around lunchtime on Tuesday, July 1st. We previously booked our hostel at Jolly Swagman's in the Kings Cross district and they provided us with an airport pick up. Upon check-in to our booked 6-bed dorm, we found that they were generous and put us into our own 3-bed dorm without another roommate. We were thrilled for this as we were coming back into backpack mode after staying with friends and family recently. We set out on foot to explore the new city and area. Kings Cross is a backpacker district and also can be a little rough around the edges with prostitutes and some sketchy looking people, but we loved the area and all the food and beer specials they had to offer. We roamed Kings Cross with our lunch of kebabs in hand, then found ourselves venturing out further to walk along the water near the naval base. Eventually, we rounded a corner and across the bay, the Sydney Opera house and Harbor Bridge came into view. What a site to see! We headed toward the famous spots and stopped along the way at the Botanical Gardens in the middle of the city. Here we saw several colorful birds and loud cockatoos and to our surprise, an abundance of bats hanging in the trees. They were everywhere! Flying bats during daylight?? Once through the botanical gardens, we found ourselves at the foot of the Opera House. We climbed the steps, making our way around the massive Sydney icon. It was very windy in Sydney but much warmer than the destinations we came from. We doubled back to where we came from for a sunset view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge in the background. Time for beer and pizza night at the hostel - $3 bought us 2 slices of pizza and a warm Victoria Bitter. Not a bad deal! We went to O'Malleys for a $6 jug nightcap but practically fell asleep at the table. Time to head in for a good night's sleep.







On Wednesday morning, we woke early for a city tour, a true tourist/gaper experience of the "hop-on, hop-off double decker bus". We were tired with little time, so this was a great day for a quick overview of the city. We saw all the city hot spots and then caught a second bus out to Bondi Beach where we got off to explore. After taking a quick and windy walk on the beach, we stopped in a local seafood market for some fresh fish and chips - best ever! We boarded the bus again back to the city and intended on stopping at the IMAX theatre for a movie, but the movie we wanted to see wasn't out, so we walked back to Kings Cross for our last evening. We enjoyed a local special of steak, mash and salad for $10 and then back to O'Malleys for our last $6 jug of beer.





We woke in the morning for our flight up to Cairns. Three hours after departing Sydney, we landed in the tropics. It is high season and Australian holidays, so accommodations were somewhat hard to come by. We finally settled on a "resort" by name by hostel by accommodation. It was outside of the main city so we walked to town daily (but we needed the exercise). Our first day was spent as most first days are in any new city - exploring. We wandered the streets and planned out our next few days in Cairns. A travel agency gave us a great deal on an all day snorkel trip and also a local recommendation on where to see kangaroos. After a cheap dinner at Rhinobar (our dinner spot for the next 3 out of 4 nights in Cairns), we headed in for the night.

On Friday, we caught the local bus to Kewara Beach outside of Cairns to see the kangaroos and spend the afternoon at a quiet beach. Within minutes of getting off the bus on the side of the highway, Jacques spotted a group of kangaroos lounging under a tree in a field. We approached the roos and they immediately took notice of us and stood up to watch us watch them. After some time, they bounced away into the woods and we started our long walk to the beach. The afternoon was relaxing and quiet, the sounds of the water lapping on the beach and kids playing in the distance. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch on the sand before walking back to the main road to catch the bus back to town. The kangaroos were awake now and could be seen in abundance along the main road. Back in town, we stayed in for movie night at the hostel and a home cooked meal. The movie of the night couldn't be more perfect for Australia - Crocodile Dundee I and II.







Saturday was spent poolside at the resort. There was a young rugby team staying in our hostel the previous days and causing such a noise and mess (including trying to get into our room at night) and they departed on Saturday, which made everything much more enjoyable. We played Uno by the pool with our hidden drinks (none allowed unless purchased through the resort) before going out again to watch rugby - South Africa vs. New Zealand. This was a highly anticipated game for Jacques and unfortunately South Africa lost. This also resulted in Jacques losing his mohawk because of a bet he made with Matthew in New Zealand.

We walked to the pier in the morning for an 8:30am departure on the Falla, an old timber sail boat that would take us out to the Great Barrier Reef for our day trip. I opted to add an intro dive to the day in addition to snorkeling. The weather over the outer reef was questionable so we headed toward Fitzroy Island and calmer waters. The trip out was very rocky and I was a little sea sick heading into my first dive experience. Once the boat was moored, I jumped in the water and the instructor deflated my jacket and took me under the boat for 3 exercises before the actual reef dive. In my nervous state, I started breathing too hard which made me panic and I scrambled to the surface. After about 15 minutes of this and struggling to complete the tasks, I finally made it and calmed down enough for the instructor to take me into the waters to see the beautiful coral below. She allowed me to touch some of the softer coral and before I knew it our time was up and we were back on the surface. I met up with Jacques to snorkel before a lunch on the beach. After lunch, I had to leave Jacques behind for awhile, as he wasn't quite ready for the cold waters again. Finally he joined me in the water as we snorkeled hand in hand enjoying the final breathtaking views of the Great Barrier Reef. Prior to getting back on the boat, we saw a stingray. The day was complete with a sunset sail back to Cairns.









We woke early again the following morning to grey skies and our sign that it was time to leave. We had to fly back to Sydney for a 4 hour layover before flying to Denpasar (Bali). In Sydney, we walked nearly an hour along the highway (due to the lack of Australian currency and needing the exercise) to connect from the Domestic Terminal to the International Terminal - a poorly planned airport with a poorly planned flight itinerary. Luckily, it was a beautiful day in Sydney and we enjoyed the walk. Glad to be off to Bali for more beautiful weather!