No sun? No worries!
18 days in the land down under.
18 days in the land down under.
June/July 2007
As the wheels went up in Nice last summer, at the end of our family holiday
in France, we began discussing prospects for this year’s trip. The
consensus appeared to be Norway. We bought a book or two. We posted
some exploratory questions on Fodors. We researched flights. And our
daughter, Allie, even took interest in a Norwegian boy at camp later in the
summer.
Somewhere along the line, though, we got turned completely around...and
ended up spending almost three weeks in Australia.
Our itinerary found us visiting four Australian states:
In no particular order, these are some of the highlights:
Of course, there were lots of others. We’ll detail some of those later in this
report.
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
As the wheels went up in Nice last summer, at the end of our family holiday
in France, we began discussing prospects for this year’s trip. The
consensus appeared to be Norway. We bought a book or two. We posted
some exploratory questions on Fodors. We researched flights. And our
daughter, Allie, even took interest in a Norwegian boy at camp later in the
summer.
Somewhere along the line, though, we got turned completely around...and
ended up spending almost three weeks in Australia.
Our itinerary found us visiting four Australian states:
- New South Wales: four nights in Sydney
- Queensland: two nights in the Daintree and six nights in Palm Cove
- Northern Territory: two nights in Yulara
- Victoria: two nights in the Yarra Valley and two nights in Melbourne
In no particular order, these are some of the highlights:
- Swimming and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef—at Lizard
Island and Opal Reef. - Taking the plunge—bungy jumping at AJ Hackett’s near Cairns
(well, for Chris and Allie anyway; there was no way Marisa was
going up that tower, even to watch!) - Getting up close and personal with the rainforest, day and night
- Hiking the Valley of the Winds at Kata-Tjuta
- Joining the legions of shutterbugs and kindred spirits to watch the
sun rise and set on Uluru - Tasting wine at vineyards throughout the Yarra Valley (and, well,
just drinking wine all over the country) - Seeing scenic Sydney Harbor from the ferries
- Feeding kangaroos by hand at the Healesville Sanctuary
- Wandering and exploring the Rocks area of Sydney
- Seeing another side of North Queensland on a leisurely drive
through the Atherton Tablelands - Exploring the colorful alleyways and arcades of Melbourne’s central
business district - Eating fish and chips at Manly
- Looking out at the Sydney skyline as our plane descended in the
pre-dawn. We've seen many pictures, but there’s nothing like
seeing it for the first time in person.
Of course, there were lots of others. We’ll detail some of those later in this
report.
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Australia home
Planning considerations
Sydney
Queensland, part 1
Queensland, part 2
Queensland, part 3
Red Center
Yarra Valley
Melbourne
Getting there and getting around
Planning considerations
Sydney
Queensland, part 1
Queensland, part 2
Queensland, part 3
Red Center
Yarra Valley
Melbourne
Getting there and getting around
