Crikey, Mate We Went to the Land Down Under: Australia Travel Diary

G’DAY MATE, welcome to my Australia Travel Diary! My mumsie, Amanda and I decided a nice trip to Australia over New Years would be a BLOODY RIPER. (Please note that I plan to write most of this blog in an Australian accent so feel free to read it in one). CHEERS. I nannied for an Australian family back in college so I like to pretend that their Australianness rubbed off on me, so if I ever traveled to their motherland, I would fit right in. I know all the terms like nappy, petrol, vegemite, tim-tams, milo, boot, etc…. I’m so Australian. So sit back, get a cup of coffee and enjoy my Australia Travel Diary! If you just want to read my recomendations for each city check out what do eat, see and do in Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns.

Australia Travel Diary: Day 0: OFF TO SYDNEY!

We took the Virgin Australia red-eye from LAX to Sydney so we could wake up there with no jet-lag. Or at least minimal jet-lag. I reeeaaaalllyyy wasn’t looking forward to a 13 HOUR FLIGHT. But I managed. Slept almost the entire time. But woke up for the snackz.

Day 1: Sydney, Australia

After we landed (over a day later), I was stopped at the self passport scanner, in customs, by a security guard because you have to be 16 YEARS OLD OR OLDER TO USE IT. My good sir, thank you for such a compliment. It must be my youthful glow! But, I’m like… old and stuff.  

After checking in, we set off to explore the city! Since we couldn’t get into the airbnb until the afternoon we sat in a bar… with our luggage. Such tourists. So now the Australia Travel Diary can officially begin! LET’S GO.

Exploring Sydney

Looks just like it did in the movies!

Looks just like it did in the movies!

I couldn’t believe how HOT AND HUMID it was. My body was confused as to why we went from winter to summer and JUST STARTED PROFUSELY SWEATING. Thought I was going to pass TF out. We were starting to feel the jet lag (and our lack of water) so we had an early dinner at an Italian woodfire pizzeria place called Macchiato (DELISH) and went to bed.

Day 2: Sydney (NEW YEARS EVE!)

Being in Sydney for New Years and seeing the fireworks has always been on my bucket list. Every website told us to stake out a place to watch the fireworks (at the free places) around 9am on New Years Eve. HOOOKKAAYYY. We didn’t feel like sitting and waiting for 15 hours for some fireworks so we explored more of Sydney!   We enjoyed a nice brecky and then wandered over to the Surry Hills area and I must say, it might have been my fav area of Sydney.  

Breakfast

Australia Travel Diary: Exploring Sydney

We figured we should head back to the airbnb to have a rest if we were going to try and stay up till midnight…. but we ended up in a wine bar somehow…  

I am SO glad we stopped in here because it was SO fun. The people who worked there were just the nicest. We hung out and talked to them for about 2 hours. Everyone is just so friendly and kind. Since we didn’t get in our afternoon nap we figured we should grab a quick bite to eat before heading down to find a place to watch the fireworks.

Australia Travel Diary: Spice Alley

Right around the corner from Handpicked Wines, is Spice Alley. My family is a huge lover of Asian Cuisine and Spice Alley was… right up our… alley… pun intended.

There were TONS of different places to choose from. Did we want Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Malaysian???? I WANTED IT ALL!

I think if I lived in Sydney I would want to be as near to Spice Alley as possible. ‘Twas delish.

New Years Eve Celebrations

We headed down to the Circular Quay area to try and find a good spot to watch the fireworks around 6pm. I packed some snacks, water, games, candy and one tiny bath towel for us 3. We had a few places in mind but weren’t set on any particular area. Pretty much wherever there was room for us… we would go.

So we ate our snacks and played some card games.

I attached a video from youtube if you care to watch. I have seen many a firework show in my days, but I had never seen fireworks be shot off from a bridge before. And they were shooting them off from every direction and straight over our heads. MADNESS. It was cool to ring in the New Year almost a day before everyone else in The States.

They were also shooting off rainbow fireworks because Australia had just legalized gay marriage (minute 5:42 on the video). Once the finale starting happening (minute 11:30) there was so much happening I didn’t even know where to look. Brava Sydney, Brava.

Because of all the crazies in the world and of recent events, being in large, crowded areas where anything can happen makes me extremely uneasy. That being said, I was blown away at how calm, organized and respectful everyone was being. My mom, Amanda and I talked about how surprised we were that we didn’t feel anxious or nervous. Sydney knew what it was doing. Brava again Sydney. Brava.

It took us almost 2 hours to walk 1.5 miles back to the Airbnb. We had a solid four hours of sleep before we had to wake up and catch a flight to Melbourne!

Day 3: Melbourne, Australia

It’s pronounced Mel-BIN not MEL-BURN. Idk why the Australian language even has the letter “R”. They never really use it. Honestly, we were a bit knackered (tired in Aussie lingo). Jet lag, New Years… it was getting to us. So a bit of brunch and a nice afternoon at the pool was what Day 3 called for.

Breakfast

Exploring Melbourne

Melbourne has some of the coolest architecture I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of a mix of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and San Francisco. Everywhere you looked there was either a cool building or wall art. AND I LOVED IT ALLLLLL.  

Luckily our airbnb had a pool #blessed! So we laid out and got our January tan on.   But if you are a redhead, I recommend you put on SPF 70 sunscreen and wear everyone’s swim coverups over every surface of your body.   There is a hole in the ozone over Australia and my skin is a nice snowy white so I wasn’t messing around with the sun this trip.  

Day 4: Melbourne

We started the day at the Queen Victoria Market which end up being one of our favorite things we did in Melbourne. We even went back on Day 5. (stay tuned).  

Queen Victoria Market

They had a whole building just for food. Which is honestly the best and worst thing. SO many choices… so many delicious choices. Flashbacks to Spice Alley….  

I would post what we all ate but my Grandma told me I post too many food pictures.  

I had a beef pie. And I will be honest with you all. I had many beef pies, pasty pies and sausage rolls over the two weeks in Australia. And since I’ve been home, I’ve pinned many beef pies, pasty pies and sausage rolls recipes on pinterest. I know it won’t be the same but a girl can try.  

And then we stumbled upon these guys! They were SO good. The band is called Opal Ocean.    

Look em up.

Jam on brothaaas

And off we went to explore the city!

Australia Travel Diary Exploring More!

  One of the streets, Hosier Lane is all graffiti. Looked super cool.

  It’s art, man.

I LOOOOVEEEDDD Degraves st. It was quirky with a European twist. Cute little shops and cafes with Melbourne flair.

By this time we are POOOOPED. We decided to swing by the store for some snacks, head back to the airbnb, and play some cards and eat snacks.

Day 5: Melbourne

We woke up sore and tired. WE CAN’T SLOW DOWN NOW PEOPLE.

But first things first… we brunch.

I was in a pancake coma. But there was still much more of Melbourne to be seen!

Australia Travel Diary Sightseeing

We walked and walked and walked and walked and our feet hurt so bad at this point that instead of walking to the night market (same place we were yesterday), we ubered.

Australia Travel Diary Melbourne Night Market

The food choices! Errrmuuuuhhhgerdddddd. We took a few laps before we divided and conquered the food booths.

Pavlova is a Australian meringue dessert named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova!! It was magical. Nice and crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle topped with strawberries and kiwis and passionfruit sauce.

I love trying boba in other parts of the world. This one was meh but DON’T FRET I had some better boba later in the trip.

Back at our airbnb, we decided to play another round of cards (obvi) before hittin’ the hay.

Day 6: Melbourne

Last day in Melbourne!

St. Kilda

Well not anywhere. We were going to St. Kilda Beach. But after a stop into the Matcha Mylkbar.

I know it’s a matcha place and I should have got a matcha latte but I heard APPLE PIE and couldn’t say no. Plus sometimes I feel like matcha tastes like warm grass. But Amanda loves it. But she’s weird.

Night Market #2

I think this day was one of my favorites. It was nice to have a relaxing day at the beach and wandering around the streets and shops of St. Kilda.

Day 6: Cairns, Australia

Look how gorg our sunrise view was in Melbourne right before we left for the airport.

Australia Travel Diary Off to Cairns

Five hour flight to Cairns! (Pronounced CAAAAAANNNS) See, the Australians disregard the “R”!!

And by god it was just as humid as Hawaii. If you remember at the beginning of the blog I was frickennnnn dying and all hot and sweaty.  

It was worse here.

We had to wait to check into our room so we went and got lunch.

The entire lunch it was pouring rain but I was still dying of the heat/humidity. Needed something cold ASAP.

This will do.

After an afternoon nap and watching a game of cricket on the tv (I tried to google the rules), we were hungry again. (duh)

I feel like this blog is turning into a food blog? A nice combo of my face and food. What more could you want??

First Dinner in Cairns

This was my favorite meal. I think. Idk, we had so many amazing meals.

Day 7: Cairns

We booked an excursion to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up to the Kuranda Village. This excursion included a train ride up, admission to a butterfly sanctuary, buffet lunch, Australia wildlife tour, aborigine experience, Army duck boat jungle tour and then a ride down on a sky rail.SO MANY ACTIVITIES. I’ll keep the writing short and sweet and try not to make this section too long. Definitely a super fun day. Yo reccomendo, mate.

Australia Travel Diary Train to Kuranda

Animal Sanctuary

    SO CUTEEEEEEEEE   and onto the next… Boomerang practice!  

Boomerang Practice

    was my mom a natural boomerang thrower as well???   no.

    But was Amanda????  

  no. she was worse. Threw it right into the tree.  

After our boomerang practice the aborigines put on a performance.

And then they pulled people on stage. They PULLED AMANDA!!! HAHAHAHAAHAH  

  HAHAHAHAHA this guys legs. I die.  

Onto a rainforestation tour.

After our little tour of the rainforest we travel back down via a sky rail.

Sky Rail!

Man, we were knackered after this day. So we went back to the hotel and prepared our mind, body and souls for another long day of snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow!

(The link to the Kuranda adventure -> HERE)

Day 7: Cairns

Before I dive into our snorkeling trip (pun intended) maybe take a bit of a potty break. Grab a snack. Do some jumping jacks. This blog is a long one!

Ready?

Snorkel Time

We had two different snorkel stops. I don’t know which location I enjoyed more. I know my mom enjoyed the first one more because at the second one she got stung by a bloodthirsty… SAVAGE.. VICIOUS…FEROCIOUS…

itty bitty wittle tiny jelly fish

But it got her pretty good.

So she sat out the last half of the swim to mend her wounds.

Even though my mother had a battle in the Great Open Ocean and lived to tell the tale…

We do recommend the trip!! Here is the link to Adventure we picked -> HERE

Dinner

Day 8: Cairns

On our last day in Cairns, we just walked around and explored the town and ended the day at the pool! We needed a chill day after all that adventure we were doing.  

Waffle Breakfast

Pool Time

Notice the rainbow. So purdy  

We had a nice dinner at the Salt House. I’m not sure how to describe the atmosphere of this place so I’m going to take it right from the website. The Salt House is, “Unlike anything you’ve seen before, relax on our daybeds in the tropical outdoors, surrounded by flowing ponds and fire features. With casual style dining, our tapas bar menu is perfect for sharing with friends, matched with a perfectly made cocktail on a sunny Cairns afternoon.” – Salt House content person.

So I laid on a day bed sipping on my sangria while gnawing on various hors d’oeuvres.

Day 9: Sydney, Australia

We’re going going back back to Sydney Sydney.   Landed just in time for din din.  

Day 10: Sydney

Y’all still with me?

ZOO DAY!

We took a little ferry ride over yonder to the other side of the harbor to visit the Taronga Zoo.

After the zoo, one might say we were dry as a dead dingo’s donga.

Not saying who might say that… but one might.

FOOOOOD

So we set off to find a pint!

Mummsie and I continued wondering around while Amanda went back to the hotel room. Even though I just downed a beer… I got a boba at ChaTime. SO YUMMY.

The ramen we had the previous night, the beer and boba we had were all in this location called World Square. It had tons of shops, restaurants, cafes… you name it.

Day 11: Sydney

Wahhhh. Last full day in Sydney. We decided to end our trip with a BANG. Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It’s about $200 per person to climb it. And yes it was worth it. Totally worth it. Mary-Kate and Ashley did it in Our Lips are Sealed so we obviously had to do it too.  

Harbor Bridge Climb

It was comforting to know that the Bridge climb company puts fashion first.

I mean safety. They put safety first.   The entire time we were attached to the bridge by a cable. Our hats, glasses, and what not were all tied to us. They want NOTHING to fall below into the traffic on the bridge.   The climb is fairly easy. The hardest part would be a few ladders up and down at the beginning and end of the climb. But thats not even that bad. My mother was pretty nervous. She’s not a big fan of heights,

but even she didn’t think the climb was bad!  

After the climb…

Exploring Sydney!

We hadn’t even been over to the Opera House yet!

Right behind the opera house is the Sydney Botanical Gardens. Not as good as the Melbourne Gardens but they had a huge sunflower field sooooo photoshoooooooooot

Sunflowers and Skyscrapers

After the climb of our lives and wandering around the city… our feet hurt. After 2 weeks of constantly walking and adventuring. We were tired. I grabbed a quick boba (same place as yesterday lol) and we headed back to the airbnb to pack.

Day 12: Sydney

Back home we go.  

Flying back to CA

To beat jet lag, Amanda and I tried to stay up as late as possible so we could sleep the next day on the flight. We made it to about 2am haha. I was soooooo lucky to have a 5 year old kid behind me who kicked my seat for 13 hours straight but I did manage to get a little nap in. Unfortunately… I did not beat jet lag. Jet lag beat me…up. Took me about a week to snap back into it. Overall the trip was AMAZING. Everything we ate was AMAZING. We had AMAZING weather. We managed to miss a huge heat wave in Melbourne by a day. Missed a huge rain storm in Cairns by a day. And missed a second heat wave in Sydney! Mother Nature was on our side. I really really really didn’t want to leave.

I’ll definitely be back! Hope you all enjoyed my Australia Travel Diary! If you need help planning your own trip, check out out my Australia destination guides on Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns!

Cheers, Mate!