10ish Must Do's in Australia
Last June my husband and I finally got to go on our honeymoon. We married in October, and because I'm a teacher (and you don't go to Australia for just a week) we postponed our honeymoon until summer. We flew into Sydney where we spent a couple days before flying domestic to Perth. Once in Perth we rented a campervan and drove the Western Australian coastline to Exmouth and back before spending a few days exploring Perth. Finally, we stopped over in Sydney for 24 hours before returning back to the east coast. What was supposed to be our honeymoon, just so happened to also be our babymoon. I was four-five months pregnant, and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Pregnancy didn't limit us on this trip of a lifetime. We packed our time there with adventure after adventure, and I've narrowed down my top 10(ish) things I think you must do!
12. Sydney Opera House We decided on a whim to spend our last evening of vacation seeing a performance at the Sydney Opera House, and it was a great decision. We figured it was likely we would not have the chance again so we saw Assassins, and it was a pretty funny show in an intimate theater. A solid choice, for sure.
11. Sydney's VIVID Light Festival was a really cool coincidence that happened to us. We were able to see it on our initial arrival in Sydney. There were several light displays spread around that we enjoyed walking along and seeing. It was a great bonus to the trip! If you check my highlights on Instagram you'll see some cool videos of the lights projected on the Opera House.
10. You must see the outback of Western Australia. We rented a campervan and traveled around for several weeks. I highly recommend it, as we were able to extend our stays at places we liked the most. I could not get over the vast land forms and colors.
9. You should visit Monkey Mia to feed the dolphins. We arrived early in the morning and waited for the Park Rangers to take us into the water to see and learn about a pod of dolphins that have been frequenting Monkey Mia for generations. We were chosen to feed a dolphin and it was a really, really cool experience. We were not allowed to touch or pet the dolphins, in an effort to preserve their natural habitat and natural interactions in the wild. I highly recommend this adventure.
8. Karijni National Park was the most remote (we're talking about 8 hours of red clay outback driving) and beautiful national park we had ever visited. I, admittedly, was terrified to come across exotic snakes and did a couple quick startled runs through tall grasses when I thought I heard something rustling around near my feet. We didn't have power hook ups while we camped in Karijni and used a communal grill to prepare our food. We did a number of hikes and lots of unpaved road trekking though Karijni. We were rewarded with many beautiful sites we won't soon forget.
7. Buy local art. We try to follow this rule whenever we vacation somewhere new so we can reminisce on the adventure through our home decor. We chose this piece from Atty's Gallery in Sydney near The Rocks and knew immediately it would be placed in our child's nursery. Madeline was my favorite souvenir from the trip!
6. See Kalbarri National Park to sit in Nature's Window. We really enjoyed this stop. The rock formations were truly exquisite, and the composition of the rocks were really beautiful. I was so mesmerized by the many shades of reds and brown veins running through the slick rocks. It was a must see on our trip north.
5. Coral Bay- Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel: I will forever sport fin scars from our snorkel day on the Ningaloo Reef, and I'm not even mad about it. We jumped on and off the boat countless times to swim alongside some of the most elegant fish- the manta ray. Micha and I really, really enjoyed this adventure, and would recommend it, hands down. It's definitely a workout and an adventure that'll leave you STARVING, but it's so worth it! Coral Bay has a great vibe, and the most posh campground- we liked it so much that we booked a couple days there again on our return trip. We were able to catch a few of the World Cup games at the local bar while we visited.
4. Lancelin Sand Dunes was another destination that we visited twice. The second time we visited we rented a sandboard and did not regret it. Yes! I was sandboarding at four and a half months pregnant, and it was such a rush. We had so much fun, and left literally pouring sand out of our pockets. I had sand in my hair for the remainder of the vacation. I think we paid $8 for the most fun. I felt like a giddy child, and if it weren't for my lack of breath, I wouldn't have shared the board between runs. {Hiking up the sinking dunes was exhausting!}
3. Cohunu Koala Park From the moment we booked the trip I knew I wanted to do whatever it took to hold a koala. I even cried when we couldn't work it into the trip on our first day in Perth, and I knew we needed to wait until we returned to Perth at the end of the trip before I would be able to hold a koala. I loved this visit to the Cohunu Koala Park so much! Holding a koala was different than I had anticipated; they were surprisingly heavy, so soft, and they smelled of eucalyptus. They do have very sharp claws, so you have to keep them occupied with food, and I had to wear a protective bib so they couldn't pierce my clothing. Also at the Koala Park we were able to share a popcorn treat with kangaroos and wombats.
2. Rottnest Island Another highly anticipated trip was the day we planned to spend at Rottnest Island seeking out the infamous quokkas. Quokkas are the coolest rodents in the world; they have no natural predators so they are fearless little creatures. If I had to describe them I would say they are a cross between a raccoon and a rabbit- they kind of hop around and are very social animals. We rented bikes and rode them around the island while on the search for our first glimpse of these friends, and we ended up seeing them in a bush just beside the road. When we parked our bikes they just seemed to come out of the bushes to greet us, and I truly felt like I was Cinderella. If you need a smile, google "quokka selfie" and your day will be made and you too will want to go find these guys.
1. Exmouth Diving Center- Snorkel with Whale Sharks While heavy on the budget, this is one of those all day adventures that rivals any bucket list. We were fed great food and treated to 8 dives in the water with three different sharks. We learned all about whale sharks (of which I've nearly all but forgotten- hello pregnancy brain) and even got to see a whale surface and greet our boat. I really do wish I remember all of the education behind the adventure, but I do remember them giving the full comparison of the whale and the shark and if you had to choose, a whale shark is more shark than whale... but friendly and kinda dumb (and blind) nonetheless. The tour ended with some humpback sightings. I cannot imagine assigning words to the experience under water. Literally, it was something I know I will always remember... when I'm old and sitting in a nursing home I'll still talk about the thoughts running through my mind as a whale shark approached me in the Indian Ocean. Their mouth-span (literally their smiling mouths) is enormous, but I'll tell you that I wasn't scared. I was so damn giddy that I was actually getting to see these guys in the wild that I forgot to swim, and thus never caught up to the whale again on that dive. The guides warned us, when you see him start swimming, and my dumbass just grinned in awe and missed it- it didn't stop me from trying to keep up, but boy they are some "fast" swimmers... really they aren't but it's all relative when you're the LARGEST fish in the sea. I made friends with the photographer because we all know, if you don't have a picture it never happened. Our sweet, tiny little photographer managed to swim with a massive underwater camera in her hand while dragging my pregnant body into position for the following photo- she's the real professional.
Comments
Post a Comment