We first stopped at Otorohanga near Waitomo to see the endangered kiwi bird. They are flightless birds that only exist in New Zealand and are hard to spot because they sleep up to 20 hours a day and come out only at night, but at this kiwi house they have two little ones in special enclosures and, lucky me, they were awake when I got there. I couldn’t take any pictures because it was too dark, but they have a big body and tiny heads with a long beak. Very cute, of course.

Kiwi Bird

In Waitomo we went to the Ruakuri caves to see a beautiful underworld of stalagmites and stalactites. My dad is a geologist, so I’ve been to many caves in my lifetime, but this one was by far the best. Inside them you can find glowworms that look just like glitter on the dark cave ceilings. They are not really worms, but fly larva, (yes, maggots advertised as worms so it doesn’t sound too gross). They also have black water rafting which is pretty much just cave tubing at a faster pace.

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Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with 1.4 million people, and, just as any big city, it has some iconic high rise buildings, like the Sky Tower one, lots of restaurants, parks, and, since it’s by the Tasman sea and the Pacific ocean, it has a large harbor and marina. Auckland actually has the most boats per capita in the world and has hosted the America’s Cup sailing match twice. The day I was there, it was so foggy I could barely see anything, but it reminded me very much of San Francisco.

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BTW, as soon as I got on the plane I knew I would like New Zealand. Just take look at the airline’s safety video.

After a 10 hour drive we finally arrived at our last destination in Australia: Cairns, the getaway to the Great Barrier Reef. The reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it’s the largest living being in the world covering over 344,000 square kilometers. It is also the only living being that can be seen from outer space. I had high expectations for this day since scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef was on the top of my list of things to do before I die, and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed. In this trip I had many “wow” moments, like when I went jogging in Sydney and saw the Opera House across the bay, or when I held a koala and pet a kangaroo, but being underwater watching colorful coral and neon bright fish was definitely the biggest WOW moment of Australia for me.

Great Barrier Reef

At first scuba diving was a little hard because you have to get used to the breathing in addition to the pressure, which kills your ears just like in skydiving, but after I remembered my breathing techniques from yoga, my anxiety dropped and I was able to enjoy the ocean (always holding the hand of my hot instructor, of course). I thought scuba diving would be very similar to snorkeling, but when you’re 6 meters underwater, everything is more colorful, more abundant, brighter, bigger, and better. There were sea turtles, reef sharks, barracudas, sting rays, giant clams, and tons of clown fish. It was not hard at all to find Nemo.

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Unfortunately my underwater camera broke after I took my first picture, so I had to buy a disposable underwater camera and go on a second dive to take more pictures. We’ll see how they’ll turn out. By the way, everybody thinks I’m crazy when I say I’m bringing four cameras, but I’m glad I did this time because one of my cameras broke during the first week and now the underwater one is done as well. All I have left is my big DSLR one and my crappy camera phone.

After my dive I was rewarded with some more kangaroo meat. This time it was a delicious steak and it tasted like venison. Kangaroos are also just like deer in Australia. On our way up the coast, we would always see some hopping on the fields and just like deer in the US, they cause a lot of accidents down here too.

Kangaroo Steak

Later that night the group I’m travelling with went to a pub crawl. It was actually a good deal: five drinks for $20, but I went to get a massage at the Night Markets for the same price and buy some more souvenirs. Call me anti-social, but I’ll take a massage over beer anytime.

Cairns is right on the water, but the beach is not suitable for swimming because of the crocodiles. Australia is known for its deadly animals: the taipan is the world’s most dangerous snake, for example, and crocodiles can eat you in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, you can still enjoy some sand and water by the man-made lagoon they have, just like the one in Brisbane, and that’s where I was all day long during my last day in Australia. The weather was perfect – any hotter and I would’ve complained. And remember my two great finds in Sydney? The restaurant Grill’d and the paintings of Lloyd Rees? Well, right in front of the lagoon, there was a Grill’d place awaiting for me and right around the corner the local museum was having an exhibit on Lloyd Rees and his early paintings. My trip to Australia had come full circle.

We finally crossed the tropic of Capricorn line and the weather is so much warmer! Summer vacation is definitely on now and nothing better than a sailing trip to make it memorable. We stayed at Daydream Island, one of the 70-plus islands at the Whitsundays. The resort had rainforest walks, kangaroos hopping around, stingray feeding, and best of all, unlimited food and drinks at the Camira sailboat that took us to Whitehaven Beach, which was voted #3 in the Top 10 Best Beaches in the world. Anyone interested in hiring a sailboat and go island hopping like I did in Greece a few years ago?

Kangaroos are everywhere!

Camira Sailboat

Sailing at The Whitsundays

Beautiful Whitehaven Beach

Sailing

Clear waters of Whitehaven Beach

Australia is a very very large country, so we had to make a few stops between the 1,000 kilometers of road that we had between Fraser Island and The Whitsundays. Our first one was in Childers, a one street kind of town only (in)famous because in 2009 15 backpackers died at a hostel fire there. Then our last stop was in MacKay, a city known for its sugar cane production, where we pretty much just toured their giant shopping mall. In between, we stopped at a cattle farm, learned to use a whip (no, not the “Fifty Shades of Grey” kind…) and had a delicious home cooked meal to offset my pie and pastry diet.

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Fraser Island is the world largest sand island and the best way to explore it is to rent a 4×4. We started at 75-mile beach, which also happens to be a highway. Seriously, one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen with colored cliffs on one side and spectacular ocean on the other. Inland there are many lakes, like the one we swam at, Lake McKenzie, and trails through the rainforest. We got to stay at one of the resorts at the island, where I bought a bottle of wine to watch the beautiful sunset. Not that I’m a morning person, but I just felt I needed to see a little more of the island, so the next morning I woke up super early to go on a jog. Since the island is home to plenty of dingoes (wild dogs), I had to go with a German girl from my group through the woods to the beach and back. I think I’ve found my new favorite place in Australia.

Fraser Island

Camouflage Tree

Lake McKenzie

Fraser Island

Sunset

Time flies when you’re having fun. When I get too busy to write posts, I sometimes just jot down a few of the highlights real quick. I might be close to doing that, but I think I can come up with a couple of coherent paragraphs right now. Days are meshing together and I don’t know which day of the week it is anymore, but sometime this past week we started making our way up north. The first of many stops was at the bustling city of Brisbane. Australia’s third largest city has a really good vibe, and I wished I had had more time there, but because WiFi is not readily available in Australia as I would’ve thought, I spent some of my time using the one at their library, which was by far my favorite building in the city with their neon colors. Close to it is Queen Street Mall with tons of stores out of my price range and then across the bridge is South Bank Parklands with a beach lagoon near the river, right in the middle of the city.

Brisbane Beach Lagoon

Queen Street Mall

Brisbane

Brisbane Library

A couple of hours later we arrived at Noosa, another surfer’s town, but less backpackish than Byron Bay. While everybody went to the beach, I headed to Noosa National Park for one of their rainforest walks. As expected, mosquitoes had a feast with my legs. One of their trails had coastal views, and I could enjoy the tricks of many Australian surfers. I am always amazed at how many people are surfing right in the middle of the day. What do Australian surfers do for work? I guess it must be pretty similar to Tahoe snowboarders where they play during the day and work at night to cater for the tourists.

Growing up, koalas and kangaroos were my favorite animals with their cuddly faces and built-in purses to carry all their family and friends inside (well, that’s what I thought as a 7 year-old), so I knew going to “Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary” to see some of Australia’s animals was going to be a highlight of my trip. The first thing I did was, of course, cuddle up to a koala bear. They are so stinky cute I wanted to take one home. The one I held was called Happy Jay and he was the most adorable thing. Is it normal to be more excited about holding a koala than holding my friends’ newborns?

My little koala

The Sanctuary is not a typical zoo. Most animals are not enclosed and they have a hospital with big windows for you to see the animals they are rehabilitating. The kangaroo area was very impressive with dozens of kangaroos and wallabies you can pet and feed. And that’s not all: they have Tasmanian devils, wombats, and even a cassowary, which is the most deadly bird of Australia.

Petting a kangaroo

From Sydney to Byron Bay we were in New South Wales, but now we will be in Queensland for the rest of the trip. Surfers Paradise is the heart of the Gold Coast, an area where the sun shines 300 days a year. Perfect jogging weather again, and this time I was able to run for a little while. I’m very proud of myself, jogging in every town I spend the night so far.

Surfers Paradise

Unlike Byron Bay, this is not a quaint little town, but a city with high risers and a party scene like a small Miami. Apparently this is where people come for the Australian version of spring break. I did to go to a nightclub just to check it out, but the highlight of Surfers Paradise was a cabaret show called “Dracula’s”. It is a cheesy Vegas-style combination of random themes: burlesque, comedy, acrobatics, zombies, and vampires. However, the show is performed while we’re having a three-course meal, so if the show is not your thing, you’re sure to enjoy the Moroccan lamb.

Dracula’s Venue – No pictures allowed inside…

On our way to Coffs Harbour we stopped at the beach town of Port Macquarie. Governor Macquarie was a pretty big deal in the 1800’s because everything seems to be named after him: streets, parks, that chair in Sydney, and now this town. It’s richsy, small and cute, plus it has a boardwalk with painted rocks by the community.

Port Macquarie Walk

In Coffs Harbour we stayed at a surf village (“Mojo’s”) where people go to learn to surf and work there in exchange for room and board. Everybody was gorgeous, blond, and tan. That night we sat by the campfire and drank a little, but instead of Jack Johnson, pop tunes and beer pong were going on for the 20-year olds in the group, so I didn’t have such a chill time as I was expecting at a surf village. Nonetheless, the next morning was fun trying to surf. All the instructors were very very very hot and super helpful. I did try to get on my surfboard a few times, but I guess I should’ve worked on my jumping at yoga more seriously. It is very hard, but I can see why a lot of people like it, especially because of all the eye-candy around.

Surf Camp Crowd

Learning to surf

Next was the small bohemian town of Byron Bay. If Port Macquarie was like Carmel, Byron Bay was like Santa Cruz. There were tons of healthy and alternative restaurants and that’s where I ventured. I just kept going from one place to the next on main street, trying different treats, like a roasted vegetable gluten-free quiche and a passion fruit and apricot gluten-free muffin.

Meal from “Fundies”

Byron Bay is also the most eastern point in Australia. If you go to the lighthouse, it’s a short walk to where the sign is and if you’re lucky, you can see dolphins and whales from there. Byron Bay is very popular with surfers and the sandy beach is long with a couple of lookouts that blend with the rocks.

Byron Bay – Lighthouse on the back

Look at all those surfers!

Most eastern point in Australia

Besides eating at the different cafes, reading, and jogging by the beach, I also decided to be a bit social and joined the group for an outing. The first stop was at the “Beach Hotel” where we played musical bingo with a very excited DJ. Then off to “Cheeky Monkey’s”, where there is no choice but to dance on the tables since there is no dance floor. Oh, and get your face painted like a 5 year-old.

Face painting

Sydney is very walkable and easy to get around. Although I feel you could see everything in two days, you could also easily spend two weeks exploring. Most of my time was spent outside, but I did go to one museum, the Art Gallery of New South Wales where I fell in love with the paintings of Australian artist Lloyd Rees, who does landscape with an impressionist feel.

Sydney Opera House is the iconic building with white sails you see on TV every New Year’s Eve with the fireworks behind it. I went there at least five times because it’s smack right in the middle of everything. Built in the 1960’s, it was very controversial at first, but now it’s loved by all. Inside, it has a very minimalist style with geometric shapes and no decorations. In one of the theaters I visited they were tuning pianos and on another theater they were rehearsing for a future production, so I could experience their impressive acoustics.

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The Harbour Bridge is another recognizable Sydney landmark, connecting the north side with the south side of the city. Instead of just driving across it, I climbed to the top. For $265 you can walk across the arch of the bridge to the summit and then back for amazing views of the city, but unfortunately you can’t take your own camera, and they only give you four photos and a short video with your package. There is also no thrill. You have a harness on, and the steel platforms are very wide and secure, so I didn’t think it was that exciting. You can get the same views by walking on the bridge at car level, which is free and you can take as many pictures you want.

Bridge Climb

The best view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge is from the Royal Botanical Garden in the morning, near Mrs. Macquarie’s Point, which has a stone chair built in 1816 for the governor’s wife to read and watch the ships go by. Then walk past the Opera House to reach Circular Quay and wander around the historical neighborhood of The Rocks to get a glimpse of the first buildings of the city, the ones that were built after the first ships of incarcerated people arrived from England in 1788.

Opera House

Mrs. Macquarie’s chair

The Rocks Neighborhood

Just a few miles away from Sydney, you can go to Blue Mountains National Park for a short hike to Wentworth Falls and then to Echo Point to a geological formation called “The Three Sisters”. Those rocks are sacred to the Aboriginal people because it is said three sisters tuned into rocks after a fight three brothers who wanted to marry them had with a sorcerer.

Wentworth Falls

Three Sisters

Blue Mountains

Finally, when I think of Australia’s east coast, I think of the beach. I absolutely hate hot weather, so coming to Australia during their winter has been great. We have blue-bird skies and temperatures in the 60s – perfect for a beach stroll and reading a book. Manly beach is easy to get to on the ferry and has a great boardwalk with water fountains, restrooms, restaurants, and art sculptures on the way. I am reading this book by Bill Bryson called “In a sunburned country” which is perfect for me because it mixes history with funny travel stories. While I was laying on Manly beach, I was reading a chapter about Sydney and its sites, including the one I was at, and it is just awesome being able to read about something and then look up to actually see it right in front of you.

Manly Beach

Manly Beach

Manly Beach