Got quite a bit behind, but here are the last few weeks that we mostly spent with Chris!
Surfer's Paradise
After leaving Currumbin, we picked up CHRIS! Our first stop was Surfer's Paradise, about 30 minutes north of Currumbin and still on the Gold Coast. The city was not what I expected, and if I could do it again I would choose a different stop. Luckily we only stayed there two nights so it didn't really matter. Surfer's Paradise is just a super touristy and busy coastal city. It didn't feel Australian by any means, but hey at least we tried it! Our Currumbin Airbnb referred to it as that "Vegas Bullshit"... LOL. He's right, the Gold Coast's best kept secrets are further south for sure.
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| Chris is here! So champagne in coffee mugs :) |
However, we still managed to have a fun time despite being underwhelmed! Got to check out the fun infinity attraction with an LED light maze, drive along the coast north and south of Surfer's, and start to get into the Christmas spirit!
We enjoyed rooftop beers and yummy food!
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| I could get used to Santa with his surfing kangaroos! Aussie Christmas! |
At the very tip of the Gold Coast (about 15 minutes north of Surfer's) we found a cool pier with a lighthouse.
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| They were both jealous of my picture :) hehe |
We then drove South to Nobby Beach and had lunch at an awesome Thai place.
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| Surfer's from the South |
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| Candid coffee photo :) |
Tamborine Mountain
After Surfer's our next stop was Brisbane, and we thought it would be fun to stop in Tamborine Mountain on the way. I'm so glad we did, it was a really quaint mountain village with lots of cafes/shops and cool rainforest hiking nearby.
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| Back to the rainforest! |
We also had fun doing a wine tasting and then trying a flight of beers at the local brewery. Pretty tasty! Not quite like NC beers, missing those sour beers from Bond Brothers.
Brisbane City
We made it to Brisbane! Neat city with a river that runs through it. We especially enjoyed the Southbank side with the park and walking tracks.
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| Christmas parade with... astronauts? We liked it! |
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| View of the river at night, city is to the left and Southbank is on the right |
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| Fireworks for Christmas on the river! (We were here Dec 20-22) |
We spent one of our days here riding the ferry to see the city from different spots on the river. We then spent more time on Southbank near the awesome lagoon and Christmas markets :)
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| Airbnb view |
Definitely would come back to Brisbane, nice city and I'd like to see it when it isn't so crowded for Christmas.
Sydney
Oh Sydney... how we love thee!! Our destinations with Chris definitely went from so-so to awesome, glad we picked Sydney to be the two week stop! Endless amounts of things to do... I had a million things on my list and we hit a bunch but barely scraped the surface of all Sydney has to offer.
Coogee
The three of us stayed in Coogee Beach, one of the southeastern beaches of Sydney. We loved it, I'm so glad I chose the beach town but with easy access to the city (about a 40 min bus ride which is nothing). Like other coastal towns we've been to, people here just seem a little more laid back, granted not quite as much as Currumbin but still more relaxed than downtown.
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| Coogee in all it's glory! |
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| Cliffs looking out on Coogee |
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| Gordon's Bay, Chris and I found it on the Coogee cliff walk |
Cricket Game
Our first Sydney activity was a cricket game! We actually really enjoyed it, it ended up being a lot of fun to watch. Justin watched a youtube video before we left to learn the rules, so when we got there he was able to teach Chris and I the rules. We followed the game for the most part and stayed the whole 3 hours! Somehow we ended up right in the middle of like 20 ten year olds, but it was really hilarious seeing how they reacted to the game. They were also wearing KFC buckets on their heads as you'll see in one of the pictures... didn't realize KFC was such a big thing here.
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| Centennial Park view on the walk to the Cricket Stadium |
Our Currumbin Airbnb host actually suggested this game, it's called the Big Bash League, he said it's more interesting since it only lasts 3-4 hours... some cricket games can last 5 DAYS O_O
Christmas
I will do a separate post on our Christmas Eve engagement :) But here are some pictures from later that day and our Aussie Christmas!
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| Christmas spirit is in the air haha |
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| Aww they stopped at Jamie's Italian for me... sadly Jamie wasn't there lol |
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| Justin's ideal Christmas |
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| Opal card advertisement lol (it's the bus card they call opal) |
Back at our place to celebrate by drinking some Tamborine Mountain champagne and playing Monopoly!
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| Christmas Day from our Airbnb! |
We spent Christmas day drinking mimosas by Gordon's Bay, such a beautiful area...
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| Merry Merry Aussie Christmas!! |
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| All Chris wants for Christmas is new flip flops... :) |
Ferry to Manly + Royal National Park
The day after Christmas (Boxing Day here), we and the rest of the city of Sydney took the ferry to Manly Beach... ok not the whole city but it was SUPER crowded. Still, Manly was beautiful and the ferry is always fun to take!
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| View of Manly on the Coastal Walk to Shelly Beach |
We took the ferry back and walked along Royal National Park that neighbors the Opera House. The park is beautiful, with awesome views of the city especially from Mrs. Macquerie's Chair.
Taronga Zoo
We took the ferry from Circular Quay to Taronga Zoo one day, also another slightly over-crowded day. The zoo itself was really nice, much more condensed than the Australia Zoo but with just as much to see. Chris saw his first koala and kangaroo! It's situated on a hill, so a gondola takes you to the top from the ferry, with winding paths back to the bottom.
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| Gondolas to the top of the zoo from the ferry |
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| The usual suspects |
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| I mean, views from the zoo weren't bad... |
Of course we had to be silly when we see a giant koala...
Karaoke
Chinatown night... Justin found a karaoke bar with private rooms... we loved it!! When we first arrived they said if we booked two hours we could get a free non-alcoholic drink, but we were like no... no way we will stay that long. Well our one hour turned into FOUR... guess we enjoyed it LOL. Chris, when I think of Tim McGraw I will always think of you <3 hehe.
Bridge Climb
Just wow... the harbor bridge climb was awesome. We suited up, got our headsets, and had to do a test run of a small ladder rig inside the main part of the bridge. Then we were all hooked in a line to the bridge circuit and started our walk! The climb starts from underneath the bridge, so you see the engineering of the bridge and the floor is also a grate so it's see through... that was the freakiest part for me. I don't have pictures since we couldn't bring our cameras.
You then climb a series of ladders to the base of the bridge arch, and start to make your way to the top. Walking along the arch itself wasn't scary at all, you feel very safe with railing on either side and steps up to the top. The views of the city were breathtaking from up there. I also am really glad we picked the twilight time, on our walk to the top of the bridge we saw everything in the daylight. By the time we reached the top the sun was setting, then the sun went down and the city lights came on for our descent. The whole thing lasted about 3 hours and our guide talked to us about the city during our climb. Definitely worth it, we had a blast!
Coogee Rock Pools
Justin was raving about these rock pools he saw on a run north of Coogee, so we all set out to check them out.
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| Sign posted by steps to rock pools |
NYE!!!
This was the very first thing we booked for Australia... decided to go all in and splurge on a NYE Harbour Cruise! Worth every penny, it was awesome!! Beer, wine, champagne, and food was included too!
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| Our boat, the Aussie Magic coming to pick us up! |
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| People waiting on the shore for fireworks |
We were picked up in Casino Wharf, then it was a nice cruise to the bridge, and underneath to pass by the Opera House. I was expecting the boat to have to go to an assigned spot and park, but we cruised continuously around the main area throughout the night, ending in one location for the 9pm "kid" fireworks, and another for the midnight show.
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| We're on a boat! |
9pm fireworks were impressive in themselves, they shoot them off from the harbor bridge and another bridge to the west.
Once night fell, our boat lit up with an outline of lights, we were a part of the light parade! All of the boats moving in the line with us were lit up in a unique way, I bet it would be fun to watch from the shore.
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| Our boat |
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| light parade! |
And all of a sudden, it was midnight and WOW... what a show!! This is definitely a night I won't forget for my whole life!! Sydney knows how to celebrate New Years!
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| We loved these waterfall fireworks off the bridge! |
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| The bridge put on a light show after the fireworks! |
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| Happy 2017!! |
Blue Mountains
On Chris's last day here, we decided to visit the Blue Mountains. Caught the 2 hour train and made it to the quaint mountain town of Katoomba! We first visited Leura Falls.
We decided to continue along the Leura cascades walk and do the Prince Henry Cliff Walk (4K long) that would take us to Echo Point. We wanted to check out this place called Scenic World which had a skyway stop at Echo Point.
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| The Blue Mountains! |
The trail itself was gorgeous with lots of lookout points along the way. It was definitely a bit of a workout though!
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| Panoramic view |
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| Banksia pods, we bought Christmas ornaments made from these! |
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| Well, hello there! |
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| The famous three sisters |
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| What you don't see in all the tourist pictures! haha, I had Justin take this. |
After our hike it was time for Scenic World... which was scenic but ended up being super touristy. Not that I was really surprised, we had seen it on a tv show so I wanted to experience it. The hike was definitely the highlight though!
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| Scenic World Skyway |
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| Scenic World Railway, steepest railway in the world! |
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| Looking back up the track of the railway, it used to be used for mining |
The Blue Mountains were definitely worth the trip out to. We ended our journey having dinner at the cutest place called the Yellow Deli, which actually just opened up a location in NC!! Such a small world, they couldn't believe we were from NC, and it was really the first time someone in Australia knew were that was lol. Will definitely be checking it out, it's near Charlotte.
Clovelly Beach to Bronte Beach Cliff Walk
We were sad to see Chris go, but he was off to New Zealand! Justin and I switched airbnbs, and decided to do another coastal walk, this time from Clovelly Beach to Bronte Beach. We seem to like those...
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| Clovelly Beach |
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| Bronte Beach |
Watsons Bay Cliff Walk
Another day, another cliff walk! Our friend Damien had suggested the Dover Heights to Watsons Bay cliff walk and we were not disappointed! And of course I had to go see Watsons Bay.
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| People's backyards have this view... I could get used to it! |
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| Moon & Sailboat, love this shot of Justin's |
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| Kookaburra! It sounds like a monkey! |
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| What a gorgeous day! |
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| A Watson in Watsons Bay! |
More Sydney
We were able to meet up with our friend Damien one night, he used to live at the Hue with us! Last time we saw them was about four years ago when he was moving out. We loved having them show us around their neighborhood downtown!
After our Watsons Bay hike, Justin and I went to dinner at Mr. Wong, a chinese restaurant downtown. Thank you Lida for this sweet Christmas present! The dinner was delicious, we had a veggie salad, hot & sour soup, salt & pepper lamb chops, and a scallop, calamari, & prawn dish (Australians call shrimp prawns). The drinks were so good! Justin loves his passionfruit!
We don't have any pictures of this, but on our last day in Sydney we were able to meet a fellow Unity developer and his family. He owns a boat that's about 1 hour north of the city so we rented a car and met him, his wife, and his three sons there. We went out on the boat for an hour but the winds really picked up, so we came back and then took a roadtrip to a really nice seafood buffet. It was just what we needed, it was so much fun being with a big family and the sons were hilarious (twins were 12 and the oldest is 14). It was fun hearing all the aussie slang that we have heard off and on but this was 5 hours of conversation. The boys especially were too cute! They assured me their mom made the best chocolate mousse but the second best was at this seafood place, and then I told them about one of my favorite desserts, banana pudding. Good times!
Well, Sydney will for sure always be special to us. The city has a lot of personality, tons of stuff to do, beautiful landscapes, and more. We'll see you in March, Sydney!
We are now waiting for our Kangaroo Island ferry south of Adelaide. Really excited to explore this rugged island and see some more kangaroos and koalas in the wild, and hopefully seals! Hope everyone is doing well, thanks for following along if you made it this far in the post! :) We miss everyone back home!
Sarah
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
~ Jawaharial Nehru
p.s: Justin loves how organized the trash cans are here, so he took a picture haha.
