Today, we were up and ready to go around 9:30am. Jess and Robin made us some cheese bagels for breakfast and we were off on our New Zealand road trip. Our plan for today was to go to Coromandel, which is a peninsula on the eastern side of the North Island. The drive was about 2.5 hours from Auckland (165km), which was much shorter than our drives down the east coast of Australia. We had some hikes in mind so we were hoping the weather would be cooperative. The weather was a mixed bag of sudden downpours and then bright blue skies, so we saw a lot of rainbows on our drive.
Heading east towards the coast to CoromandelOne of the first rainbows we saw on our way to Coromandel.
New Zealand is really beautiful because everything is so vibrantly green. There’s so many rolling green hills and mountainous terrain, so I get why people say it’s like Canada in a lot of ways.
Typical scenery from the carYou can’t really tell from this pictures but it’s pouring while super sunny.Winding roads on our way to Cathedral Cove in Coromandel
The drive to Cathedral Cove in Coromandel was like driving on the Sea to Sky, except a lot narrower. We were lucky that we missed all the rain by the time we got to our first stop. The hike to Cathedral Cove was only about 45 minutes, so not too long. It seemed like every portion of the hike to the cove was very picturesque. The combination of the bright green grass, lush forests, and the bright blue Pacific Ocean was breathtaking. The view of the smaller islands reminded me of home. It was sort of like all the islands around Howe Sound. We know we’ve taken living in British Columbia for granted because it’s so beautiful there already and we haven’t really explored it as much as we could. We’ve met other tourists during our trip, who after finding out that we’re from Vancouver, go on about how beautiful it is and ask if we’ve been to all these different places on Vancouver Island. Then we both shamefully say no. I guess that’ll be something we’d like to discover more when we’re back.
The start of the Cathedral Cove hike which weaves up and down the mountain to get to the beach.We spotted a bunch of wild goat in the bushesOcean view to one side and rolling green hills on the leftMost of the forested pathways were just a nice stroll. There were a lot of stairs and inclines that I did not take pictures of.
When we finally made it to the beach, it was very beautiful. There were some tourists around but since it was down season in New Zealand (winter starts on June 1), there wasn’t crowds. It made for a nice and peaceful time at Cathedral Cove.
At Cathedral Cove beachRobin and Tim’s silhouettes while walking under Cathedral CoveThe four of us with the Cathedral Cove in the backgroundJess always takes such nice photos. Here’s her in actionFerns galore in New ZealandStingray Bay – Walked down to this beach on the way back to the carI sat on a rock under this tree while watching a heron hunt for fish
The morning and early afternoon flew by as we were taking in all the beautiful scenery. We drove to a town called Tairua to see what they had for lunch options. After walking up and down their “Main Street”, we decided to give Aaron’s Kitchen a shot. They advertised fish & chips, burgers, sushi, and Asian food! We figured Aaron was Asian so we went to support him (Tim: I just wanted fish and chips)… Plus the menu looked the best.
Aaron’s Kitchen in TairuaMain Street in TairuaTim had fish and chips ($8.50 NZD = $7.40 CAD) and I had Aaron’s Beef Burger ($9.50 NZD = $8.30 CAD)New Zealand burgers have a fried egg and sliced beet in them. It was juicy and tasty!L&P soda is a New Zealand drink that is “lemonish” as it says on the can
The food at Aaron’s Kitchen was actually really good. If you’re ever in Tairua, I would recommend trying it out! We were quite pleased with our meal except Jess’ veggie burger didn’t have avocado because they apparently did not get any from their supplier. When we went across the street to the grocery store, we saw avocados were selling for $6 NZD each – no wonder they weren’t in her burger.
After lunch we headed to Pauanui Beach for another hike. Since the sun was going to be setting soon we only got to do part of the trail and had to turn back before it got dark. The trail was along the coastline of the beach and it lead us to some really cool volcanic flat rocks that lined most of the beach at one point. This area was very peaceful and we caught the sun setting from here so it made for really nice way to end our day.
Pauanui BeachThe hill in the background has houses built all over itOn the trail at Pauanui BeachRobin checking out the volcanic rocksSuper clear waterTim hanging out on the flat rocksBrought out the selfie stickSo peaceful here
We got into the car and headed to our stop for the night, Rotorua, where we’d be spending the day tomorrow. The drive was pretty hard since the roads were super winding for most of the drive. Luckily, Tim was very alert and got us to Rotorua safely after 2.5 hours. We checked into Rydges Hotel (which is a hotel chain in Australia & NZ), dropped off our bags, and headed out to find dinner. Our options were quite limited since it was around 9pm already. We drove to the city’s “CBD” where we found a lot of Indian and Thai restaurants. But we ended up going to McDonald’s in the end.
First time ordering salad at McDonald’s. A grilled chicken salad ($10.50 NZD = $9.18 CAD) and butter chicken pie ($4.50 NZD = $3.90 CAD) and frozen coke ($1 NZD = $0.88 CAD)
After dinner we came back to the hotel, washed up, and did a bit more research about what we’re going to do in Rotorua tomorrow. The city is a hot spring so the city (and even our room) smells like sulphur (rotten eggs).
Being two hours ahead, we were all clearly jetlagged as we woke up at around 10:45am. By the time we got ready to go, it was around 11:30am and Howard had already gone out and come back home. He had a good start to his day as we were just starting ours. He had recommended a French Market to us yesterday, so we thought we’d start our day there.
La Cigale French MarketTurkish gozleme standIndoor portion of La Cigale
The French Market is in a suburb called, Parnell, which is located just outside the CBD and is apparently Auckland’s oldest suburb. The market is called, La Cigale French Market and is only opened on weekends. The market is a food market that was filled with a lot of delicious food options. The prices at most of the stalls were very good/reasonable and a lot less than what we thought they would be. Tim and Robin got sausages in French bread and Jess and I got a Turkish gozleme (like a quesadilla). Inside the market there was a French bakery which had fresh croissants coming out so we got a chocolate croissant since it was piping out. It was awesome!
Amandine French BakeryFresh and super delicious pain au chocolat for $5 NZD = $4.35 CADTim’s sausage in a French roll ($8 NZD = $6.98 CAD)My lamb gozleme. I don’t usually like lamb but since we’re in New Zealand. Was like a lamb quesadilla. $10 NZD = $8.72 CAD
While at the market, the rain started coming down pretty hard. Luckily, all the vendors had tents up so we didn’t get wet. After we finished lunch, we headed to the Auckland War Memorial Museum which was close by. The museum is free for Aucklanders, by donation for New Zealanders and $25 NZD ($21.80 CAD) for everyone else. Tim asked if there was a Commonwealth country discount, but unfortunately there wasn’t (Tim: I was joking, but the guy seemed apologetic that they didn’t).
Front entrance of the Auckland War Memorial Museum (there’s an American flag for Memorial Day ceremonies going on inside)
The museum was quite large and you could easily spend a long time there. The museum includes exhibits about New Zealand’s history (Maori and Pacific Islander), military history, natural history, geology, etc. There was an event going on in the WWII Memorial Hall for American Memorial Day (Tim: note the American flag on top of the building in the picture above. I asked and they said it was up only for Memorial Day). I thought the Maori exhibits were the most interesting since they were uniquely New Zealand. New Zealand is the coldest place that Pacific Islanders live, so when they brought their own plants and vegetation from other islands, they didn’t grow well here. So, it was actually beneficial (Tim: from one specific perspective) when the Europeans came because they brought over plants that grew better in New Zealand.
Traditional Maori houseMaori show starting for those who paid extra for itWar memorial floor of the museum
We stayed at the museum for about two hours before making our way to Auckland’s CBD. The rain started to come down quite hard as we were driving around. There wasn’t much parking available and the parking signage in Auckland is a bit confusing. After driving around Queen St. (which is like their Robson) and around the wharf we decided to just pull into one of the 15 minute free street parking and take a couple of pictures of the Sky Tower and walk up Queen St. for a bit. Overall the CBD wasn’t too lively because of the weather and most locals probably don’t live in the CBD.
Sky Tower view from Queen St. in Auckland’s CBDQueen St. is Auckland’s main shopping area. Luckily it’s mostly covered.
We got back into the car and went to Mount Eden, whose summit is the highest natural point in Auckland so it has great 360 views of the city. Mount Eden is also a dormant volcano so it was neat to see the crater, which is now covered in lush green grass. When we got to Mount Eden, we had to walk about 10 minutes to the summit. Before January of this year cars were able to drive to the top and park but now cars are only allowed to park below and you have to walk up. I think it’s much nicer that cars are not allowed to go up any way and the walk isn’t really that hard/far. We were lucky because as we were driving to Mount Eden the sun started to come out, so when we arrived we had clear skies and even saw a rainbow.
The walk up to Mt Eden summitMt Eden’s craterCrater and the view of AucklandYou can see the surrounding islands in the distanceWe’re far from homeThe four of us at Mt Eden
Mount Eden was my favourite part of Auckland, it was really beautiful up there and I loved how vibrantly green everything was. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such lush greenery like this. As mentioned yesterday, I expressed how much New Zealand reminded us of home and seeing Auckland from the summit of Mount Eden reconfirmed that.
We saw some pretty cool clouds in the distance that made for some really awesome pictures but we also knew that those clouds were headed for us. Unfortunately, we were too slow and we were caught in the downpour. Luckily we all had our rain jackets and we had our umbrellas too. Vancouverites are always prepared for rain!
We headed back to the house to rest up and change for dinner. We all sat around for about 30 minutes looking up restaurants to go to. It’s hard to decide when there are too many options. We wanted to have seafood since the green lipped New Zealand mussels we had yesterday were really good. Robin found a place called Swashbucklers, near the Auckland Fish Market close to the CBD. The menu and reviews were good so we decided to give it a shot.
Swashbucklers is located in a pretty industrial looking area. It reminded us of the trek to get to the Cannery in Vancouver (before it closed). It’s located close to the water and a few blocks from Auckland’s Fish Market. Tim and I shared a seafood platter for two ($70 NZD = $61 CAD), which had green lipped mussels, oysters, battered fish, king prawns, shrimp, smoked salmon, and breaded scallops. I was super hungry so I was really excited to eat. Everything was really tasty and it was the perfect amount. New Zealand mussels are very plump and sweet. I’m sure I’ll be having more before we leave.
Our seafood platter for two
On the way home, we stopped by a grocery store to get some snacks for our road trip tomorrow and dessert for tonight. While looking up restaurants, Tim found a list of New Zealand only snacks. So when we got to the grocery store he was on the look out for a bunch of snacks. We managed to get the majority of them.
NZ treats, except for the Tim Tams (those are Aussie)I approve of Hokey Pokey ice cream
We got back to the house and had the Hokey Pokey ice cream we bought. Hokey Pokey is a flavour which is basically just vanilla ice cream with crunchy honey comb chunks. It was actually really tasty, I enjoyed the crunchy bits. We ate our ice cream while we watched the season finale of “Fresh Off the Boat” together. We’re planning on leaving Auckland by 9am tomorrow, so we set our alarms. We’re heading to a town called Coromandel for some hiking and some beautiful scenery.
Early morning flights are the worst. For the most part we’ve been avoiding early morning flights for that very reason. Today, our flight to Auckland was at 7:50am from Sydney, which meant we had to wake up around 5:00am and leave the hotel around 5:30am (to be safe) and walk to Central Station to catch the train to the airport so we could get to the airport around 6:10am. Sydney’s Airport train line is really easy and efficient from the city. It took around 15 minutes from Central Station and it cost $13.96 AUD, a couple of dollars cheaper than leaving the airport for the city (Tim: not sure if the cheaper fare was because of direction, or time of day).
Central Station waiting for the train at 5:45amSydney’s train system is really easy and efficient to and from the airport
It was our first time traveling with Emirates so we were excited to see what it would be like. Tim booked this flight specifically because it was an Airbus A380 (world’s largest passenger plane). The flight was coming in from Dubai and stopped in Sydney (likely dropping off a lot of passengers) en route to Auckland. Part of the Sydney International Terminal looked like a fancy mall with a lot of high end stores. We also noticed that at many of the duty free and souvenir shops they had loads of instant milk powder for sale. Apparently Chinese tourists have been hoarding instant milk powder from Australia and bringing it back home.
SYD’s International TerminalPowdered milk for sale at the airportEn route to Auckland!
We boarded the plane and were quite excited about this flight. The ceilings were a lot higher than they are normally and there was even more leg room in economy (not like I need more given my short legs). However, I didn’t think the service was that great. They were fine but weren’t as friendly/warm as Singapore Airlines.
The ceilings on the plane were higher than we’re used to
The flight was about 2.5 hours and was very smooth. They served us breakfast, which was tasty. I had a vegetable frittata and Tim had more of a traditional scrambled eggs breakfast. We landed in Auckland at 1pm local time and it was 19°C and sunny. As soon as we walked out of the plane, we looked out the window and all we saw was green. We overheard some Aussies saying they haven’t seen so much green before and they don’t have to worry about poisonous insects in New Zealand!
Our A380. Right after we landed another Emirate A380 landed in Auckland.
After we crossed customs and got our bags, all passengers had to go through another screening to make sure you weren’t bringing any prohibited foods into New Zealand. You have to show your customs form to another officer who asks you questions and then you have to put your luggage through a scanner. While we were waiting for our checked luggage, I’ve never seen so many customs officers with dogs sniffing around. Since they are a small island nation, I can see why this would be very important to screen. When we flew into Australia, they weren’t as strict and didn’t have mandatory secondary screening.
International ArrivalsProps from the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings
We had about 3 hours to kill while waiting for Jess and Robin’s flight to get in from Melbourne. They also had an early morning as they had to fly to Melbourne from Adelaide to connect to Auckland. We found a seat upstairs in the departures food court and had lunch. The Auckland Airport only gives you 30 minutes of internet per day for each device. This wasn’t ideal since we were there for so long so we rationed the internet over our 5 devices. While looking around at the people waiting for family members to arrive. There were a lot of Polynesian-looking families and it felt like we were in Hawaii for a little bit (Kia Ora is like their “Aloha” in Maori). New Zealand’s population is mainly of European decent but they have a large population of Pacific Islanders (2/3rd of all Pacific Islanders live in New Zealand), Asians, and Maori (their Aboriginal population).
KFC lunch combo: one piece of chicken, fries, chicken snack burger and a drink. $6.50 NZD = $5.67 CADMcDonald’s “Georgie Pie”, New Zealand’s version of an Aussie pie, it has meat and a lot of cheese. ($6 NZD = $5.22 CAD)“Float” from McDonald’s with grapefruit slush ($2 NZD = $1.75 CAD)
At around 4:20pm, Jess and Robin finally arrived. Their flight was a bit delayed but we were happy to see them in Auckland! We picked up our rental car, which they upgraded to a SUV (good for leg room and space but probably not ideal for gas) and made our way to Jess and Robin’s friend’s house which is in a suburb of Auckland called Epsom (5km south of the CBD).
Our Toyota Highlander for the week
When we got to the house, Jess and Robin’s med school friend’s brother, Howard, was home to greet us. He was very hospitable and made us feel like we were at home. Howard is also Taiwanese and grew up in Auckland, so he was great for telling us more of where the locals would go and eat. We settled into our rooms and then headed out for dinner. Howard gave us a few suggestions and we picked the New Zealand comfort food chain restaurant Lone Star.
Howard drove us to an area close by called Newmarket, which is south east of Auckland’s CBD. The area we parked had a lot of Asian stores and restaurants and then on the main shopping street they had a lot of branded stores and a Westfield (mall). We got to Lone Star and they said it would be about a 45 minute wait for a table so we walked around the neighbourhood. All the stores by this time were closed, but Howard said during the day the Newmarket area is quite busy. Even at night it seemed like a nice area to walk around.
Newmarket’s Broadway street at night. All the stores were in buildings with some character.Gas is expensive in New Zealand
Howard treated us to a really delicious and filling meal. Tim and I shared a really large plate of ribs. We didn’t know it would be that large, so luckily we shared!
Large order of ribs. They were Asian-ish tasting and very delicious. ($39 NZD = $34 CAD)Tim’s beer and my green apple sodaSome of our appies – warm bread with garlic butter, nacho bean spread and NZ green lipped mussels
After dinner, Howard drove us to Dominion Street, which has a long strip of Asian restaurants and businesses. Driving around Auckland, we thought it actually felt a lot like Vancouver. The trees and landscape were more similar than they were in Australia, and maybe it was the fact that it was starting to rain out that reminded us of home. We went to a Taiwanese dessert place that is popular in Taiwan but now has locations in Australia and New Zealand. The restaurant is called “Meet Fresh” and specializes in desserts with red bean, taro, and tofu pudding.
Inside Meet Fresh, felt like we were in Richmond.Our desserts from Meet Fresh. I ordered the tofu pudding with pearls ($8 NZD = $6.98 CAD). It was like we were back in Taiwan.
At this point we were all pretty tired and very full from all the food. We headed back to the house, showered, and went to sleep. We haven’t seen much of Auckland but got to experience more of where locals would go and all four of us Canadians agreed that New Zealand definitely feels like Canada (even more so than Australia). I was told by someone from Auckland that it is like Vancouver and Hawaii mixed together and I could definitely see that. Maybe more so when it’s a bit warmer.
Three nights in Sydney was about right for the sightseeing but it would have been nice if we could just take it easy here and explore more of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Originally we had looked into hotel and Airbnb options and couldn’t find anything decent looking for less than $200 CAD/night. But we got lucky with Central Station Hotel and their room rate ($95 CAD all in) for the night ended up being cheaper than a lot of the motels we stayed at on our roads trips.
Central Station
For our last day in Sydney I wanted to check out Bondi Beach. You can’t go to Sydney and not go to its most iconic beach (Tim: well, you could, but you’d be missing out)! We took the train from Central Station to Bondi Junction and from there we caught a bus to Bondi Beach (30 minutes). The weather today was nice and sunny but very windy (18 degrees Celsius, a very cold day by Sydney standards). Our friend, Julie, recommended a restaurant named Bill’s to go to at Bondi Beach so we headed there after we got off the bus.
Bill’s in Bondi
After looking online, Bill’s has other locations around Australia and even a few in Asia – like in Tokyo. Tim ordered a wagyu burger and lemonade (lemonade in Australia are more like lemon sodas) and I had the calamari papaya salad with a hibiscus lime soda. As soon as we walked in you could tell it was a fancy brunch place and their clientele were affluent “Sydneysiders”. We were seated sandwiched between two groups of women who were well dressed and talked like they were in Sydney’s top 5% (just from my observations and listening to them talk. Tim was probably not paying any attention to them the way I was (Tim: true!)). The food came and while it was good, I didn’t think it was worth the price. Also, in Australia since you don’t tip at restaurants, service is often not really great. I don’t mind at casual places but at a nicer restaurant, in my Canadian mind, I expect a bit more attention (I guess I’m a needy restaurant patron).
Tim playing Sim CityHibiscus lime soda & lemonade ($9 AUD each)Fried calamari green papaya salad ($25 AUD)Wagyu beef burger ($26 AUD)
We finally made our way down to Bondi Beach and it was nice. It was too cold for people to be sun tanning, although there were a few people who were (probably not from Australia). There was a surf competition going on so we stood on the beach and watched for a while. The waves around Bondi Beach seem ideal for recreational surfing, not as crazy as the waves we saw along the Great Ocean Road, which were definitely for very experienced surfers only. We took off our shoes and walked the length of the beach towards the coastal cliff hike along the right side of the beach. There were some really cool rock formations and it was a nice and easy walk. At the beginning of the walk, you’ll see a really nice public pool ($6.50 AUD admission) that juts out into the ocean and the waves sometimes splash into the pool. I think Bondi Beach would be more interesting and lively during the summer when the beach is packed with people.
Windy day at Bondi BeachLots of good surfers in wet suitsNo swimming!“Surf Aid” competition with lots of seagulls hanging outBondi Iceberg Club pool, open to the public for $6.50 AUDCoastal hike around the cliffs by Bondi BeachInteresting rock formationsBondi from the cliffs
We caught the bus back and just took it directly to the Circular Quay (about 45 minutes) with the intention of going to Manly Beach on our beach tour day. When we got the Circular Quay, the ferry for Manly just left and the next one wouldn’t be leaving for another half hour. It was extremely windy in Sydney’s CBD and quite chilly. We decided to not go because we didn’t want to feel rushed since we had dinner plans in the city in a couple of hours. We walked around the opera house again and then through the CBD back to the hotel. I think we were both fairly tired so it was nice to have a quick break before going out again.
Another selfie with blue skies at the Sydney Opera HouseSydney’s CBD, on Pitt St. by outside the Westfield (mall)
We met my friend, Amanda, in an area close by called Darlinghurst. It was about a 25 minute walk and the area looked pretty nice at night. She made reservations at an Indian restaurant named, Malabar. We hadn’t had Indian food since leaving home so it was a nice change of pace. She moved to Sydney in 2008 and I haven’t seen her since graduating UBC so it was nice to catch up with her. She and Tim went to the same high school, but neither of them knew each other since they’re two grades apart. We shared three different main dishes (butter chicken, goat, and paneer), naan, and rice, which were all very tasty.
Malabar in Darlinghurst on Victoria St.Palak paneer, goat curry, butter chicken, naan, rice and mango lassi ($88 AUD)Me and Amanda. She took us to a nice view point of the CBD
After chatting for a while we headed towards the CBD for Sydney’s “Vivid” festival. We were pretty excited to see Sydney come alive at night and see all the different lights and displays around town. The highlight was seeing the Sydney Opera House so colourful. There was a video being projected on the “sails” of the Opera House that was probably about 20 minutes long and just looped over and over to music. All (Tim: some) of the historic buildings around the CBD had cool projections or light show displays. It was all really awesome to see. We were expecting the crowds to be crazy but they were all very manageable. The city did a good job of keeping things under control. Vivid is on from 6-11pm every day from today until June 18th.
Sydney Harbour BridgeLight and sound exhibitsCBD all lit upOne of many projections on the Sydney Opera HouseExhibit outside the Opera houseCustoms House had a projection show. This was one of the scenes.
After walking around Circular Quay and through the Rocks area to see the different exhibits, we walked back to our hotel. It was great to see Amanda in Sydney, she is doing really well here and I’m always happy for her. She’s doing something she’s enthusiastic about and always looking for new business ideas. I also found out she’s Toi San like me (Toi San pride).
Cool lights around the Circular QuayAmanda’s camera took much better photos at night of peopleMondrian CubeLove Sydney!“Matter of Painting” at the Art Museum
We had planned on having an earlier night but we got pretty carried away with Vivid that it was our latest night out in Sydney. By the time we washed up and packed up, we only had 4 hours until we had to wake up at 5am for our flight to Auckland.
Sydney is a beautiful city and it actually reminds me a lot of home. I can see why Sydney’s real estate prices are crazy because so many people want to live there. Even walking around Sydney we overheard a few conversations of people complaining how they will never be able to buy a house in Sydney and it reminded us of Vancouver.
Today was our first full day in Sydney. The weather wasn’t supposed to be very good so we decided to explore some of the neighbourhoods outside of the Central Business District (CBD) and save the beaches for tomorrow.
We layered up for the rain and headed out towards an area called Surry Hills. It’s an area that’s been gentrified and known for good brunch restaurants. When looking at the map, we realized our hotel was basically at the Chinatown/Surry Hills border so everything was quite close. For lunch, we went to a restaurant called Reuben Hills. It was around 11am and the restaurant was already pretty full. I tried the “NOT Reuben Sandwich”, Tim ordered their “really F***ing good fried chicken”, and of course I ordered a flat white. Tim and I aren’t really coffee drinkers but since we’ve been in Australia, we’ve enjoyed their flat whites with our brunches (and Reuben Hills roasts their own beans).
Reuben Hills in Surry HillsInside Reuben HillsMy “NOT Reuben” sandwich. Wagyu beef brisket with pickled veg and horseradish mayo ($21.50 AUD = $20 CAD)Tim’s fried chicken was good but not f***ing good. ($19.50 AUD = $18.25 CAD)Flat white ($4.50 AUD = $4.20 CAD)Surry HillsKit & Ace. Vancouver in Surry Hills
After lunch we walked through Surry Hills and came across Bourke St. Bakery, a bakery Chloe recommended but we were too full to try out anything. The bakery smelled really good so maybe if we have more time tomorrow we will stop by.
Bourke Street Bakery, Surry HillsCute little garden shop in Surry Hills
The other area that we wanted to check out was Newtown, which is an area close to the University of Sydney. The weather went from gloomy and rainy to blue skies and sunny, so we were in a walking mood (especially after eating a heavy lunch). When we told our friend from Sydney that we walked from Surry Hills to Newtown, she was shocked and compared it to walking from Downtown Vancouver to Richmond (but it was probably a bit of a stretch since it’s only about 3.5km away but it’s two areas that people don’t usually walk between).
Walking through tree lined Sydney residential streets.These truck are common in Australia. I’ve never seen cars like this before.
The walk to Newtown from Surry Hills through the southern part of Sydney was nice. We both really enjoy walking around without a firm plan and it was interesting to see more of Sydney’s residential areas. We went from seeing some very affluent looking condos and then in about 5 minutes we saw a bunch of complexes that looked more like social housing (and a lot more police presence) (Tim: based on our very small sample).
Somewhere in south SydneySydney St. in SydneyOn the other side of the tracks from Sydney’s CBD. You can see the CBD in the distance.
After about 45 minutes, we made it to Newtown. There were a lot of vintage stores, street art, and vegetarian restaurants in the area. Tim remembered coming here when he visited his cousin, Christina, back in 2009.
Lots of buildings with character in NewtownMartin Luther King Jr. with the Australian Aboriginal flag. A guy with a homemade didgeridoo.Colourful buildings in NewtownLots of street art around NewtownLove all the Aussie street art in Sydney and Melbourne
We walked through the University of Sydney and felt like students for a little bit (and probably looked like ones too). We continued on our walkathon and walked through Pyrmont (south west of the CBD) to get to the Sydney Fish Market. We weren’t planning on going here but wanted to check it out since we were kind of close by. The Sydney Fish Market is the largest full functioning fish market in the Southern Hemisphere. 95% of the people in the market were Asian and same with the vendors.
Victoria ParkAt Victoria Park at the University of Sydney, there’s a totem pole donated by the government of Canada. I assumed it was from BC as soon as I saw it from a distance.Broadway Shopping Centre across the street from Victoria Park
Peter’s seafood inside Sydney Fish Market.Fishing boats docked by the fish marketIbises and seagulls everywhere
After our quick visit to the fish market, we walked back into the CBD and went to the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), which is now a mall. The QVB is one of the nicest malls I’ve been to because of it’s in such a beautiful building. The mall has a decent selection of stores, but I was more interested in admiring the architecture than going into any stores. We hung out at the QVB and then the Westfield mall beside it before dinner.
Pyrmont Bridge at Darling Harbour heading back to the CBDQVB is a 19th century building that is now a mall in Sydney’s CBDFirst floor of the QVBTop floor of the QVBMeeting Julie on Pitt St.
For dinner we met our friend, Julie, outside of the Westfield for dinner. We met her two years ago in Vancouver when she did a work secondment with her accounting firm for 5 months and have kept in touch (such a sweet girl). We were really happy we got to visit her in her hometown! One of the first things she said to us was, “I missed your accents!”. We walked to her favourite Thai restaurant called, Home Thai, about a 5 minute walk away for dinner. We ordered a bunch of dishes to share and had a great time catching up with her. There are tons of Thai restaurants in Sydney and Australia in general, and from what we’ve had so far it’s all been really good. Julie treated us to an awesome meal. She’ll be coming to Vancouver at the end of the year so we’ll get to see her again then.
Home Thai on Sussex St.Fresh spring rollGreen papaya salad that was supposed to be mildly spicy but it was extremely spicyWe had Pad see ew, pork belly with green beans, and green curry (not pictured)Mango sticky rice. My favourite Thai dessert!We forgot to take a picture with all the food. This somewhat blurry selfie will have to do.
Looking forward to seeing some of Sydney’s beaches, including Bondi Beach tomorrow. It’s also the beginning of the Vivid Festival which is supposed to bring crazy crowds into the city. We’re lucky we get to see some of it and hopefully get some good pictures tomorrow night of the city all lit up.
After 85 consecutive days, Kaitlyn is finally taking a break from writing our daily travel log, so I (Tim) will be filling in today. 85 days is quite an impressive streak… What does it take for such an amazing streak to be broken? Just the season premiere of the Bachelorette.
Our flight today to Sydney was at 12:15pm. Late enough that we didn’t have to rush in the morning, but not so late that we could do much in Brisbane before we had to leave (especially considering we normally sleep in). This was my first time here, and although we had less than 24 hours in Brisbane, it really left a good impression on me. I’d definitely want to spend more time in the city the next time we’re in Australia. (Kait: I agree. It’s usually skipped by most people but I think it’s a really nice city)
We checked out of the hotel just after 9:30 and drove the rental car to the airport to return. Of course, you always need to fill up the tank before returning a rental car. One interesting thing about Australian gas stations (or at least every single one that we’ve been to) is that they don’t have pay at the pump, and you don’t have to prepay either. The gas stations are all like the good old days in Canada where you use the pump first, then go into the station to pay. It’s also interesting to note that since Australia doesn’t have pennies anymore (like Canada), when you pay for gas with cash, you can always give yourself 2 extra cents of gasoline 🙂
We we’re flying Tigerair for the first time today and the check in and bag drop process were all automated. After using a kiosk to check in (like a lot of other airlines), you have to deal with dropping off checked luggage on your own as well. First you have to put the baggage tag on your bag, then proceed to the back drop stations where you scan your boarding pass. The bag drop station then automatically weighs your bag (to make sure it’s within the weight limit you paid for), scans the baggage tag, and sends your bag down the conveyor belt. It was a little bit cumbersome because you had to make sure your bag and the baggage tag was oriented in a way that allowed it to be scanned, but overall, the process was fairly quick and painless.
Domestic Terminal at Brisbane Int’l Airport. There’s direct flights on AC to/from Vancouver (which are heavily advertised)
We knew there wouldn’t be any food (or drinks) on the flight, so we both got meat pies from Pie Face at the food court in the terminal. (We also shared a sausage roll from a cafe). We’d been meaning to try Pie Face since we arrived in Australia, and now seemed as good a time as any. We also got two more Bundaberg sodas: Sarsparilla (Kait: it was more like a root beer) and a Lemon, Lime & Bitters. This trip has been the first time I’ve had Sarsparilla from companies other than HeySong. (We also tried a Malaysian brand while we were in Singapore). While I enjoyed experiencing the diversity of flavours in the different Sarsparillas, I still think HeySong is the best.
Pie Face (an Aussie pie chain)Pie face ($5.95 AUD, a $1 more than outside the airport).Bundaberg sodas (2 for $6 AUD)See you again, Brisbane
The flight was smooth and weather was good throughout the flight. As we approached Sydney, I could see out the window that there was a fairly large fire burning not far from the city. (Later in the day while we walked around, the air was hazy and we could smell the smoke.)
Getting into the city from the Airport was really simple with the train. We got transit cards (called Opal Cards in Sydney) and put 20 AUD on them. Unlike most cities with transit fare cards for tapping on and off, the Opal Cards did not require any cash deposit, so it was a no brainer to get them. From the domestic terminal at the airport, it cost 15.76 AUD and took 10 minutes to get to Central station. From the station, it was a short walk to the Central Station Hotel, our home in Sydney for the next 3 days.
Airport Link trainOpal cardArriving at Sydney’s Central Station
After checking in and getting settled in our small (but clean and cozy) room, we headed out to make the most of the remaining daylight. It wasn’t even 3pm yet, but the sun was going to set before 5. Kaitlyn’s mentioned this before, but I always find it odd when it’s a warm or hot day, and the sun sets early. Growing up in Vancouver, I’m conditioned to expect 9pm sunsets when it’s this warm.
Central Station HotelOur cozy room. $95 CAD/night
From the hotel, we made our way first to Hyde Park. The park is named after the original Hyde Park in London, but it’s less than 1/10 the size. None the less, there’s a beautiful tree lined path that runs down the centre of the park, and a well kept fountain at one end. From the fountain, you also have a great view of St. Mary’s Cathedral, one of the many beautiful older buildings in Sydney. Sydney was founded about 100 years before Vancouver, and it really shows in some of the fantastic old buildings.
Hyde ParkAn ibis infront of the fountain at Hyde ParkSt.Mary’s Cathedral
From Hyde Park, it was a straight shot down Macquarie St towards the Sydney Opera House. When you think of the most famous landmarks in the world, I think the Sydney Opera House is definitely in the top 20, if not the top 10. I was really excited for Kaitlyn to see it for the first time.
The building itself is a marvel of engineering and design, and I was awed even though this wasn’t my first time seeing it. It seems a shame if I were a local here and grew to take the building for granted (and it makes me wonder if visitors to Vancouver feel the same way about Vancourites taking our natural beauty for granted).
While the building itself was spectacular, the experience of trying to get a good photo of it (and more importantly to Kait, a photo with us in it) was not so great. There is an art to selecting a stranger to ask to take a photo for you. Normally at a landmark, it’s not too difficult to pick a person who is likely to take a decent photo. My general rule of thumb is to find a person using a camera worth more then every piece of clothing and accessory they are wearing. If they are with a partner or in a group, take everyone’s clothing and accessories into account. I think the higher the ratio between Camera Value vs Clothing Value, the higher the probability the person can take a decent photo. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have much luck getting a great photo in front of the Opera House. I shouldn’t complain though. Our friend Chris recently came to Sydney and his photo in front of the Opera House didn’t even really have the Opera House in the frame.
Knew it wasn’t going to be a good picture when she squatted to take the picture Opera House detailsCircular Quay and CBDSydney Harbour Bridge
After the Opera House, we walked along the water past Circular Quay to The Rocks (not The Rock, or The Rock, or The Rock, but The Rocks). The Rocks is a historic area of Sydney adjacent to the Central Business District. It’s a great place to stroll around with lots of food and culture to explore. We made our way through it quickly though, as we were hoping to walk to Darling Harbour before the sunset.
Ferries at the Circular QuayThe Rocks
Lots of areas around Sydney are being set up for Vivid Sydney, a “Festival of Light, Music, & Ideas”. I don’t really know what it’s all about, but it starts on the 27th so Kait and I will be able to check out the opening night of the festival before we leave for New Zealand on the 28th.
There were different light exhibits being set up all around the Rocks and Circular Quay for VividSydney Town Hall
At this point, we were starting to get hungry, and weren’t really impressed with our food options around Darling Harbour… They looked good, but a bit too pricey (e.g. 21.50 AUD for Chicken Schwarma with Rice). With that in mind, we decided we’d do a quick loop around Darling Harbour (and over Pyrmont Bridge), before making our way to Chinatown to find some food.
Darling Harbour at 5:00pm
After strolling around Chinatown for a while, we settled on eating at Dixon House Food Court. Kait got fried noodles and I had a spicy noodle soup. The highlight of the noodle soup were the noodles themselves. They were thin, al dente, made in house, and they gave you a free refill of noodles with every order of noodle soup! I’m usually not big on kaedama (or gluttony in general), but it’s also tough for me to pass up a free offer in order to maximize my value. That sort of tells you a lot about my personality.
Dixon St. in ChinatownDixon House Food Court. It was a lot busier down here than in the restaurants upstairs.Kaitlyn’s noodles for $9.80 AUDSuper spicy beef noodle ($12 AUD) after a few bites
After dinner, we slowly made our way back to the hotel. We made a pit stop at Coles (our favourite supermarket in Australia apparently) to pick up some drinks and fruit. When we got back to the hotel, it was only 7:30! So early in the day, but perfect timing for Masterchef Australia. We hadn’t watched in almost a week, but I was happy to see that my favourite contestant (Sad Joey Fatone) was still in it.
We’ve got 2 more full days in Sydney, so we’re spending the evening making some plans (while watching Masterchef and Bachelorette).
Finally! We didn’t have a 9-hour car ride ahead of us for the day. We packed up and went for a quick morning walk across the street along the Noosa River. I had no idea the river was across the street from us because when we got into Noosa, it was dark. The sun was shining and it was already about 27°C at 9:30am. There were a lot of people getting their morning walk and run in and there were a few yoga classes going on.
Noosa RiverSo beautiful hereNoosa Sun Motel, right across the street from Noosa River Park
We went back to the room, checked out, loaded up the car, and made our way to Noosa Beach. We planned on having breakfast and spending the morning at the beach before we headed south to Brisbane. Noosa Beach was only about a 5 minute drive down the road from the motel. We found parking on Hastings Street, which is a nice street with lots of restaurants and stores.
Hastings St. in Noosa
We walked up and down the street to see what our choices were for breakfast/brunch. We ended up picking a restaurant called, Aromas, which had a good breakfast menu and had some pastries and sandwiches in the display cases. I ordered a salmon and avocado sandwich on rye ($9.50 AUD = $8.95 CAD) and Tim got their sausage crumble on poached egg ($16 AUD = $15 CAD). Both items were tasty and the cafe was a nice setting for people watching.
Aromas on Hastings St.Nice patio for people watching while we waited for our foodSalmon Avocado sandwich and sausage crumble
After brunch, we walked down Hastings St. all the way to Noosa Park until we got to the end of the beach. Noosa is known for having very calm waters making it ideal for paddle boarding and for beginner surfers. We saw a lot of paddleboarders out around Sandy Cove. We also overheard some talking about how there was an eleven food shark out there. We continued to walk along the Noosa Beach until we got back to where the hotels and businesses around Hastings St. were. Next time we’ll have to spend more time in Noosa and just have a full beach day. Like the sand we felt in Adelaide, the sand was like powdered sugar. It’s some of the softest sand I’ve ever felt before. The water was a lot colder compared to the water we went snorkeling in. It wasn’t freezing by any means but it was definitely not 28°C.
Walk through the forest to get to the beachSandy Cove, such clear blue water.Noosa BeachGetting our feet wetWe came across a few wild turkeys just walking aroundHello from Noosa, QLD!
After hanging around the beach and walking in the water, we made our way back to Hastings St. and got a smoothie from a Jugo Juice/Jamba Juice/(Tim: and Booster Juice) type of store called Boost. It was the perfect day for a fresh fruit smoothie and it was exactly what I had been craving. We got back into the car and headed on the more scenic drive down the Sunshine Coast towards Brisbane.
Originally Tim had squeezed in 9 hours of driving each day so we would have a full day to go to the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin’s Zoo), which is about 40 minutes from Noosa. There was some miscommunication about who really wanted to go. Tim was under the impression that I really wanted to go but I thought I had just mentioned that we would pass by it on the way to Brisbane. The only reason why I would be interested in going was because the zoo is linked to Steve Irwin. But since we went to Cleland Wildlife Park in Adelaide, I was pretty satisfied with my experience there and I did’t think anything else coul top it. Plus the admission is $59 per person and I didn’t want to go that badly. It worked out because we got to have a more leisurely morning in Noosa and spend the afternoon in Brisbane before it got dark (at 5:30pm!).
Along the Sunshine Coast, some parts were very scenic. We stayed on the coastal beach roads until we got to the Sunshine Airport, then we headed for the more direct route to Brisbane, which was a little less than an hour away.
Coolum BeachThere were two girls surfing here (the two specs in the ocean where the waves started to break).
Before we knew it we were in Brisbane. I got used to long drives that today was a breeze. I’m glad we got to spend at least one day in Brisbane while in Australia. It’s not on many people’s radars since there aren’t many tourist sites to see in the city, but I was still very interested in visiting. A good friend of mine did her Masters here so when we arrived I messaged her that I was thinking about her. It’s too bad I didn’t get my travel bug before she left. It would’ve been nice to visit her while she was living here.
We checked into the Ibis (Tim: “Style”) Hotel in Brisbane’s CBD (Central Business District). It’s our second time in an Ibis and we’re both very happy with their rooms and their very comfortable beds. Considering the hotel is in a prime location downtown, the price is really good at $117 CAD/night. The downside of being in a prime location downtown (with a car) is that we had to pay for parking. Luckily Ibis said they will validate the parking, but it will cost $35 day. When we drove down to the Myer’s shopping parkade, we saw the regular price for more than 3 hours is $55. So we’ll take the $20 off.
Our car killed a lot of bugs on our drive here.Tim checking in while I took creeper photosRoom with a little view of the river
After we settled in for a bit, we went straight out to take advantage of the sunlight. We walked across the bridge to South Brisbane, along the river on the south bank, and across the pedestrian bridge straight into the Botanic Gardens. It was a really nice walk, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. My first impression of Brisbane was that it’s a very active city. There were so many people going on runs and tons of people riding their bikes for leisure and to commute. It seems like the city is very accommodating to cyclists which is great. I love cities that have pedestrian only bridges going over rivers or canals. I wish Vancouver would put one over False Creek.
Brisbane Treasury building. Love buildings with character.Brisbane’s South BankBrisbane’s CBDSouth Bank, BrisbaneWalking along the south bank of the Brisbane RiverPublic pools along the south bank of the Brisbane River.Part of the public pool. This part had a fake beach (and an Ibis).Brisbane is a very laid back cityThere were flowered walkways parallel to the river walkways which were prettySun was setting as we were crossing the pedestrian bridge
When we got back into Brisbane’s CBD, we walked through the Botanic Gardens and back on to another river walk way. By this time, it was getting darker and we were looking for something to eat for dinner. There were a bunch of restaurants around Edward’s Pier which didn’t open until around 5:30pm, so we continued to walk towards the pedestrian only shopping streets.
Brisbane Botanic GardensLots of boat docked around Brisbane
Like Rundle Mall in Adelaide, Brisbane has a pedestrian only shopping street called Queen Street Mall. It was larger and had higher end stores than Rundle Mall. We walked through trying to see what restaurants were around but nothing really caught our eye. When we got to the end of the street, Tim wanted to check out the City Hall building on the corner and low and behold there was a food market set up. There were all these food tents set up in the middle of King George Square (later we learned it was called “The Paper Plate Supper Club”). We walked around and found there were a lot of delicious options so we decided to have dinner there. I had Malaysian food (chicken satay with nasi lemak) and Tim had Vietnamese food (a vermicelli bowl with chicken and spring rolls). Both were really good and satisfying. It was our first proper dinner in a while.
Queen Street MallInteresting street art. Kangaroos everywhere!Brisbane City HallPaper Plate Supper Club at King George SquareOne of a few Malaysian stalls. This is where my dinner was from.Chicken satay with nasi lemuk ($10 AUD = $9.40 CAD). This dish is not for people with peanut allergies.Tim’s Vietnamese spring roll and grilled chicken bowl ($9 AUD = $8.45 CAD)We shared a delicious cannoli for dessert ($5 AUD = $4.70 CAD)
After dinner, it was still early (around 6:30pm) but it felt more like 9pm. We’re so used to the sun setting at like 9pm when it’s warm out, so I think that’s why it being dark at 6pm is weird for us. We headed to ANZAC Square which has a memorial dedicated to Australian and New Zealanders who fought during WWI. This memorial was one of the nicer one I’ve seen in a city.
ANZAC Square Memorial
We walked back up Queen Street Mall to get back to our hotel and we called it an early night. We did a quick overview of Brisbane and we liked it. It’s a very relaxed big city which are usually my favourite places.
Tomorrow we’re flying to Sydney! Looking forward to finally seeing the city for myself. We’ll be meeting up with a couple of friends there so it’ll be great to see some more familiar faces.
Today we had another long drive ahead of us. We didn’t end up waking up at 5am to drive back to Cape Hillsborough to watch the sunrise and see kangaroos on the beach. As we were snoozing our alarms, we said we’d come back and do this drive over a week or more in the future. We could camp there and walk to the beach instead of driving 45 minutes from Mackay to Cape Hillsborough. The bed at Ibis was extremely comfortable (probably one of the best beds we’ve slept on so far) so it made it even harder to get up.
We went to McDonald’s (again) for breakfast. I ordered a spinach, egg and feta wrap trying to be healthy. Tim, however, found the most unhealthy choice. He ordered the “Aussie BBQ Brekkie Roll”, which had double sausage patties, eggs, bacon, and BBQ sauces on a sesame bun, two hash browns, and a flat white coffee! Our breakfast was basically our only meal for the day so it was good Tim had a huge breakfast.
Our McDonald’s breakfast feast. $15 AUD = $14.13 CADTim’s messy Aussie BBQ Brekkie Roll. It was a really heavy breakfast.My spinach and feta wrap.See you later, Mackay!
Our drive today was from Mackay to Noosa, which is about 850km away. Tim had another ~9 hour drive to do today. I don’t know how he drives so long and is still okay. Tim’s done a lot of road trips on his own while working in Columbus, so long drives like this are nothing to him. I’m just used to driving max 6 hours a day (to get to Portland). The weather was better than our first day on the road but the scenery was pretty boring and repetitive. In my mind, I had pictured the drive from Cairns down to Brisbane to be scenic and beautiful. Since we were driving a more direct route we weren’t seeing anything interesting.
Halfway through our drive we got pulled over for a speeding ticket, which is really unlucky. I was thinking we hadn’t seen a police car at all on both our road trips in Queensland and while we were in Victoria. Tim thought we were still in a 110 zone but it became a 100 zone and he was going 119. We got pulled over and they gave us a ticket for $235 AUD. From that point on we were pretty paranoid with the speed limit changes. On the bright side, the police officers were really nice and friendly.
That put a bit of a damper on our day since $235 AUD is more than our car rental for 3 days. We were still really full from lunch and there wasn’t much food selection in the small towns we passed by. After two meals in a row at McDonald’s, nothing I saw at gas stations or any fast food was appetizing.
The sun set really early in Queensland. Around 5:30pm it was already pitch black out. This made me feel a bit uneasy while we were driving because the highway was only one lane each way with no median, the roads were winding, there were no street lights, and there were so many semi trucks going the opposite direction. As much as I trust Tim’s driving skills, I don’t really trust others. Considering there were so many warning signs about driver fatigue and a lot of road side memorials, it made me a bit paranoid.
When we arrived in Noosa at 9:30pm, I went from being thankful we made it there safely to feeling physically exhausted (and I wasn’t even the one who was driving). The long hauls of our road trip are finally over. I’m looking forward to seeing Noosa during the day and finally seeing the Sunshine Coast.
The motel we booked for the night was called Noosa Sun Motel. It was the nicest motel we’d stayed in so far. The room was huge and was more like an apartment than a motel room. It had a kitchen, dining table, sofa, an extra bed, and our bed was in a separate room. The room was $125 AUD/night.
Our bedroom at Noosa Sun Motel. I forgot to take a picture of the rest of the unit.Extra bed and couch in the living area. I didn’t get to take a picture of the kitchen/dining area
This morning we woke up and packed up. Our relaxing days in Cairns have come to an end. Like yesterday, the rain was coming down and it was another gloomy looking day. We’re lucky we got two nice days before the rain started to come in. We went downstairs for a leisurely breakfast before checking out. We walked to Hertz to pick up the rental car, picked up our luggage from the hotel, and were on our way heading south towards Brisbane.
Cairns to Brisbane is approximately 1,680km and we’re going to drive there in three days. Ideally, we should have allotted more time for this drive since there’s a lot of very nice beaches (Whitsunday Islands) along the east coast but unfortunately we don’t have enough time. Lonely Planet recommends two weeks for this “road trip” and we’re doing it in three. For the first two days, Tim will be driving about 8-9 hours each day (which he says he doesn’t mind at all) and then the last day we’ll only drive a couple of hours so we could spend more time in Brisbane before flying to Sydney. We’ve been winging most of our planning but in hindsight I probably should have tried to plan out Australia a bit better so we didn’t feel so rushed during this portion. If we come again in the future, I’d like to go to Whitsunday Islands and spend a good chunk of time there. The pictures look so beautiful!
More tropical rainstormsThen it cleared up and the roads were dry
The rain was coming down quite hard as we drove for the first couple of hours. The area south of Cairns reminded us of Hawaii’s landscape – lush greenery with tropical crops on either side of the highway. Instead of pineapples, there were a lot of sugar cane and bananas. Our first pit stop was in Ayr, which was about a 5 hour drive (436km). We had a late lunch at McDonald’s – there aren’t many options for food on Sundays in small towns (most things are closed).
Finally some sun as we moved further southAyr seems like a cute quaint town with a main street but it’s a ghost town on Sundays. Nothing is open and the streets are fairly deserted.McDonald’s road trip meal. $20 AUD = $18.93 CAD. McDonald’s isn’t cheap in Australia
Ayr to Mackay (which is where we’re staying for the night) was another 3.5 hour drive. There wasn’t much (at all) in between these two places unless you are going to Airlie Beach or The Whitsundays. The sun began to set and we had to be more careful while driving because kangaroo like to hop around at dusk. We didn’t see any hopping around but we did notice a lot more (and larger) kangaroo road kill during this road trip than on the Great Ocean Road.
Full moon tonight. It was bright while we were driving. Would’ve been even brighter if there were no clouds.
At around 8:30pm, we finally got to Mackay, which is a small city that has its own airport. We’re staying at the Ibis Hotel at the airport for the night. At first when we got to the parking lot, we saw that parking was $35 a night. But luckily when we checked in they said that it’s validated for hotel guests. It’s our first time staying in an Ibis hotel and it’s quite nice and comfortable. I’ve seen the chain around but never stayed in one before. If they’re all like this one, I’d stay in one again (Tim: we’ll find out soon enough as we’re staying at another Ibis hotel in Brisbane).
Today was the first day in a few days where we didn’t have anything planned for the day. We already knew the weather was going to be bad so we had a restful day ahead of us.
We took our time waking up and went downstairs and had a leisurely breakfast. We haven’t had a free breakfast in a hotel since Taiwan. They have all your typical western breakfast items, fresh fruit, and even some Asian items like gyozas, miso soup and congee. I tried the congee with Chinese doughnut and they were both pretty horrible. Other than the bad Asian options, everything else was good.
We spent most of the morning and early afternoon catching up with Masterchef Canada and the Mindy Project while finishing up some of my blog posts for the last few days. Tim worked on updating our spending and finance situation. The rain was coming down really hard and we could see from our balcony that a lot of people walking along the esplanade were getting caught in sudden downpours throughout the day.
In Cairns there, isn’t much to do when it rains. The guy at the front counter asked what we had planned for today and he suggested watching a movie at the mall. I didn’t even know Cairns had a mall! We walked to Cairns Central and killed a couple of hours walking around. We went to an Australian Target for the first time and it was really nice. Not to say the ones in the states aren’t nice, but the one in Cairns looked a bit fancier. The prices were pretty decent as well and their home decor section would be stuff that I would buy for my home (if we had one).
People (mostly with children but some adults) rented these safari animals and rode around the mall ($10 for 20 minutes)Inside Cairns Central (Tim: Felt like Brentwood Mall)
After browsing through the mall, we went to the food court to get a late lunch. We went around to look at all the options and decided to go to Hungry Jack’s. Since we’re in Australia and we don’t technically have Hungry Jack’s in Canada (although it’s just a Burger King) we got a Whooper meal and an extra Whooper Jr. burger to share. And yup, it tasted just like Burger King.
Hungry Jack’s late lunch. A large Whooper combo with a JR Whooper ($14.05 AUD = $13.30 CAD)
Before heading back to the hotel, we went to Coles (supermarket) to pick up some snacks and bottled water for our upcoming three day road trip down to Brisbane. While walking back to the hotel, the rain was coming down even harder than before. Luckily we had our rain jackets and umbrellas so we were well prepared for the heavy rain. On the bright side, at least it was still quite warm out (25°C).
When we got back to the hotel, we continued with our work and watched Fresh off the Boat in the background. We headed back out to town for a late dinner at a ramen place called Ganbaranba Noodle Colosseum. It was also another restaurant recommended by Chloe. The restaurant was located close to all the Japanese and Asian shops I mentioned a few days ago. When we got to the restaurant, we had to wait for about 20 minutes for a seat. The restaurant was run by Japanese people and, while sitting at the counter listening to all the staff interacting and speaking, it felt like we were back in Japan. Even when we went to pay at the cashier, Tim asked for a “receipto” and said “arigato” to the lady (he was on cruise control).
Waiting outside Ganbaranba
I ordered a cold ramen and Tim ordered a garlic tonkotsu broth ramen. His soup base was very garlicky, which he likes, but the tonkotsu tasted more like shio (salt) than pork bone. I liked my cold noodles better than his ramen (Tim: I liked her cold noodles better too). The ramen was good for Cairns and the prices were very reasonable for Australia which was great. Unfortunately we’ve both been spoiled by being in Japan recently and for even having Vancouver ramen standards (we’re lucky to have such great ramen at home).
We’re back in Japan…nope, we’re in CairnsTim’s Ikemen ($11.95 AUD = $11.30 CAD)My sour and spicy cold noodles with chicken and cabbage. ($11.95 AUD = $11.30 CAD)
After dinner we walked back to the Night Market to look for a hat that Robin had bought from there but then lost. We managed to find the exact hat but they only had small sizes left. We made our regular stop at Gelocchio for our last night of gelato. We tried their caramel Himalayan salt in a cone. It was delicious. I think my favourite is the lemon and basil gelato.
Last night at Gelocchio. Tried the Himalayan caramel salt in a waffle cone ($4.80 AUD = $4.54 CAD)
Tonight’s our last night here. We rented a car and are planning on leaving Cairns at about 10am tomorrow. We have about a 8-9 hour drive to our first stop on the east coast to a town called Mackay.
