On 27th December 2016 myself and Adela boarded our very delayed flight to Australia.What a trip this was to be! We only had 3 weeks so chose to stop in Sydney, Cairns and Gold Coast - but it was the holiday of a life time!
We started in Sydney for 7 days but to be honest you really do not need this long in Sydney for such a short trip. We saw the whole city in a day and then had another day go venture over to Bondi Beach and if I went again I'd love to do the blue mountains. The trip was planned so that we were in Sydney for NYE and could go and see the fire works. The night was fab! There was such a good atmosphere, everyone was buzzing and the fireworks were something else! We even treated ourselves to a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate and I got to meet up with my friend Holly who had gone travelling earlier on in the year which was so nice.
With the time difference back home, me and Lee (although apart and me much more tanned) got to see the new year in twice which was cool (FaceTime is a great thing).
Temperature wise we were quite surprised that it was not hot all day every day. Some of the days we were here it was quite windy and you ideally needed a cardigan (we didn't bring any so just had to go cold). But then again the next day the temperature would flip and it would be scorching hot. The beaches around Sydney were nice and the couple we were staying with had a pool in the garden that we spent a lot of time sunbathing in and round with a book in hand so was perfect relaxing time.
The main city of Sydney is quite picturesque with lots to see and do. From the Sydney opera house, to the botanical gardens, pop up gin bars, museums and even the zoo there were plenty of sights to keep us busy on our sightseeing days.
From Sydney we booked an internal holiday to Cairns and couldn't believe how cheap we got it, considering the flight is about 3 hours and we stayed in a nice hotel. I must say Cairns was my favourite part of the holiday. The temperature was about 40 degrees with 90% humidity and the tropical weather really added to the 'holiday feel'. There were loads of things to do there - from horse riding through the jungle, to snorkelling in the great barrier reef, the Kuranda Scenic Railway, getting up close an personal with the Kangaroos and Koalas and even learning about the aborigine culture (typical me got pulled up onto stage to dance with them) - we had an amazing time. I also tried my first ever Kangaroo & Crocodile meal (oh my god it was delicious! Kangaroo was like the most tender juicy steak you'd have and the croc tasted like chicken).
After an amazing week in Cairns, we headed back to Sydney to visit my family. They took us to see the central beaches and meet up with family before we headed off on a last minute mini break to the gold coast for Adela's birthday.
Whilst we were in the Gold Coast we went to the Warner bros theme park which was pretty cool (although like most theme parks busy with big queues for the rides). The city is right on the beach and there are sky scrapers all along the beach front which is definitely something different. (The sad face is because Adela's sparkler went out before the cake reached the table)
Finally we headed back to Sydney for our last day to do a last minute bit of shopping (you can't go to Australia and not buy UGGS - they're mega cheap! I think I bought back like 4 pairs and some slippers) and a nice walk along the harbour where we had our final meal before heading home.
I now have so many memories to treasure after an amazing holiday and I would love to come back to Australia and experience some more of the country!