163 Pics from my Australia Trip Finally.

Well I finally got some pics from my Feb/March Australia trip ready to post. It was just me and my younger brother.

Originally, we were supposed to take 3 flights: Baltimore to Chicago to Los Angeles to Sydney. But the plane in Chicago was delayed 2 hours due to engine problems. That meant we missed our flight to Sydney and we had to take the next flight to Brisbane and then to Sydney. This really sucked because we hadn’t left much time before our first activity in Sydney (the zoo). Naturally, we were stressed and pissed for the rest of the flights, though there were no further issues with them. The flight over the pacific was about 13 hours. It was pouring rain in Brisbane, and we were told it was raining in Sydney also, so that sucked (turns out it wasn’t thank God).

So after traveling for more than 24 hours, we arrived at our hotel. But our rooms weren’t ready, so we just dumped our stuff with the reception and hurried out to try and get to the zoo by 2pm. After a confusing subway experience, we made it onto the ferry, where we were finally able to relax enough to get pictures.

I left my camera in the airport van, so we only had my brother’s camera for the first day. The pics are pretty much unedited, just cropped and resized.

The iconic Opera House:



And bridge:





At the “famous” Sydney zoo (we did make our behind-the-scenes tour on time thank God again), unfortunately, the petting part was closed due to a storm.

















On the ferry back to the harbor:



We then boarded another ferry to visit the aquarium.



Luna Park:



OMG some HUUUUGEEEE scary underwater things!





After that, we took the ferry and subway back to our hotel, where they had put our stuff up in our room. Unfortunately, it was the wrong room, but we didn’t care at that point and changed rooms the next day instead.

Day 2 was a day trip out to the Blue Mountains and another zoo (this one was all open, so it was better).

We ended up waiting outside for the bus for a really long time because our travel agent had canceled us from the tour, thinking we were not there for some reason. What an idiot. So after a few phone calls, the bus had to come back and get us lol.

But even a 7am, the place was jumping! I took some pictures of the street scene.





When the bus arrived at the Blue Mountains, it was really cloudy, so there was no view.



We took this cable car to the other side, and it was completely enveloped in clouds. Obviously, once we were down in the rainforest, the clouds lifted for the most part (it was still hazy).



Fortunately, they let us ride the thing back since our first trip was a rip.



Then we drove over to see the “Three Sisters”, this rock formation:



And stopped in to see a local Aborigine show



Then we drove to the other side of the ridge where there were no tourists or fences… pretty good view.





Next stop… a nice zoo! With lots and lots of kangaroos this time!!! Woohoo.

Then we drove back to another ferry and took that into Sydney.







People climbing the bridge…. We’d do this on our last day!



Then we walked around The Rocks, a nice part of the harbor with little shops and such.









Then made our way through Sydney









Walked around the Opera House





Here’s a close-up of the surface!



Then we headed back through the beautiful botanical gardens.









Then we made our way back to the hotel, deciding that it was close enough to walk instead of taking the subways.

Driving on the other side of the road really took some getting used to lol.





The view from our “wrong” hotel room…… King’s Cross, Sydney’s red-light district. Lovely lol. Those are strip clubs.

Day 3 was another day tour to yet another zoo, then dolphin watching and sand dune surfing.

Woke up to a nice sunrise:



At the zoo…. Pretty much more of the same as yesterday.

































Then, off to the dolphin watching!



Sand dunes, never saw anything like this before lol.



The little town was very nice





We ended up seeing a whole ton of dolphins… got really lucky!







Next up was the sand dune “surfing”…. You climbed to the top with a board and rode it down. It was REALLY windy.











Then on the way back, the driver said that we would probably see wild kangaroos on the right side, after the second traffic circle. Gosh be darned, he was right!! I was ready with the camera, though the bus was moving too fast to get a good pic. Alas, these were the only wild kangaroos I saw.



After returning to Sydney, we hiked out to this nice lookout point and got some pics.





The my brother finished off the night with a “Tim-Tam Slam”. You take these chocolate-covered cookies, bite two opposing corners off, then suck up hot chocolate through it (he only had coffee) until it’s saturated. Then you eat the thing. He really swore by it. But since I refuse to drink coffee, I passed.



Yeah, we didn’t wear sunscreen that day, so you can imagine how super burned we got. It didn’t help that we came from winter in America, so our skin was totally unprepared for full on sun on the water and dunes.

Our 4th and final day in Sydney consisted of climbing the Harbor Bridge and then taking a crazy jetboat ride out on the harbor. The weather looked bad, but the rain held out until we finished the boat ride (so we got soaked walking back to the hotel).

The breakfasts at these hotels was really nice and complete.



Snapped a pic on the walk to the Harbor Bridge.



Arrival… the place is underneath the roadway, built into the arches. Pretty cool.



We weren’t allowed to take cameras with us, but we did buy our pics at the top.





Just a stock pic they included lol.



Then we did the boat ride, which was really fun because the guy really whipped us around. It was kinda cold though. We bought the pics and video from their GoPro.



Then we had enough of Sydney and decided to head back to the hotel and prepare for our early flight the next morning.

Walked through a neat garden area.







Since the Tim Tams were so good, we bought all of them haha, and some hot chocolate. I tried the Slam, and OMGGGGG SOOOO GOOOOOODDDDD

Day 5 was our flight from Sydney up to Cairns, and also some ATV riding.

It started off nice, even though it was still raining from yesterday. A nice gentleman in a BMW took us to the airport. But when we got there, things immediately got bad.



As it turns out, their baggage computer system was crashed, so the luggage had to be done manually. It would work occasionally though. In fact, it was working the instant we checked in, so we got super lucky. But it broke again, so we were told that our luggage might not make it on our flight…. which would have really sucked considering we had to be at ATV right away (and I needed clothes for it). But never fear, our luggage made it fine with us.





The weather in Cairns was MUCH nicer…. but also very tropical (hot and humid). It was definitely weird, since we were used to winter back home lol.



We actually made it to our hotel at the same exact time the ATV people came to pick us up. They had to wait for us while we got changed and ready to go.

At the ATV track (which ended up being 80% water ugh



We again paid for the professional pics



^^^ I wasn’t too thrilled about all of the mud, lol. I was trying to go slow and stay clean. But I accidentally went to fast once, and the mud flicked up over the front. I said F it and ripped through the mud like no tomorrow. YOLO lol.

We got completely soaked in mud…. like as in 100% covered. What a mess. But it was a LOT of fun once I went fast.



They let their horses out after we destroyed their track lol.



Our hotel room was much nicer this time, including a balcony and a nice view!







After spending a couple of hours in the shower to get the mud cleaned, I went for a walk into Cairns. It’s such a nice little place, really well put designed

Day 6, our first full day in Cairns, was a day trip out to a private island to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.

On the boat, leaving the mainland:



The island:



Suited up and ready to go:



The reef wasn’t too spectacular here, we were kinda disappointed. But the Reef is the Reef. We saw all kinds of different coral and fish. I went off by myself and saw a huge turtle, sting ray, and a shark. Naturally, I went back lol.



In between rounds of snorkeling, we had lunch with the ants and toured the island.





Someone spotted bats in the woods, but I couldn’t see them. So I zoomed in the camera and shot a pic, and the pic was full of bats!!



We saw this spider (about the size of a hand)… it wasn’t until later when I was looking at the pic that I saw all the baby spiders!



Then we drove back to Cairns.





This little guy was on our balcony!



Then we walked back around Cairns some more, doing a lot of souvenir shopping.

On the 7th day, we did river rafting.



Drove through some serious banana farms.



The headquarters was in a quiet little town.





Then back to Cairns for more shopping lol.

Our last day in Cairns was short because we needed to leave at 3:30 am the next morning for the airport. We hadn’t planned any activity for this day. Originally, my brother thought we’d do more of the Barrier Reef, but snorkeling freaked him out too much. Which was perfect, because he also really wanted to bungy jump. So we went to this place instead!



We both did the big swing thing (it goes as high as the bungy tower) to get warmed up for the jump



Then he climbed the tower and jumped twice, once in the traditional style, and one free-style (he ran off the roof).



Then back to Cairns for last minute shopping and stuff



Such a great deal LOL. We saw the $7 footlong when we first arrived, and thought what a rip! But we quickly realized that not only is the US dollar weak over there, but everything is a LOT more expensive. So by the end of our trip, we ended up at Subway since it was the only thing we could afford lol.



Then we finished up the trip with a big dinner, featuring kangaroo steak and crocodile schnitzel. The croc was kinda bouncy, but the kangaroo was just like any regular steak IMO.



That was actually his meal… originally, I wanted nothing to do with kangaroo meat, so I got us some garlic bread and nachos “for 2” which was more like for 20 lol (obviously we didn’t finish everything).



Then the next day, we arrived at the hotel before the crack of dawn (we were the first people there LOL, before it opened). We flew from here back to Sydney without incident.



Then we flew from Sydney to LA to North Carolina to Baltimore, and got home at like 12 midnight 2 days later lol. In all, about 30-something hours travel each way.

Bye Australia!!! It was great!



Now I need to find another item for my bucket list, since petting and feeding a kangaroo was the only thing on it lol.

I hope you enjoyed the pics, there are more where these came from if you are interested, and of course, I can answer all questions!

Awesome vacation!

The memories from our Sydney trip during my childhood are flooding back. We went to the same first zoo, and botanical gardens. What a sweet country. I remember it being so weird back then, only being used to Virginia and Bangkok in terms of cities.

Your brother is very animated in your guys' pics and you provide a solid counterpoint, lol. The one of you guys on the Bungee and the one on the bridge are awesome.

Cairns looks beautiful. We only stayed in Sydney when I was there, but looks like I'll have to head up north next time.

Thanks for sharing!



Your friend,
James

Two things. That whole trip looks awesome, and don't ever say YOLO again.

yolol, I said that just to make you mad lol.

But yeah, I wouldn't be in any pics except for him. I take pics of scenery, he takes pics of himself in front of scenery. He's a camera whore, and I shun the thing.

,
Gold

LOLLLLL

Wait I completely screwed up something there. That reply was to James' post, and I had quoted yours before it and replied also. But then I deleted your post and my response accidentally when I was deleting extra text out of James' quote.

So much editfusion.

Looks fine now

I didn't fix it, I forgot what I said. But now it looks like cbass wrote what James said lol.

I said IT LOOKS FINE NOW

NO SHIT. I FIXED IT

Gay smileys.

Don't worry, we'll be past in like 8 posts.
Added: May 7, 2013 at 4:20 PM
4 posts!

lol Mack I didn't notice your grammar error, but whatever.

Im talking about your quote lol

Almost there.....