And more Ashstralia!

The day after our Great Barrier Reef tour was warm and sunny and we had the whole day to explore the coast. We started with brunch on the esplanade in Palm Cove where they somehow made my scrambled eggs look like oatmeal. Not quite sure how they got them so brown or so small! But they tasted like eggs. We set off North along a scenic coastal drive.

We arrived in Port Douglas, which is known as the ‘posh’ area of the coast with beautiful resorts and expensive beach homes. The main strip was busy with quaint cafes and shops and a weekend open-air market at the end. After seeing all the coconut trees on the drive, I was really hoping there would be fresh coconuts for delicious drinking! Jaime assured me he would find some. And soon enough, I had a cold and furry little coconut with a straw poking out. 

The coconut water was so good and we stayed and talked with the farmer who told us all about coconuts. I had no idea there was so much to know. By the time I was fully educated and Jaime promised me we could someday plant our own coconut tree, I finished my water and the farmer then cracked the coconut in half and shredded the flesh with a hand blender and topped it off with a sliced local organic banana and some honey. YUM!

We continued on the road and headed toward Mossman Gorge. Mossman Gorge is a scenic section of the Daintree Wet Tropics Heritage Park.  February is still considered wet season for Queensland but we had perfect weather with not a drop of rain. The coast has ocean on one side and complete rainforest on the other and Mossman Gorge is one of those rainforest areas that you are guaranteed rain. We drove out of blue sky into the rainforest canopy and once we reached the road to Mossman Gorge it began to pour! At one point a small stream was rushing over the road and rising fast. We figured we could get by the small flood now but if the rain kept up we might have gotten stuck on the other side so we took some pics and opted out of the road to Mossman Gorge.

Further north, the roads were lined with sugar cane on one side and coconut trees on the other with vast rainforest covered mountains towering behind. We passed through a quiet Aboriginal town and Steph and I took a ride on the zip line swings at the local playground.

As we went further north the road became more covered by rainforest and we knew that most of the swampy areas we passed by were likely inhabited by saltwater crocs! Saltwater crocodiles are huge and ruthless and will stalk and eat pretty much anything. This is one animal you never want to run into. I explained that Australian signage is very accurate and the warnings will say saltwater crocs MAY inhabit this area in most of the areas in this part of Australia to keep you alert vs. signs that state: Crocodiles INHABIT this area, to ensure no messing around.

We stopped into a roadside cabin for a boat ride down the mucky river to see if we could spot some crocs, but we were told since it was so warm the crocs stay in the water and they couldn’t promise we would see any. So we continued on towards Cape Tribulation. The roads became more shaded by forest and the only water we could see was the occasional swampy river banks, no croc sightings, although the boys were looking! We took the car ferry over the Daintree river and into the Daintree Rainforest. The road was narrow and windy and flourishing with vegetation and all sorts of butterflies and wildlife that all enjoy the cool, moist air.

Our first stop was the Daintree Ice Cream Company, which is a tiny ice cream shack surrounded by crops of the natural ingredients that they use to make their ice cream. You don’t get to order, you just get a cup of 4 different flavors of ice cream.  Black Sapote- tastes like chocolate, Wattleseed- mocha/coffee flavor, Soursop- light strawberry taste, and Mango/Jackfruit which is like a mango/pineapple gelato. It was interesting and delicious!

 We then made our way to one of the rainforest walking tracks to check out the scenery.

The next day we left Cairns and headed to Sydney. Our friend Sharon took us on a fabulous walking day tour of Sydney that included the Botanic Gardens, bustling Sydney Fish Market with all the seafood you could possibly imagine, Darling Harbor, bubble tea in Chinatown, and of course Circular Quay with evening views of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.  It was a big day in the Sydney news due to the docking of the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary, the two largest cruise ships, arriving in Sydney on the same day.

Sydney Fish Market Fish!

Sydney Chinatown

Old-Time Photography by Tony

Queen Elizabeth compared to a tug boat (that little white spot)

The highlight of our Sydney adventure was the beautiful morning we had on our last day in town. We met up with Sharon at Bondi Beach and started the fabulous coastal walk. The perfect place to start your day. The walk begins at Bondi Beach and takes you to Tamarama and Bronte Beach while taking in amazing coastal views and the sparkling blue water. It was a beautiful day for walking and swimming and for Tony to further his sand collection that he decided to begin on his Ashstralia adventure.

Bondi Beach, the beginning of our walk

Bondi Iceberg saltwater pool

Sandstone, carved by years of nature

Perfect spot!

Surfers at Bronte Beach

That afternoon we were headed back to our hotel to grab our bags and catch our flight back to Melbourne. On the way out of Bondi we got on the wrong bus, which we only realized almost an hour later as the view of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House where getting smaller and smaller and when we arrived at Watson’s Bay and it was the last stop on the bus. We got ourselves organized and waited for the bus to take us back. Inadvertently we did arrive at The Gap, which gave us spectacular panoramic views of Sydney! Our detour took so long that we were in quite a rush to get to the airport for our flight back to Melbourne. Luckily our flight was delayed and we made it with plenty of time, but the rushing around was definitely worth the entertainment of Tony running through the airport at top speed with all his gear.

Sadly the Waltos adventure was coming to an end but not before Steph and Tony took a few trips to the market for some gifts and ingredients for Tony, the Italian Stallion, to make us a delicious pasta dinner with his family recipe for the best Bolognaise sauce ever!

Their last night in town, we took a stroll down to St. Kilda to try to get a peek at our resident fairy penguins, which we were able to spot in the rocks and even walking down the walkways of the pier.

We had an unforgettable trip full of laughs and all sorts of first-time experiences and adventures. Our many thanks goes to the Waltos for being such fabulous company with the nonstop entertainment and endless laughter that we love so much. Love you guys!