Flying into Sydney was a big shock to the system, after the small towns of NZ, it was massive! Sydney's main Harbour and Darling Harbour were unexpected treats; we loved the whole atmosphere of the city. Since then our feet haven't touched the ground; we travelled down to Melbourne and then up the entire east coast to Cairns.
In Melbourne we visited the Neighbours set, Albert Park (a week afetr the F1) and an 'Aussie Rules' football match (we still don't understand the rules though). Canberra is a perfect example of trying really hard to make something work and just getting it wrong. We cycled around Port Maquarie and saw a bottlenosed dolphin by the shore. The 5,000 iron man triathalon competitors put us to shame by speeding past us up the hills! Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise were next, but unfortunately bad weather kept us from enjoying the beaches.
Brisbane reminded us of London, but smaller and hotter! From there we travelled to Noosa, another hilly coastal town, where we visited Australia Zoo - Home of the crocodile hunter (Steve Irwin). We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves; we were able to pose with an alligator and feed an asian elephant. The crocodile show was done by Steve's widow, Terri - it was amazing - the 16ft croc 'Mossman' jumped right out of the water for food and then proceeded to give the meat 3 'death rolls', it's really good to see the conservation work they're doing there - undoubtedly the best zoo we've ever been too.
Our next stop, Rainbow Beach, was a hidden gem - we had a great time bodyboarding in the sea and then watched the sunset from the top of a 600m sand dune (the Carlo Sandblow) - it was incredible, absolutely breathtaking views! The sand looked like it was glowing gold under the setting sun!
Hervey Bay was lovely and relaxing;p we took a day trip from here to Fraser Island (the world's largest sand island). It's and untouched natural beauty - with rainforests and other vegitation growing out of the sand! Lake Mackenzie is a freshwater lake we had the pleasure of swimming in - the water was so clear and the sand really white (the nutrients having been washed out). Mike especially loved our drive around the island's "roads" (the highway is on the beach) in a 4 wheel drive coach.
Airlie beach has a beautiful harbour and a manmade lagoon for people to swim in as the sea is too dangerous (sharks and nasty stingers). We took a day out sailing around the nearby Whitsunday Islands on an 80ft Maxi racing yacht called "Ragamuffin". Unlike Mike, it was my first sailing experience and I loved it - it's peaceful and exhilarating all at the same time! We moored at one of the Islands, at Blue Pearl Bay, where we snorkelled on the great barrier reef for the first time. The reef was amazing; hundreds of fish came right up close. We were also lucky enough to glimpse the infamous (and enormous) Maori Wrasse, named 'Cynthia' by the crew.
Next up was Townsville - a pleasant surprise, with a lovely park next tpo the marina. We caught a ferry to magnetic island, where the weather was really hot! We visited a Koala sanctuary and we both held a 2m long carpet python and a 3 yr old saltwater croc! Mike also held a Koala called 'Dexter' and a red tailed cockatoo (which bit him twice). The rangers then took us on a spiderhunt into the forest, where thousands of butterflies lived. We saw three golden orb spiders that were bigger than our hands! That afternoon we walked up to some WWII forts - still intact, along with many false rocks to hide behind.
Mission Beach was a bit disappointing, the stingers and crocs meaning the beach was too dangerous to enjoy. There was a cool market though. Finally we arrived in Cairns, we took another day trip snorkelling on the great barrier reef. We though it was amazing the first time, but this time was so much better. The reef was so vibrant with colour, it was really surreal and beautiful. We saw all kinds of colourful fish, including clown fish and sea turtles - really awesome! We are excited about flying back to Sydney tomorrow for a few more days until our flight on the A380 to Singapore.
