Australia had been a long time dream of ours. Getting there took a long time but it was worth it and more. On the 10th anniversary of the trip, it’s time to share it with the world.
Monday
We started our trip in the afternoon of a beautiful February day. The first leg took us to Istanbul in Turkey, where we arrived at 2 AM in the morning. The first experience there was an unusual snowstorm. Felt like home. Luckily we had a transfer organised that took us straight to the hotel.
Tuesday
After a short night’s sleep and breakfast in the hotel, we had most of the day free before we had to continue our trip. So we had enough time to walk around in Istanbul a bit, visit Sultanahmet Mosque and Hippodrome. It was still cold but at least no more snowstorms. Our flight departed at 6:35 PM and took us first to Doha in Qatar and then straight on to Melbourne, Australia.
Wednesday
When getting to the other side of the world you have to consider that you lose some time. When we arrived in Melbourne, it was already 10:30 PM local time. It was however February 29th, so it was an extra day anyway, right? We checked in to our guesthouse in the South Yarra area and tried to get used to the new time zone.
Thursday
The first real day in Australia. Walking around the city and getting our bearings.
Friday
It was time to take a day trip and see the Great Ocean Road on a sunset tour. We visited the Bells Beach – one of Australia’s famous surfing beaches, climbed to enjoy the breathtaking view from iconic Cape Otway Lighthouse, passed through coastal towns of Lorne, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell, stepped down to the beach at Gibsons Steps, saw the 12 Apostles in the Port Campbell National Park, discovered the history of the Shipwreck Coast with a stroll along this historic beach. The ended with the sunset over this spectacular coastline. Following the drive back to Melbourne.
Saturday
In the afternoon we took Virgin Australia flight to Launceston, Tasmania where we stayed for one night. In the evening we had time for a comfortable 20 minutes stroll along the First Basin Loop around the Cataract Gorge.
Sunday
The beginning of our three days long explorations of the Tasmanian island. Day started with some rain but got better. Departing Launceston we headed for the peaceful northeast corner of Tasmania. The Bay of Fires is remarkable for its beauty, wildlife and cultural history with long stretches of dazzling white beaches, shimmering turquoise waters, coastal heath and woodlands that abound with wildlife. We also had a stroll in the rainforest and went to see St Columba Waterfall. The sea was warm enough for us northern people and the swim on the wild coastline was awesome. We continued late in the day to Bicheno, where we stayed overnight.
Monday
This morning we drove east to the beautiful Freycinet National Park, home to a wild domain of sublime beaches, whose powder-white sands are lapped by translucent waters. For those seeking a challenge, there is the climb to the summit of Mt Amos or walk to Wineglass Bay, voted one of the world’s top 10 beaches. We managed to do both. Local wallabies also enjoyed the beach there very much. We made lunch in the Honeymoon Bay and enjoyed the seaside. Afterwards, we headed to east coast for the night.
Tuesday
The third day of our Tasmanian tour started in Maingnon Bay to see the local caves. From there we went straight to the local convict settlement called Port Arthur. One of the Unesco heritage list by the way. That place was in business until 1876 and is now a really cool tourism attraction. The day went to “hell” from there when we went to see the Devil. The Tasmanian Devil. In the local wildlife sanctuary there was a chance to see some of Tasmania’s native wildlife up close including the famous Tasmanian Devils (they’re not as fiendish as they sound!). The kangaroos and wallabies were also super friendly towards us. In the evening we reached Hobart, the capital of Tasmania and stayed there for the night.
Wednesday
Time to hop on another plane and fly to Sydney. In Sydney, we caught the train to Central Station and changed to the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line for our train to Kings Cross. After checking in we had time to go and explore Sydney for a bit. We decided to start from the bird-eye view from the tallest building in town – The Sydney Tower Eye.
Thursday
The first highlight of the day was the Sydney Opera house, which we explored thoroughly from inside and out. Although it was raining a bit again. The second highlight was definitely the Wild Life Sydney Zoo in the Darling Harbour area, which includes among other things also SEA LIFE Aquarium.
Friday
We headed for the Blue Mountains National Park. Once there a red London bus is a great way to savour the sights and places such as Echo Point and the Three Sisters. We visited the Katoomba area, but there are 5 other areas around the park to visit as well.
Saturday
On Saturday we took the boat out to Manly Beach, one of Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The weather was just perfect for a day on the beach.
Sunday
Yet another jet – a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Melbourne Avalon airport to be exact.
Monday
In the morning we took a leisurely cruise on the rivers and saw the city from another angle.
Tuesday
Went to explore the local nature with some locals. Daylesford, as one of Australia’s few spa towns, is a notable tourist destination in Victoria. The broader area around the town, including Hepburn Springs to the north, is known for its natural spring mineral spas and is the location of over 80 per cent of Australia’s effervescent mineral water reserve. The Hepburn Mineral Spring Reserve was created in 1865. Several springs exist in the main reserve – Soda, Sulphur, Pavilion, Locarno and Wyuna, to name the closest ones.
At 11:55PM we left Australia behind and flew back towards home.
Wednesday
Doha – London – Munich – Tallinn.
At 11:55 PM we arrived home.
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