My trip to Australia started as going to all the tennis majors was one of my bucket list items. I had in two of them, the US Open and the French Open. Getting in the Australian Open would be the third and the hardest. In case you were wondering, Wimbledon is the other tennis major.
I kept pushing it off to “next year” I will go; but this was the year I was going!
Being such a long distance away it was one of the harder trips to plan since I would also want to go other places in Australia. Also on the bucket list was diving the Great Barrier Reef so a trip to Cairns would be in the cards and of course Sydney.
For those who don’t know, the Australian Open (AO) is in Melbourne. So three cities would need to planned ie: flights hotels etc. Since I am not particularly good at organizing this whole trip would be a major challenge.
Luckily a friend of mine is from Australia so he helped out with where to stay in the different cities and some things to do. I ended up staying near Chinatown in the Central Business District (CBD) as they call it.
Apparently is the second oldest and largest Chinatown in the world, who knew?!
My flight first went to LAX for the connection to Melbourne. Five hours to LA then 15 hours to Melbourne! Trying to sleep some would be a priority so I brought some Nyquil Sleep aid. About 5-6 hours into the flight I took it and tried to get some sleep but sleeping on a plane is difficult at best.
I got an aisle seat thinking maybe the extra bit of leg room would help. I have done the window seat on long flights and that didn’t work too well for me. It wouldn’t have been so bad except for that cursed cart! The flight attendant rammed it right into my #@!& knee while I was dozing off!
I did manage a few hours sleep but that was about it. I was impressed with the speed of going through customs but they didn’t stamp my passport!! That is something you definitely want in your passport but alas modern times they don’t do it.
Day 1 – Arriving in Melbourne
While I was on the flight I noticed a large swelling in my elbow and it was like a small golf ball in there! You have to be kidding me!? This is how my trip starts?
It was easy to get an Uber from the airport to my hotel, I didn’t want to deal with public transportation. It probably exists but I was in no state of mind to figure it out. Tired and jetlagged, no thanks!
After checking into my hotel I figured I better have that golf ball looked at and got to experience the Australian medical system for myself. Thinking it would be like the US I would find a “walk in clinic”.
Google maps found me a few. They were not that easy to find, even with Google maps. I arrived at the first one, booked! Sorry Yank, we can’t see you today.
So on to the second one, sorry mate, not getting in today! You can make an appointment for Monday however. Not sure what to do now as I was running out of clinics. Apparently they all close at 3PM on Saturday and are not open on Sundays.
It seems people in Australia don’t get sick on Sundays or after 3PM, who knew?
Getting desperate, I decided to try the emergency room. Upon walking in I was not inspired, it looked like something from the 50s. As I walked over to the check in area, a loud screaming became apparent from a young woman in another room, threatening suicide, it sounded like to me.
The nurse had me fill out some paper work and then over to the admissions where I was informed it would cost me $600, plus xrays etc. Really not wanted to pay that, I asked what the alternatives were. In the meantime a doctor came out and said he was pretty sure it was an infection and I would need antibiotics.
The nurse also mentioned that there were a few clinics in the area that saw foreigners for free. She called the nearest one and they informed her they could see me now! Walking a ½ mile to the clinic I was able to get in right away and the doctor prescribed me antibotics.
Awesome problem solved!
The rest of the day I just spent walking around my “hood”. I managed to stay up till 9:30 PM to try and adjust to Melbourne time.
Tip: While your current medical plan MAY cover you out of the country you are still responsible for paying out of pocket and chasing down your insurance company for your charges. Good luck with that. If you are at all worried or have ANY health issues, do yourself a favor and buy travel medical insurance.
Day 2 – Melbourne Bike Tour & Festival
My plan was to do a guided bike tour of the city to get oriented and find out some things to do from a local. Our guided was originally from Ireland and had only been in Melbourne for a year or so but seemed quite knowledgeable. The electric bikes were very nice, I think I need to get one….
Melbourne is quite bike friendly and very clean and pretty. We saw some beautiful parks and went by the AO grounds. It was just getting started for the day. Oh boy, was there a long line to get in!
Note to self, better get there early tomorrow.
With rain threatening we just made it to a café where we had lunch. The skies opened up and I was very happy that I brought a raincoat. By the time we left it was not raining too hard but I was very happy I had it and no one else did.
I was feeling very smart!
While on the bike tour I noticed a festival going on and decided to check it out after the tour. It was a Latin festival. The Tampa area where i live has a heavy Latin influence but here I am 12,000 miles away attending a Latin festival. It was ok and I didn’t stay long. I did manage to find a few good pubs on the way back to the hotel.
Day 3 – Australian Open Day!
One of the main reasons I was here in Melbourne. Getting there was super easy, quick tram ride and I was at the gates to get in. They place is massive! Not being sure where to go first, I just walked around seeing what matches were starting up.
A helpful guide there told my if I wanted to get into the John Cain arena, I should go there NOW! They only give out so many wrist bands to people with a grounds pass. Unfortunately, I was too late… I got there around 11:30 and there were no more passes available.
I went over to the “1573” arena and saw Francis Tiafoe play and it was a good match. The problem with a grounds pass is you are not guaranteed a seat anywhere and no one tells you how hard it is to get into the arenas! I wanted to see some other matches but by that time the lines were so long that it was almost impossible to get in to any of them!
Getting frustrated, I found an area with a big screen and got a beer to watch some tennis. After a while I made another go of it and got into a match of players I never heard of but it was entertaining and sitting so close to the players is an amazing experience.
With the day grounds pass you can still stay until closing time and later in the evening it is easier to get into the outer courts.
Tip: If you go to the AO, go EARLY, no later than 11:00 AM and get the John Cain arena wrist band then scope out what matches you want to see. While I can’t swear to it I did see some people getting a “pass” so when you leave you can re-enter without waiting in line but if you are solo, ask the person next to you to hold your seat.
Day 4 – Yarra Valley Wine Tour
I like wine and enjoy going to wineries, so the Yarra Valley was on my list of things to do. It is quite well known for their wineries. I booked an all day tour that went to three wineries, a chocolatier and a gin distillery.
The Yering Station Winery is the oldest winery in Australia where the first grapes were planted in the mid 1800s. I admit I was underwhelmed by the place. It was not particularly scenic. I did not actually see any vineyards!
Where were the grapes coming from I thought? We tried 5 wines, 3 whites a Rose and a Pinot Noir. I can’t say I really liked any of them. They are probably fine wines but I just didn’t care for them.
Maybe the next winery will be better?
Next stop was Soumah Winery. Now this was a winery! Scenic, and I saw lots of vineyards so it was a good start. We tried a 5 wines, a combination of 3 reds and 2 whites. I liked all of them but the standout was “The Butcher”. A bold and a flavorful syrah that satisfied this Cabernet Savignon drinker.
Part of the tour was lunch and a glass of wine of your choice. Naturally I chose The Butcher. The salmon lunch was amazing. Served with a nice selection of meats, olives and cheese. I would definitely come back here!
Our last winery was Helen and Joey. It was a pretty upscale place that had some nice views. Not as nice as Soumah but nice. For some reason they like unicorns and you will see them everywhere. Here we tried 5 wines, a variety of reds and whites.
The standout to me was the Wayward Child Hannahanna. I nice red blend that I enjoyed. If you ask nicely they will let you try some others.
It was time to change it up and our next stop was a ice creamery and chocolatier. I am not a huge sweets person I obviously had to try some of each. The chocolate samples were quite good but I opted for an ice cream cone of chocolate and cookie crumbles. The ice cream was similar to gelato and it was to die for. Amazingly good!
Our last stop was Four Pillars Gin Distillery. Here we tried 4 types of gin with one mixer of our choice. Basically 4 shot glasses each with some ice and room to add mixer if you wanted. Two of them I did enjoy and didn’t need to add the mixer.
Maybe I need to become a gin drinker?
Tip: Absolutely do a Yarra Valley wine tour, even if you are not a big wine drinker, getting out in the countryside was worth it. With a great lunch and ice cream what more can you ask for?
Day 5 – Melbourne Museum, South Bank & Night Session AO
The Melbourne Museum is primarily focused on natural history and native aboriginal history. The dinosaur exhibits were fabulous! They have the most complete Triceratops skeleton in the world. Seeing the true size of them is mind boggling! There is an insect exhibit along with some geology as well.
South Bank is in the downtown area right along the Yarra River. There is a long strip of restaurants, bars and shopping here. It is a very popular destination and a good place to enjoy a few beers, a healthy lunch and watch some of the days tennis matches.
I headed over to the AO at 4:45 PM, the earliest you are allowed in with a night session pass. This time I had a guaranteed seat at Rod Laver arena and I am so glad I did. I was raining and there were no other matches going on due to rain.
The match I was watching was not close so I wandered out to see what other matches were taking place as it had stopped raining. The match between a French man and a guy from Lebanon was entertaining but almost as fun to watch were the fans. They were quite rowdy and very into it! The Frenchman won easily however.
Day 6 – Self Guided Bike Ride
I love biking and find it a great way to explore. The bike tour guide from Sunday recommended a ride along the coast to Brighton Beach. It was a very scenic ride. If you have ever been to the coast in California it will look familiar. Piers, windy and cool with rough water.
The bike path followed the coast line with lots of places to stop and take pictures. There were not a whole lot of places to get a drink or eat. I stopped at the one place in Brighton Bay for lunch. It had a small deck overlooking the ocean. I highly recommend this ride if you make it to Melbourne. The rest of day I wandered around the CBD and popped in a few pubs to watch some tennis.
Day 7 – Arrive at Cairns
My flight was at 820 AM, not wanted to take any chances of missing the flight I scheduled and Uber for 6:30AM. Meaning I would need to be up by 6:00AM. The Uber ride was on time and I was at the airport by 7:00AM in plenty of time.
The flight was about 3 hours and I arrived in Cairns around 11:30AM. I rented a car since I had planned on several road trips. Luckily I was able to check in early and drop off my bags and get some lunch. The car rental guy suggested a place called Hemmingways Brewery.
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. The place was literally 15 feet from a cruise ship. The place was a tourist trap, overpriced with mediocre food. To boot the place was not air conditioned and the weather was like Florida in the summer, hot and humid. Why it wouldn’t be air conditioned is beyond me.
As I would come to find out it was rare to find any place that was entirely indoors and fully air conditioned. After lunch a nap was in order. Cairns reminded me of a beachtown stuck in the 70s. Not particularly modern but not dirty or anything. It did have a ferris wheel, seems Australians like ferris wheels.
Day 8 – Mossman Gorge & Daintree Rainforest
After breakfast at the Cairns Harborside Hotel where I was staying I headed out to Mossman Gorge. The hotel clerk gave me some tips on where to go. The drive there was beautiful and it followed the coastline. Every few miles there was a beach that was empty, very few had more than one or two people on it.
My first stop was Rex Point, this was a lookout area with some amazing views. The road started to narrow and two cars could barely fit on it in some sections. There was also road construction going on so it took longer to get to Mossman than I had anticipated.
Mossman Gorge was a national park with a swimming area and a rainforest hiking path. After a short walk I found the swimming area and it was quite popular. While I didn’t swim I did get in the water and took quite a few pictures.
After enjoying the water I did some walking on the rain forest path. While not particularly exciting it was pretty and did see an iguana but that was about it.
Next stop was Daintree, this was about another hour and was only reachable by a ferry to cross over a river. I found the welcome center and took a walk along the elevated walkways. It was pretty much the same as Mossman, so there was no great reason to come here other than the river cruise that I didn’t have time for.
On the ride back I saw a sign for a distillery and figured I would check it out. The Devils Thumb specialized in rum and offered a tasting that had to partake in. I was the only one there and woman who did the tasting gave me some ideas for what to do on Monday the day after my diving excursion.
After the rum tasting I stopped in Palm Cove. This was a small, cute beach town where I had dinner. I had a Greek salad with chicken that was actually pretty good. After which was the 30 minute drive back to my hotel to watch some tennis.
Day 9 – Diving the Great Barrier Reef
The main reason I had come to Cairns was to dive the Great Barrier Reef and check it off my bucket list. The boat was quite large and while there were probably 35-40 people onboard, myself and one other woman were the only other certified scuba divers.
Everyone one else it seems was doing an intro to scuba diving or just snorkeling. That was good to hear, sometimes there are too many people on the dive excursions but there would be just the two of us plus the dive master.
It had been 10 years since my last dive so to say I was a little nervous would be an understatement! After getting a refresher in the dive signals and some instructions we got into our gear and jumped in. Now I was really anxious! Something about breathing only through my mouth makes me uncomfortable.
But the hell with it, I’m going! Releasing the air from our BC we sank beneath the waves and it was a short dive down to the reef, no more than 40 – 45 feet. Where we started exploring the reef. The water was warm and visibility was probably 45-50 feet or so.
The reef was fairly colorful with large schools of fish. Our dive master pointed out some sights like giant clams, puffer fish, clown fish and a sea turtle. I was amazed how well I did with my air and after 40 minutes I still had half a tank left.
I did it! I was very happy that I had no issues and there was one more dive to go. After about an hour we got in to a small boat to go to our second dive site. It was very similar but visibility was not quite as good but I enjoyed it more as I was relaxed and confident in my diving abilities.
After we returned from our dive we had lunch and the bar was open so we could have a few drinks. Since we still had several hours before returning I tried some snorkeling in the shallower areas around the reef. Visibility here was amazing and we could see the coral and fish about 20 feet below.
We started heading back about 3:00 pm where we were greeted with a heavy rainstorm. I was greeted with a parking ticket on my car! I had paid for all day so I was quite annoyed with the $96 parking fine. After a nap I headed into the small downtown to the “Night Markets” as it called, basically a food court where I had some sushi.
Day 10 – Yungaburra & Waterfalls
The woman at the Rum distillery suggested I check out Yungaburra. I was about an hour or so away from my hotel. The drive there was incredible! The road was nothing like I had ever been on. Up the mountain to the Atherton Tablelands where Youngaburra was 35 minutes of steep road and constant switchback. I love these types of roads but after a half hour I wondered if it would ever end!
I was treated to a spectacular view at the top of the mountain. I was getting worried now as I was getting low on gas and really hoped Youngaburra had a gas station, if not I was in trouble.
Luckily there was one that looked like it was 50 years old but they had gas! I asked the gas station attendant where I might get lunch.
She suggested two places, the first just had sandwiches but the second place “Our House” was a regular restaurant. I ordered a beer and a healthy salad.
I had to fight the annoying flies that wanted to do kamakazi dives into my beer and one finally did succeed.
I woman saw me fighting them off and gave me a screened cover for my glass. Apparently this was an ongoing problem to have this special fly cover for a glass. The salad was the best meal I had in Australia! If you happen to make it to Yungaburra I would encourage you to go there. After lunch I decided to try the Youngaburra Pub for a “schooner”
One thing that I found was that in Australia most places have three sizes of beer. A pot or middie, schooner and a pint. I have to admit I like that, sometimes you just don’t want a full pint of beer.
After my schooner I was off to try and find some waterfalls. With driving taking far longer than I anticipated I figured I would skip some of the smaller ones and head for the largest of the which was the Davies Creek Falls.
This was a national park it turned out and once off the main road it was 5 miles of gravel road and twisting roads to get there. It turned out I was the only one there and hiked the ¼ mile or so to a lookout point. Wanting to get closer to the falls I backtracked and went to other observation area. The path was not easy and one misstep would mean a broken bone or worse!
The falls were quite beautiful and after a bit I started the trek back to the hotel. After an hour and a half or so I made it back to my hotel to get a shower and head into town for dinner.
Day 11 – Arrive in Sydney
My flight was at 3:00 pm so I didn’t have enough time to really go anywhere but I did go to the Cairns Council Office as they call it to fight my ticket! I had to fill out a form and email a screen shot of my CC where it showed it I had indeed paid the parking fee. Doesn’t mean they still won’t approve my appeal the lady informed me.
Day 12 – Explore Sydney & Harbor Bridge Climb
Sydney is a pretty city and I walked along the sidewalk that follows the harbor that is very popular with joggers and bikers. I can see why, it has a great views and several miles of uninterrupted sidewalk.
There is a famous point if you follow the sidewalk to the other side called “Mrs Macquires Point”. It offers the best view of the harbor, the Opera House and the bridge. I took quite a few photographs of the area.
My bridge climb slot was 3:30 PM so I headed over while grabbing lunch along he way. It is quite the operation for this climb. After checking in you go to a room to wait with the rest of your group. You see a very short video about the aboriginal people then they proceed to give everyone a breathalyzer!
I had a beer at lunch so I was a bit worried but the cutoff was their legal intoxication limit of .05%. I was no where close luckily. After that you go to another room to get fitted for your bridge climb suit. You are not allowed to bring anything with you other than medicine and your sunglasses.
Supposedly for safety but it sure helps sell their photo package since you can’t take any of your own. They supply you with a locker to put your clothes and other personal items in. Next up you have to pass the climbing test where you go up and down stairs using the “proper procedure”.
After this you you get a radio receiver and headphones so you can hear your guide. Finally off to climb the bridge.
The climb suite has a connector that locks into a cable that runs the entire length of the bridge. You can’t jump of fall off. I actually appreciated this as I have a fear of heights so this was going to be a challenge for me.
You have to hold onto the clasp and run it through the cable connectors otherwise it will get hung up on them. You first walk across the bridge access underneath the rad for a 1/4 mile or so. Then you start the climb up the stairs to the arch.
This is where I started getting a bit nervous, after getting up the stairs you walk across a section of metal grate where you can see all the way down to the road. It’s several hundred feet down and it doesn’t feel all the secure!
Luckily it was a short section then get on the actual arch of the bridge. Here I was able to relax because it’s solid and you can’t see below you! Whew!! It’s a very gradual climb and you hardly notice how high you are going.
You stop along the way at a few places where they take photos of you. This takes a while at each stop to get all the photos in. After 30 minutes or so you reach the top of the bridge where they take more photos of you. Here I was very glad for the cable attachment. No exaggeration the wind was gusting between 50-60 MPH at the top of the bridge.
You had to hold on to the guard rails or the wind would blow you around. After pictures you cross over the to the other side to start the journey back. All the while the guide is giving you some history of the bridge and Sydney in general.
She was informative and interesting and after 20 minutes or so we were climbing down the stairs to end our climb. After taking off our suits and changing back into our clothes we were offered the opportunity to purchase our photos. Of course how could I refuse?
After the bridge climb I found a nearby pub to have dinner and watch the Australian Open.
Day 13 – Manly Beach and Pub Tour
I was told the Manly beach was the best of the beaches to go to. Bondi is the more famous one but it’s harder to get to and more crowded. Manly is easily reachable by a 20 minute ferry ride. It was a great way to see all the sights in the harbor for only $9!
Once you reach the port it’s about a 10 minute walk to the beach. It’s a long wide beach with quite a few shops and restaurants. There is a long beach walk that leads to another beach and a park. It’s about 30 minutes to get over there and it was a nice, scenic walk.
After I made back from the walk I stopped for lunch and a beer at one of the restaurants that overlooked the beach. I headed back around 4:00PM to go to the pub tour at 6:30PM. You meet the guide at Harts Pub where you get your first beer and the tour guide gives you the history of the pub.
All the pubs on the tour are historical in some way and over 100 years old. We stopped and 3 other pubs where he gave us quite a bit of history of Sydney and see areas of “The Rocks” that I would not have seen otherwise.
At the last pub I had a British meat pie. It doesn’t sound appetizing but it was quite good and I was starving so it tasted even better.
Tip: There is no reason to pay for a “harbor cruise”, save your money and take some ferry rides!
Day 14 – Hunter Valley Wine Tour
This was a full day tour, over 11 hours. I was picked up about 7:30 AM and started the long drive of 2.5 hours to the first winery. The first one, Oakvale was a nice place, not as scenic as I had hoped but it was nice.
We all sat outside under umbrellas where our sommelier proceeded to start the tastings. One thing I will say about these wineries, there were a lot of tastings, no less that 8! They were mostly white wines with a few reds and a very tasty Cabernet Shiraz blend.
I enjoyed all of them! I liked the fact they were all organic wines to boot. However the best part was I finally got to see kangaroos! They were just lounging in vineyard in the shade. I got some pictures and a video of them, this made the tour me.
Next we had lunch at a winery called Binbadgen. We did not do a tasting here but I did try some of the local beers. Our lunch was wood fired pizza and salad, the pizza was quite good! Apparently there was going to be a big concert here for Australia Day as a huge stage was being setup.
The next stop was McCaffery’s Estate where we had tasting of 7 wines, 4 whites, 2 reds and a “fortified wine” that was sweet and had a higher alcohol content. They also gave us some very tasty cheese to pair with the wines. My favorite was the Cabernet Franc “The Frenchman”, was quite bold and dry, just the way I like it.
Our next winery was quite unusual. It was a small family run boutique winery called the Hunter Wine Lab. Here we were greeted by their dogs and and very personable woman. I forgot here name but she was quite the character!
We tasted a variety of wines and each was paired with a corresponding chocolate. They were mostly white wines but I was most impressed with the chocolate. It was amazing! Of course I had to buy some even though I am not a chocolate person.
Our last stop was a distillery called Small Mouth. Honestly this was my least favorite and really should not have been on the tour IMO. We tasted 6 flavored gins and vodkas and when I say taste, it was barely enough to wet your tongue. I was not really a fan of them. They this time I had a nice buzz and ready for the journey back to Sydney.
Day 15 – Head Home
With a 11:50 AM flight about all I had time for was breakfast at a close by cafe then an Uber ride to the airport for the 20 hour flight home.
