Down Under (Part 2)

My 3 week trip to Australia was absolutely wonderful - it's the best vacation I have ever taken. For those bloggers out there who are thinking about going to Oz, I could give you a lot of travel advice being that I personally planned my entire trip.

The best part of the trip, I have to say, was Kangaroo Island. On a scale of 1-10, it was a "10" and the Great Barrier Reef was a "9". Kangaroo Island is a fairly large island off the coast of South Australia, easily accessible by plane or ferry. I did a private/shared tour with Adventure Charters with 4 other people - it was pricey but worth every penny! We saw kangaroos, koalas, fur seals, sea lions, fairy penguins, exotic birds, and about a million wallabies. I would highly recommend a visit to Kangaroo Island to anyone I know planning a trip to Oz.

I got a little adventurous and took the 4,352 km train journey from Sydney, NSW to Perth, WA on the Indian Pacific. The entire journey was 3 nights and 4 days, but I broke it up by staying in Adelaide, SA for 4 nights. In addition to visiting Kangaroo Island, I did a private/shared tour of the Barossa Valley wine region. We visited 6 wineries that day - Rockford, Penfolds, Charles Melton, Turkey Flat, Two Hands, and Torbreck.

Then it was on to Perth, WA. I pretty much relaxed for 3 nights and watched the Winter Olympics. Boring I know. I did take a couple of river cruises on the Swan River - one to a winery and one to Fremantle, a neat town that has been the host of the America's Cup.

I did get to see Ayer's Rock, or Uluru, from the air on my flight from Perth to Cairnes, QLD. I stayed in Port Douglas, a small fishing village-turned-tourist town on the Great Barrier Reef. I believe that President Clinton has stayed here twice. I spent 2 full days of snorkeling at the reef and one evening in the Daintree Rainforest, considered to be the oldest living rainforest in the world. We saw feral pigs, exotic birds, butterflies, wallabies, and possums on this trip - very enjoyable.

I was in for a treat when I decided to spend 2 nights at the Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa - a spa in the middle of the rainforest. The rooms are great - I had a Jacuzzi on my screened in porch. The spa treatment I had was wonderful - their signature treatment called "The Dreaming" - a must do. The owners were very sweet - I got the chance to meet them and even had dinner with them one evening.

Finally, it was back to Sydney. On my last night I decided to take a night tour of Sydney. I felt very silly being that I was the only person on the tour that night (it was the off-season you know) and the bus was painted bright orange and called the "Sydney Party Bus". The embarrassment was worth it though. I got a breathtaking shot of the Sydney Opera House while walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

All in all, the trip was too short. 3 weeks sure flies by when you are having a fabulous time! I'm already planning the next trip!

G'day mate!