OUR TRIP

TO AUSTRALIA

Australia had always been a dream destination for us. We were very close to going in 2006 when we won a contest that had as prize two tickets to any part of the world, although in the end we went to Japan. We thought we would not have enough time to see Australia in two weeks-the vacation we had at the time-and decided to leave it for later. The "perfect" time to travel to Australia arrived in 2012. Our honeymoon. If you think, like us, that 15 days are few for the country-continent, keep in mind that three weeks are not enough either. That was what lasted our trip, our honeymoon to Australia, three weeks.

If you believe that because it was a honeymoon it was an organized trip, you are wrong. Something we had planned to do but everything was changing on the fly. We only knew that we had to get to Brisbane on the fourteenth day to catch a plane to Melbourne that we had bought, the rest ... now I tell you. Aircraft, boats, ferries, diving, hiking, snorkeling ... gave time to all this and much more.

ITINERARY OF OUR THREE WEEKS TRIP TO AUSTRALIA

This was what we did during the 22 days we traveled in Australia, in case you can be of inspiration.

First day. Flights Madrid - London - Singapore - Sidney

Second day. Flight Sydney - Cairns

Walk around Cairns. We took the opportunity to hike the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef by plane. We made the first decision: we bought a Greyhound pass to go from Cairns to Brisbane doing all the stops we wanted. Night in Cairns, Caravella Backpackers.

Third day. Daintree Rainforest

A full day tour of the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest rainforest on the planet. We visited Port Douglas; The Great Dividing Range - the great dividing mountain range; The Daintree River we sailed; Cape Tribulation and its beach with marine crocodiles, sharks and jellyfish: you look but do not touch; The view of the Daintree River estuary from Alexandra Lookout; And Mossman Gorge, where we walked after entering the Mossman Gorge Gateway Center. Night in Cairns, Caravella Backpackers.

Fourth day. Great Barrier Reef - Alva Beach

Perhaps the highlight of the trip to Australia: fly over the great barrier reef, besides seeing it from the water, of course. We flew by plane for an hour above the reefs from Cairns. You can hire more or less time to ride, but an hour we thought was right.

From Cairns we continue our way towards Alva Beach. It was not easy because of a confusion of destiny and because things were complicated with the Greyhound pass - the first time we used it we had problems, but then everything was perfect.

Fifth day. Immersion to see the Yongala - Townsville

Near Alva Beach is the dive site of the SS Yongala, an Australian passenger ship that sank in 1911. It is considered one of the 10 best dives in the world: fish banks, gigantic manta rays, barracudas ... and the boat Waiting in the background. Luckily we did not see the three bull sharks who said they had been swimming around us all the time.

From there we turned north, to overnight in Townsville, on Adventurers Backpackers.

Sixth day. Magnetic Island - Airlie Beach

Ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island, one of the most concentrated koalas. On the island is the koala park of Bungalow Bay where, in addition to seeing animals such as wombat and various types of reptiles, you can see and embrace a koala.

Seventh day. Whitsunday Islands Vacations, Tourism and Travel

To go to the Whitsunday Islands you have to hire a tour, once again. Two points are the strong: the sand, 98% silicon, Whitehaven beach - seven miles of sand - and snorkeling on coral reefs. Also the view from the viewpoint, although as soon as you see it you want to go down and touch it. We spent the day at the beach, there are even places to do barbecues.

Eighth day. Agnes Water

Agnes Water, the northernmost surfing beach on the east coast of Australia. We do not surf, but we wanted to see more corals, specifically those of Lady Musgrave Island, the islands of the southern reef, and the excursions leave from here. Night at Agnes Water, on the 1770 Backpackers.

Ninth day. Lady Musgrave Island

Full day excursion to Lady Musgrave Island. We went back to snorkeling, and this time we were happy with the colors and with the huge turtle that swam at our side; We walked around the island, only 20 people, almost like on a desert island; And we saw the bottom from a boat with a clear hull. Night at Agnes Water, on the 1770 Backpackers.

Tenth day. Hervey Bay

Bus to Hervey Bay. The afternoon we occupied looking for the excursions of the following days and informing us if there were still whales, because we were almost at the end of the season. Overnight at Hervey Bay.

Eleventh day. Fraser Island

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, 1,630 km2. Excursion in a huge conditioned truck told us that it was like the ones used by American soldiers in the Iraqi desert and yet it got stuck in the sand and had to be pushed.

At 75 mille beach, a beach more than 100 kilometers long, is the USS Maheno, which ran aground on the beach when it was towed in 1935. But there is not only sand on the island, we also cross a rainforest and bathe in One of its many lakes, on Lake McKenzie. Overnight at Hervey Bay.

Twelfth day. Whale Watching - Maryborough

Sailing through the bay to see whales. We were lucky: it was the end of the season but a couple of humpback whale males gave us a tremendous show with jumps and pirouettes.

In the afternoon we went to Maryborough, one of the cities with the greatest colonial heritage and hometown of the author of Mary Poppins, Pamela Lyndon Travers. Overnight at Hervey Bay.

Thirteenth day. Brisbane

Bus to Brisbane, where we had our first couchsurfing experience with Jacques. Visit the city by taking one of the ferries that run as public transport. We strolled through the center and down Southbank with its artificial beach.

Fourteenth day. Brisbane - Melbourne

A tour of the city of Brisbane with a guided tour of the Queensland Parliament and the city's botanical garden - two free visits. Afternoon flight to Melbourne. Night in Melbourne, in St. Kilda, with friends.

Fifteenth day. Melbourne

Stroll with Marco, our friend from Melbourne, around town. We made the purchase, looked for the best tour to see the twelve apostles - another of the strengths of the trip to Australia -, we rode by subway for the first time in more than two weeks ... In the afternoon we went to the quay of St. Kilda to see the Penguins at sunset.

Sixteenth day. St. Kilda - Brighton - St. Kilda

It was Sunday and we came across the esplanade market, a craft market, in St. Kilda. Then walk - almost 20 miles round-trip - to Brighton Beach. There are the 82 colorful houses, beach huts of the mid-nineteenth century, declared a national historic good.

On the way back we entered Luna Park, an amusement park, and watched the sunset before enjoying the Australian national sport: a barbecue with Marco and his friends.

Seventeenth day. Great Ocean Road

Full day excursion from 7.30am to 9pm on the Great Ocean Road from Torquay. Stops at Bells Beach, one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world; The holiday home of Mad Max, the first; Otway National Park; The Twelve Apostles, who were the sow and the piglets, Sow and Piglets, until their name change in 1950; Loch Ard Gorge; And the London Bridge, London Brigde or London Arch. Night in Melbourne.

Eighteenth day. Sidney

Flight to Sydney bought the day before. We visited the pier, Circular Quay, and The Rocks, the place where the first colonists' homes rose when they arrived in Sydney on January 26, 1788. We crossed the bridge over the bay and found free wifi for the first time in The Queen Victoria Building. Overnight in Sydney at the Maze Backpackers.

Nineteenth day. Sidney

Guided tour of the Sydney Opera House - via the internet the tickets are cheaper. We took the ferry to Manly Beach, one of Sydney's beaches. From there leaves a route to the old military training center. There was no one, it was very sunny, we did not carry water ... but we survived. Overnight in Sydney at the Maze Backpackers.

Twentieth day. Sidney

After the route the previous day we tried another: from Bondi Beach to Coogee, about 7-8 kilometers. The first stretch, from Bondi Beach to Tamarama Beach, was full of sculptures by Sculpture by the Sea. We thought of buying a tomb overlooking the sea at Waverley Cemetery, passing by Clovelly and Gordon's Bay to reach Coogee Beach. Overnight in Sydney at the Maze Backpackers.

Twenty-first day. Sidney

Walk around Sydney. We visited Hyde Park Barracks Museum, one of the museums dedicated to Australian jail history, and the docks, converted into trendy locales and luxury apartments. Overnight in Sydney at the Maze Backpackers.