Day 9: Monday December 30th - Back to the Surf

On day 9 I would like to take our trip back to the main focus of us going to Australia; the BEACH!  Day 9 will be our last day in Brisbane before heading farther North to Queensland.  The logical solution is to visit Byron Bay!  Byron Bay is described as the ultimate surf town with hippie hinterland, to me this sounds like a fantastic way to spend our day before hoping on another plane.  After a day of doing nothing on day 8, Wes will be wanting to give surfing another shot and I will be craving some physical activity.  "The Pass" is a well known beach for beginners to learn how to surf.  Through a surfing school, Style Surfing we will take a 3.5 hour beginner group lesson.  Even though this may very well be Wes' third attempt to surf, I'm still counting ourselves as beginners!  I think the Style Surfing because they guarantee you get up within the 3.5 hours or you get a full refund...they may end up taking away this policy after they are not able to get me to stand on that thing!  The beginner course will cost us $60/person.  The rest of the day is meant to relax on one of the many beaches to choose from!

     

Day 8: Sunday December 29th - Putter & Shop

We haven't really scheduled a day to do absolutely nothing.  Our itinerary is of course subject to change depending on jet-lag, weather, etc.  I am throwing in this extra day to simply enjoy the city.  Perhaps some shopping, if we have any money left, a nice lunch out and just enjoying our hotel room. 

Day 7 - Saturday December 28th - North Gorge Headlands Walk

Saturday is going to be a pretty big day trip!  Our day will begin with a 30 minute ferry ride from Cleveland where we will head to the North Straddle Island.  The point lookout offers a viewing opportunity for turtles, dolphins and manta rays year-round.  There are several beaches accessible from the point lookout.  The North Gorge Headlands Walk is a great opportunity to get in some exercise and see the main attractions of the area.  Access to the Gorge Walk is on Moloomba Road at Point Lookout, opposite Fishes Cafe and the Oceanic Gelati Shop.  The rest of the day will be spent enjoying the beach before we take the Ferry back to the main land of Brisbane.   

Day 6: Friday December 27th - Koala Call!

I am a HUGE animal lover and cannot wait to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Greater Brisbane.  The sanctuary is a 35 minute bus ride from the city center and is home to a wide variety of animals including kangaroos, possums and wombats (in addition to koalas of course).  The 430 bus will cost us $4.70/person and leaves from the Queen St bus station.  The sanctuary itself will cost $60 for the two of us.   

Day 5: Thursday December 26th - On the road again

Jetstar Airways Flight 814 Sydney --> Brisbane

SYD 10:55am --> BNE 11:25am 

Direct 1h 30m 

$218 for 2 people

After five days in Sydney (and constantly staying with other people), Wes & I plan to head off on our own to experience Brisbane and the tropical part of Queensland before having to head back to Canada.  

We will be staying at the Central Brunswick Apartment Hotel   from Thursday December 26th-Tuesday December 31st.  I choose this hotel because it has a kitchenette right in the room.  Wes and I are not the easiest people to feed.  I am a gluten-free vegetarian and Wes has a severe peanut allergy.  Going out to eat in restaurants is not always the most pleasant experience and it makes it a lot easier if we can stop in a little grocery store and make the majority of our meals while on our own.   

I would like to spend our first day in Brisbane wandering around, picking up some groceries and simply enjoying some time together. 

Day 4: Wednesday December 25th - Christmas Day

Wes and I are planning on spending Christmas day with his relatives, who live in Sydney.  It will work out nicely that for the first week or so we won't have to pay for a hotel because we will be staying with the family and friends we know in the area.  After the three days with Annie, we will be packing up once again and staying with Wes' family for the night.  

Day 3: Tuesday December 24th - Christmas Eve in Aus

By day three if I haven't really done anything active, I am seriously going to need to get a good workout in!  I would like to experience Sydney from as many angles and activities as possible. Therefore, kayaking in Sydney Harbour sounds ideal.  Natural Wanders offers kayaking tour earlier in the morning around the Harbour bridge, Lavender Bay, Balmain and Birchgrove.  More specifically, the "billy blue paddle tour" is available at anytime given at least a weeks notice.  The tour typically lasts two hours and is approximately 5.5km in length.  The Billy Blue tour is meant for beginners and even though I have kayaked before, I think it will be nice to take a step back and really enjoy the scenery.   At only $65/person, I think it will be an excellent experience to get up and out first thing in the morning (yes, I am defiantly a morning person). 

I want to be able to get outside as much as possible while in Australia.  There are three things I will be focusing on during this trip: 1) seeing and experiencing Australia 2) fitness & staying active while away from home 3) getting a tan - I want to enjoy the sunshine! 

With that being said, I see another beach day happening after our kayaking experience.  In all of the research I have done on Australia, everyone seems to be talking about Bondi Beach.  So, I obviously need to go to and see for myself how wonderful this beach is.  There are sevreal bus and train options to get from Sydney Harbour to Bondi beach.  If we take the 380 or 333 bus from Circular Quay to get to North Bondi, we will have to walk for 5 minutes or so from the bus stop to get to the beach.  I plan to begin my Bondi experience with the 5.5km Bondi to Coogee Clifftop Walk.  The walk will take approximately two hours.  As I have mentioned, I enjoy being active and seeing what Australia has to offer.  Therefore, the walk to Coogee Clifftop sound like the perfect opportunity for me to experience Bondi.  Once we return from the walk, I plan to enjoy everything Bondi Beach has to offer by laying out in the sun.  Wes will probably want to give surfing another go, but I'll let him figure it out on his own this time.