Author Archives: Andi

Can it really be that today, Day 16 of our trip, is already our last day? The one when we are leaving Sydney, and Australia? I guess it is so. After city sightseeing, mountain hiking, Outback driving, coast exploring, animal feeding, reef snorkeling and shark diving, rain forest sky-railing and finally gift shopping, we have seen & done it all. At least all that we had planned for. So today, we have 3 more things on the list: eat breakfast, … Read More

Finally, on Day 15, we got to do one of the most important things: souvenir shopping! 😉 With high expectations on our trip, Christmas just outside our door step and usual gift shop addictions, we had to go out and spend some $$. After a really slow start in the day (we almost missed our free breakfast in the executive lounge!), we decided to check out Sydney’s Chinatown, just a few blocks from the hotel. Starting with lunch (just, a … Read More

I’m stealing the title for today’s post (Day 14) from a book of one of my most favorite authors: Bill Bryson. And a walk in the woods we went on yesterday! Leaving Cairns in the morning, we headed just about 15 minutes to the north, to catch the SkyRail Rainforest Cableway to a lofty ride over the rain forest tree tops. With 2 stations in the middle of the rain forest, visitors get to enjoy the walkways laid out through … Read More

Even on a boat, you need to be healthy. So we made sure to get our share of veggies. Cucumbers to be exact. Sea Cucumbers. What? They’re not a veggie? Hmmm … well, anyways, we had plenty of them. At the Flynn Reef, our “home”for the past 2 days! Welcome to our Day 12 & 13 experience: The Great Barrier Reef! After being on a transfer boat from Cairns Marina to Moore Reef (operator: Marine World) from approx. 1 1/2 … Read More

We’re beat.  Two days of sun and salt water.  I can’t get the salty taste out of my mouth and I’ve showered and brushed my teeth twice.  Anyway, we had a really great time.  I did an “introductory dive” since I’m not certified.  Basically all I had to do was breathe and kick, and the dive instructir did everything else while holding on to me.  It felt like a slow ride at Disneyland and it was cool. Andrea, the “certified … Read More

Heading out on our overnight dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We’ll be back in a couple days. See you then! Andrea & Kirk

Everybody needs a break sometimes. So Kirk’s sore throat got a break with the antibiotics and we got a break from the busy touring of the last 10 days and took it slow today. Tomorrow, we’ll be getting up & out early to catch the boat that will take us out on the Great Barrier Reef, where we’ll spend the next 2 days/1 night. We’ll get you an update of the dives upon our return to Cairns! Until then … … Read More

Oh man.  That sore throat turned out to be a doosy.  I’ll spare you the details of last night.  It wasn’t fun.  Poor Andrea for having see me suffer.  And poor people in the next hotel room.  We could hear them coughing throughout the night.  I’m sure they got an earfull from my fun.  Sorry neighbors. For Andrea, it was 4 hours of driving to Cairns (pronounced “cans”).  For me, sleep.  So not too many photos for the gallery today.  … Read More

Today’s photos in the gallery are pretty much a perfect representation of what we got to see (over and over and over again). Enjoy!

Look left (photo)! That was our accident of the day (Day 8) – just before heading off to our 759 km drive up north! Lesson learned: when you forget to eat your ice cream after dinner and leave it in the fridge (ice shelf) over night), it will still be way to soft to be eaten the next morning. Hmmm. Great move getting it out of the car and away from us anyways. After this little incident, nothing else spectacular … Read More