Sydney Harbour Cruise

After a few days in Cairns, we took an afternoon flight to Sydney.  After settling into our hotel, a few of us opted for a dinner cruise around Sydney Harbour.  In a trip full of magical moments, this is, perhaps, one of my very favorites.  I can't tell you how exhilarating it was to catch my first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge at nighttime when they were lit up!  Absolutely stunning!  It was an amazing, never-to-be-forgotten moment!  In addition to the view, the cruise was memorable because of my companions for the evening.  We had a lovely dinner, complete with entertainment, as we cruised the harbour and we caused quite the commotion.  We were singing, dancing, and requesting obscure pop songs!  I can't speak for anyone else but I was certainly excited by the prospect of exploring Sydney and I was definitely in high spirits.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!  I usually don't like to attract that much attention but it was just so much fun and everyone around us only encouraged our shenanigans, especially the singer!

 

I fell in love with Sydney after this spectacular cruise!

The Kuranda Rainforest (and Koalas!)

On our second day in Cairns, we went on an expedition to the rainforest to see a village called Kuranda (which literally means "village in the rainforest" in the aboriginal language).  We rode the skyrail up the mountain to the village and at the midway point we were able to have a tour of the rainforest with a guide.  It was so interesting, except when the guide talked about the giant python that lived under the boardwalk!  After I had a complete meltdown he told me that pythons don't move around very much in the winter!

Once we got to the village, we were able to see (and hold) koalas!  They are so cuddly and I had to resist the urge to squeeze them!

The village was really charming with lots of cute shops and restaurants. After some free time, we took a vintage train back down the mountain which was a lot of fun.

It was another amazing day in Australia!

The Great Barrier Reef

The next stop on my Australian adventure was Cairns in the state of Queensland.  It was so interesting to go from the desert to the tropics in just one day!  While in Cairns, we had a full day excursion to the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea and it was seriously cool.  We took a catamaran out to the reef and then we were based on a large pontoon boat.  You could scuba dive, go snorkeling, take a ride in a glass-bottomed boat, or see the reef in a submersible.  It was amazing!

It was one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been.  My favorite moment was when a school of barracuda swam by!