Our Australian Highlights

Australia was a fast and furious month; we travelled up and back down the east coast in the space of 3 weeks, with a few days of luxury thanks to the Wrightons in Sydney either side. It was great to see Laura and Bryan again after so long, thanks to you both for making our time in Sydney so much fun. And thank you to Ollie for being our driver for the month! Here are some of our highlights.

Sydney

We were lucky to be staying at 'the highest point in Sydney', where we were treated to a remarkable view, one of the best sunsets we have ever seen, and a couple of double comfortable double beds - the real backpacker experience!

On our second day, we went for a delicious breakfast right under Sydney Harbour Bridge before Bryan took us out for a day of sailing on Sydney Harbour; we had amazing weather all day, and were able to take in some of the best sights in Sydney from the 'Vagabond Blues'.

The next day we had a look around Syndey University and the New Town area of the city, where Ollie had been living for the last 3 years, before heading to the Sydney Cricket Ground that evening for the Australia V West Indies Twenty20 international.

Our time in Sydney was short, but we had a memorable few days which were a highlight of the trip so far.

The Whitsunday Islands

Having had a very wet experience on Frazer Island the previous weekend, we did not get our hopes up for this trip. The Whitsundays trip entails spending 3 days on a yacht sailing around the Whitsunday Islands which are based on the Great Barrier Reef, while staying on an 'Adventure Island' overnight.

Fortunately, the weather was outstanding for the duration of our time on 'The Pride of Airlie', which we shared with a great group of people, as a consequence the trip was one of the best we have done. During the days we had plenty of opportunity to explore the Barrier Reef and all of the colourful life on the ocean bed, as well as relaxing on the white beaches and playing the odd game of rugby and beach cricket. We had some memorable nights on the island as our skipper made it clear that there were no rules, as we were completely alone in the deserted resort!

The Town of Seventeen Seventy

Although 1770 is not one of the most famous points up the east coast, it was one of our highlights because it was a fantastic beach town containing our favourite hostel on the coast (Cool Bananas), which allowed us to relax after a manic three weeks. During our few days there, we saw some beautiful sunsets, enjoyed some great nights in the hostel, and decided to take to the skies for an hour in a stunt plane, where we experienced the bizarre feeling of Zero Gravity!

We have now been in New Zealand for a couple of weeks, and look forward to updating you on our adventures on the South Island soon!