Australia
G'day mate! After 3 months of travel through Asia we had arrived in a new part of the world. We would spend more than two weeks exploring by car the vast Australia landscape, the sixth largest country by total area in the world.
We camped and slept in caravan parks along the Eastern coastal states of Queenstown and New South Wales and along the way encountered kangaroo, koala, and wild horses, went surfing in Byron Bay, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, and even made a pit stop for Laura to try on Australian wedding dresses (Sean, of course, wasn't allowed to attend!).
The Aussie coast was pristine and peaceful, however it all began in the awesome and bustling Sydney, the most populous city in Australia and home to the worlds largest natural harbour. Our first stop, a visit to the iconic Sydney Opera House, one of the worlds most distinct and creative arts centers...
Our Sydney home base was the Coogee Beach neighborhood, a place Sean had frequented years ago while visiting his younger sister Kelly who lived there while studying at the University of New South Wales. It was our favorite part of the city and home to a coastal walk well known by locals that leads to Bondi Beach...
After spending the last few weeks in Southeast Asia it was a nice change of pace to hang in Sydney and Coogee, a place that reminded us more of home (particularly the burgers!). After catching up on western cuisine and the comforts of Sydney, we hopped a 2 hour flight north to Hamilton Island and from there a ferry to the town of Airlie Beach, which would be our home base for our scuba diving adventure.
This was an Australian activity that we had highly anticipated, in fact, it something that we had planned to do even before we left for our round the world trip, scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. Laura's sister Kristen bought her a weekend scuba diving certification course in Boston the Christmas prior to leaving for our travels in prep for this moment (Sean had already been certified). So here we are, 11 months later in Australia and after a 3 hour boat ride to the outer reef, it was go time...
and we're off...
After our memorable day on the Great Barrier Reef we rented a car and spent the next 10 nights driving the East coast... road trip! We stayed in campsites and parks along the ocean and since we didn't have camping equipment, bought just enough gear to get by as we turned the back of our car into a comfortable bed! We met interesting people along the way, ate our dinners on the beach, visited the Australia Zoo, and enjoyed every minute of a simple lifestyle...
Day 2...
Day 3, a visit to the Australian Zoo...
Day 4...
We spent the remainder of our time in the hip and funky Byron Bay...
Day trip... Laura to try on wedding dresses and drink champagne!
Laura strolls while Sean surfs...
First off, a thank you to our sisters! Kelly for the recommendations in Coogee and Sydney and Kristen for the scuba diving classes last December in Boston, love you both! Loved our time in Australia too.
There isn't much in life that can top a coastal road trip, one that includes koalas and scuba diving to boot! The warm open air of Australia and its coast was the perfect way to kick off our last few weeks of travel. However it's time to get rough and head to a world filled with rugged mountains, geothermal parks, volcanos... and hobbits. Next stop, Middle Earth aka New Zealand!
Soooo soooo happy those scuba classes gave you the confidence you needed. Loving this pics xoxo
Thank you sooooo much!! Love ya xxo
Bring me home one of those kangaroos! So cute!
You got it!
I want lots of pictures of hobbit holes next post!!
🙂 we will seeeee haha
We miss you terribly but your beautiful pictures allow us to feel a part of this amazing journey!
We will see you all so very soon!!
you guys are amazing, what a great time in austrailia! love you
Xxo! Hope to see you guys sooner than later
I love all these posts and watching your journey!! looks AMAZING!!!!!
Thanks for following along chica! Hope to meet up with the crew when I get back
So sad I missed you guys!! Australia and New Zealand are UNREAL!! love your pics, you guys are the cutest!
I knooooow we literally missed each other by a few days!! So glad you got to experience this beautiful country too!