After our 4 night getaway in Port Douglas we returned to Cairns for more relaxing, splashing about at the lagoon, the infamous failed scuba dive and a 2 part, day-trip to Kuranda! Kurnada is known as the village in the Rainforest and was originally the home of the Djabugay aboriginal people before exploration in the […]
After a relaxing few days at Mission Beach it was time to hop on our last Greyhound bus – YAY! – and head to Cairns, 139km (1hr 52mins) away. Cairns is the gateway to the Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef and is a great base for Atherton Tablelands (post to follow), Port Douglas (post […]
As well as a day-trip to Manly we visited the coastal suburbs of Coogee and Bondi. Bondi is probably the best known beach suburb of Sydney but the lesser-known Coogee is well worth a visit! If you’re feeling energetic there’s a beautiful coastal walk (8.8km) between the two suburbs that takes 1-2 hours depending on […]
During our time in Sydney we were fortunate to coincide with the Architects of Air – Exxopolis Tour! Architects of Air is an amazingly quirky and quite random obsession of Englishman Alan Parkinson and his team who have built several inflatable cities over the years. Exxopolis is one of their creations and “seeks to bring […]
Day 2 of the Catlins we hit the road and headed to Papatowai stopping en-route at some of the stunning waterfalls in the area – including one, not-so-stunning falls ironically named Niagara. The drive along the coast is absolutely beautiful and the falls are a short bush walk which lead to picturesque cascades… after the […]
After spending the day at Cathedral Cove we got an early night ready for Hot Water Beach. Hot Water Beach is a geothermal beach where you dig your own hot pool. The only time you can dig a pool is 2 hours either side of low tide so we set our alarm for 6:45am determined […]
The next few nights in Northland took us to a little place in the Bay of Islands called Paihia. Paihia is a coastal town known for it’s beaches, boat trips and home of the Waitangi treaty grounds. We spent 2 nights in Paihia soaking up the sun, relaxing and pottering around the town. Although we […]
The second official (hop-on) day of our tour took us from Mango Bay Resort to Uprising Beach. As we were staying extra nights in each resort this meant joining a new group. Although this wasn’t a problem it was sometimes hard integrating with a pre-bonded group and the first introduction was always a worry – […]
One of the great things about travelling is the random people, places and events you experience simply by being in the right place at the right time. One of those times was the open-mic night run by HI Portland each month called The Secret Garden. Although I’ve never been to an open-mic night, for me […]
Granville Island, although not technically an Island, is a quirky little oasis of shops, craft stalls, markets, bars, restaurants, amusements and entertainment nestled under a bridge just over the river from the city. Just a small, inexpensive, boat ride across the river and you can lose yourself amongst the buildings and attractions. We spent a […]
