Sunday, November 7, 2010

Count Down to Australia

And it begins...

After weeks of researching what to do, where to go, what to eat and what locals suggest (http://www.sydney100.com/), I have come to the conclusion that one month is not enough time to do everything that I want :(  I may need to move there for a couple years :o

I have modified my itinerary a bit since my initial post and I have the sneaky suspicion that I will try with all of my heart to fit in a trip to one of the islands off of the Great Barrier Reef!  Boats will take you to one of the  islands, drop you off so you can camp and pick you up the next day.  I figure if I can shorten my trip in Port Douglas from 5 days to 2 days, I can spend 2 days camping on the reef.  It might be kind of hard to do since I fly to Cairns on November 17th (next week).

Ok, so here is my updated itinerary.  Everything is pretty much solid with exception to fitting in the GBR trip.

Australia  Bound

12 NOV - In LA until my flight leaves on 13 NOV 2010. (Taking the train to LA)
15 NOV - Land in Sydney, Australia @ 7:30am
15-17 NOV - Staying in Darling Harbor Sydney
17-21 NOV - Flying from Sydney to Cairns and taking a Shuttle up to Port Douglas.
19-21 NOV  (Tentative) - This is where I may be able to fit in that trip to the GBR
21-24 NOV - Taking a Train from Sydney to Katoomba (The Blue Mountains)  The hotel that I'm staying is so old school.  Built in 1930 and it has a really cool lodge.  It also has views of the Echo Point (Three Sisters).  I will not camp in Australia!  Just hiking!
24-27 NOV - Return to Sydney, Potts Point/Kings Cross - I heard that this is an "interesting" part of Sydney aka "Red Light District", but it's close to the beach communities like Bondi and Coogee Beach where I will spend my days.

New Zealand Here I Come

27 NOV - 01 DEC - Christchurch, New Zealand - I still haven't researched what I'm going to do here
01-03 DEC - Queenstown, New Zealand - I plan to hike a couple trails, go Kayaking and do a little mountain biking.
03-06 DEC - Milford Sound, New Zealand - I'll be taking the bus down since I don't plan to rent a car this entire trip.  What's kind of cool about the bus tours is that they stop at different places during the 6 hour drive.  I plan to hike, kayak and camp in Milford Sound.  If anyone has one of those fancy water filters from REI, I would love to borrow it, so I can try water from mountains and lakes ( I really don't know why I'm so tempted to do this).
06-07 - Sam's drinking wine in Queenstown!  They have 11 wineries!!!!
07 - 10 DEC - Auckland, New Zealand - Hopefully I'll get to go to some of the natural hot springs and get a tour around the city from a friend of a friend.
10 - 11 DEC - Melbourne, Australia - I'm sure I can find something to do for one day before my trip back to the US.

Photos/Photos and More Photos

I really can't wait to take pictures and share with all of you!  I can’t wait to share pictures of the following:

1 - My lodging accommodations (LOL).  Between the Resorts/Hotels/Budget Hotels/Hostels and Camping, I believe that I will come full circle with adapting to almost any living condition.  I'm going to love not showering for 3 days while hiking in New Zealand :)
2 - Cute pictures of Sheep and Kangaroo... followed by pictures how the locals serve them in restaurants!  Lamb anyone? Yum!
3 - Water (lakes/ocean/waterfalls) and Mountains.  There's nothing more beautiful than Nature!


Oh, and this morning while laying in bed, I picked up my "1,000 Places To See Before You Die" book and guess what I will be able to cross off the list after this trip:

1)  The Blue Mountains & Three Sisters
2)  Sydney Opera House and The Harbor
3)  The Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea (Maybe)
4)  Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound
5)  Queenstown (Home of Bungee Jumping and Jet-Boat) - I do not plan on doing either!



That's enough for now!  My next update will be posted on 15 NOV 2010 (Australia).  As a reminder... I think they are almost 1 day ahead of the US... so you may see a post on 14 NOV 2010. 

As a reminder... please email me during the trip vs. texting.  I plan to use a friends international cell phone and buy a SIM card in AUS & phone cards.  Sorry, AT&T's International plan is pretty ridiculous!  I will also check FB when I check email.

Keep me and my travels in your thoughts and prayers and hopefully I'll be able to share with you guys when I return!  It'll be Christmas Time!!!!

4 comments:

  1. Port Douglas was my favorite city in Australia (Salsa was a great restaurant, skip Nautilus). You can get a day trip to the great barrier reef from there very easily. Scuba diving there was insane!

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  2. Port Douglas rocks. If I ever decide to move to Australia, Port Douglas is where I'll go.

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  3. Holy crap ,I can't believe that you're leaving tomorrow!!! I'm so excited for you, have a blast!

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  4. Hey Chick. I hope that you are enjoying yourself. Be safe and have a great time. Love you. TTYL

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