Australia - Working & Dreaming in Sydney & Great Barrier Reef
My first trip to Australia was almost as last minute as they come. The purpose of my trip was to join a group of colleagues working with our partner airline in Australia. On Monday one of the managing directors asked me to join and within the hour I had my flight booked for Saturday and the first thing I looked at was how heck I was going to get myself to the Great Barrier Reef at the back end of this business trip. Ever since I became SCUBA certified diving the Great Barrier Reef had jumped to the top of my bucket list. The primary thought in my mind was, "Dani, you may never get invited on a business trip back here again, so you might as well make it happen, no matter the cost."
Trip Type
Business trip turned bucket list, a blend of luxury and roughing it. 10 days exploring, 13 days of travelling. 15 hours ahead time difference. June 2016 (dead of winter in the Southern Hemisphere).
Timeline
Getting There
Saturday 18:00 - Depart DFWLAX
Saturday 23:00 - Depart LAXSYD
Monday 07:00 - Arrival In Sydney
Monday 08:00 - Through customs, head to hotel for check-in
Monday 09:00 - Check into hotel, shower, head to work
Monday 10:00 - Work, work, work
The Rest of the Trip
Monday - Sydney, mostly working and needing sleep BADLY
Tuesday - Sydney, mostly working, then walking around the Opera House at night, dinner with the business teams, and lastly a local speakeasy!
Wednesday - Flight to Cairns, Check into Pro Dive Cairns for Liveaboard
Thursday - Great Barrier Reef Liveaboard - Day 1
Friday - Great Barrier Reef Liveaboard - Day 2
Saturday - Great Barrier Reef Liveaboard - Day 3
Sunday - Full Day in Cairns
Monday - Half Day in Cairns
Tuesday - Full Day in Sydney
Getting Back
Wednesday 10:00 - Depart SYDLAX
Wednesday 07:00 - Land LAX (only real form of time travel)
Wednesday 10:00 - Depart LAXDFW
LOGISTICS
I count my lucky stars that I did not have to ever travel to Australia in coach (yes, I am aware this sounds incredibly snooty, but we get so spoiled in the airline industry!). This was, at the time, the longest flight I had ever taken (LAXSYD flight time = 15 hours). I flew with several colleagues from DFWLAX, and then we all waited together in the airline premium lounge for our flight to SYD. By some crazy streak of luck myself and ALL of my colleagues made the upgrade into true First Class. The cabin was basically all ours.
I could not be more thankful for that first class ride and those pajamas! Fun fact: Qantas gives free pajamas to both business class customers and first class customers, so American Airlines did it, too. And let me tell you, those are my favorite pajamas (so soft)! Though helpful hint: If you get a chance to have the pajamas always go for the larger size because those suckers shrink in the wash like crazy.
The most notable thing about this flight for me was that I had a nice, long 5-course meal, watched two movies trying to stay up long enough to get on the right body clock, and then took a full 7 hour sleep, and was STILL able to enjoy a slow breakfast in the morning before landing. It was crazy to be in a tube in the sky for so long! It truly felt like ages. I even spent a good chunk of time chatting with our flight attendants while snacking on Woodbridge chocolates at the walk-up bar (seriously some of the best specialty chocolates). Actually, my chats with the flight attendants were super helpful. At first we shared a little bit about work, but then they shared all the best things they had done in Sydney on their various layovers. One flight attendant recommended to me Featherdale Wildlife Park, and this recommendation was a home run, one of the best parts of my trip! Another recommendation they shared was the Harbor Bridge climb, which I didn't have time to do, but one of my colleagues did and said it was amazing.
Also highly notable about this flight was the turbulence - at times during the night it would wake me up and I would think, "Surely this is it. This is the end. We are going down." I had never been so sure of impending doom on a flight before. Apparently it is fairly common for trips across the Pacific to run into significant patches of turbulence - enough to alarm you, but rarely a real issue.
All-in-all the service in flight was incredible, comfortable, and highly enjoyable, and the trip was so painless.
Upon arrival in Australia your passport will be checked for your e-Visa (called ETA = Electronic Travel Authority). You should apply for this e-Visa online well in advance of your trip, just to be safe, but processing usually completes within 24 hours if you apply on any day from Monday through Saturday. Sometimes processing completes as quickly as automatically with submission. Upon successful processing you will be sent email notice. This visa is a 3 month tourist visa that lasts for one year, and it cost me about $15 USD. There are some restrictions on being able to apply for e-Visa if you are nationals of certain countries, but additional information can be found here. Once we got to Immigration they just scanned our passports and it was quick and easy.
As soon as we got out of the secured area of the airport we headed towards the train station attached to the airport. Here we were able to purchase an Opal card (works just like Oyster cards in London), that we could load with money in order to take the underground metro lines, buses and ferries. I highly recommend utilizing the metro lines if possible - they get you fairly close to major attractions in the city, they are extremely clean and safe, and even during rush hour the traffic was not anything compared to traffic I experienced in London. You definitely want to get the Opal card because you can top it up as you go, if needed, and it gives you the flexibility to use the metro system as much or as little as you want, under no time constraints. Individual tickets would constrain you to dates/times, and they generally end up being more expensive. The Opal card also gives you the ability to take water transport, which you'll likely use in your travels due to the topography of Sydney and its waterscapes.
Photo courtesy of Google Images
The metro trains are awesome double-deckers, with an upstairs and downstairs, and even some of the older cars we experienced had the ability to flip the back rest so that you could change the direction your seat was facing. Sydney is tied for #1 on my best big-city metros list (Paris is still a tough contender).
The metro lines took us straight to Hyde Park, where our hotel was, and even straight to our office, all on one line. It was super easy. It also only required one line to get to Circular Quay station (pronounced "Circular Key"), the main station for the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, though we walked from our hotel. I believe walking from our hotel was faster because Circular Quay Station is right in the middle of Harbor Bridge and the Opera House, and therefore requires some additional walking after you've arrived.
View from Circular Quay station
Walking to the Opera House from our hotel was a much more direct route, plus we had been stuck in meetings all day so we welcomed the exercise.
Mostly we walked around the Harbor Bridge/Circular Quay/Opera House area, and there is no shortage of things to do or see there, which I will talk about a bit later.
Anywhere you really want to go in Sydney you can pretty much get there on the metro, which is very reasonable. I think I put $40 USD on my Opal card and it lasted me the entire trip (to/from work, to/from Circular Quay, and to/from Featherdale). Uber also works there, and you can hail taxis in most major attraction areas, like the Opera House or Hyde Park. Taxis are for sure your most expensive option, but generally most convenient.
To get to Cairns, which is in the province of Queensland (Sydney is in New South Wales), you need to take a flight (if you drove it would take you 27 hours of driving on the "wrong" side of the road!). Queensland is north of New South Wales, and the Great Barrier Reef is where the X is, right across from Cairns.
I did not want to fly standby (non-rev) because I knew that the liveaboard boat would take off on time whether I was on it or not and I didn't want to take the chance of being delayed because I couldn't get on the flight I wanted. So I went looking on Kayak to book the cheapest tickets I could get. Luckily there are two ultra low cost carriers (meaning you won't get so much as a water in flight) that will shuttle you around Australia for super cheap: Jetstar and Tigerair. Also, Virgin Australia has some competitive fares, and may offer you a drink.
The cheapest fare I could find at the time was on Jetstar, and it cost me about $340 round-trip for SYDCNS. That really wasn't too bad considering I had to book it only a week before the flight. Jetstar was really not bad - they had quick service, they got me where I needed to go and it was a short flight (3 hours seems very short after 15).
My travel buddy, Daniel, a friend from work, was going to meet me in Sydney at the airport that morning to fly with me to Cairns and join me on this Great Barrier Reef adventure - even though he has a mild fear of open water and also gets seasick (more on that later). Take notes everyone, this guy is a true friend - Daniel was only going on this liveaboard snorkeling trip to keep me company so I wouldn't have to be alone...he didn't even get in the water to snorkel once! And poor Daniel had quite the dramatic trip out to Sydney as he was flying standby and his first choice flight from DFW to LAX was cancelled, which created a too full situation on all the flights after that and he wasn't going to be able to make it to LAX in time to catch the flight to Sydney, so that meant he would also not be able to make his confirmed flight to Cairns, where we already had everything else booked. It was looking pretty dire until he ran into the boyfriend of one of my coworkers who was with me there in Sydney. Her boyfriend was also trying to meet up with her in Sydney. Daniel knew him from work soccer league, and they decided that they weren't going to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity either, so they decided to fly to SNA (Orange County, California) and then share an Uber from SNA to LAX to make it in time to still get to Sydney. Daniel arrived in Sydney in the morning and then immediately transferred from the interational terminal to the domestic terminal and found me in a coffee shop, of course, enjoying a long black. Then we took off on our separate flights, separate carriers for our Great Barrier Reef adventure.
Once we arrived we took a taxi to our hotel in Cairns (pronounced "Cans"), which was only $20 AUD (about $15 USD). From our hotel we could walk anywhere we needed to go in Cairns since it is a small city, and pretty much everything you need is located along the central promenade (the Cairns Esplanade). The city is really built for tourism due to the Great Barrier Reef being the main attraction there. In other words, people don't really go to Cairns for Cairns the city; they go as a stopover on their way to the reef.
The first thing I needed to do was to check in at Pro Dive Cairns to get all my equipment fitted and get all my textbooks for certification before the liveaboard was to depart the next day. So I walked from the hotel to the Pro Dive shop, which was only about a mile, and that was considered fairly far in Cairns. Then we walked to where we ate that evening, and we walked the Esplanade during the afternoon and evening.
The next morning Pro Dive sent out a van to pick us up, allow us to drop our baggage at the dive shop and then deliver us to the dock for embarkation. Once we got off the boat Pro Dive also brought us back to the shop to drop off our rental equipment and pick up our stuff, and then they even delivered us back to our hotel. It was an incredibly smooth operation.
Navigation in Cairns was easy - all the streets are set up on a grid system and the surrounding ocean and mountains provide great points of reference such that you may not even need Google Maps.
The only other notable navigation thing on this trip was in Sydney on our trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park - two metro lines got us there (using our Opal cards), but it was a looooooong trip, and it was actually quite far from Sydney proper. It was about 2 hours one-way to get there, and once we arrived at the train station it was in a residential area and we had to walk about two miles (35 min) to Featherdale. Featherdale was surprisingly located in the middle of residential homes, so there was a lot of walking around quiet neighborhoods, but it was worth it. It would have only been an hour's drive if we wanted to take a taxi or Uber. I think our metro charges came to somewhere around $20 USD round-trip per person, and the taxi would have ranged $65 USD one-way.
RECHARGE
When I say this trip was a "blend of luxury" that luxury came entirely from my work accommodations, and especially the hotel we stayed in - the Sheraton on the Park in Sydney. This hotel is a five-star luxury hotel, right on the outskirts of Hyde Park, and comfortable walking distance to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Circular Quay/The Rocks. The location was ideal for a work trip because it allowed us to quickly commute in to work from the St. James station, but it also enabled us to be close to the major tourist attractions and entertainment areas so that we could make some quick visits after work. This hotel was very posh. When we arrived on the first day it was somewhere around 9 am, and we went straight to see if we could check in, especially because most of the coworkers I was traveling with were SPG Platinum elite status, so they could potentially get special accommodations sooner. Everyone else of status was able to check in early and head straight to their rooms to straighten up. I, having no status with SPG, could not, but they offered me a free pass to the spa and wifi access. So I went upstairs to the top floor where the spa was, and was able to leave my luggage in a locker they had there. I then changed into my swim suit and had a quick swim in the pool - it was refreshing and relaxing and woke me up.
Photo courtesy of Sheraton on the Park
I also sat in the sauna for a few minutes to sweat it out, and then I enjoyed a nice shower (amenities provided), and got all changed and prepared for the work day. I headed down to the lobby and checked my bags, then we all met up and started making our way to the office.
That first night after work the jet lag was so real. We all made it back to the hotel and decided not to go out that night, but rather to have a low key night eating some snacks and having a couple of drinks at the Sheraton Club, since everyone but me was Platinum status and could enjoy the free snacks and beverages there. I was permitted to join as a guest.
Photo courtesy of Sheraton on the Park
The food was delicious - the cheese was exquisite and the wine was great. We spent a little time out on the balcony enjoying the view over Hyde Park, seeing St. Mary's Cathedral all lit up at night, and then it was too chilly (in the 40's F!) and we came in to sit our big group in the board room where we visited for a short while until we all became incoherent due to jet lag and needed to find our way to our rooms.
The rooms were huge! The bathroom in the room could have been a room itself it was so big! It had a large jet bathtub to the left, a sink in the middle and a humongous shower to the right. The bathroom was covered in sleek black marble and had shiny wood trimmings - it felt very luxurious, but I did not even have the energy to enjoy it that night.
I headed straight to the bed and lost all consciousness. The bed was incredible - to this day I have yet to experience a more comfortable bed and more smooth and fresh sheets (and I consider myself a connoisseur of such things). I also had a little couch area with a side table next to the windows and it came in handy for a conference call with Europe I had to take in the wee hours of the morning.
This hotel has to be one of the nicest I've ever stayed at.
Once we got to Cairns we stayed at a hotel that I selected because of its proximity to the water front (Esplanade) and also its proximity to the dive shop where I would need to check in and get fitted for equipment the day before disembarkation. That hotel was called Pacific Hotel Cairns, and it was very comfortable. Our room had a balcony that looked out over both the city and the esplanade, and it was very nice.
I fully enjoyed napping in the afternoon sun that came in through the balcony sliding glass door.
After that first night in Cairns we spent the next three days and two nights on the liveaboard, which could accommodate up to 32 guests and 6 crew members, and our tour was pretty much a full house.
Photo courtesy of Pro Dive Cairns
Daniel and I had our own little cabin with bunks. The cabin room was very tiny. When Pro Dive Cairns picks you up for the liveaboard trip they first take you to the shop for you to leave your big luggage there in a locked storage room because there is just no room on the boat to keep it. You just take a smaller backpack or duffel and your gear with you, and that's just about all that will fit in your cabin. It was really tight quarters, especially with that many people on a 78 ft (24 m) dive boat. Three days and two nights was just enough time to enjoy the company of so many people in such small spaces. The cabin was bare bones, but it was just enough. There was one outlet for us to plug in our electronics to charge, and the bunks were made up with a fitted sheet and a light top sheet, and there were pillows provided.
No other towels or amenities were provided, so you had to bring those yourself (see packing list). Daniel and I didn't know this until I checked in for my equipment fitting, and so we went out in Cairns to some of the tourist shops to buy towels and also some sunscreen.
The boat itself was pretty awesome, I thought. It had three decks. The main deck you entered on included the open air dive deck where all the oxygen tanks and equipment was housed, the galley and the common area. When we boarded the ship with our backpacks and dive equipment we immediately stored our dive equipment in a plastic tray underneath a bench with oxygen tanks behind it, and that was our spot for the trip. Our plastic trays had a piece of tape with our names on it so that we could tell where we were supposed to sit. We stored our wet suits by hanging them on our oxygen tanks to dry, and there was a big net above us where we could store our clothes as we disrobed to put on our suits.
When you were ready to dive you suited up on the back of the boat and then got in line to jump off the back. When you were ready to hit the water you had to tell the crew member your name and he/she would mark down the time you hit the water. Then when you came back up you had to check back in with your name and they would make the time you returned. This was to make sure everyone returned safely and you later used this info when you were filling out your dive logs.
Hanging off the back of the boat was the dive stairs for you to climb up once you were finished. Hanging underneath the boat at 15 ft was the "safety bar" with accompanying oxygen tank. This is where you would be able to hang out safely at the same depth in order to to your safety stop and off-gas some of the nitrogen in your blood stream as you ascended from deeper dives. On one dive we were visited at the safety bar by a giant barracuda!
When you walked through the dive deck into the main enclosed area of the ship you ended up straight in the middle of the galley, which was fully outfitted with refrigerators, ovens, microwaves and a full sink to manually wash dishes in (no dishwasher). It reminded me a lot of a camper kitchen. Then there was a serving bar top area for the food that surrounded the galley.
The rest of the main common area was booth-type dinner tables and seating. You had to eat at a table, and we also got to enjoy a beer or two in the common area as soon as Daniel's stomach recovered from the sea sickness on our final night.
Also on the boat was one small TV in the common area that only worked for DVDs, and was only used to show training videos for those getting dive certifications on the trip (like me!).
Behind the common area were a couple of cabins. On the lower level was all cabins. On the upper level was all cabins and also the captain's nest.
On the outside of the upper level was the sundeck - my favorite spot on the boat! This is where we tied our swim suits to dry and enjoyed beautiful sunsets. It is also where I witnessed the most amazing display of the Milky Way that I've ever seen in person or even rendered in a photograph.
The boat had bathrooms on the main level by the dive deck and on the top level by the cabins. They were combination bathroom/showers, or "wet baths", which meant you showered over the toilet.
You were only allowed to take very short showers - you had to press a button for water and that water would stop after a minute and a half. You had to use water sparingly because there is only a limited amount of "gray water" the boat can hold, like any camper. Also, on this liveaboard they did not provide you any shampoo/conditioner or any soap other than the normal hand soap, so you had to be prepared with your own.
On the top sun deck is where we had our dive briefings. Before each dive a crew member would explain the site to us. They would provide some bearings for us to follow and also brief us on depths and "be back at the boat (BOB)" times.
Furthermore they would tell us about the commonly known inhabitants of the site, for example this one site on our first self-navigated night dive is known for this nocturnal turtle that lives in one of the bommies, and allegedly he is the size of a table. I never got to see him because of the adventures of that dive, but that story will be told a little later.
The crew was very helpful to point out where we could potentially find some of the most famous inhabitants we were looking for like Nemo and Dory. This was great for us advanced divers that did not have a crew member guide to go out with us because we were certifying our own navigation skills. All the other "open water" divers that were certifying had guides and guests who were already certified could tag along with the open water divers if they wanted a guide or they could go on their own. Our boat did a mixture of both.
GRUB
Australia has truly AMAZING Asian food! This totally makes sense to me now, as I realized it's likely due to the proximity of Australia to the best Asian countries for cuisine (in my opinion).The best discovery I made in Australia was Malaysian food. It was the first time I had tried it, and I was completely hooked. For dinner on our last night with the business team we went to what I still consider as my all time favorite restaurant I've ever been to, The Malaya. First of all, this restaurant was in an absolutely beautiful location, right near Darling Harbor on the water. You could see so many lights twinkling on the harbor.
Photo courtesy of The Malaya
We had a huge group dinner there that had been pre-arranged, so we walked right in and had a table already waiting for us. Since we were such a big group they had pre-arranged some signature dishes for us to share, which were delivered to our table as they were ready. Everything was delicious - there were sweet and thick curries, sautéed vegetables and even spicy fish cakes barbecued in banana leaves. I don't even like fish and I went back for seconds on these things! There were elements of peanuts, coconut and soy sauce. It was sweet, it was spicy and it was complex.
Photo courtesy of The Malaya
We also shared some really great wine that night from the Barossa Valley, one of the world's most premiere wine growing regions in South Australia.
Daniel and I ended up going back to Malaya on the last night of our trip because I loved it so much and wanted him to experience it. If you aren't at Malaya as part of an already-arranged large party then you get the option of a la carte dishes for around $15 USD a small plate or you can do the set menus for around $53 USD per person, $77 with paired wine. The set menu for this price gets you 4 entrees, 3 mains and a dessert. It is absolutely the way to go when you eat here - try one of their set menus, do not buy a la carte.
That same night after the first big group dinner at Malaya a few of us younger folk ended up at a speakeasy in the middle of the same district that Malaya was in, the Central Business District. One of my company's analysts who had been in stationed in Sydney for a couple of months at the time had discovered the place, but I missed the story about how he had found it. Regardless, he led us straight to it - we had to go down an alleyway, around the backside of a butcher shop, down some stairs and into a basement like area. The door to the basement was like a vault, and after he knocked on the vault door he provided a password. To be honest I had already had a few glasses of wine at this time, so I do not remember the exact knock or the password. When the door opened up for us and we were all let in and it was like we had stepped back in time to the roaring 1920's. The bar was a beautiful polished wood and there were traditional garnishes and fully stocked liquor in vintage bottles. My favorite part was the vintage sliding library ladder.
There was a saxophone player jamming out some jazz music for us (my favorite) and there were lots of people dressed for the 1920's. It was a great vibe and I loved just soaking it all in over a traditional Old Fashioned.
My favorite treat while in Sydney was fresh pressed juice at work - one that I had over and over again was orange ginger cayenne juice. It was delightful - tart on the front end, sweet in the middle, followed by a quick sharp taste with the ginger, and finished with a slight burn.
I also really enjoyed overnight muesli yogurt. Australia has a great selection of oats, muesli, and chia yogurts.
After my Malaya experience the rest of the trip I gravitated towards Asian food - Malaysian, Thai, and Korean mostly, knowing that it would probably be great. The night before our liveaboard trip I enjoyed some fat noodle stir fry and dumplings at a Korean restaurant called MAN:DO, a couple of blocks away from the Esplanade and near the main shopping street in Cairns (Spence Street).
After our liveaboard trip we had to stay one more night in Cairns because after diving you cannot fly for 24 hours (due to the pressurization changes and the concentration of nitrogen in your blood stream). So the night of our return Pro Dive Cairns hosted a happy hour with all our boat mates. The happy hour was at Bavarian Beerhouse, and we enjoyed great German beer and continued to visit with our new friends from the boat. It was fun to hang out with our crew members when they could be more personal and less professional because they were off the clock.
After the happy hour we shared contacts and went our separate ways. Daniel and I were starting to feel hungry so we made our way to the Cairns night market. The night market had many food stalls and an interior courtyard area with tables to sit and eat. The way it works at the night market is you grab a size of plate that you want, and then you can go to any of the food stalls to fill it up. Of course I chose some sweet yellow Thai curry, and then several other asian stir fries and rice!
The food was good, cheap and quick. Just what we needed because we wanted to rush back to the hotel to sleep! We sat in the middle of the food court area, ate quickly and then walked home to crash.
While off-gassing in Cairns we also fully enjoyed some more Australian wine.
This particular winery, Taylors, is a very highly awarded South Australian winery. It was a very smooth and dry Cabernet Sauvignon (around $15 for the bottle). We picked this up at a liquor store after our night market visit on our way home to the hotel, but we were too tired to enjoy it that night and ended up enjoying it the next day.
The other best thing about Australian food was the delicious breakfast foods - complex breads like rye and super grain, yummy cheeses, and different kinds of grains, yogurts and juices. Not to mention fresh veggies like tomatoes, avocado and rocket. And, of course, artisan coffees.
WHAT TO DO
The Opera House
Photo courtesy of Google Images
Of course everyone knows that Sydney is most famous for the Opera House. In fact, it is considered one of the 20th Century's most distinct buildings, and has also made it to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Opera House was designed to look like a shell, which is fitting for the waterscape that it lives in. It has two main concert halls and a restaurant.
On the pedestrian walkways leading up to it you can enjoy drinks from the Opera House bar that runs the length of the walkway. Daniel and I enjoyed a glass of Opera House house wine sitting along the walkway, staring at the Harbour Bridge during sunset on the very last night of our trip.
You can catch a wide variety of performances at the Opera House - from opera to broadway to ballet. Allegedly the shell concrete design of the building makes for a superior acoustic experience, which I would later discover in person during my second trip to Australia (spoiler alert).
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world's tallest steel bridge, and it carries traffic from the Sydney Central Business District to the North shore. It is probably most famous for its bridge climb. I did not personally get to do the bridge climb, but one of my coworkers did. She said it was super exhilarating and would highly recommend it. She said that the views are incredible from the top, but the wind is just as incredible, so be prepared to be blown away!
When you do the Bridge Climb you do wear this jumper that they provide for you and you are locked in to a harness on the bridge at all times.
You can do the bridge climb a couple of different ways, with varying prices. The cheapest option is called the "Bridgeclimb Sampler", which is a 1.5 hour climb to halfway up the bridge on the inner arch. This will run you about $130 USD per person. The normal full climbs will take you to the summit, and will run you roughly $300 for dawn, $230 for daytime, $280 for twilight, and $200 for night (all in USD). The normal climbs will be about 3.5 hours long. The Bridgeclimb Express will also take you to the summit, but via the most direct and quickest route (about 2 hours) for $200 USD.
They do make you take a breathalyzer test before you climb, and you can't register more than 0.05% blood alcohol level, so make sure you haven't been drinking before you try to go! You also have to leave any of your own cameras, as well as jewelry, watches and hair clips, etc. Basically anything that could potentially fall off needs to stay. You will get headphones and a radio that attaches to your jumper so that you can hear your tour guide. You also get a free 7-second video of you at the top, a group photo and a certificate of completion. If you want a photo of yourself alone at the summit you will have to pay extra for it. After the climb you get free access to Pylon Lookout, which also has amazing views.
View from Pylon Lookout, photo courtesy of Google Images
The Rocks
Photo courtesy of Google Images
In Sydney the main going out area is called The Rocks. The Rocks is an open area market with tons of shopping and restaurants/bars. Some of Sydney's oldest bars are there, and there is a huge variety of places to eat and drink. On the night we had our group dinner at The Malaya we strolled through The Rocks first and had a beer at a German restaurant.
The Rocks is just on the other side of Circular Quay and the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The area used to be where convicts would arrive to Australia and it used to be the primary watering hole for visiting sailors. The name "The Rocks" allegedly was derived because of the sandstone buildings that were originally erected there, but later demolished after the Bubonic Plague. Today it is a tourist hub, but many locals will also flock to The Rocks for dining on the water.
Royal Botanic Gardens
Photo courtesy of Google Images
The Royal Botanic Gardens are to the side of the Opera House, and they have tons of pedestrian walkways to stroll on. Daniel and I walked all through them and enjoyed the diverse flora and fauna and waterfront. There are lots of festivals and community events held here as well.
King Street Wharf
King Street Wharf is Sydney's premiere waterfront restaurant district. This is where Malaya is located. During my second trip to Australia I came back here and tried out the Cargo Bar with coworkers. The Cargo Bar is arguably one of the Sydney's most famous bars and notorious party venues (with tasty appetizers, too!). King Street Wharf is located very close to Darling Harbour, which is also known for great waterfront restaurants.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
This place was AWESOME. Why? Because they let you interact with the animals as much as you want, and largely unsupervised. The kangaroos roam free, all over the park, even on the pedestrian walkways! You get to buy an ice cream cone full of alfalfa hay for like $3 USD and then head on your merry way to entice any kangaroo who is hungry enough to come cuddle with you.
You can also meet the sleeping koalas and have a picture with them!
There was some really great, native Australian wildlife here like emus, dingos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and even a crocodile!
As a HUGE animal lover this was a definite highlight of my trip.
Taronga Zoo
Photo courtesy of Google Images
If you love animals and want to see an even greater variety of Australian animals (plus more) you can head to the Taronga Zoo, which is much bigger and located much closer to Sydney proper. The only downside with Taronga is that they don't let you interact as intimately with the animals, which was what made Featherdale so great to me.
Luna Park
Photo courtesy of Google Images
Luna Park is a carnival-style amusement park, across the harbor from the Rocks. It has all the classic rides you would find at a carnival or fair - Ferris wheel, Carousel, Haunted Manor, Mirror Maze, and tons more. The park was originally built in 1935, and has been a classic feature of the Sydney Harbour ever since.
Manly Beach
Photo courtesy of Google Images
Manly Beach is a world famous beach located north of Sydney - the most characteristic part of the beach is the shoreline trees. You can take a ferry from Circular Quay - the fast ferry will get you to Manly in 20 minutes for around $10 USD, and the regular ferry will get you there with your Opal card in 40 minutes. When you arrive you will land at the Manly Wharf where there will be tons of restaurants to pick from. The quickest route to the beach is through what's called The Corso, basically a main street with lots of shops and places to eat. On the way to Manly Beach you can even stop by the Fairy Bower Pool, a natural salt water rock pool, for a dip. The pool even once played holding tank to a beached baby Great White.
Sydney Rock Pools
Oceanside rock pools are very popular fixtures in Sydney - there are more than 100 of them in New South Wales. Most of these pools have natural salt water from the neighboring ocean.
Fairy Bower Pool, photo courtesy of Google Images
The Bronte Baths is one of Sydney's oldest and most photographed pool.
Bronte Baths, photo courtesy of Google Images
Bondi Icerbergs is a swimming club in Sydney. It's name is derived from how the club was formed to keep fit during the winter months. In order to maintain membership in the club swimmers must complete on 3 of the 4 Sundays in every month for a period of five years. The Bondi Icebergs is the only licensed winter swimming club in the world. Anyone can come to the pool for a small entrance fee of around $4 USD, and all are welcome to dine at the club.
Bondi Icebergs Pool and Club, photo courtesy of Google Images
Bondi to Coogee Coastal walk
Photo courtesy of www.bonditocooggee.com
You can hike along the cliffside all the way from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach, which is about 6 km (around 3.5 miles). Along this walk you will witness the stereotypical Australian surfers and sweeping views of the pristine beaches.
Cairns Esplanade
In Cairns the Esplanade is pretty much the main attraction (well, aside from the Great Barrier Reef itself). The Esplanade is a long walking path that follows the beach. There are community gathering areas where free outdoor fitness events are often hosted, and there is also a small water park play area for kids.
Water play area on the Cairns Esplanade, photo courtesy of Google Images
Walking along the Esplanade you will run into many entertainers, especially at night.
The Esplanade also covers the main traffic road that runs alongside the walking route and all the shops and restaurants that are there. Daniel and I enjoyed some green tea Baskin Robbins ice cream (my favorite...irresistible...) on the Esplanade.
I truly loved the characteristic trees on the Esplanade. At night they lit these trees up and it was gorgeous.
When I was by myself after checking into the dive shop I enjoyed a low tide sunset walk along the Esplanade walking path.
Cairns Night Markets
There is all kinds of touristy type shopping at the night markets, and as mentioned before, a decently yummy food court.
Hot Air Balloons
If you have some extra time in Cairns one thing I wish I had done was a hot air balloon ride. Though these rides can be pretty steep (starting at $170 USD for 30 minutes), I hear the views are incredible, and Cairns is the hot air balloon capital of Australia after all. Not to mention they have wicked cool balloon designs.
Photo courtesy of Google Images
For these trips you need to be prepared to be up super early, as they will pick you up around 3:30 am to head from Cairns city center to the flying location further inland. The whole tour takes around 5 hours, and you'll be back to your hotel in time for breakfast!
Daintree Rainforest Tour
If you're going to be in Cairns for a while I think it would be worth booking a tour to the Daintree Rainforest - at least I wish I had more time to do this, if anything, just to experience the awe-inspiring canopy.
Photo courtesy of Google Images
For around $110 USD you can book a Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation tour to spot native Australian wildlife, like crocodiles on the Mossman River or the endangered Cassowary.
Cape Tribulation Beach, photo courtesy of Google Images
Mossman River Crocodile, photo courtesy of Google Images
Cassowary from Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney
SS Yongala
The last major thing I wish I had time to do while in Queensland was dive the SS Yongala, one of the world's most premiere wreck dives.
In 1911 the SS Yongala, a passenger ship, steamed straight into a cyclone and sank south of Townsville, off of Cape Bowling Green. All 122 passengers aboard were lost and traces of the ship were not found until days later when cargo and wreckage began to wash ashore. It was believed the hull of the shipped was destroyed by a submerged rock, and the wreck was not found until 1958. Its structure has remained largely intact and, as such, it has become one of the world's best artificial reefs, home to many of the most sought-after creatures in Australian diving.
The shallowest portions of the wreck lay down at 52 ft below the sea, and the deepest part of the wreck lies at 98 ft.
It is recommended that you be an Advanced Open Water diver to dive this wreck (and in some places you can even enter portions of the wreck). You can do this wreck as a day trip two-tank dive for around $190 USD, $210 with equipment. They also have a two-day option (4 dives) for around $360 USD, $390 with equipment.
What makes this dive truly a "bucket list" dive is the wildlife on the wreck - there are very few other places in the world where you can see so many huge sea creatures in one place. Giant Queensland groupers, huge marble rays and gigantic trivially as big as people, plus schools of barracuda, eagle rays, turtles, sea snakes and bull sharks (and a handful of other types of sharks). They say you will see more fish in one dive on the Yongala than you will see in ten on the Great Barrier Reef.
Liveaboards on the Great Barrier Reef
The liveaboard options on the Great Barrier Reef are fantastic because you can further your SCUBA education while you are diving the reef. I was going for my advanced certification this time around because I was going to do all the required dives anyways, and I need to be advanced certified to one day dive the Galapagos hammerhead tornado (another bucket list item). There was a great package deal offered - the whole 3 day, 2 night liveaboard experience (all-inclusive for meals, board, etc.) plus my PADI advanced certification and Nitrox certification for roughly $860 USD. The Nitrox certification turned out to be worth it for this kind of trip, in my opinion, because it allowed me to recover more quickly and easily from repetitive dives - you feel so much less light-headed and out-of-body. The Nitrox allows you to stay down longer at depth and have less decompression time in between dives, which is a huge benefit for liveaboards where you are diving back-to-back all day.
Daniel, who has a fear of deep water and had no plans to get in it, paid $720 AUD ($550) to be a "snorkler" on the liveaboard trip.
These prices are great when you consider everything you get for that amount - lodging, food, equipment rental, instruction, certification and 11 dives for 3 days and 2 nights. By comparison, if I were doing the Advanced Open Water certification normally someplace that offers it normally like in Florida it would cost me about $375 all-in (including materials and the dives/instruction, etc.), and the Nitrox certification would cost me about $275. So both together would cost me somewhere around $650. For roughly $200 more I got two nights of sleeping accommodations, three days of full meals/snacks and 6 more dives. That's still amazing value!
For your certifications on the liveaboard you did all your "schooling" - reading and watching the required videos, going through the course content with the instructor and taking the required tests in your decompression periods in between dives. The only sad part was that this cut into my sunbathing time (sigh). Then you did your certification dives in the beginning of the trip, and when you were down there it was only about 20 minutes of underwater instruction and evaluation, then the remainder of the dive (15 to 30 minutes depending on how much air you drain) could be spent being guided around the reef or exploring on your own. By the time you were halfway through your trip you were certified and then the rest of the dives could be whatever you wanted to make them.
At the end of the liveaboard trip they gave us our certification cards and sat down with us to help us fill out our logbooks for each dive we did. After the log books were filled out the instructors signed them and stamped them with the dive shop logo.
The coolest thing about the liveaboard was that we could access dive sites that were more pristine and less populated because they were the ones that were harder to get to and took more time to get to, and therefore could not easily be accessed in a day trip. You can take day trip dives from Cairns, but typically they are only two tank dives (2 dives) and they tend to stay more on the inner Great Barrier Reef because the outer reef takes about 2 to 3 hours to get to by boat.
The Inner & Outer Reefs
The outer reefs on my liveaboard
The Outer Reef from the sundeck
Furthermore, with the liveaboard you get 11 dives over 3 days, which means you dive a minimum of 3 times a day, and 4 on the middle day when you are already out at sea. Also, you get to experience different time of day dives than you would with a day trip, which means you get to see more variety of creatures that are active during the night/early morning, etc. And it is also super fun to get to know the same group of people and crew over a longer period of time. You also don't have to worry so much about each dive being super active and super great and seeing all the things you dreamed of seeing because you have so many more chances on that trip to see everything. So there's not the pressure of "I only have one shot to see everything I want to see, so this better be good." It makes for a more enjoyable and laid back trip.
The liveaboard ended up being a truly therapeutic and relaxing vacation for me. I didn't have to think about or plan the logisitcs of anything - I just followed instructions, eat, napped (+sunbathed), dived, repeat.
Diving the Great Barrier Reef was unbelievable - I had such a crazy realization down there that I was on THE Great Barrier Reef and it truly was as grand as you would imagine.
The weather, even though it was the dead of winter (end of June/beginning of July) was so pleasant - hovering around 85 F for most of the trip and cooling off in the evenings to the upper 60's. The water temperature was always hovering between 75 and 80 F. The winter season brings choppier water, a few more swells and a little less visibility, but for the most part it wasn't too bad and beggars can't be choosers! They say the best time of the year to visit (if you get to choose) is October/November in the spring when the coral polyps begin to spawn. To be honest, if what I experienced was considered generally the worst of the weather/conditions they get then that is incredibly impressive.
The topography of the reef was arguably one of the best parts - there were dive sites we went to where the coral bommies were truly the size of mountains. You would be at the base of a bommie and look up and you couldn't even see the top of it. This was also something that I was so not used to, having done the bulk of my diving experience in the Caribbean where the reefs are so much smaller, shorter, and there are more walls than mountains and pass-throughs. The variety of coral on the Great Barrier Reef was unparalleled - there were fields of it, especially staghorn coral, and the different types of coral would intermingle and create a cool blend of textures.
We got to do a good mixture of dive types, especially since I was doing the PADI Advanced, which meant that I would at least have to do a deep water dive and a night dive. The deep water dive was probably my least favorite dive of the trip. We saw a couple of turtles on our way down.
We also got to experience the grandeur of the huge coral bommie mountains, but other than that there wasn't a whole lot of life towards the bottom and the colors just disappeared.
My favorite dive of the trip was a tie between the Gordon's Mooring "Mickey Mouse" on Flynn Reef and our very last reef dive on Milln Reef. Gordon's Mooring "Mickey Mouse" was a cool site because it had a ton of little coral bommies connected by bridges and there were lots of pass-throughs.
It is also known to have a ton of highly desirable residents like schooling barracuda, huge Queensland Groupers, and Nemos (clownfish).
I found Nemo!
We did a day dive through Gordon's Mooring and then revisited at night, which turned out to be a creepy dive for me! That night dive was our navigation night dive for the Advanced certification, which meant that I had to go down there with my dive buddy and we had to do all our navigation ourself, with no guides. I was pretty worried because this dive was happening the night that we chummed the water with leftovers from dinner and there were tons of large trevallies and some sharks schooling off the back of the boat where we had to jump in. I was also worried because my dive buddy was not so hot at navigating with the compass, which meant it was pretty much all up to me to get us safely out and back. Furthermore, having no guide made me feel like I had no safety blanket. The first night dive I had ever done was the prior night, with a guide, and it was not too bad because even though it was pitch black down there (and your mind starts to play tricks on you) I could see the glow stick of my guide in front of me and the stream of light from his torch, and I knew he had been on this same reef hundreds of times before and knew his way around without having to memorize coordinates.
That first night dive was the first time I saw a shark on a dive - actually two different white tip reef sharks that quickly swam away from our torch lights, calming my irrational fears about sharks. The biggest challenge with night dives is the mind games for sure - when everything around you is pitch black and you can't tell up from down it could easily make you panicky. One good trick I learned (and employed) was if you get lost just roll over and look up for a green light - that light will be the back of the boat and then just swim towards it.
For this second night dive (now on our own) we jumped off the back of the boat into the group of fish and sharks, and they scattered for the most part. Then we used the mooring line to start our descent and immediately when we got down to the bottom is was eerily quiet and still. I was able to navigate us towards one bommie, and then the pair in front of us disappeared off on the wrong coordinates, towards the open ocean. My partner started to follow them and I had to pull him back, but he was not understanding that they were going the wrong direction. By the time I finally convinced him to stay with me the swells had carried us off course and we were no longer alongside the bommie but somewhere in the pitch black. We could tell how deep we were from our gauges and it seemed that we were hovering slightly higher now than we had intended to be on our previous path, so we descended again and continued on in the direction the bommies were supposed to be. When we finally saw a bommie it was on the opposite side that it was supposed to be, so I figured it was a different bommie entirely since we had drifted off course so far. We circled the bommie, looking for life but there was nothing. It was so odd that during the day there was so much life, but now at night there was none. We weren't really seeing anything and I knew we weren't on the right course and I didn't want us to continue to stray any further away from the boat, so I motioned to my partner to turn the dive. We were hovering about halfway between the top and the bottom of the ocean and we couldn't see anything again, so I just rolled over and could make out the faint green glow of the boat, surprisingly far off. I oriented our compass and started guiding us back to the dark in the pitch black open ocean side of the site. I didn't want to descend to the ocean floor in case it got to deep, and I didn't want to go along the surface for safety reasons as well. So we ascended to 15 ft where the safety stop bar would be and we made our way towards the boat's glow. Once we got close enough to the glow I could see the safety bar and we grabbed onto it and hung out there. I just couldn't shake this eerie feeling that we were being watched and that we weren't alone. As I was hanging on the bar, checking my gauges for time at the safety stop and fiddling with my Go Pro, I felt motion to the side of me, and I looked over my shoulder and right at that moment a big gray reef shark passed right to the side of me, so close I could reach out and touch him. I quickly shone my torch in his direction, and realized he was about 5 feet long! Easily the length of a small person. I tapped my buddy and shone a light out in the distance and we came to realize we were being circled by at least 5 different gray reef sharks. I grabbed my camera and was able to get a picture of the shark that almost tapped me as he swam back out towards the circle. In my picture you could even make out the outline of another shark right behind him.
We watched them for a while and then decided we would make a break back for the boat. We used our torches to shine all around us as we ascended, thinking the sharks might want to keep away from the flashing lights. We made it back just fine, but boy was it unsettling in the moment! I decided that was the last night dive I did without a guide because for me it is just not enjoyable when you have to worry about location, coordinates, depth, and safety all by yourself. Then you can't really relax and enjoy the site.
My other tied-for-favorite dive on this trip was the very last one we took on Flynn Reef. I traded partners to a girl who had been diving with her husband this whole trip. He didn't want to go on this last dive since he was having nose bleed issues from the repetitive diving, and my partner was tired and wanted to nap. The added bonus of partnering with her was that she and I were the two people on the boat that could suck down the least amount of air. I am usually a freak about that - I hardly breathe under water (I'm so relaxed) - I did my entire Open Water certification on a single tank! She was the same way, so we enjoyed a super long, relaxed 58 minute final dive in the shallows. It was incredible to dive the shallows on the Great Barrier Reef. It was a sunny day, so the light was filtering through the water and hitting the corals, making them tremendously bright. This was the most color in the corals I had seen all trip. And it was like the wildlife knew this was our last dive and they wanted to give us a memorable send off.
We saw such variety of creatures and corals, and they were such vibrant colors and patterns. This is the mental snapshot I will always first remember when I think of this trip.
WHAT TO PACK
The following items are items that I maybe wouldn't have normally packed, but would need on this kind of trip:- Small hotel bar soap for the liveaboard
- Towels - at least 2 (one for showering and one for swimming), but 3 if you have the room (an additional one to keep more dry to sit on when going through lessons in the common area).
- Sunscreen - you will probably want to buy this there so that you can have more than 1.5 oz/100 mL
- Hair ties and hair bands that will stay on in the water! This is huge for SCUBA diving, especially with any kind of surge. My hair was everywhere and in my face! Luckily I packed headbands with sticky plastic on the inside, which helped minimize the tangling tremendously.
- Boat clothes - quick dry and loose fitting
THE THINGS YOU WOULDN'T KNOW
- There are only allowed to be three liveaboards docked at a single site at once, but the trips are scheduled so that you are usually the only one at a site, at least in the off season (I was there in the slower winter season). There were only one or two dives out of 11 where we shared a dive site with another boat.
- On the liveaboard you are not allowed to wear shoes the whole time you are there - you surrender them to a shoe bucket.
- You can bring your own alcohol/soda/other drinks than just water, juice, coffee or tea on the liveaboard, or you can buy it from the boat. They keep a tally of what you've bought by the fridge and then bill you for it when you leave and check out at the dive shop.
- If you are booking a liveaboard as an already certified diver they expect you to take yourself out on dives and be able to navigate for yourself. Guides must be specifically requested and tipped accordingly.
SURPRISING
I was so surprised by the number of backpackers we ran into on the liveaboard and in Cairns. Most were from New Zealand, South Africa or Australia, but they were backpacking around Australia. They mostly would stay in hostels, and some that we ran into were just moving around Australia in pursuit of their SCUBA certifications. Many were staying for time periods greater than a month, but usually less than three months.SYDNEY TAKE TWO
Remember when I said to myself, "Dani, you may never get invited on a business trip back here again"? Well I did, not two months later, at the beginning of Australia's spring. This time around was just for a couple of days, and I didn't get to take any vacation along with it. However, I did get to knock off another bucket list item!Trip Type
3.5 day solo business trip, managing to get in a small bucket list item on the side. Mostly exhausted and low key - no real goals or plans, figured it out on the fly, and by doing so I was able to spend some time making new friends.
Timeline
Getting There
Was the same as my first trip to Sydney - I left on Saturday afternoon and made it in time for work on Monday morning.
The Rest of the Trip
Monday - Sydney, mostly working and could not make it through the evening
Tuesday - Sydney, mostly working, then seeing a play at the Sydney Opera House after work
Wednesday - Sydney, mostly working, and then farewell drinks with coworkers & dinner in Strathfield
Thursday - Travel home day
LOGISTICS
Just as the last time I was in Sydney, I made use of the underground system using my Opal card. It's just too easy! I never once used Uber or a taxi. I walked everywhere else I needed to go.On the way home from Sydney I had a very special treat - I got to ride business class on the Qantas A380 upper deck straight back from SYD to DFW!
Also notable were the amenity kits! They gave separate amenity kits for women and men and you could choose which one you wanted. The women's one was a gorgeous, brightly colored, patterned Kate Spade. I was in heaven!
ATTRACTIONS
My Fair Lady at Sydney Opera House
One of my bucket list items was to witness the acoustics in the Sydney Opera House. Unfortunately there were no operas going on after work hours during the week that I was going to be in town, but there was a classic broadway show, My Fair Lady. I could not miss the opportunity to see the charm of the Opera House in person, so I booked a ticket online a couple of days before I left for somewhere around $70 USD. When I arrived at the Opera House I picked up my ticket at Will Call, and then walked over towards my section. I had to walk up some stairs to a pre-show waiting area where there was a bar and I enjoyed a glass of wine while observing all the people that had come out to see a show on a Tuesday night. Most people were middle-aged or older, a couple young adult couples and several groups of Asian tourists. I was feeling absolutely exhausted, but I made it to my seat early in time to just soak in the surroundings of the Opera House.
View of the Opera House from the Underground Station Drop Off
View from my seat - looking down at the orchestra
I tried to stay up for the whole show, but to be honest I fell asleep about halfway into it, only to awaken at the finale! I groggily made it back to the underground and eventually back to my hotel where I promptly crashed. I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience a show at the Opera House, but I would love to go back for the real opera experience - when I can be wide awake to enjoy it!
Strathfield (Koreatown)
On my last night some new coworker friends invited me downstairs to the bar at work for some parting drinks. It was good fun to just hang out in the main corridor of the office building, and visit with coworkers on their way out, sharing weekend plans over a beer.
After a couple of drinks I was invited to join my coworkers for dinner in Sydney's Koreatown, Strathfield. My coworkers drove me in their car about 20 minutes away from work, on the outskirts of Sydney, seemingly in the middle of the suburbs to basically what appeared to be streets of straight storefronts facing a park square. All the store front names were in Korean characters - there were bakeries, BBQs, sweet shops and trinket shops. Korean BBQ was everywhere. My hosts knew exactly where they were going (their favorite Korean BBQ), so I just followed. We went down this super narrow corridor to check in - the restaurant was packed! The wait was about 20 minutes and then we were taken back down the corridor to a patio in the back that was fenced in with chicken-wire type fence and it seemed like it was situated right to the side of a loading dock. The patio was just dense with tables and people, and smoke from the BBQ pits was floating heavily. It was awesome. The three of us shared a plate of all kinds of cuts of meats and some sides. It was very tasty and very filling. It was a great first Korean BBQ experience for me!
RECHARGE
This time around I stayed just across the street from work at a Holiday Inn Express because I knew I was going to be solo on this trip and tired, and didn't feel like making the commute (even though last time it was only about 30 minutes door-to-door). This was actually my first stay in an IHG hotel, and I was hooked by the simplicity, cleanliness and convenience of all the amenities offered in the hotel. The beds were soooo comfy and cozy and I especially enjoyed the French press coffee in my room!
I even enjoyed the gym for one night (all the other nights I was way too wiped). The gym had great free weights, a couple weight machines, a decent variety of cardio machines (including a rowing machine!) and even yoga mats. I actually joined the IHG Rewards program with this trip, and earned a ton of points off this one stay. The consistent service and amenities plus the practicality of the IHG portfolio even converted me from Hilton Diamond status! If you want to redeem points for the greatest value, hands down IHG is the way to go.
FOOD
Even more convenient was a super yummy restaurant attached to the hotel, which catered to my Australian obsession...halloumi. By the way, if you haven't heard of halloumi it is a semi-hard, unripened, brined cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes some cow milk. It has a high melting point, so it is most commonly served fried or grilled (thank you, Wikipedia). Let me tell you - it's AMAZING. Shamefully I had the same grilled halloumi salad and butternut squash soup both nights I ate alone at my hotel.
Of course, I also carried on my halloumi obsession each morning with breakfast at Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters. Let me tell you, Aussies are serious about coffee and breakfast. Especially pristine coffee and some kind of toast - most popularly toast with Vegemite or toast with avocado. My personal favorite was rye toast with avocado, tomato, arugula (rocket) and grilled halloumi - mmmmm!
My favorite coffee picks in Australia were undoubtedly long blacks and flat whites. These two coffees are very popular in Aussie land. A long black is basically a double shot of expresso over hot water (I supposed I could best liken it to an Americano - but an Americano is the opposite: water poured into the expresso). The flat white is microfoam poured into a double shot of expresso. It usually uses whole milk and is incredibly creamy. Aussies are quite particular about the quality of their coffees, and Toby's Estates is considered the creme de la creme! Luckily for me there was one attached to work, right across the street from my hotel. Breakfast every morning was delightful - I could not get enough. To top it off, the baristas were on point!
ORIENT YO'SELF
I'm a super visual person, so here is where many of the things I've written about are laid out on a map....
COSTS
I've heard people say that Australia is an expensive place, but to me it did not seem much more expensive than normal living day-to-day at home in DFW, and it was certainly less than London.
I certainly thought the liveaboard was a great deal, and I think the prices for adventure tours are reasonable for what you get and pretty comparable to many other adventure tours all over the world.
The currency in Australia is the Australian dollar (AUD), also denoted with a $ sign. At the time of my trip the conversion rate was roughly one Australian dollar = ~$0.75 USD. Here's how everything broke down:
| General Food & Drink | $72.34 |
| Cairns Hotels - 2 nights paid | $86.83 |
| Sydney Hotels - 2 nights paid | $90.57 |
| Liveaboard (3 nts) + Advanced Open Water & Nitrox | $858.68 |
| Liveaboard Tips | $100.00 |
| Roundtrip SYDCNSSYD Flight | $339.56 |
| Final Dinner at Malaya | $68.25 |
| Taxis | $15.00 |
| Sunscreen & Towels | $19.50 |
| Featherdale | $18.72 |
| Movie at Cairns Mall While Off-Gassing | $15.78 |
| Cash | $75.00 |
| Total | $1,760.21 |
| PPPD | $220.03 |
TO SUM IT UP
Overall in the scoring system Australia gets a 7.3 out of 10.
Attractions = 10
Australia is an amazing country with just too many amazing things to do and see. I actually ended up leaving both my trips to Australia having added more to my bucket list than I crossed off. I can't wait to be able to come back one day and check out Darwin, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Outback. There's just not enough time to do all the cool things there is to do here!
Cost = 3
This is what killed Australia's overall score. While it doesn't seem like everything is too much more expensive day-to-day than at home (ie. groceries, eating out, drinks, etc.), what gets you is the cost of the must-do attractions like the tours, concerts and liveaboards. Also, Australia is a huge country, so in order to appreciate its diversity you would have to fly to some of it's different provinces. There is not really a much cheaper way to travel in Australia (I'm thinking something like the train system in Europe).
Logistics =10
It was super easy to navigate here. The tube lines were intuitive and straightforward. The lines were very direct to all the major locations and popular areas. Walking around the city was super safe and easy to navigate, even at night. And if you wanted it there were taxis readily available most places, and also Uber now runs in Australia (it didn't at the time that I was there in 2016).
Lodging = 6
Lodging got a slightly above average score because there was a wide variety of lodging available, but I only really experienced the one type (4 star hotels, and one 5 star hotel). There ware many Air BNB options in Australia and also hostels are huge here. But in my searches I didn't really stumble upon any one lodging accommodation that screamed super unique.
Food & Drink = 8
Food and drink got a very solid score of 8 because I experienced some really nice dining/drinking here. The Malaya was amazing, and I LOVED all the halloumi. The coffee was the signature drink on this trip - I love me a nice good long black.
Overall you can't overlook Australia. In my opinion the beauty of Australia is almost unparalleled, and it truly is still a hidden gem that you must discover.
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