Australia 2016

[tufbuf]

Day 7: Bondi Beach and Bridge Climb

I needed this one this morning...



It was a short 45 minute drive to Bondi from Sydney. After meeting our surf guides/instructors, we headed to the building for some safety drills.





The waves didn't look bad when we arrived but it got rougher as the day went on.





It was fun to try it out! DD and DH managed to get up a few times for several seconds. I was able to one time for about.. 2 seconds!

We had lunch at the North Bondi RSL.







The rest of the afternoon was on our own. We booked the Bridge Climb months before and we had about an hour before heading to the office which is not far from the ShangriLa Hotel. One family managed to get tickets to see Carmen at the opera house.

The pre-climb briefing probably took an hour long, from filling up the papers, breath alcohol test, dressing up, gearing up, hooking up and practice climb. We did the twilight climb which was great since we were climbing while the sun was still out and descending when it was dark. I found this activity scarier than the zip lining the next day! We were not allowed to bring cameras during the climb so we have very few photos of it.



Cousin Orville has awesome photos of the Bridge Climb with his son in his TR. We climbed the bridge up to the summit then crossed it. The walkway is a metal mesh so you can clearly saw the traffic below which can give you the hibbie jibbies!

Here are some stock photos from the company included in our USB with our photos.









I think this is a must do too when in Sydney! The view from above is spectacular!!

Early bag pull tomorrow so we got a quick dinner and went back to the hotel to pack and get some rest. Tasmania, here we come!!!

 

[Cousin Orville]

I was able to one time for about.. 2 seconds!

Hey me too! Now we can form a 2 second surfing club.

 

[sayhello]

OMG, your photos from Uluru are fabulous! I had no idea the landscape of Uluru was so varied! And that moon shot! Amazing!

I really like your Milky Way shot, too!

I would love to do the Sydney Bridge climb. I'm terrified of being able to see through the floor under my feet. But I hope to some day do it!

I'm sure I'd be just as useless at surfing as I was at windsurfing. I'm impressed you stayed up for 2 seconds!

Looking forward to more!

Sayhello

 

[tufbuf]

Thanks, sayhello! Wait till you see the scenic views in Tasmania. It's too bad they removed that part of the trip next year though...

Cousin Orville, that's funny!

 

[tufbuf]

Day 8: To Tasmania!

Another very early bag pull *yawn*!! We got boxed breakfast meals for the morning and headed off to the Sydney airport. One thing with the airport here as well, they are very strict with fresh produce. So an apple from one city cannot be brought in to another city within the country. Those have to be discarded and sniff dogs have been trained to look just for that.

I think one of the issues with the previous trips going into Lauceston, Tasmania was a layover in another city, which made for longer travel time. We have a direct flight from Sydney, which made it a lot more convenient for everyone.

We arrive in Tazzie!!



And our coach awaits...



We headed straight away to our zip line place which was about an hour drive from the airport. We were divided in three groups and took turns going through the course. We had a preordered boxed meal for lunch here as well. Our group was the second of three groups to go, so we just hung out in the lobby while waiting for our turn and ate our lunch as well.



Once it was our turn, we first went in a room to gear up and go through a safety drill. After that, we did our practice run...



The more daunting task, I think, on this activity is having to carry your pulley from the practice run site all the way to the beginning of the zip line course. I thought the pulley was heavy, maybe about 15 lbs. We also had to carry it all the way back to where we put on our gear. Other than that, the activity was pure fun! It was a short zip line course, only 6 lines. Again, we were not allowed to bring our cameras so most of the photos were taken by our zip line guides. Troy and Amber went with the other two groups and our group was "orphaned" in this activity.





Troy says, "Be my guest..."



That's our group!



Amber raring to go!



More views of the zip line...



The highest point is about 140 feet up...





They also hung us in the highest line and made us pose. Cousin Orville has a good photo in his TR. I guess the challenge there is to let go of both hands while you pose.

After everyone was done, we made our way to our next hotel, the Freycinet Lodge. It was another 2-hour ride to get there and when we arrived, it was already night time. The place was so serene and Amber said, Tasmania has one of the freshest air in the world. I can attest to that!

Sunset here is at 4:40 pm so it gets dark quite early



Our lodge for the next two nights....







Dinner was great! Breakfast in the lodge though was not the best we've had.

 

[sayhello]

That zipline platform makes me dizzy just looking at it!! Yikes!

Your room looks wonderful!

Sayhello

 

[tufbuf]

Day 9: Hiking day

So I thought this day was going to be another hectic trip. Unfortunately, because of the weather, our kayaking was canceled. It was cloudy and just a bit breezy, not too bad really but I guess the experts know better. Anyway, we all went for a hike to the Wineglass Lookout that morning.

When we left for breakfast, this was right outside our door...



It was completely unfazed by our presence! Freycinet National Park has most of the endemic flora and fauna species in Tasmania.

The start of our hike was not too far from our lodge. It was a mere 10 minute drive.







Troy leading the way...



The teens in our group...





Wineglass Bay



Here's a pano shot



It was a picturesque sight and a perfect day to hike!






Wallabies abound the area! We saw so many along the hike as well as loitering in the lodge grounds! DH saw a black possum and wombats cross the streets!



We had lunch at the lodge and our guides was arranging another activity for us to do that evening as our kayaking was canceled. The afternoon was pretty much a time to relax or explore the lodge grounds.

The hotel sitting/dining area...





So DH and I decided to walk around and explore the area.



So that's when I noted how beautiful the landscape was in the park! Here are some photos...

Coles Bay



Honeymoon Bay



Coles Bay again...



Honeymoon Bay







At night, our guides arranged to see the rare blue penguins which are only found in Tasmania. Photography was not allowed in the site so I got some photos from the website. The company also had us email them to download stock photos. They're so cute and tiny! Only a foot tall they spend most of the day in the open sea and nest at night. I thought this was an awesome unique experience, not so sure about the rest of the group. It started raining while we were out on the beach and some got really soaked! It was also cold and windy that evening!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Sorry your kayaking was canceled. But the Penguins looked like fun. Beautiful pictures of Tasmania. It's such a fun and unique location. I'm glad we had the opportunity to see it!

 

[BluesTraveler]

Loving your trip report, thank you so much

 

[mare1203]

Wow, those pics of Coles Bay are phenomenal! I really don't mind double pics from trips, either. I mean, I just had to slog through 300 of the same posed 4th of July pics on my Facebook feed, so I think I can handle a few more of Australian animals, Uluru, and Tazmania...

The ziplining day looks super fun, and so high! Were they pretty long zips? Too bad about the kayaking, but the hiking looked fun. This seems like a great combination of nature, adventure, and sights! So sad they changed the itinerary, though I'm sure it will still be good.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Great trip report--bummer about the kayaking. Too funny about the understatement on the breakfast, too Love the pics of honeymoon and Coles bay.

 

[tufbuf]

Thank you all!! Cousin Orville, the one change that is much appreciated is the direct flight from Sydney to Launceston.

I figured out how to upload a video of the light display on the opera house! Thanks to our good friend MK for the video!!

And thanks to DH for this one!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Wow. Nice videos!

Now I'm surprised they cancelled Tasmania since there is a direct flight from Sydney down there. I wonder why they removed Tasmania.

 

[tufbuf]

Cousin Orville, according to Amber, survey showed people prefer to be in a warm area so the itinerary was moved to the Gold Coast. It's a shame they will discontinue this itinerary, I mean when else will we go to Tasmania?

 

[Cousin Orville]

Cousin Orville, according to Amber, survey showed people prefer to be in a warm area so the itinerary was moved to the Gold Coast. It's a shame they will discontinue this itinerary, I mean when else will we go to Tasmania?

Interesting. I wonder if ABD followed up on those surveys and asked previous travelers if they would have preferred trying out Gold Coast to Tasmania.

Oh well, I'm sure Gold Coast will be fun as well. But ABD excels when they go to out of the way locations you would probably not go on your own. Tasmania was a great example of that.

 

[tufbuf]

Day 10: To Hobart!

This was a long coach travel day! We made three stops along the way to make it less boring. First stop was at Kate Berry's Farm. Her specialty is jam making, home made of pure home grown berries! DD loved it so we bought a couple of jars as well as some chocolates from her store.

Kate's farm which she built herself



Most of us indulged on scones. This was sooo delicious!!!



Some of her goodies...





Kate with Troy, she is an interesting person...



It was a short stop in her farm. We then made our way to a local winery called Frogmore Creek for..... lunch. It's a beautiful location with scenic sights all around. We found out later that the owner came from CA!



Lunch was equally delicious and looked really pretty too! These are pork croquettes with pumpkin crackers...





Lamb shoulder, I believe with teriyaki sauce and on the right are chicken skewers with peanut sauce *yum*



So pretty...



Chocolate eclairs for dessert!



Wine tasting for the adults after lunch...



Wine tasting was on the second floor of the winery





While the teens played bocce ball



Took some scenic shots of the winery...







Around mid-afternoon, we made our way to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. Most of the animals here were orphaned. This is the highlight of the trip for most people. Amber was actually touched how big our smiles were when we fed the kangaroos. I loved it too!!!!

These are eastern gray kangaroos, smaller than the reds



Everyone had an enjoyable time feeding them!







It's so cute to see that joey picking up the fallen pellets on the ground!



They love a neck rub! Really, how cute is this?



We met Fisher, the wombat





And Tasmanian devils..



I like wildlife and our visit here was cut short. I wish we stayed longer and look at echidnas and the pademelon.

View from the sanctuary



It was a long day and we headed to the Grand Chancellor in Hobart. Remember the late coach in Uluru? Most of us forgot about that but to make up for it, we were given AUD40 vouchers for the cafe restaurant Mures across the Chancellor hotel. That was nice!

 

[tufbuf]

Almost done!....

Day 11: Hobart and Port Arthur

This was a very relaxing day. The most part of our day was on our own. The Salamanca Market is an open market held every Saturday not far from our hotel. That's where most of us went in the morning.



They sell just about anything and everything from clothing





Keychains embedded with insects and other critters



Mounted bugs and more critters



Plus lots of interesting wooden products made from native Tasmania wood



We grabbed a quick lunch from one of the food booths in the market and headed back to the hotel afterwards to start packing. We won't be meeting until 330 that afternoon for our farewell dinner in Port Arthur and we were told we will be back late. It's an hour and a half drive to the location and we have an early airport transfer the next day.

The streets of Hobart....









The harbor from our hotel room window





It was near sunset when we arrived in Port Arthur.



They have a small museum downstairs where we spent the first half hour on our own. It mostly told about the lives of the inmates/convicts incarcerated in Port Arthur.







When it was dark, we gathered for our ghost tour. I thought this was really long. The guide, who's American btw, told ghost stories surrounding the area. I'm not too keen about ghost tours, the good thing is, we didn't have to be in a pitch dark room which we were told they do in Killarney, Ireland.



Afterwards, we had our simple farewell dinner... I just realized how simple it was compared to other ABD farewell dinners. The company though was great, I didn't even notice that evening!

Mushroom soup *yum*



Pasta dish



And a pretty dessert



So that's that. The next day we leave for the airport at 7 am for Sydney.

 

[tufbuf]

Day 12: Goodbye Tasmania....goodbye Australia...

One thing I can say, the bell boy at the Grand Chancellor is prompt! When we were told bag will be picked up 15 minutes before the transfer time, they were there on time! Our driver too was already waiting downstairs. Troy and Amber were there as well and we said our goodbyes.

I just met up with an old friend in Sydney. We stayed for a night at the Park Hyatt. The room is very interesting, especially the bathroom and toilet... It has an awesome view of the harbor and great location too!

Our last look at the Sydney Opera House...



The Sydney Harbor Bridge with the Park Hyatt in the foreground...



And the Sydney skyline taken from our room balcony...



Over all, it was a wonderful, active trip! Loved it!!! The 25 hour flight back home was well worth it!

 

[tgeorge]

Australia is a definite must for me! My PI in graduate school is from Melbourne and I've been infatuated with Australia ever since. She actually wanted me to go to her alma mater for a post doc. Looking back, I should have done it.
I'm sad they took out Tasmania. I thought the activities there , in addition to it being 'off the beaten path' added to the trip. Although, when I do finally get to go, I'm going to add on some time and do NZ as well.
Thanks for the amazing report, pictures and video! It sounds like your family had a fantastic time.

 

[tufbuf]

Thank you so much, tgeorge! It was a pleasure to do the trip report! It was an incredibly wonderful adventure and since we traveled with good friends, it made the trip extra special!! If you do decide to go, I'm quite sure you will have loads of fun!