We finally had our three year layover come to an end and had a chance to make it to Australia! We started our adventure with a flight to LAX. A tip if you are considering Oz is to check domestic flights to LAX then book your international travel from there! We flew Hawaiian Airlines and I highly recommend. Great quality for a great price. After 20 hours of travel, we landed in Sydney. We stayed one night in the Hyatt Regency and were greeted with fireworks!
Our first day we had brekky and hopped a 3 hour flight to Cairns. This the the home city for alot Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef tours. Our first day we held a koala (Queensland is the only state that allows this)
After this we rented a car and drove up the coast stopping in Palm Cove then up to Port Douglas.
Day 2 we hit the Great Barrier Reef! Chris did two dives and I snorkeled. The reef was huge and very impressive. It's the largest living thing on the planet. The most impressive thing I saw was a turtle the size of my body. Also saw Nemo!
That night we hit up Trivia night at PJ O Briens pub and that was a hilarious treat! The DJ did a fantastic job and kept it so entertaining. Must do in Cairns!
Day 3 we did an evening tour of the Tablelands and Rainforest. We were able to spot eat kangaroos, pademelons, tree kangaroos (this was a real treat because they are extremely rare), green tailed possum and the star of the show a platypus in the wild! We also ate a historic pub.
Day 4 we flew back to Sydney and took the train to a MacArthur to meet Debbie! The public transport in Oz is fantastic and you can just scan on and off with your credit card. Debbie is my moms first cousin and allowed us to stay with her. If you have extended family you are hesitant to reach out to, make this your sign to do it! We had such a blast getting to know each other and catching up.
Day 5 Debbie drove us to the Blue Mountains the visibility wasn't great but we were able to see the impressive Hydro Majestic Hotel that has recently been restored. They offer a great cafe and if your looking for a splurge a fancy high tea experience.
Day 6 we headed down the coast! We also were able to see kangaroos jumping in the distance as we drove. We did a surf lesson with Essential surf and Peter did a phenenomenal job. We also stopped and saw a blow hole and
Went up to check out the view on Saddle back Mountain. We then went down to Jamberoo another historic pub!
That night we had a real treat at an Oz barbecue hosted by my 3rd cousin Christian and his wife Naomi.
Day 7 we woke and took the train back to Sydney. All around Sydney they offer this service called Bounce that will watch your luggage for you. We took advantage of this service then went on to the Australian Museum. The Australian Museum has aboriginal art and tons of information on the animals of this country. The highlights for me were seeing the Tasmanian Tiger hide and embryo that is now extinct and a rug made of platypus.
Next we took the ferry (also part of the public transportation) over to the Taronga zoo. Bonus was the awesome views of the Harbour and Opera House. The trick to this zoo is to book your tickets online to save and when you arrive start at the top, and work your way down. This is a great zoo that has the Australian animals. My favorites here was the Cassowary which the most dangerous bird that is the third largest in the world and is native to Oz. We also saw wombats and other animals we haven't seen in other zoos.
After the zoo we went to the Rocks Market which takes place on the weekend in Circular Quay (same train stop as the ferry and Opera house) There is tons of local artists and food booths that are so fun to see. We sadly had to get our luggage and head to the airport. We were able to relax in the House lounge and grab some dinner and a shower before our 9 hour flight to Honolulu.
Day 8 I planned a 12 hour layover in Honolulu for the same price as a flight without the long layover! We rented a car and headed to drive around one of our favorite places. I highly recommend we rented a car for 70 bucks and. Chris drove me around so I can get my favorite Hawaiian snacks. Idk what it is but the food just tastes better there. We got sushi which tastes so fresh there, açaí bowls and coconut shrimp. We also went to the blowhole and saw whales breaching off the coast! We went and saw Pearl Haebour and put our feet in the water at Waikiki. We also hit up Costco, yes Costco. This is a great hack for low cost Hawaiian food and clothes! Hawaii does Costco better! They even sell a foam surf board for 110 bucks.
After we enjoyed a pineapple drink to sunset we sadly had to board our long flight home. ❤️
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