Back in Europe

Our trip in Australia has gone so fast! One month was clearly not enough, but we've been lucky to have it and tried to enjoy it as much as we could! On Friday, early in the morning, we arrived in London on Friday where Linh is staying for a couple of days. As my plane to France was in the evening, I went with Linh to the city to visit a little bit. We went to the classic places like Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. I had been there a few years ago and really liked some paintings, that I could show to Linh.

Now I am back home. During our trip, we really did not have time to look at our pictures and upload some of them, so I am doing this now. I hope I'll be able to upload some soon :-)

Last full day in Sydney

Yesterday was our last full day here. We took the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly, which turned out to be quite nice as it offers a view on the Opera, the bridge as well as the city from different places. Guess what you can find once in Manly? Beaches! We walked from Manly Beach to another must see, North Head. From upthere you have another full view on Sydney. The visibility was not perfect but it was definitely worth it. One more time, we experienced the Aussie kindness: when at the top of North Head we were waiting for the bus, a couple offered us a ride to Manly. It was the fastest, nicest and cheapest way to go back to the ferry :) We did some shopping before going back to Sydney.

In the evening, we headed to Chinatown and met friends to have dinner. We ate in a Korean restaurant which was quite good.

Now we have to pack our bags :-(

Second day in Sydney

Yesterday was a walking day! After getting some rest, we headed to Bondi Beach, a very famous Sydney beach. We walked along the coast to Coogee Beach, going through other ones like Tamarama Beach or Clovelly Beach. The walk took us about 3 hours and offered us a lot of beautiful landscapes.

Next we went to the Botanical Gardens for a short walk and stopped to enjoy the sunset behind the Sydney Opera House. Then we crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge towards Milsons Point to have a view of the whole city by night. From this location, we could see the opera, the city as well as the bridge at the same time. Nice spot!

Byron Bay to Sydney

We took the bus in Brisbane on Sunday at 7:00am to Byron Bay. We did not stop to Surfers Paradise as it was initially planned but it seemed to be a nice place! The weather and the beach were really nice. But guess what we found when we arrived in Byron Bay?.. Rain! But not so much as it stopped right away.

We spent the morning in the city, doing some shopping. Then we started a walk along the beach. We stopped at Watego's beach, where we had a lot of fun with the waves :) We headed to the Byron Bay Lighthouse, after stopping at the most easterly point of Australia! We went back through a nice rainforest. We eventually took the bus at 9:00pm towards Sydney.

After a (not so good) night in the bus, we arrived under a really nice sun! We first met with my friend Mr. L who hosts us before starting our visit. The first spot was Google :) and then we headed to the Queen Victoria Building. Linh could not resist to a shopping frenzy (OK, she just bought a few items...). We also went to The Rocks, and then to the Sydney Opera!

This is where we met my friend Matthieu, who arrived a few days ago for a 1-year trip around Australia (with his friend Jeremy). They showed us their van they will be travelling with, I'm sure they gonna have a lot of fun! We also had the opportunity to see Kings Cross, a very animated neighborhood where they were staying.

The next visits are not planned yet... Beaches, shopping, beaches, and maybe shopping :) We have 2 and a half days left, so we'll try to optimize :)

Brisbane

After a really short night in the bus (1:25am to 6:05am...) we arrived in Brisbane. A friend I met in McGill University (Montreal, Canada) lives here, and has been really kind to come to the city before going to work to pick up our bags! It was more comfortable for us to visit!

After some breakfast and shopping, we went up on the City Hall clock tower. It was the first time I see a clock tower from the inside. Then we walked around the city center and crossed the Victoria Bridge and visited two really nice and interesting museums. Then we walked along the river on South Bank: it's a really nice area built after an exposition in 1988 (if I'm not wrong). You can find a Nepalese Pagoda as well as a really beautiful lagoon, where a lot of people were having fun! There was also a small market that we visited.

Our walk ended with the Botanical Gardens. A few trees were really interesting but we felt frustrated about some lack of signs and information about the vegetation.

Tonight is Aussie BBQ with our friend's friends! Yummy!

Back from Fraser Island!

We spent the last three days in Fraser Island, the world biggest sand island! :D This time was a little bit different as it was a self guided tour! We were with 7 other people (a French couple, a German couple and 3 English guys), and we've been provided a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser with a suggested itinerary for the trip! The weather was sometimes cloudy but the landscapes were still beautiful. In particular, Lake McKenzie was gorgeous! The water was clear and turquoise.

The island is also known for its animals, especially the wild dingoes. Unfortunately, we only saw two, and they were not really wild (it was in an aboriginal campground). No turtles, no shark, no dolphin :(  But we saw several monitors (like big big lezards) and two pythons! We also saw the wreck on the beach of an old luxury boat...

It was a really interesting adventure! Driving in the sand was really fun and sometimes scarry! We met nice people and had a really good time!

Whitsunday Islands

We just came back from a boat trip in the Whitsunday Islands. We spend two days and two nights on the Samurai, a sailing boat. We walk on incredible beaches, like Whiteheaven beach which has the finest sand of the world. It was amazing! We also had the opportunity to snorkel at two different locations, saw some nemos, small sharks, turtles, and a lot of corals! Unfortunately, because of the recent cyclone, the underwater visibility was not really good, but we had a good time though!

We are still in Airlie beach at the moment and we'll take the bus tonight to Hervey Bay...