Ever since I was a young girl I have dreamed of a vacation to Australia. “The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough was a novel I read over and over and I watched the mini-series as many times as well.
To my absolute delight that dream of a bucket list vacation to Australia was about to come true. I knew it had to be planned just right! As I assume you are aware Australia is a very large country and we had only a total of 2 weeks to explore it so I really had to choose the perfect places to visit; I knew that the Outback was a must see on this vacation as that is where my thoughts always turn when I think of Australia. This is when I decided to hire a professional Travel Advisor to plan the perfect trip for my husband and I.
I think the easiest way to explain what my bucket list vacation entailed is to start at the beginning and work my way through, so without further ado let me begin. Our first leg of our Australian adventure began in Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
We flew into Syndey, Australia on a lovely day in early October; the seasons are different than in Canada or the USA, so this was Spring in Sydney; flowers were blooming and everything was coming alive!
My first impression of the city was a bit of surprise; our hired car picked us up at the airport and drove us through the city toward our hotel and my surprise was just how big everything in this city was! I hadn’t pictured it as being the “big city” with huge skyscrapers and busy people everywhere.
So we arrived at our hotel, the Radisson Blu Plaze Hotel, Sydney. https://radissonhotels.com . We checked in, brought our luggage to our room and basically decided we were heading straight to the harbour . As we could not contain our excitement any longer, we walked the short distance to the harbour. I will never forget the moment I spotted the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time, I actually teared up. It seemed surreal to me that we were there.
Something that I was not aware of is that there are a number of restaurants with outdoor seating lining the side of the Opera House. As well all along the Harbour. However, a word of warning that the seagulls are adept at finding the exact time you turn away to dive in and grab your food!
Sydney Harbour is not only beautiful in the daytime; it lights up at night and is a magical sight to see!
BONDI BEACH, AUSTRALIA
Next day we decided we needed to do some exploring. Sydney has a very convenient Big Bus system that can take you all over the city. So we decided that we would take the one that would go to Bondi Beach as it was a beautiful sunny day and why wouldn’t we want to go to the beach? We fell in love with this area of Sydney. It was true beach town with shops and restaurants, you entered the beach area through a large pavilion and voila there it was!
When you are staying in a harbour city it makes sense that you need to tour around on the water as well as land, so next I will take you to our beautiful boat tour! It was such a fun day! The boat picked us up at circular quay and it was a bright sunny day, perfect day to spend on the water. We were well taken care of by our captain and first mate who made us a lovely lunch and made sure we saw lots of sights we did not want to miss.
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
Next day we did a tour of the Sydney Opera House. The tour is so informative and full of historical information. I definitely recommend this on a visit to Sydney.
Another small adventure we took while visiting Sydney was a cruise on the Ferry. It is something you could literally spend all day doing and you get to see so much for very little cost. This day we discovered Darling Harbour. Located on the other side of the Harbour Bridge, it has lot’s of its own beauty to share.
Our last day in Sydney was another rainy day and I was on a mission to see Koala Bears and Kangaroos. So we decided to visit Sydney Wildlife Zoo. Also within walking distance from our hotel this beautiful place is located at Darling Harbour. We had the most fabulous day here, and I got my wish.
That pretty much sums up our time spent in Sydney, Australia and I will never forget it! Off we go to our next adventure, see you at the Outback!
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