We came so far to get to New Zealand that we felt like we HAD to make a visit to Australia while we were in the southern hemisphere. After our last day at Pt England, we went straight to the airport to fly to Brisbane. We were really early for our flight, but that turned out to be a good thing. Upon arriving at the airport, we discovered that we were not allowed any checked bags...unless we paid $130 dollars per flight! We had three flights booked with the airlines, so unless we wanted to sit in the hotel our entire stay, checking our bags wasn't a great option. Our problem solving skills kicked into gear, and with the help of an airline attendant, we decided to store our suitcases at the airport for $15 dollars a day. But the catch was we had to pack clothes for six days into our carry-on bags AND they had to weigh less than 7 kilos or 15 pounds. So we may have been a little stinky due to our lack of washcloths and clean socks, but it didn't stop us from having some amazing adventures.
Brisbane
We spent the first three days in Brisbane where we went swimming at a fake beach, did some souvenir shopping, but best of all, held a koala! Our first stop was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We spent the day gushing over the cuteness of all the koalas from the babies, to the kinders, to those in the "retirement home". But Lone Pine had more than just koalas. We saw tasmanian devils, dingos, platypus, kookaburras, wombats, and got to feed the kangaroos and wallabies!
Sydney
We spent three days in Sydney as well. The highlights for me were the vivid lights show and the Manly Ferry and beach. We had just gotten used to Brisbane's warm sunny weather, but Sydney was very rainy and reminiscent of Oregon. The day we arrived, the sun was out and shining so we decided to jump on the ferry and check out the beach. The second we sat down...it started to pour. It wasn't the greatest weather for the beach, but during the few minutes of sunshine we did enjoy, we collected shells and beach glass, so I'd say it was worth it!
We were lucky enough to arrive in Sydney on the last day of its Vivid Light show. I've never seen anything like it! All around the harbor area, the buildings came to life with light and color. My favorite had to be the video projected onto the Opera House. The typically white sails of the building flashed with colors.
On our last day, we made a trip out to the iconic Bondi Beach. I enjoyed a kangaroo burger for lunch, and we sat in the sand and watched the surfers in the winter waves.
Our Australian holiday was a great way to end our month long trip, and by the end of it we were left with a bittersweet feeling. We were sad to leave, but had so many stories and photos we were itching to share with our friends and families back home. I'm definitely hoping to return to this side of the world sooner rather than later!