This past week and a half has been an absolute whirlwind. My parents and I decided that we would travel together for two weeks prior to my semester abroad in Kaikoura, New Zealand. Last week Wednesday we landed in the busy and beautiful city of Sydney. City life isn’t particularly my cup of tea, but Sydney is a unique city in its transportation system, laid back lifestyle, and harbour life. My first impression, though, COLD. When you’re used to 85 and humid, 50 feels like the next Ice Age.
We spent 5 days in Sydney and managed to see quite a bit because of the great transportation system. Among those were, Watson’s Bay, Bondi Beach, Sydney Olympic Park, Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Manly Beach, The Blue Mountains, and Hillsong Church. Despite being such a large city, I found that Sydney runs at a much slower pace than most American cities and even most shops and cafes are closed on the weekends. All in all, Sydney was great! Next stop: Cairns, Australia for some snorkeling and koala cuddling.
Katoomba, Australia
Despite being such a large city, I found that Sydney runs at a much slower pace than most American cities and even most shops and cafes are closed on the weekends. All in all, Sydney was great! Next stop: Cairns, Australia for some snorkeling and koala cuddling.
Cairns (Pronounced “cans”) is in the northern part of Australia in the state of Queensland. In our short 4 days we packed in snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, a trip to the little village of Daintree for some croc hunting and hiking, and a scenic train ride to Kuranda for some kangaroo feeding and koala cuddling.
It was also nice to have some warm weather before heading down to wintery New Zealand! Our flight departs tomorrow at 6am for Christchurch, New Zealand where I will spend 4 more days with my parents before they fly home and I get to meet the rest of my group before heading to the little town of Kaikoura!
Australia, you’ve done well. New Zealand, here I come!
