Bucket List Trip to Australia!
Our first stop was Perth where we stayed in the Fraser Suites, with views of the Swan River, for 4 nights. No time for jet lag before we got started sightseeing. We saw our first kangaroo in Perth Zoo and encountered some other local wildlife - quokkas and a venomous brown snake(!) whilst cycling around Rottnest Island.
Next up was 5 nights in the centrally located Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens in Melbourne. We hired a car to drive the scenic Great Ocean Road where the spectacular Twelve Apostles were just one of the many breath-taking viewpoints on the journey. Melbourne was also where we got to feed kangaroos and cuddle koalas!
After a delay during our connection at Alice Springs Airport, we arrived at Ayers Rock just in time to leave our luggage at the Desert Gardens Hotel before heading out on our sunset trip to Uluru. Finally seeing the iconic rock, and eating dinner in the middle of the desert, was just amazing! Next morning we had another early start to go on a base walk around Uluru at sunrise. Watching the rock change colour, the red intensifying, as the sun came up was just stunning.
Less than 24 hours after arriving, we were back at Ayers Rock Airport to catch our flight to Cairns. We stayed in the Hilton Hotel which was ideally located for everything we wanted to do here. We experienced attractions and sights that we had heard of many times before – snorkelling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef, crocodile spotting on the Daintree River, and walking through the rainforest were just some of our incredible experiences!
Next we moved on to the Reef View Hotel on Hamilton Island, the largest of the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands. The highlight of our 3 night stay here was without question the boat trip to stunning Whitehaven Beach. Absolute beach perfection!
And on to the final stop on our tour – the Hilton in Sydney for 5 nights. Once again seeing sights we had only seen on TV before was amazing! The first view of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House definitely didn’t disappoint and the views from the top when we did the bridge climb were spectacular! Bondi Beach, Manly and a day trip the beautiful (if a bit chilly!) Blue Mountains were the other highlights of our time in Sydney.
We absolutely loved every second of our trip and fitted so much into a short space of time. There is still so much to see and do though, hopefully that means we’ll have to go back again!!
