Author Archives: TarHeelGirl

Day 10 – Day at Leisure in Sydney

Today was our day to spend as we wanted. I slept in (a real luxury on this busy tour) and decided on a walking tour close to my hotel as there was plenty to see. I visited the Hyde Park Barracks, which first served as a center for convict transportation, then as an immigration depot and asylum, and finally as a court/office complex before its conversion into a museum.


Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney

From there I walked to the Art Gallery of New South Wales and went through the Australian and Aboriginal galleries, and then crossed the street to tour the Royal Botanic Gardens. I probably covered only about 20% of the extensive gardens. It is early spring “down under”, with its flowers, flowering trees and bushes reminiscent of North Carolina in April.


Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

That evening I joined a couple from our group for dinner at Zia Pina Pizzeria, a small Italian bistro, and enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, great seafood pasta and tiramasu ice cream.

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Day 9 – Aussie Wildlife and Foodies Tour

After an early breakfast we headed to the Featherdale Wildlife Park outside of Sydney. I had another great photo op with a koala (this one munching on eucalyptus leaves in a tree and I just stood behind him) as well a a chance to feed the wallabies. There were many beautiful birds and other native animals as well.


Posing with a koala munching on eucalyptus leaves at Featherdale Wildlife Park

Feeding a wallaby at Featherdale Wildlife Park

We then drove through the 2000 Olympic Park. Everything has been paid off, dorms have been converted into apartments, and the venues are open to any one who wants to use them. Hotels and office buildings are under construction, so the Aussies have really made their Olympic investment profitable.


2000 Olympic Park

Our foodies tour included an Italian deli, the Sydney Fish Market, a gelato shop, a pie truck and the Old Fitzroy Hotel where we sampled three types of beer. I liked the Sydney Fish Market the best, even though a seagull swooped down and stole my oyster from off my plate! Unfortunately, it all happened so fast no one got a picture of the avian theft.


Visit to an Italian deli in Sydney

Seafood buffet spread at the Sydney Fish Market

I had a few free hours left that day and really needed to walk off all that food, so I walked from my hotel through Hyde Park to view the exhibits in the Australian Museum.


Australian Museum, Sydney

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Day 8 – Sydney Opera House and Harbour Cruise

This was another great day with beautiful weather! We had the opportunity to take each other’s picture in front of the Harbour Bridge before our private tour of the Sydney Opera House (also where we took our official group picture).


Harbour Bridge, Sydney

Touring the Sydney Opera House

Afterwards we took a lunch cruise around the Sydney Harbour, followed by a tour of the city and a stop at Bondi Beach. This evening I had dinner at the O Bar and Dining on Level 47 of Australia Square which provided great nighttime views of the city.


View of the Sydney Opera House on the harbour cruise

Bondi Beach, Sydney

Nighttime view of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House from the O Bar

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Day 7 – Flight to Sydney

This was my last morning to walk to the beach and enjoy the resort grounds before leaving for Sydney.


Beach, Kewarra Beach Resort

I had a lovely room at the InterContinental Sydney with a bay window seat overlooking Farm Cove, Woolloomooloo Bay and the Conservatorium of Music across from the Botanic Gardens. Our group met for cocktails in the lounge and a buffet dinner in the restaurant, but we had difficulty explaining what “iced tea” was to our servers – it’s apparently an unknown concept “down under”.

Views from my room at the InterContinental Sydney

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Kewarra Beach Resort

Day 6 – Tropical North Queensland

Today was a great day with wonderful weather! We drove to Kuranda and visited the Koala Gardens, a small wildlife center. We had our “koala cuddle” photos taken, with instructions from the handler on how to hold the koala (you actually “make like a tree” and don’t cuddle it as he’s expecting a tree).


Koalas napping at the Kuranda Koala Gardens

“Koala cuddle” at the Kuranda Koala Gardens

We then took the Skyrail gondola up to the top of the rainforest and visited Barron Gorge and Red Peak. Rangers provided guided tours and described the unique rainforest plant life.


Strangler Fig

Then it was on to Hartley’s Crocodile Farm for lunch (including crocodile – somewhat salty for my taste), wildlife sightings and (of course) crocodile feedings. The crocodiles are fed scrawny plucked chickens from a fishing pole by park personnel. We also took a river cruise for more crocodile sightings and feedings. It was no surprise to learn that crocodiles occasionally ram the boats, especially since they know there are plump tourists on board that would make better eating!


Crocodile feeding at Hartley’s Crocodile Farm

Our dinner on the resort grounds featured an open wine bar and an even bigger surprise – dances, music and demonstrations by three Aboriginal performers! They graciously consented to take pictures with us.


Posing with Aboriginal performers at the Kewarra Beach Resort

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Day 5 – Great Barrier Reef Cruise

This morning I had the first opportunity to appreciate the beautiful tropical landscape of our resort. The beach was just a five-minute walk away.


View from my bungalow at the Kewarra Beach Resort

After breakfast, we headed to the Port Douglas Reef Marina for our 90-minute cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. Upon our arrival at the anchored platform, we had our choice of activities on/off the platform in addition to a buffet lunch. I rode the semi-submersible and walked in the underwater observatory and took pictures, while other folks chose snorkeling and scuba diving. I also had the opportunity to watch a wonderfully made video, “Ribbon of Life”, featuring the sea life of the ribbon reefs.

Views of the Great Barrier Reef from the semisubmersible:

We managed to squeeze in a little souvenir shopping at the Marina before our return to our resort, where we were greeted by one of the several wallabies that freely wander the grounds.


Wallaby grazing on the Kewarra Beach resort grounds

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Day 4 – Uluru and the Outback

Our morning tour around the base of Uluru was lead by a lively Outback guide who told wonderful stories about aboriginal life and traditions and the significance of paintings and places on and around Uluru. We also visited the Anangu Cultural Centre and had the opportunity to purchase beautiful aboriginal paintings and wood carvings.


Uluru at the base of the walking trail

On the Uluru guided tour

Aboriginal cave paintings on Uluru

An atypical view of Uluru

After a drover’s lunch back at our hotel, we were back in the air and arrived at Cairns in the early evening, checking in at the Kewarra Beach Resort where we spotted three wallabies on the grounds. We enjoyed a group dinner outdoors before retiring to our bungalows.

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Uluru Base Tour

Day 3 – Alice Springs and Ayers Rock

I got up at 5:15 AM (!) to get ready for our flight to Alice Springs in the heart of the Outback. From the airport we drove to Alice Springs for a brief lunch and shopping stop at the Mbantua Gallery, a gallery featuring aboriginal art and an aboriginal cultural museum.


Mbantua Art Gallery, Alice Springs

We then departed for Yulara, the resort area near Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), and checked into Sails in the Desert before leaving for Uluru. We watched the sunset and Uluru’s color changes while we enjoyed champagne and canapes. My first taste of the exotic was at dinner – kangaroo ragout – not too bad.


View from my room at Sails in the Desert Resort

Sunset at Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)

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Day 2 – Touring Melbourne

I had a chance for an early morning walk on the promenade before our bus tour of the city, making it down and back from Federation Square without being run over by rather aggressive cyclists. We went through the Central Business District, stopped to visit the Shrine of Remembrance and walked through a section of the Royal Botanic Gardens.


Shrine of Remembrance

Royal Botanic Gardens

Our afternoon was at leisure, and I visited the Immigration Museum and resumed my promenade walk down to the Convention Centre. The day was overcast and somewhat windy, and it started to rain about mid-afternoon. I tried to wait out the rain in the Crown Entertainment Complex, which houses a casino and upscale stores and restaurants, but as there was no sign of it stopping anytime soon and the restaurants were closed, I decided to return to my hotel and get ready for tomorrow’s busy day.


Immigration Museum, Melbourne

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Day 1 – Arrival in Melbourne

After 21 hours in the air followed by a short drive from the airport, I arrived at my hotel, but it wasn’t until after a four-hour nap and walking behind my hotel for my first real view of Melbourne that the reality of my vacation finally sank in. This is the view of the Melbourne skyline from my room at The Langham. The promenade along the Yarra River is just behind the hotel, so I had the opportunity to take a short walk before our Welcome Dinner.


Melbourne Skyline

Yarra River Promenade

The members of our tour group met for the first time at the Welcome Reception and Dinner, which was a buffet consisting of five stations with seafood, salads, made-to-order dishes and dessert (a sure sign of a Tauck tour!). These are views from the lobby and second (restaurant) levels of The Langham. Our tour director gave us our only order – “be on time” – and our itinerary for Australia.


The Langham, Melbourne, Lobby Level

The Langham, Melbourne, Restaurant Level

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Yarra River Promenade