One month's honeymoon in Australia was simply wonderful. A land of endless adventure, beaches, sights and what about the Great Barrier Reef! Wow! Our first 5 nights at the Colonial Club in Cairns was exactly what we needed after a long flight. Time to chill and relax and then so many excursions to give us a taste of this breathtaking area of Australia. We took a day trip through the enchanting rainforest and a trip on the scenic Kuranda Skyrail, snorkelled and dived in the reef and then lazed on the white coral sands.
On the morning of check-out from the Colonial Club, I rang some car hire companies enquiring on rental rates, fortunately one company needed a brand new 5 berth camper van delivered from Cairns to their office in Brisbane! At a small charge of 40 Australian Dollars per day - the campervan was ours for 7 days! What a great deal, guess we were in the right place at the right time, so stage 2 began! The freedom of a campervan in Australia is super, no ties, no deadlines just the open road; stopping at towns/villages along the way that took our fancy. A great selection of seaside towns with amazing sea view apartments to choose from. Noosa was one of our favourites.
Our arrival to Brisbane was stress free and we delivered campervan and got a taxi to the Ibis Hotel, medium standard 3* in a great location. We booked in for 2 nights and extended our stay by an additional 2 nights as we were hooked on the city! There was a fabulous atmosphere in Brisbane, one of an upbeat holiday city and so many excursions and day trips are available here. We took in a trip to a Zoo where we saw crocodile shows and a koala sanctuary, we also had a super trip to the Warner Bros Movie World where my husband was called on stage and dressed as superman and filmed saving a lady from a tall building!! We didn't get time to squeeze in a trip to the waterpark but will have to on our next visit.
After 4 nights in Brisbane some more transport was needed - a car this time and we took off on stage 3. We spent approx 1 week to drive from Brisbane to Sydney, stopping at wonderful towns again along our way, no rushing, stopping to get a closer feel of these areas. There are many surfing resorts along the coast but never a feeling of being over-crowded, the towns are so spread out - it's hard to imagine an empty beach 3-4 miles long!
A wonderful 2 night stop at Coffs Harbour was a true taste of heaven! An amazing beach front apartment we came across just took our breath away so this became home for 2 nights!
Onwards to Sydney, an amazing reality check into city life. All the sights you expect are right there! To see the Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour & Bondi Beach with your own eyes is a treat in itself. You see pictures of these in brochures but the feeling of seeing them 'in the flesh' is jaw dropping. A world so far away but also so accessible. There is absolutely no reason for anyone not to experience Australia at least once in their life time - so make the pledge and get to this fascinating, exciting country and experience it for yourself! I cannot recommend Australia highly enough; there is definitely something for everyone!