Trip Report Nov 2002 Sydney Cairns
Dec 1st, 2002, 05:06 PM
#1
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Trip Report Nov 2002 Sydney Cairns
Trip report – Nov 6-20 (6 nights Sydney; 6 nights Cairns)<BR><BR>Flew Atlanta to LAX. Spent layover time working out at a gym in the airport Hilton (cost $10). Brought old raggedy workout clothes and tossed them out when I finished working out. It didn’t help me sleep any better on the flight, but it killed some time. <BR><BR>Had the 10:30 PM Qantas flight. I checked in early (around 5 PM). Original seating was not honored; cannot remember why, but I did manage to get a decent seat. My flight had the individual entertainment TVs which was great….as was the Qantas service overall. I probably only slept about 4 of the 14 hours and that was with taking a sleeping tablet! Guess it was the excitement.<BR><BR>We arrived on Nov 8 (Fri), used the ATM to get some cash and bought a 5 day Sydney Pass at the airport. We took the Yellow/Green Airport Bus which dropped us off a couple blocks from our hotel (Southern Cross). We had to wait a couple hours for our room, so we went next store and found a Thai massage place and got a great 15 minute neck massage for something like $10 Australia. After checking in, we spent the rest of the day walking around and riding the Red Explorer bus. Sydney was much busier than I expected and city traffic on a Friday afternoon was extremely bad (even the bus drivers were surprised). Word of advice….avoid Friday afternoon traffic! But, we were excited to be there and just soaked in the sites. <BR><BR>On Day 2 we walked around Circular Quay and the Rocks. Had breakfast at the The Rocks Café and this was good (although I have to confess, my favorite breakfasts were McDonald’s Egg & Bacon McMuffin!). Took the 10:30 AM harbour cruise, which was really good and I highly recommend it. Enjoyed the various performers in the Quay area.<BR>
Dec 1st, 2002, 05:08 PM
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I took a 1 hour tour of the Sydney Opera House (which was great) and that night we had tickets for a concert at the Opera House (pre-booked on the internet). Our performance was chamber music, which is not my favorite. I should have paid more attention to the fact that there are many venues at the Opera House . There were other things going on that were more to my liking. Plus, there was even a free concert event outside and that would have been fun, too. <BR><BR>On Sunday we took the ferry and checked out Taronga Zoo. I liked this more than I thought I would. If you go, make sure you go to the special events when they feed the animals or just provide a zoo-keeper to talk to you. It’s amazing all the things you can learn. We did take pictures with koalas, but they are sleeping koalas….When I took the photo, it was a really big deal. But after a couple weeks in Australia, you sort of get tired of seeing koalas and kangaroos.<BR><BR>Headed for Katoomba (Blue Mountains) on a Monday morning. It was sunny in Sydney, but by the time we got to Katoomba, rain started and it wasn’t quite as scenic as we would have wanted it to be. Our bus driver was pretty funny and only suggested we get off when there was something worthwhile that we could see. We had bought a combined train/Blue Mountains explorer bus pass at the train station in Sydney. I guess my only advice here would be to buy just your train ticket in Sydney and I actually think the Blue Mountain Trolley looks more fun than the Explorer bus (and it’s cheaper). The movie at the end of the bus tour/ride, The Edge, was well worth seeing.<BR><BR>Last full day in Sydney was spent exploring. I rode the city trains and buses. I had not booked the Bridge Climb but decided to go check on it and see how long the wait was. I missed the turn for the street that the Bridge Climb entrance is on and found myself climbing steps to the walkway that lets you simply walk all the way across the bridge, which I did.. I also discovered the Pylon Overlook, and opted to do this instead of the climb (heck, it was only $5 (Australian) and had great views and I could take pictures that turned out great!. After the Pylon Overlook, I took the Rivercat to Watson’s Bay and had lunch at Doyles. From Watson’s Bay, I caught the bus to Bondi Beach and looked around. I should have done the walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach, but I took the Red Explorer Bus back to Circular Quay. Then I took a ferry over to Darling Harbour and checked out the Australian’s Northern Territory & Ouback. They had a great Didgeridoo show (free) that is well worth checking out. I took the ferry back to Circular Quay and had a Caprioska (highly recommended vodka-based drink) at the Quay Bar at Circular Quay while waiting for my friend. It was our last night in Sydney so we took the evening harbour cruise. This was okay, but not something I would recommend if you did the morning harbour cruise. They repeat a lot of the same info and talk about things you really cannot see at night. <BR>
Dec 1st, 2002, 05:09 PM
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Flew from Sydney to Cairns and had pre-arranged for our Palm Cove Hotel (Novatel Resort) to pick us up. Our hotel was great and Palm Cove was heavenly compared to the hustle of Sydney. I really enjoyed the Palm Cove location since it provided some tranquility, was only 20 minutes away from Cairns and about 45 minutes from Port Douglas. One day we took the Poseidon boat out of Port Douglas and snorkeled; the boat and staff were great, but the snorkeling was nothing to write home about. I knick-named it the Good Barrier Reef. I had gotten the concierge at our hotel to pick up some kwells at the pharmacy near her home and took one about an hour before the trip started. Worked great and I did not get the least bit sick nor tired. (a lot of folks did get sick!).<BR><BR>The next day my friend took a snorkel trip out of Cairns with Ocean Spirit and loved it and said it was comparable snorkeling to Hawaii. Plus, they have live entertainment to pass the time on the way back to the wharf – which usually takes about 2 hours time (I passed on this trip since I wasn’t feeling too great and the swells were really bad; the boats were offering a full refund for money paid and I took advantage of this and caught the city bus back to Palm Cove and just relaxed by the pool).<BR><BR>We took David Ambrust’s full day Natural Safari tour and enjoyed the one on one he provided. We were his only passengers that day so we learned a lot. Of course, with the draught in full force, things were really dry – as dry as David has ever seen them and he’s lived in the area his entire life and he’s about 50 years old. It was neat seeing him with his animals and I can say that the lunch he prepares creekside was the best meal I had during my entire trip (he fries up some Baramondi fish, has salads, desserts…yum yum). David’s tour is very low key and slow, so you need to keep this in the back of your mind or you may go a little stir crazy. He lets you take photos along the way and overall I really enjoyed the one on one time with him. <BR><BR>Overall I am glad to have finally fulfilled my dream of seeing Australia. If I had the trip to do all over again, I would probably opt to spend another week and check out some hot spots in New Zealand. I was pressed for time and did not want to do 8 cities in 2 weeks time. But when you are coming home and everyone is talking about all the places they saw, you feel a bit jealous and wish you, too, had done this. When I returned to the states after my trip, I really did not suffer from jet lag. My funniest moments were trying to walk on the right side of the sidewalk again. <BR>
