Australia

Australia was so great I've taken the longggggg flight twice to visit! What a beautiful country full of kind people and gorgeous views. Here are some of my favorite towns I visited in my 2 trips. 

SYDNEY: I cried the first time the Opera House came into sight getting off the train. What a great city full of variety. I visited Sydney on both of my trips, as the city is huge and there was plenty to see. I highly recommend doing the Sydney Bridge Climb as the view from the top is amazing! The second time I returned to Sydney I knew I wanted to be there for NYE. I spent the entire beginning of 2018 planning out where I wanted to be for the fireworks. Through many searches, blog readings, and Pinterest scrolls I decided the best spot to be was at Midnight at the Oasis. This had the view that I wanted (I wanted the Opera House in my photos) and was the best "bang for my buck". For ~$450 USD this allowed us to arrive later with a reserved seating spot (anytime after 6:30 pm versus other places opening in the early morning to find a non-reserved spot), and have a 3-course meal. NYE in Sydney was one of my top bucket list items and I'm so happy to have been able to go and experience the magical night (even if it poured, the trains were stuck, and slowed me down getting there, as well as going to the wrong entrance and missing the early/kid fireworks). While in Sydney I found a facebook group where local "guides" would take visitors on a walking tour around different parts of Sydney. A few days before you 

WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS: HIGHLY recommended! The Whitsunday Islands are so beautiful, full of color and wildlife. Sailing around for 3 days and checking out multiple islands was a great way to see this area of Australia. While it was pretty expensive it was worth it. The sailboat had bedrooms and showers and they provided us meals throughout the day with breakfast and dinner on the ship and a picnic lunch on each island we visited. The water was warm, and we used a rope swing to jump into the water whenever we would stop. We had to wear stinger suits to protect us from small jellyfish (called stingers) around from October to May.  Check out TripAdvisor for multiple companies and options for sailing the Whitsundays.

BRISBANE: A cute city full of big buildings, outdoor farmer's markets selling the best fresh food, all by the water. This was my first stop on my first (solo) trip to Aus so I don't remember much. I do remember going to get a coffee (which was the smallest coffee I've ever had) and walking up the road to the top of Mt. Cootha, which had a great viewpoint at the top! Brisbane is also close to the Gold Coast which is worth visiting as well. So many viewpoints of beautiful water and lots of surfers out and about. 

CAIRNS: One of the top things on my bucket list was to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. On my first solo trip to Aus I made sure it happened as the Great Barrier Reef is quickly dying. I flew into Cairns, walked through the streets which had lots of markets and food, and grabbed some Pie Face (you HAVE TO visit a Pie Face for their meat pies). The thing I didn't realize is that you can't swim in the water right by the town. They have local free swimming pools that you can swim in and enjoy the views of the water but the water close to the town has tons of organisms that have stingers so it's not possible for locals or visitors to swim. Diving the Great Barrier Reef was amazing, and a dream come true. I met the boat in the morning (just a short walk from my hotel), loaded up, and headed out to the reef. This boat also had snorkelers onboard but the divers got the upstairs room which was glassed in and air conditioned which was nice. The captain of the divers was my diving buddy which was awesome. We went around caves and through tunnels and even saw a huge turtle swimming within arm's reach. Sadly you could see the decay and death of the reef, so if this is on your bucket list it's important to get there as soon as you can!

BONUS

STEVE IRWIN'S AUSTRALIA ZOO: Such a cool zoo! 

Daintree & Port Douglas: The only place in the world where 2 World-Heritage listed sites meet. The rainforest meets the ocean here in a quiet, beautiful city. I had lunch in the rainforest, walked out to the ocean, and took a fun boat ride on the Daintree River. Our boat guide said to not fall in as there were bull sharks in this river, but to not be afraid of a shark getting to you because the crocodiles would get you first! 

ANIMALS GALORE: The coolest part of Australia! Meeting and playing with animals like wallabies, kangaroos, and koalas!

My DO’s and DON’T’S for Australia: 

DO visit Sydney. It's a bustling town full of tons of things to do

DO plan ahead. If you're planning to do touristy things, purchase tickets ahead of time!

DO add other stops while you're in Australia. Flying there is crazy expensive so make the most of it and add multiple stops to different towns and cities. 

DON'T exchange money in the airport or in Australia, order money ahead at your local bank. They usually give you a better exchange rate and the bills you don't use you can exchange back to USD when you get back! 

DON'T Pack your schedule the first few days. Plan a light day the first and second day you get to Australia as jet lag and timezone will kick your butt.