Daintree Rainforest

After a great few days in Sydney we flew up to Cairns, AU and drove an hour north into Port Douglas. Port Douglas in an amazing town with marina access out to the Great Barrier Reef, a seashore teaming with box jellyfish, and just a few minutes inland- a beautiful, lush rainforest. The town of Port Douglas itself is frequently visited by Bill Clinton and Steven Spielberg... and for a good reason. This town is your ideal small marina town filled with tons of cozy and yummy cafes, neat little shops, and a long beach backed by the mountains.

On our first day in Port Douglas we went into the Daintree rainforest. The rainforest is filled with all kinds of crazy shaped trees with roots above ground and a base that fans out into multiple directions.... streams, waterfalls, strange thorny plants. This rainforest hike was exceptionally beautiful and fun... but also very hot. It was great to finish up the hike and jump into the cool, fresh running water in the big swimming area.

Blue Mountains Climbing Excursion: NSW

Day 2 in New South Wales could not have possibly contrasted Day 1 more. We went from the Sydney city center and the coastal beaches to the Blue Mountains. Our mission: to climb the Dam Cliffs. On our way to the cliffs I was dancing along the trail, stomping in hopes of scaring away the poiseness snakes that were sure to try and attack us. 

Once we arrived at the cliffs we set up all of the climbing gear and started straight away like a wanna be pros! I was a little nervous and scared to to see him scale the wall but his confidence was unshakable. Once he set up the topline we each took a turn climbing to the top.

After a fun day on the rocks, we hiked back and stopped to eat a town called Mt. Victoria. I have to say, that I was a little disappointed with the dinner menu which stunk because I was starving. What did I expect? It was a dingy little hotel bar.

Well.... you can imagine my surprise when they brought out the freshest salad with the most amazing homemade honey-mustard vinigarette. It was by far the best salad I've ever had in my life. That's definitely something that Australia has over the rest of the world: The Food! No matter where you go, the nicest restaurant or the biggest dive, white table cloth or pub, you are quaranteed to have the best food of your life! It's amazing everywhere you go.

Circular Quay and Coastal Walk: Sydney, Australia

This will be my first post from the Asia Pacific Excursion! We began our 1 month journey in Sydney, Australia.

When the plane landed we hit the ground running. We started off in Circular Quay. Little did we know that we would immediately stumble on to a contortionist act and that Oliver would get picked out of the crowd to come and help! right in front of our eyes, this woman fit herself and a basketball into a tiny glass box! Welcome to Sydney.

After the sideshow spectacular we walked around to check out the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour bridge. All of which is located in Circular Quay. The Opera House is magnificent in its architecture and what makes this area particularly beautiful is the fact that the Opera House and Bridge are right next to each other to be seen in the same glance.

The action of the first day did not stop there. Next we went to Coogee beach and started the coastal walk from Coogee beach to Bronte Beach. The coastal walk was beautiful; rolling down along beaches and up along the cliff edge dropping into the ocean. Coogee beach is a fun beach with sand and grass, bath pools, and beautifully colored jagged rocks. Bronte Beach shares many of the same qualities including an awesome ocean pool next to the cliffs that the waves crash into.