Dubai
It would be safe to say that Nikki and Steve have never really been attracted to the idea of Dubai, and mainly planned a 3-night stopover to see what all the fuss is about.
Perth
Founded in 1829 as part of the Swan River Colony, Perth began as a remote British outpost on Australia’s vast west coast.
Getting to know Sydney
We are in Sydney for 10 days. Our first few days were all about settling in to our airBNB and familiarising ourselves with our locale and the wider city.
Blue Mountains
We decided on a trip within a trip. We left our base in Sydney for an overnighter in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains
A Sydney Weekend
We had a full weekend to explore Sydney when we assumed it would be at its most vibrant. We were not disappointed.
Farewell Sydney
After 10 days in Sydney, it is time for us to bid farewell. Our last couple of days involved trips to Manly, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera.
Port Douglas
Port Douglas is as far north as we will stay in Australia, although we will go on a tour that takes us even further north.
Daintree Rainforest
Our one day guided tour to the Daintree Rainforest, one of Unesco World Heritage Sites, and also unique in that it lays next to another Unesco site – the Great Barrier Reef.
Cairns Aquarium
We had pre-booked a night tour in the Cairns Aquarium months ago and were both really looking forward to it.
Cairns
From Port Douglas we travel back down the highway to Cairns and a luxury stop in a 5-star hotel – Crystalbrook Riley
Mission Beach
Just to prove that something unplanned can still create amazing memories.
Townsville
We have our longest drive of the whole trip from Cairns to Townsville. We hoped it would be an interesting drive, but it just pissed down.
Half way
Friday 27ths marks 4 weeks since we left Stansted and 4 weeks until we board a plane back in Singapore.
Bommie
To celebrate Steve’s 54th birthday, we visited Hamilton Island’s fine dining restaurant, Bommie.
The Whitsundays
Our most anticipated part of our trip was to the Whitsunday Island, and Hamilton Island in particular.
Mackay
We have a one night stopover in Mackay to break a long car drive. Thankful it was only 1 night!
Capricorn Caves
We booked a tour to go cave exploring, not realising the pissing rain would make it a wet experience.
Crocs
After 5 weeks in Australia, our only sighting of a crocodile was in a Wildlife Park. Today was our opportunity to get a bit closer.
Yeppoon
An ex colleague, Clay, is a native of Yeppoon and recommended a stop in what turned out to be a delightful seaside town. Unfortunately, it has continuously pissed down!
Hervey Bay
What turned into a 6+ hour drive from Yeppoon to Hervey Bay. We were lucky to avoid a 4 hour detour!
K’gari
We booked an all day ‘Explorer’ tour to K’gari (formerly Fraser Island). It is the worlds largest sand island, stretching some 120km in length, and offers a unique environment for wildlife and flora.
Brisbane
Nikki had been to Brisbane in the Eighties, didn’t remember it too well, and felt it needed to be a brief stop. How glad we are that we have been able to change that memory.
Lake Tekapo
On arrival in New Zealand where we pick up a car and head to Lake Tekapo.
Dark Sky Project
We booked a night tour to the Mount John Observatory, a part of the Dark Sky Project in New Zealand.
Queenstown
Emily, one of our friends daughter, rated Queenstown as her favourite place on the South Island. With a summer season, and a winter ski season, the place is buzzing and we also loved it.
Dunedin
From Quennstown, we drive back east across South Island to the Otago port town of Dunedin, where we will be staying 2 nights before ending our drive around New Zealand.
Christchurch
After a short flight from Dunedin, we have 3 nights in the South Island capital Christchurch.
Raffles
Staying at Raffles in Singapore was our vision to sign off our great adventure with a flourish and, therefore, hang the cost. We were not disapppointed.
Singapore
The final stop on our grand adventure is Singapore, and we had a fantastic 3 days here.
Reflections on our trip
We have had the most glorious 8 weeks of fun and adventure. Now we are back in grey old blighty, we have reflected on what we did.
Keep on Trucking
This post is dedicated to the men and women of the trucking and road train industries. They take no prisoners, and give no quarter. Bastards.
We plan to take just over 3 weeks driving from Cairns to Brisbane. We stop at Airlie beach to catch a ferry over to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays for 5 days of beach living.
Our time in New Zealand is about 10 days, driving through the heart of the South Island, and finishing in Dunedin, where we hop on a plane back up to Christchurch.
Australia
This is our biggest adventure to date, and possibly the biggest one we will ever embark upon.
With flights from our local airport, London Stansted, we head to Dubai with friends Phil and Gill where we will spend 3 nights, and also catch up with another friend Becca, who lives there. After our short stay, we then fly on to Perth in Western Australia. Taking care of some family business, after a 3 night stay we then take a Qantas to Sydney where we will spend 10 nights, including a trip to the Blue Mountains as well as taking in an opera at the iconic Opera House. Then we are off for our 4th flight so far for a short hop up to Cairns. Here we hire a car and spend 22 days driving down the coast to Brisbane. We are especially looking forward to the 5 days we will spend on the Whitsunday Islands where our accomodation includes bed, breakfast and golf buggy!
After 3 nights in Brisbane, we leave Australia and head to Christchurch in New Zealand. With another car hired, we have 10 nights booked to tour the South Island, including the Lord of the Rings tour and the Dark Sky project on Mount Cook.
No doubt exhausted, we then start to head home, via Singapore and the world famous Raffles hotel where we will no doubt sling down a few Singapore Slings. After 4 days R&R in Singapore it really is head home time, back to Stansted with a brief stopover once again in Dubai.
Our round trip takes in the airports at London Stansted, Dubai, Perth, Sydney, Cairns, Brisbane, Christchurch, Dunedin and Singapore. Fortunately, other than a couple of internal flights, we are bsuiness class all the way!