Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur & Langkawi

Kuala Lumpur was our next destination after spending three weeks in Indonesia. Back to the city life.

The capital of Malaysia has always been somewhere that I wanted to visit predominantly to see the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers which dominant the city’s modern skyline.

We landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport essentially ‘winging it’. Normally, we would have an idea of things we wanted to do, but we hadn’t managed to find the time to plan with spending the last two weeks on tour with Wanderlands Travel in Bali, the Gili Islands and Lombok.

To read my blog posts on the incredible time we had in Indonesia on this 13-day tour, click here.

We were lucky enough to have a view of the largest Twin Towers in the world from our 4* hotel room at just £45 p/n in Bukit Bintang – the most popular and central area to stay when visiting KL.

This was after we’d hopped in a 50-minute taxi from the airport using the ‘Grab’ App (similar to Uber) for £12. Malaysia is cheap!

Not wanting to waste anytime, we got Five Guys for tea and then had a look around the Pavillion shopping mall with over 700 shops!

Day One: PETRONAS Twin Towers

Our first full day was spent hanging around in the shopping centre of the PETRONAS Twin Towers waiting to go up to the observation deck at 16:00 PM because we hadn’t pre-booked an earlier time slot.

We’ve been to higher viewing platforms before, but stepping foot on the double-decker Skybridge – the highest two-story bridge in the world on the 41st floor and then going up to the KLCC Observation Deck on the 86th floor at 170m was pretty cool.

I particularly enjoyed marvelling at the close-up view of the towers’ spires as well as looking out to KLCC Park and the King’s Palace.

Tonight, we ordered a dominos and started catching up on the 10 episodes we were behind of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!

Day Two: Batu Caves, Thean Hou Temple & Vertigo Rooftop Bar

This morning, we got another ridiculously cheap taxi seven miles north of the city to visit another of Malaysia’s most popular attractions, the distinctive Batu Caves which is a place of pilgrimage for Tamil Hindus.

I was blown away by the rainbow steps and huge gold-painted statue of Murugan – the Hindu god of war erected at the foot of the mogote. Like when visiting any temple, we were required to wear suitable clothing in order to cover the knee and shoulder areas.

To reach the temple complex, we hiked up 274 steps whilst dodging aggressive long-tailed macaques who were scrounging for food. At one point we saw one put its hand into a lady’s backpack and pull out her belongings. They’re not friendly animals!

After checking out the Batu Caves, we got a taxi to the other side of the city to see the ornate six-tiered Chinese Thean Hou Temple, which is dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu and the Queen of Heaven – borrowed from Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist traditions.

Like the Batu Caves, we appreciated everything but neither Em or I are religious. Tonight, we ticked off another Hard Rock Cafe – that’s now 11 different restaurants we’ve eaten at.

After, we went to the KL Tower Observation Deck – South East Asia’s tallest tower at 421m before heading to the 59th floor of Vertigo @ Banyan Tree. A trip to a new city wouldn’t be complete without sipping on a cocktail from a rooftop bar.

Day Three – Shipping clothes & Twin Towers Waterfall display

The next morning, we made the decision to post some of our clothes home because we both needed to get our weight down. My 80 litre backpack was now up to 27 kg! In the end, we shipped back just shy of 6.5 kg.

In honesty, we found there wasn’t a great deal else to do in KL. After a chilled afternoon, we headed back to the Twin Towers to watch the waterfall display in the evening.

Day Four: Flying to Langkawi

Continuing our adventures in South East Asia, we spent the next four nights on the island of Langkawi.

I’d never heard of this duty-free island located just 30km off the coast of Malaysia, but our travel agent recommended us spending some time here when originally planning our travelling itinerary because it was only a one-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur. There were only a handful of people on the flight!

When we arrived at our bargain £40 p/n Mercure 4* hotel in Pantai Cenang, we checked out the facilities, walked along the beach and then ambled two miles to Pantai Tengah – the next beach resort along the coast.

Emily questioned why I wanted to walk instead of getting a taxi, but I was trying to find a bar where we could watch the England game tomorrow! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky by the time we got back, so we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

Day Five: Langkawi SkyBridge

The main attraction in Langkawi is undoubtedly getting the SkyCab or gondola/cable car from the Oriental Village at Teluk Burau to the peak of Gunung Machinchang – the second highest mountain in Langkawi’s archipelago of 99 islands to the SkyBridge – the world’s longest suspension bridge.

You might have seen this iconic bridge before on social media before thinking how spectacular it looks wondering where it is (like we did). Well, it turns out, it’s here!

The views from the Middle Station were highly impressive because there were blue skies. However, by the time we eventually got the SkyGlide down to the SkyBridge from the Top Station at an elevation of 708m above sea level, the clouds had descended.

We really can’t complain too much though because we’ve had unbelievable weather almost everywhere we’ve been!

This evening, we roared on the Three Lions from Rockafellers Kitchen & Bar. The time difference is going to be a problem from now on though because all of England’s games will be played at 03:00 AM. I hope there’s avid fans on our tours of the Philippines and Japan who will get up with me!

Day Six – Eagle Square

On our last full day in Langkawi, we got a photo of the huge eagle statue perched over a scenic waterfront plaza at Eagle Square and then spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

Like Kuala Lumpur, there isn’t a great else to here other than water sports and enjoying the weather from a pool or golden sandy beach.

With the World Cup now underway, I spent the evening watching the World Cup (to Emily’s delight)! She’s probably already counting down the days until the tournament is over.

Next, we’ll be starting One Life Adventure’s 10-day tour of the Philippines. If the One Life tour we did in Sri Lanka is anything to go by, then we’re in for a bloody good time! To read more about that, click this link.

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

Wanderlands Travel Bali Tour: Partying and Scuba Diving with turtles in the Gili Islands & exploring Lombok (Days 8-13)

From surfing, snorkelling, temples and waterfalls to crazy nightlife, stunning beaches and a sunrise hike to Mount Batur at 1771m, our first week in Bali didn’t disappoint. To read about everything we got up to click here.

After spending five action packed days on tour in Canggu and Ubud and one week beforehand in Kuta and Seminyak, our time on the mainland of Bali is now over, but we still had six days left to enjoy in the Gili Islands and Lombok.

Day Eight – Gili Trawangan (‘Gili T’)

Our next stop after Ubud was Gili Trawangan, commonly referred to as ‘Gili T’. For those looking to enjoy sandy beaches fringed with palm trees during the day and to party the night away in bars and clubs lined along the strip come dusk, look no further than this crazy island.

It was a two-hour cruise over to Gili T from the harbour in southeast Bali. Naively, we sat on the top deck without applying sunscreen, so Emily looked rather lobster like by the time we arrived. Gingers don’t deal well with the heat!

While I chilled out in our funky beachside hotel, Emily and the majority of others in the group had an introductory scuba diving lesson in the pool ahead of their dive tomorrow morning. I gave it a go, but ended up watching on the sidelines because of my cramps.

Later in the evening, we explored the island by cycling five miles around the perimeter because there are no cars – only push bikes and horse and carts. Shifty street sellers, (who could have been undercover cops) offered us marijuana and mushrooms everywhere we went.

We then stopped off to watch what was a spectacular sunset with cocktails in hand, which made for incredibly chilled vibes. Cycling back after a few bevs was good fun!

Day Nine – Swimming w/ turtles & crazy ‘Gili T’ bar crawl

The main highlight on Wanderlands Travel 13-day tour of Bali for most.

We hadn’t managed to see any turtles in Fiji or the Great Barrier Reef but Pedro, our tour guide almost guaranteed that we would see them…and he was absolutely right!

Emily wasn’t able to handle our GoPro camera on the dive but her instructor managed to capture two amazing videos. Em managed to get a lot closer to these majestic creatures in the pristine, crystal clear water than myself snorkelling, but I too saw five or six.

The only downside of snorkelling was the hundreds of jellyfish. I came up with a nasty reaction in the crease of my right arm, but it was nothing antiseptic cream couldn’t sort.

After spending just short of an hour with the turtles, we headed to the sunken statues just off the island of Gili Air where we all went snorkelling. These were impressive but it was a tourist trap. Having to fight through people to catch a glimpse of the statues wasn’t fun.

I then spent lunch swinging back and forth in a hammock. There’s no better way to unwind.

The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool before the much anticipated bar crawl tonight, which lived up to everyone’s expectations.

The night started and ended in the Tir Na Nog Irish Bar where we were all given a Thailand-like bucket full of alcohol, which set the precedent for the rest of the night. Sama Sama Reggae Bar and Evolution Bar then followed where we were given free shots on arrival.

Unfortunately, everywhere shut at midnight because of prayers the next day, so we bought more alcohol and took the party back to our hostel pool where we partied until the early hours. We received several noise complaints but we weren’t going to let that ruin our fun!

Day 10 – Cooking Class & Free Time

If the hangover from the night out in Canggu was bad, then this one was far worse. Thankfully, we had a lie in until noon in an attempt to try and sleep off all the alcohol still in our system which helped somewhat. We then collectively pushed ourselves out of bed and walked along the strip to a nearby cooking class.

I knew the food wasn’t going to be to my liking, but I enjoyed joining in with the cooking. I cooked Mie Goreng (fried noodles), Klepon (sweet dough balls with coconut), fried tofu and tempeh as well as fried vegetables with satay sauce with Emily as a vegetarian dish.

Tonight, we partied again – this time at a best of 80’s night, which was right up my street. Afterwards, we headed to Sand Bar and then to Jungle Bar opposite our hostel.

Day 11 – Lombok

With the tour now gradually coming to an end, our last two days were spent on the island of Lombok. Most of the day was taken up by getting to the Mad Monkeys Hostel in Kuta on the other side of the island.

Later in the evening, we all took part in a karaoke night. I’m not sure how my team (Alicia, Em and Pedro) didn’t win, but the German’s (Gregor, Lea and Lucy) eventually took the free drinks prize. Afterwards, we headed to the Rasta Bar for yet another night out.

Day 12 – Benang Stokey & Benang Kelambu Waterfall + Indigenous Sasak Tribe

It was a relatively short two hour drive to the foot of Mount Rinjani this morning. The journeys in Indonesia have been lush compared to the six+ hour slogs on Contiki’s Canada & The Rockies and Grand Alaska tours. The traffic might be horrendous in Bali, but we can’t really complain.

With a local guide, we hiked to the Benang Stokey twin waterfall at 30m where we took a cold but extremely refreshing shower in the sun before continuing to the Benang Kelambu veil waterfall.

By now the heavens had opened. When it rains it pours in Bali. It was torrential and not particularly fun walking around in sodden clothes for the rest of the day. Some of the group braved the elements and went for a swim.

The last thing left on the tour itinerary was to visit a Sasak Tribe – a large ethnic group who constitute 85% of Lombok’s population. They are related to Balinese people in language and ancestry but are predominantly Muslims.

Hearing from a member of the Tribe about how they live their lives was a real eye opener. He explained how he didn’t know his date of birth and how they could only go off the rice and rain seasons every year to estimate their age.

What was also mind boggling was to marry, the man had to kidnap one of his cousins. Everything he was saying was all rather surreal and a big culture shock. We then watched what I can only describe as a dance and sparring contest before being shown around the village.

As you can imagine, the living standards were poor by our standards. Along the way, we walked past four boys playing football and when they scored they did the Ronaldo ‘SIUUUU‘ celebration. Football is such a universal game.

Tonight, we had our last meal together at a Mexican restaurant next door to our hostel and said our goodbyes to Anas and Lea who were leaving early the next morning. Tours are great, but saying goodbye is always tough.

Day 13 – Goodbye for now

Today, we made the four hour trip back to the mainland where we all went our separate ways. It’s been another whirlwind tour with lots of amazing experiences, which will stay with me forever. I couldn’t have wished to have spent the last 13 days with better people.

Next, Em and I fly to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Malaysia where we’ll be spending eight days in what will be a whistle stop tour of another country.

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

Wanderlands Travel Bali Tour: Canggu, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida, Ubud & Mount Batur Sunrise Hike – (Days 1-7)

A whole new adventure – South East Asia. A huge cultural shift from the familiar Westernised world we’ve been used to.

Over the next three or so months, we’ll explore Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan on guided tours, and go it alone in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Our first stop is Bali where we’ll be spending the next three weeks.

The week before the tour…

Adjusting to the South East Asia way of life again with the vastly different culture, food, thousands of mopeds that can run you over at any second and people who try to sell you anything and everything probably took us the entire of our first week. I’m not exaggerating when I say we must have said “no thank you” over a thousand times.

Nothing could have prepared us for the heat and humidity when we landed in Denpasar. It’s something we’re going to have to get used to.

Before starting Wanderlands Travel 13-day tour of Bali, the Gili Islands and Lombok, we enjoyed a week of much-needed relaxation in Kuta, Seminyak and Canggu. Em booked a private villa for a few nights for our nine year anniversary and my birthday which was idyllic.

Unfortunately, Em didn’t feel too good for the first week but she’s fine now. I suspect it was the heat to begin with and then ‘Bali belly‘ – where she somewhere must have consumed bacteria found in either contaminated food or water.

We spent the first night on the tour in Canggu getting to know the 14 others on the tour over a welcome meal. There’s a nice mix of ages, genders and nationalities. Perhaps now showing our age and travelling experience, Em and I are two of the older ones in the group.

Our tour guide, Pedro is a 33-year-old Brazilian; Samuel, Linus, Alicia, Lea, Lucy and Marina are all aged between 18-22 from Germany; Gregor is 33 from Switzerland, Anas is 27 from Saudi Arabia and Ben is an 18-year-old Brit. We’re joined by Josh and Tim – two 27-year-old British trainee tour guides and Frazer, who is a videographer from Manchester.

Day Two – Tanah Lot & surfing for the first time

With sweat pouring from everywhere on the body and with water always at hand, our first point of call was to wander around Tanah Lot – a temple home to the ancient Hindu pilgrimage, which we did in unbearable 31°C heat. The first of what I’m sure will be many temples we see in Asia.

This wouldn’t have been too bad – we’re used to travelling in soaring temperatures, but this was different. It was 80% humidity. People say the humidity in South East Asia hits different and they are absolutely right. It’s fair to say bemoaning the heat is becoming a common theme throughout the tour!

Surfing on Kuta Beach was next on the agenda – an activity Em and I have both never tried. I was apprehensive because of my left-sided weakness, but I managed to get up on the board three times. Em did amazingly well too!

It took two hours to get back to our hotel in Canggu just six miles away, which gives you an idea of just how bad the traffic is here. It’s no wonder the vast majority of people get around on mopeds. I honestly think the traffic in Bali is worse than in London.

Tonight we partied…and hard!

Day Three: Nusa Lembongan

All nursing horrible hangovers, we made the trip over to the island of Nusa Lembongan. Because of the alcohol and jet lag for others, today was spent chilling out by the pool once we arrived at our beachside accomodation.

In the evening, we hopped in 4×4 jeeps to Dream Beach before watching the sunset from Devil’s Tears Bay.

Day Four – Snorkelling, Diamond & Kelingking Beach (Nusa Penida)

Em and I have been fortunate enough to go snorkelling in some incredible locations, none more so than the Great Barrier Reef. With my arm and leg muscles still aching from surfing a couple of days ago, we were up at 07:00 AM to go snorkelling in what was a cram packed day of activities.

The first snorkelling destination was at Manta Point. Em got some brief GoPro footage from the choppy water of a manta ray, but this was spoilt because of the hundreds of jelly fish floating around the surface. Em got a nasty sting to her top lip which looked as if she’d had Botox.

Shortly after, we then went to Crystal Bay and Gamat Bay, which had far more fish and less litter & jellyfish. Josh – one of the trainee guides, who is also a highly qualified diver took our GoPro and free dived underwater to get some amazing footage of us all.

Once on land, we squeezed through the secret entrance at the Pura Goa Giri Putri Temple and marvelled at the underground network of temples hidden within the caves before heading to one of Bali’s most iconic spots.

If you’ve ever seen a picture of Bali online or on a postcard, the likelihood is that it is either Diamond Beach or Kelingking Beach. These beaches on the island of Nusa Penida were absolutely phenomenal. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to hike down, but we could appreciate them from the vantage points we had.

Day Five – Ubud: Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Today, we left our hotel on the gorgeous sandy beached island of Nusa Lembongan behind us and headed for Ubud – a popular backpackers town in the mountains. We were staying at the Puri Garden Hostel in shared mixed dorms, which was our first time ever doing so.

I’m not against hostels and shared accomodation – I get why most backpackers do this because they’re cheap, but I’d much rather have our own private room in a hotel or hostel. It felt strange being in the same space as Emily, but sleeping in separate beds.

After chilling out by the pool and speaking to some of the other guests staying at the hostel, we made our way to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary.

We were told to keep our phones and sunglasses safe, not to bring any food or drink with us and not to look directly into the eye of the 1200+ monkeys at the Sanctuary. One of them touched Lucy’s backside – they must have liked what they saw! Cheeky sods.

The traditional Balinese frog dance which incorporates ancient Hindu traditions through dance and music was interesting to say the least. I had no idea what was going on until Pedro explained how the performance told the fairy tale story about how the princess marries the frog.

Day Six – Visiting a Balinese Primary School & Tegenungan Waterfall

This morning we had the unique opportunity of spending some time with students on their break at a local primary school. They took a liking to all of us as soon as we arrived by grabbing our hands and taking us to the classroom and playground to play.

Em got involved in the primary school classic game duck, duck, goose, whilst I had hand wrestling competitions with others. It was only fair that I let them win. We then had pictures with the kids before leaving a donation for the school. It was wholesome to see all of their beaming smiles appreciating their life for what it is.

For the rest of the afternoon, we chilled out at the Tegenungan Waterfall and then at hostel pool.

Day Seven – Sunrise Mount Batur Hike, Coffee Plantation & Cretya Day Club

The highlight of my first week in Indonesia was undoubtedly getting up at 02:00 AM to hike to the summit of Mount Batur at 1771m for sunrise.

This is the hardest hike I’ve ever done, but the struggle was worth it. When we hiked to the Mount Taranaki Pouakai Tarn in New Zealand, we had to climb 8,000 flights of steps, but this was harder because of the slippery, uneven rocky terrain.

I’m thankful we had a guide because if we hadn’t, I don’t think I would have made it to the summit. He held my hand for balance and was great encouragement when the group was tiring.

We got back to the hostel for 10:00 AM and were out again at 11:00 to visit the Uma Pakel coffee plantation and swing. No rest for the wicked.

Em and I have gone tea leave picking and coffee tasting at a plantation in Sri Lanka when we first went travelling, so we had an idea of what to expect. We sampled Bali, Avocado, Coconut, Ginseng and Vanilla Coffee – none were really to my liking!

The heavens then opened for the next few hours when we were at the Cretya Ubud by Alas Harum day club. We’d seen this on Instagram and TikTok, but unfortunately like most places you see on social media, it was overrated and full of wannabe influencers.

In the second half of the Wanderlands tour, we’ll party hard in Gili Trawangan (Gili T), go snorkelling and scuba diving in Gili Air & Gili Meno before spending our last couple of days in Lombok.

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – The Great Ocean Road & Melbourne (Part VIII)

Our time in Australia has sadly come to an end. Over the last eight weeks we’ve clocked up nearly 3,000 miles travelling by motorhome from Cairns to Sydney and then via car to Melbourne with my Mum on what has been a truly unforgettable East Coast Australian Road Trip.

Some of my favourite highlights include cuddling a koala; snorkelling and sleeping on a pontoon in the Great Barrier Reef, Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands, watching kangaroos at sunrise, the hippy lifestyle of Byron Bay, the iconic sights of Sydney and most recently, the stunning views from the Great Ocean Road.

Day 53 (cont.) – Contiki Catchup & Start of The Great Ocean Road

After hot air ballooning over Yarra Valley at sunrise (yet another highlight), we headed 100 miles to the beach town of Torquay – the official start of The Great Ocean Road – officially voted as one of the world’s most famous road trips. To read about our incredible flight over this wine region, click here.

Before embarking through rugged coastal vistas, dense forests, national parks and beach towns, we arranged to meet up with Maddy – another friend we had made when travelling together on Contiki’s Canada and the Rockies Tour for lunch at the Pond Cafe.

Shortly after starting the drive, we got a picture with The Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch and then came across the Cape Otway Lighthouse and Split Point Lookout. By now I’d been awake for over nine hours, so I had a quick power nap in the car before we continued onto the beach town of Lorne.

Here, we went on the Shockwave Zip Coaster at the Live Wire Park, which is apparently ‘the most extreme zip line in Australia.’ This was my Mum’s first time zip lining, but she loved it.

For us, nothing will ever beat zip lining across snow-topped mountains in Whistler, Canada. (Read more by clicking here).

Afterwards, we walked along the Canopy Circuit with views of the Otway Ranges in Great Otway National Park before then bouncing and fooling around on trampolines and in ball pits in the Spring Circuit.

Cramming even more into the day, we hiked down to Erskine Falls and then checked out Teddy’s Lookout before continuing to Apollo Bay – our base for the next two nights.

Day 54 – The Twelve Apostles & other Great Ocean Road sights

Unfortunately, the weather was rather bleak, but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits. A lie in was much-needed after being awake for 18 hours yesterday, which we all enjoyed. We then set off to Gibson Steps and the 12 Apostles – a group of limestone sea stacks, just before Port Campbell.

These are undoubtedly the most popular attraction on Australia’s most famous stretch of road.

Nowadays, there are only eight apostles left due to the weather taking its toll over the years and with erosion more will gradually cut down and fall. Like the Great Barrier Reef, I’m grateful that we’ve seen them because one day, the likelihood is that they will no longer be there.

Carrying on were the stops of Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge and The Grotto, which we checked out before driving back. Admittedly, we didn’t complete the full stretch of the Great Ocean Road by driving the extra 62 miles to the historic fishing village of Port Fairy.

Tonight was all about the biggest game of the season – Blackpool vs Preston. Luckily for Emily and my Mum, we won 4-2 in what was a thrilling encounter. Watch below for my reaction to the fourth goal!

Day 55 – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Princess Theatre, Melbourne

Our final three nights were spent in the hussle and bustle of Melbourne, which reminded me a great deal of London. It was a three hour drive to the coastal capital of Victoria from Apollo Bay, which put a limit on what we could do when we arrived at our AirBnb near Chinatown.

We ambled around the shopping district and then booked to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Princess Theatre in the evening lasting a whopping three hours.

It was between this or seeing India vs Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup at the MCG in front of a capacity 90,000+ crowd. I didn’t mind too much because it wasn’t England playing and besides, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Cricket anyway. In the end, we probably made the right decision.

We’ve seen our fair share of shows and The Lion King has always been our favourite, but this ran it VERY close!

Day 56 – Melbourne sightseeing

Unlike Sydney, Melbourne doesn’t have many iconic attractions. Aussie’s have said that people typically tend to prefer either Sydney or Melbourne more than the other.

Before handing our hire car back, we eat what has been voted as being ‘the best croissant in the world’ at Lune Croissanterie. In fairness, it was pretty damn good. It had layers and it was puffy, but it could have done with some butter and jam. Maybe that’s just a British thing?

Later on we checked out Melbourne’s most popular sights, firstly by walking around the Royal Botanic Gardens and to the MCG – the 10th biggest stadium in the world and then to the area where the Australian Open is played.

We then made the most of Melbourne’s free tram system by going to see Fed Square, Flinders Street Station, St Paul’s Cathedral and the graffiti on Hosier Lane, which were all rather underwhelming.

Day 57 – Melbourne Zoo

Today, we got the tram to Melbourne Zoo – ranked #1 in Australia. To be honest, I wasn’t that bothered about looking around another zoo but there wasn’t a great deal else for us to do. I preferred the iconic sights of Sydney more, whereas Em preferred the busier buzz of Melbourne.

From crocodiles, dingoes, kangaroos, koalas, quokkas, wallabies and wombats, we’ve seen almost every single Australian animal in the wild, but we were yet to see a cassowary and platypus. Seeing them in a zoo was our next best option.

Day 58 – Another Contiki catch up before flying to Bali

We got up and said our goodbyes to my Mum early in the morning as she had a 09:00 AM flight to catch.

Em and I had a few more hours to kill before our 7-hour flight to Bali at 17:50 PM, so we found a currency exchange, bought some snack food and then arranged to meet up with Caleb for lunch – also on Contiki’s Canada and the Rockies Trip.

And with that comes the end of our time in Australia. Our next adventure is in Bali, Indonesia where we’ll be spending the next three weeks.

We’ve got a week in Kuta and Seminyak next, which should give us enough time to recharge our batteries in time for Wanderlands’ 13-day tour of Bali and Lombok starting in Canggu on 2 Nov, which we’re both buzzing for!

Returning to Asia for the first time since Pre-COVID is daunting because of the change in culture in what will be a completely different travelling experience but it’s something we are both ready for.

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Canberra, Lakes Entrance, Phillip & Raymond Island + Yarra Valley (Part VII)

Canberra (ACT) – the Capital of Australia was our next point of call after spending an action-packed week in Sydney and the Blue Mountains.

To read about everything we got up to last week including scaling the Harbour Bridge, watching a show at the Sydney Opera House, visiting Bondi and Manly Beach as well as a heap of other cool stuff, click this link.

Day 48 – Floriade (Canberra) & Contiki Catch Up

Like Bern, Ottawa and Wellington to name just a few, I’m sure Canberra is another capital that tricks many because the population is just shy of 450,000 – tiny compared to Melbourne and Sydney which both have over 5 million inhabitants.

After a long 208-mile drive from Katoomba to the Capital of Australia, we dropped our bags at the AirBnb and then walked to Floriade – a flower and entertainment festival held annually for one month in Commonwealth Park – described as being ‘Australia’s Biggest Celebration of Spring.’

Not my sort of thing, but Mum and Emily enjoyed looking around. (The flowers were nearly all dead with it being the last day of the event).

Later in the evening, Emily and I met up with Ashleigh – a friend who we had kept in touch with whilst on Contiki’s Canada & The Rockies Tour.

She took us to Assembly The People’s Pub and Tipsy Bull for drinks and then to Grease Monkey for a bite to eat. It was a really enjoyable evening catching up with her over some drinks and reminiscing over so many fond memories.

Day 49 – E-Scootering around Canberra

Instead of exploring the city on foot, we decided it would be a good idea to hire E-Scooters with Neuron. Once we mastered them they were fine, but these were lethal to begin with!

We checked out the Captain Cook Memorial Jet, the Australian Parliament Houses and then cruised six miles around Lake Burley Griffin.

The only problem we encountered was that the magpies didn’t like our white crash helmets. We had been warned about magpie attacks, but luckily we hadn’t come across any that wanted to attack us…until today.

That all changed when we were scootering up Capital Hill. Out of nowhere, I was attacked because I’d entered into the territory of a magpie who was protecting her young. It was quite a scary experience. Emily recorded my Mum cycling back down and she too was swarmed on!

Day 50 – Lakes Entrance – The best Crazy Golf Course Ever

I can’t believe this is now the 50th day of eight-week East Coast Australian Road Trip. It only seems two minutes ago since we landed in Cairns.

It was another arduous 260-mile drive from Canberra to the coastal town of Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria. Driving in Australia, Canada and the USA really puts into perspective just how small of a country the U.K. is!

There wasn’t much of interest here other than the Gippsland Lakes and Ninety Mile Beach, which Mum walked along after we all took part in the best game of crazy golf ever.

The 18-hole course at the Footbridge Mini Golf, Lolly Shop & Ice Cream Shack was so unique. In the end, I drew with Mum but I’d argue that I won because I got three hole-in-ones compared to her two. No one will ever be able to get rid of the competitive side of me.

(Emily lost by a country mile).

Day 51 – Raymond Island, Tarra-Bulga National Park & Phillip Island Penguin Brigade

Em and I have seen our fair share of koalas now in the wild, but we wanted to share the same experience with my Mum.

Raymond Island was only an hour away from Lakes Entrance and we had heard there was over 200 koalas situated here along the two-mile Koala Trail. Collectively, we managed to spot eight koalas sleeping high in the trees. Not too shabby!

After catching the ferry back to the mainland, we headed a further 110-miles west to check out the Corrigan Suspension Bridge and to the Tarra Valley Rainforest Track in Tarra-Bulga National Park.

Eventually, we arrived at Phillip Island after driving for nearly another three hours. Being a lover of penguins, Em jumped at the chance of seeing the smallest penguins in the world waddle home from the ocean at Summerland Beach to their burrows in the Penguin Parade.

We paid $65 (AUD) / £36 p/p for ‘Penguin Plus’ tickets. I’m glad we decided to pay that bit extra because you wouldn’t have been able to see much from the Grandstand of the General Viewing tickets at $28 / £16 p/p.

Photos and videos weren’t permitted, but we managed to sneakily get some footage along the boardwalk on the way out where we saw two penguins mating! He was finished in under a minute…make of that what you will!

Day 52 – Drive to Yarra Valley

I was extremely tired today because I was up at 5:45 AM watching Hull thrash Blackpool 3-1 at Bloomfield Road. I haven’t missed watching a game this season, but the early mornings for the night matches are hard going.

We were supposed to be starting the drive along the Great Ocean Road today, but our plans changed when we received a phone call from Go Wild Ballooning – the company in Yarra Valley we had booked to fly with in a few days time saying that a flight was more likely to go ahead tomorrow morning.

It was a difficult decision because it meant changing our plans and refunding some of our AirBnb bookings, but we decided it was for the best. With nothing else planned here, we quickly had to think on our feet to find something to do.

We decided to head to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery for a bite to eat which had been recommended by a friend and afterwards we went on a gin tasting tour at Four Pillars in Healesville where we got to sample four flavours on a paddle.

Day 53 – Hot Air Ballooning over Yarra Valley

Another experience I can tick off the bucket list.

The 04:00 AM alarm was tough, but so worth it! The morning sky was a little overcast, but more importantly the weather conditions were calm so everything was able to go ahead.

We were treated to spectacular views of mountain ranges and vineyards below with views of Melbourne in the distance. I’ll let the photos and video recordings do the rest of the talking…

In the final post of this eight-part East Coast Australia Road Trip series, we’ll spend two nights in Apollo Bay on The Great Ocean Road before ending our epic adventure in Melbourne.

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Sydney & Blue Mountains National Park (Part VI)

Sometimes it’s important to take a step back and realise if all what we’re doing is really happening. This week has been an unforgettable one.

I’m so glad we’re able to share the next couple of weeks with my Mum, who has flown all the way around the world to travel with us from Sydney to Melbourne, before then jetting off to do a 16-day guided tour of New Zealand with Gold Medal.

Em and I have found some great things to do along the way including climbing, hot air ballooning and possibly even sky-diving (if I can persuade them both)…

Day 40 – Tech repairs

We had one night in Sydney before my Mum arrived, but most of that time consisted of getting my phone and laptop fixed. Honestly, we must have spent over six hours in Apple over the past week.

I ended up with a new iPhone because my original had water damage having taken it into the sea at Moreton Island and a wiped MacBook, because for some reason it had become stuck in recovery mode.

Day 41 – Mum arrives!

After a long 20-hour flight from Manchester to Sydney with a short layover in Dubai, Mum appeared at the hotel front doors late on 9 Oct. We were both overcome with emotions with not seeing each other in over six months.

I speak to her almost every day but we had so much to catch up on. She must have been running off adrenaline because she spent the next few hours with a glass of wine in hand nattering away.

Day 42 – Sydney sightseeing

The capital of New South Wales lived up to my high expectations. I really liked how all of the main attractions in the CBD (Central Business District) were within walking distance of one another.

Em and I find one of the best ways of exploring a city is by taking a ride on a hop-on, hop-off with the Big Bus company. We’ve done this in a lot of cities around the world including the likes of Barcelona, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

Operating between Thursday-Sunday, a Classic 1-day Ticket cost just $59 (AUD) / £33 p/p which enabled us to do both The City and Bondi Tour if we so wished.

We decided to pick up the Red Route (City Tour) from Chinatown near our hotel. It didn’t take us long to hop off at our first stop of the day – The Rocks, a neighbourhood area with markets, street food and handmade clothing shops. It also gave us our first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We then made our way past Circular Quay to the mightily impressive Sydney Opera House. What an incredible piece of architecture. I can see now why it is one of the most pictured landmarks on Earth.

After marvelling at the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, we then hopped back on the bus to Hyde Park to St Mary’s Cathedral. As always, I lit a candle in memory of my Dad.

Later in the afternoon, we paid $25 / £14 p/p to go to the second highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere – the Sydney Tower Eye at 268m high for amazing 360-degree views of the city before then finishing off the rest of the Red Route.

Day 43 – Manly Beach & Sydney Opera House show

One of Sydney’s most popular experiences is to get the 30-minute ferry from Circular Quay over to Manly costing $10 / £6 p/p.

Before arriving at Manly Wharf, we cruised past the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Kirribilli House (official residence of the Prime Minister), Bradleys Head and South Head.

Once docked, we ambled down The Corso – a strip with a large variety of pubs and eateries and then walked 1.3 miles along the oceanfront from Queenscliff Beach (where Em checked out the ‘Manly Wormhole‘) past Manly Beach to the protected marine reserve of Shelly Beach.

After people watching on the beach for a couple of hours, we then returned back to Sydney on the ferry at 17:30 PM because we had booked to see Chalkface tonight at the Sydney Opera House.

Described as being ‘A mashup of The Office and Teachers‘, the 1hr 45 minute production told the story of two primary school teachers who had to put their differences aside to stand up for what was right.

One was a teacher who wasn’t afraid of voicing her opinions who had the opinion that all kids were terrors and the other was a teacher fresh out of university with ambitions of changing the world.

It wasn’t what I was expecting, but we all really enjoyed the show. The city skyline, Harbour Bridge and Opera arguably all looked even better at night.

Day 44 – BridgeClimb Sydney & Royal Botanic Gardens

Not many people can say they’ve scaled the Harbour Bridge, but now we can with BridgeClimb Sydney!

At $328 / £184 p/p the Original Summit climb wasn’t cheap, but it was worth every penny. Our phones, watches and even Mum’s hair grips all had to be locked away beforehand, so we purchased the photo bundle afterwards for an additional $70 / £39.

We were all up for the challenge of climbing 1,332 stairs along the upper arch to get unparalleled 360 degree views of Sydney Harbour at 134m high. In the end, the ascent was relatively easy because we stopped for so many rest breaks.

The views when we eventually reached the top after 90 minutes were extraordinary.

With our legs feeling like jelly, we scoffed down pancakes at Guylian’s Belgian Chocolate Café and then headed to the heritage-listed Royal Botanic Gardens where we enjoyed more extraordinary views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and city skyline from Mrs Macquaries Point.

Day 45 – Bondi Beach

This morning we picked up our Toyota RAV4 hire car from Ace near the Airport and then drove to Bondi Beach.

Emily and I have been to a lot of beaches in Australia and in my opinion, this is the most overrated in the country. I was expecting much more given it’s renowned as being one of the countries most iconic beaches.

Surprisingly, we all enjoyed the relaxing vibe of Manly much more. Don’t get me wrong there was a lot to like – especially the surfers riding huge waves (bigger than Byron Bay) and 7.5 mile clifftop Bondi to Coogee Beach Coastal Walk, which we walked a few miles of.

However, the highlight of the day was taking a dip in Bondi Icebergs Club against the sea wall. This was the coldest swim of my life. Look how choppy the ocean is in the video below!

Leaping into the Glacier pool in Wrangell-St Elias National Park had more of a shock to the body though. Read more about that here!

Day 46 – Blue Mountains National Park

This morning we left Sydney behind us and headed 62-miles inland to the town of Katoomba bordering the World-Heritage listed Blue Mountains. This rugged region spanning 11,400 km² (over twice the size of the Grand Canyon at 4,926 km²) encompasses bushwalking trails, forests, steep cliffs, and waterfalls.

Not wanting to waste any time, we parked up at the Wentworth Falls Conservation Hut and hiked the Lyrebird Lookout via Overcliff Track, merging the walk with Isabelle Falls and Queen Victoria Lookout for spectacular views of the valley.

All feeling tired after climbing back up 556 steep steps, we drove to Wentworth Falls Village and grabbed a bite to eat at the Lovebites Coffee Co café.

This evening we ate at Elysian Restaurant & Bar – a newly opened tapas eatery opposite our AirBnb. Our view of the Blue Mountains from across the road of our AirBnb wasn’t half bad…

Day 47 – Scenic World

One of the most popular way of seeing the Blue Mountains is by visiting Scenic World in Katoomba. The Unlimited Discovery Pass costing $50 / £28 p/p meant we could ride the Scenic Cableway, Railway, Skyway and Walkway.

To begin with, we descended 310m down into the valley on the world’s steepest passenger train at a 52-degree incline and then walked through ancient rainforest in Jamison Valley.

We then returned via the Skyway where we glided past ancient sandstone cliffs whilst enjoying more amazing valley views before then boarding the Cableway past the spectacular Katoomba Falls, Orphan Rock and Three Sisters.

Once on the other side, we walked to get a better vantage point of the Katoomba Falls and then part of the Prince Henry Cliff walk back to the car.

Gradually making our way back to our AirBnb, we then stopped off at Echo Point in order to get a closer look at the Three Sisters sandstone rock formation.

Next time, we’ll spend a couple of days in Canberra (ACT) – the capital of Australia before then heading further south to Lakes Entrance, Tarra Valley and Philip Island in the state of Victoria.

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Byron Bay, Port Macquarie & Newcastle (Part V)

This week has been much more relaxing. It’s been great because we’ve not had to put any set in stone plans in place with the kids finally going back to school.

Continuing our journey down the East Coast of Australia in Jippy – our motorhome, we travelled from the Gold Coast to Byron Bay in New South Wales.

Day 33 – Exploring Byron Bay

I fell in love with this popular coastal town from the moment we arrived, just like I did with Airlie Beach. I can’t think of anywhere in the world that have backpackers, hippies and surfers all in one place.

It almost felt as if we’d gone back in time. Everyone appeared to be enjoying life without a care in the world. Just how it should be!

Over the next three nights we embraced the laidback Byron Bay lifestyle spending most of our time watching surfers catch waves on Belongil Beach, as well as browsing through the local shops and enjoying the wide variety of eateries.

It didn’t take us long to find the nearest Crêperie.

Day 34 – Markets

Today, we ambled around the monthly Byron Community Markets – a collection of local stalls selling everything from boho clothing and handcrafted jewellery to locally made arts and crafts alongside local musicians and food vendors.

There was a company called Good Mix who were advertising super foods to help with bowel movements. Their tagline ‘best poos ever’ certainly grabbed my attention.

Em purchased a pair of cotton trousers and a T-shirt from a company called Sunday to Sunday.

Day 35 – Just chillin’

We had planned to move on this morning, but we decided to stay one more night because we had time on our side.

During the day, we chilled out and enjoyed Byron Bay’s unique vibe and in the evening we eat at an Italian restaurant called MVP. Incredibly, this is the first time we’ve eaten out since Los Angeles now over three months ago.

Renting a motorhome in Australia and New Zealand for six weeks has been expensive, but we’ve definitely saved on meals and accommodation.

Day 36 – Cape Byron Lighthouse Hike & ‘The Big Banana’

Before heading to Port Macquarie 243 miles away, we hiked to the Cape Byron Lighthouse and most easterly point of the Australian mainland.

This was only supposed to be a 1.8-mile walk, but it ended up being almost double that because we unintentionally combined it with The Pass, Fisherman’s Lookout and Wategos Beach. No complaints though because the views along the way were great!

Australia has more than 230 ‘Big Things‘ – large sculptures or structures some of which are novelty architecture located all over the country. We hadn’t seen any until we came across ‘The Big Banana‘ in Coffs Harbour, which turns out was the first to be erected in the 1960s. All a bit strange if you ask me…

From Googling, some of my favourites include ‘The Golden Gumboot,’ The Big Cassowary’, ‘The Big Lobster’, ‘The Big Prawn’ and ‘The Big Cane Today’.

Day 37 – Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

Consisting of exhibit enclosures, a treatment clinic, intensive care unit, rehabilitation yards and a ‘Koalaseum‘, this morning we checked out the wonderful work the volunteers do at Koala Hospital Rehabilitation Centre before driving a further three hours to the harbour city of Newcastle.

Day 38 – Meeting up with Contiki family

After spending the afternoon at our campground in Stockton Beach, we got the ferry into the city centre in the evening to meet up with Nick – an Aussie from Newcastle who we had met on Contiki’s tour of Canada and the Rockies.

(To read about our time on this incredible 11 day tour, click here).

He picked us up in his ‘ute’ and then gave us a guided tour around Newcastle’s main sights. He then took us to Foghorn Brewery – one of his favourite places to eat.

I really enjoyed catching up with him and reminiscing on our time away in Canada earlier in our travels.

Day 39 – Quad biking on Stockton Beach Sand Dunes

Undoubtedly the highlight of the week. We paid $110 / £63 p/p to go on a 1 hr 45 minute Quad Biking experience on Stockton Beach Sand Dunes in Port Stephens with a company called Quad Bike King.

We’ve been quad biking and ATV’ing in the past but never before on a beach! We had one hour of riding time on 150cc quad bikes zooming through the dunes and riding up and down the coastline at speeds of up to 40 km/h.

Use of our electronic devices whilst riding was strictly prohibited – like driving a normal vehicle I guess!

Later in the afternoon, we had the depressing task of packing our bags because tomorrow we had to drop our motorhome back to the Sydney Cruisin’ HQ.

Next time, we’ll be reacquainted with my Mum for the first time in six months as she travels with us for the next two weeks from Sydney to Melbourne. I can’t wait to see her!

We’ve got a lot already booked in the capital of New South Wales including climbing the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and watching a show at the Sydney Opera House, as well as much, much more!

As always, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Australia Zoo, Brisbane, Moreton Island & the Gold Coast (Part IV)

I can’t believe we’re now half way through our eight-week East Coast Australia Road Trip. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Last week, we enjoyed a sunrise with wild kangaroos in Cape Hillsborough; explored Fraser Island (K’Gari) by 4WD and cruised along the Noosa Everglades before we then headed over to the Sunshine Coast.

To find out more about everything we’ve got up to so far in Queensland, click this link.

Day 26 – A visit to Australia Zoo

Located an hour north of Brisbane on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Australia Zoo might not be the biggest in the country, but it is particularly special.

It was founded by Steve Irwin and his wife, Terri and it is still run by the family today. Sadly, we all know about the tragedy of when Steve was killed by a stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef, but his legacy for wildlife conservation lives on.

I remember watching his wildlife documentary series ‘The Crocodile Hunter‘ and now you can watch a new Australian Reality TV Series called Crikey! It’s the Irwins, which captures his wife and two children Robert & Bindi caring for all 1,200 animals.

We paid $60 (AUD) / £36 p/p and had a really enjoyable day.

We also visited the onsite Wildlife Hospital where we saw vets through perplex glass undergoing surgery on animals.

*NOTE*: If you’re visiting Australia Zoo, I highly recommend planning your day around the 13:15 ‘Wildlife Warriors Show‘ at the ‘Crocoseum‘. I would have paid the entrance fee alone just to have seen this saltwater crocodile live in action!

Day 27 – Mount Ngungun Hike – Glass House Mountains National Park

The 11 peaks of the Glass House Mountains were only a short 15-minute drive away from Australia Zoo, so we decided to hike up Mt Ngungun this morning.

This was the first substantial hike we’ve done since we climbed to the Pouakai Tarns overlooking Mount Taranaki in Egmont National Park, New Zealand. We’re now over five months into our travels and it’s fair to say that our fitness isn’t as good as it was when we left!

Luckily, the out-and-back trail from the carpark to the summit was only 1.9 miles. The views overlooking the nearby peaks were worth it when we reached the top.

Later in the afternoon, we made the journey to Brisbane. Finding campgrounds over the past two weeks has been a real challenge because it is currently school holidays here. Em and I prefer to travel without planning too far ahead incase we decide to stay longer somewhere (like Airlie Beach).

Frustratingly, the nearest campground we could find with availability was 25 minutes from the city centre.

Day 28 – Brisbane Sightseeing & Imaginaria

This morning, we caught the bus into the capital of Queensland and wandered around like typical tourists.

There aren’t really any standout ‘iconic landmarks’ but I really enjoyed exploring this city. The stroll along the riverfront through South Bank Parklands to Streets Beach – Australia’s only inner-city, man-made beach was particularly enjoyable.

We then came across the Maritime Museum on the Docklands. Outside were billboards advertising an event called ‘Imaginaria‘ – described as being ‘an immersive play experience from the future‘. We thought we’d go and check it out as the tickets only cost $30/£18 p/p.

I’m glad we did because this one-hour walkthrough experience was different from anything we’ve ever done. It included shimmering light sculptures, architectural inflatables, an interactive cave, a multi-dimensional light maze and a black hole hovering in space.

Afterwards, we ambled around the shopping district. I bought a new iPhone screen protector from Apple and Em bought some makeup from Myers – a department store similar to Selfridges.

The fast-paced, hustle and bustle environment you come to expect of a city just didn’t feel like the case here.

Day 29 – Tangalooma Wrecks and Dolphin Feeding – Moreton Island

The main reason we wanted to stay a couple of nights in Brisbane was to do a day cruise over to Moreton Island in order to snorkel around the 15 Tangalooma Wrecks, which were deliberately sunk between the 1960s and 1980s when boat owners urged for safe docking on the island.

We paid $209/£126 p/p to cruise over to the Tangalooma Island Resort (75-minutes from the city) in order to snorkel the Wrecks and also to hand feed wild dolphins at sunset.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t the best but the rain held off. We had a few hours before having to check in at 15:00 PM, so I had a nice long nap.

In hindsight, we could have snorkelled the Wrecks without a guide. There were at times over 20 people in one area, which meant overcrowding was an issue.

They were also not too far from the shoreline, meaning we could have swam to them without exerting too much energy. Nevertheless, it was cool to see them up close as well as all of the different varieties of fish.

Before heading back to Brisbane, we queued with what felt like a few other hundred people to feed wild dolphins who know to visit the Resort every evening for easy food.

I thought this was going to be more of a personalised experience. If we’d have known that we would only get to feed one tiny raw fish to a dolphin then we probably would have decided against the idea.

I also left my phone in my pocket which severely damaged the charging port. Luckily though when we went to the Apple Store a couple of days later, they were able to replace my phone with a like-for-like replacement because I had Apple Care on the device.

Day 30 – Gold Coast

After a busy few days, we spent today unwinding at our new campground around a 20-minute drive from the Gold Coast. We’re living the dream, but travelling is tiring! It’s important to have days like this so we don’t completely burn out.

Finding somewhere to stay was incredible difficult again.

Day 31 – Surfers Paradise

Feeling rested, we got an Uber to Main Beach and walked down the coastline to one of Australia’s most renowned destinations, Surfers Paradise – recognised for huge skyscrapers, an incredulously long stretch of beach and continuous rolling waves which make it the best place in the country to go surfing.

This seaside resort gave me a similar vibe to Venice Beach, Los Angeles. Similarly to California, it seemed the most popular way to explore the area was by electric bike/scooter.

We downloaded the Lime App, found the nearest two electric bikes and started cycling towards Miami Beach. These were such good fun (when we eventually found two that had working gears and that didn’t have flat tires)!

Before heading back for the evening, we spent a couple of hours watching the world go by on the beach.

Day 32 – Jobs

Today, we planned the rest of our East Coast Australian Road Trip, I wrote this blog post and Em caught up with some of her daily TikTok videos.

In my next post, we’ll enter the state of New South Wales as we continue our journey further south to Byron Bay, Arrawarra, Port Macquarie and Newcastle.

If you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Cape Hillsborough, Fraser/K’Gari Island 4WD Jeep Tour & Noosa Everglades (Part III)

From Cairns, Cape Tribulation and Daintree National Park in Far North Queensland, to Magnetic Island, the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands, the last couple of weeks exploring has been a nonstop adventure.

To ensure that we didn’t completely burn out, we decided to spend the next couple of days in Airlie Beach before moving on to Cape Hillsborough.

To read about the surreal experience we had spending the night on the Reefworld pontoon, as well as our time at Atherton Tablelands, ‘Maggie Island’ and Whitehaven Beach in my last blog post, click here.

Day 19 – Cape Hillsborough – A sunrise with a twist

With a population of just 44, Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park is the only place you can stay when visiting this tiny coastal locality on the Central Queensland Coast.

Cape Hillsborough probably isn’t on every everyone’s to do list when travelling the East Coast of Australia, but there is one thing in particular that draws in the crowds…

Those who decide to stay overnight here are treated to a spectacular sunrise alongside wild kangaroos and wallabies on the beach. A National Park Ranger is on duty from around 05:00 AM to feed the animals and to ensure the public don’t scare the animals away.

I’m really not a morning person, but I’m so glad we set our alarms for 04:45 AM. Watching the sunrise with more than a dozen kangaroos and wallabies made for such a memorable occasion.

After catching 40 winks, we left Cape Hillsborough at 10:00 AM and then started the first leg of our longest drive yet – 376 miles to Agnes Water/Seventeen Seventy. It would have been foolish to drive this all in one go, so we stopped overnight in Marlborough.

Earlier in the day, we went on a one-hour guided tour of the Sarina Sugar Shed where we learnt about the process of how sugar cane is grown, processed and milled. We also got to taste some of their products including chutneys, freshly-spun candy floss and relishes.

Day 20 – Kangaroo Sanctuary – Agnes Water

Feeling well rested, we drove the remaining 3 hours 44 minutes to the Horizons Kangaroo Sanctuary & Campground where we were staying at near Agnes Water. The selling point was being in an environment with wild kangaroos roaming freely.

To break up the long drive, we made a quick pit stop at Rockhampton Zoo which was free. Here we saw chimpanzees, crocodiles, dingoes, kangaroos, koalas and meerkats.

Later when we arrived at the campground, Gary (the owner) wasn’t happy because we had said we were in a camper van and not a motorhome. Apparently there’s a difference?! I could tell straight away that he was a slightly odd chap.

We later found out when we went to watch him feed the animals at 17:15 PM that he has ill-informed and unsolicited opinions and conspiracy theories. He proceeded to tell us how the Australian government pay people $20m to kill kangaroos because they eat grass and compete with cows.

He then explained how Roos don’t get any diseases unlike humans but then he said that one of the kangaroos had mange and that he wouldn’t take it to the vets because “vets aren’t good people.” Very strange! Fair play to him for bringing up hundreds of orphaned kangaroos though.

It was also extremely cool that we saw a Joey – baby kangaroo in its mother’s pouch.

Day 21 – Bundaberg Rum tour

This morning, we had a look around the tiny seaside twin oceanfront villages of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy before leaving for Hervey Bay 146 miles away.

We researched our route and found that we passed through the town of Bundaberg, which rang alarm bells. Without realising, it turns out this is where Bundaberg Rum is distilled.

Em and I aren’t big rum drinkers, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity of going on the tour. This $30 (AUD) / £17 one-hour guided tour of the history and craft behind Australia’s most iconic rum was great because we got to actually see the process of distillation happening.

We saw up to five million litres of molasses fresh from the accompanying sugar mill across the road, one of the fermentation tanks and learnt about the double distillation process. (Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take any electronic devices with us).

To end the experience, we were able to have two drinks each at the grand Barrel House. We opted to sample the Bundaberg Original and Bundaberg Reserve rum.

Day 22 – Fraser Island (K’gari) 4WD Jeep Tour

This coastal city in southern Queensland is the world’s first Whale Heritage Site, making it one of the best locations in the world for spotting these gentle giants between the migrating seasons of July > November. Hervey Bay is also one of the main gateways across to Fraser Island (K’Gari), the largest sand island in the world.

Spending three days and two nights on a 4WD Tag-along tour on this UNESCO World Heritage-listed island is a popular thing for backpackers to do. We decided against this because we have Jippy – our camper van and we also would have had to have bought camp bedding (like we did in Alaska).

However, we did do the 1 Day Fantastic Fraser Island Tour with a company called Fraser Experience Tours for $295/£173, which was a more personal 4WD experience. We were never going to be able to explore all 184,000 hectares but we saw a great deal in the six hours we had!

After being picked up our tour guide, we got the 30-minute ferry across to Fraser Island with another couple and a solo female backpacker called Nicci from Wollongong, who was working seasonally with a whale watching company.

She must have brought good fortune with her because we saw so many whales breaching throughout the morning whilst driving along 75-mile beach and also a wild dingo.

To begin with, we cruised along the coastline until we reached the S.S. Mahano Shipwreck where we stopped for photos before then travelling further down the shoreline to The Pinnacles.

Later in the afternoon we walked on a boardwalk through hardwood forest and then swam in the stunning clear waters of Lake McKenzie.

Our tour guide explained that the silica sand would exfoliate the skin and soften our hair if we rubbed it into us and that it would make jewellery look as good as new. Em washed her hair with the sand and rubbed it into her engagement ring. I’m not sure it made any difference…

Day 23 – Noosa Heads

Today, we headed two hours further South to Noosa Heads on the East Coast. We had intended on staying here overnight but unfortunately there wasn’t availability at any campgrounds.

I really liked the laidback feeling of this backpackers town. Em bought a new PacSafe cross-body travel bag from a little shop called Lightweight Traveller and some face cleanser from Mecca on Hastings Street.

Day 24 – Noosa Everglades

One thing we definitely can’t complain about whilst we’ve been travelling around the world is the weather. The God’s have more often than not shined down on us. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case today.

We wanted to see the Noosa Everglades – one of only two everglade systems in the world. The other is in Everglades National Park, Florida which Emily has seen.

This spectacular network of pristine waterways and wetlands is set within the Cooloola region of the Great Sandy National Park and connects the Northern Noosa River system on the Sunshine Coast.

The best way to explore the Noosa Everglades is via the Everglades Eco Safari boat tour departing from the Habitat Noosa Everglades Ecocamp costing $130/£77 p/p, but you can also kayak through the mirrored waterways for an additional $15/£9 p/p or choose to camp overnight.

Before beginning the tour, we changed out of our jeans and trainers because we had to wade through shallow, knee deep water to reach the boat.

Over the next four hours, our skipper then gently glided the vessel through the ‘river of mirrors’ stopping at Fig Tree and later at Harry’s Hut for afternoon lunch. I’m sure this would have been a magical cruise if the heavens hadn’t have opened.

In my next post, we’ll visit Australia’s most famous Zoo, spend a few days exploring Brisbane before then chilling out on the Gold Coast.

If you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al

East Coast Australia Road Trip – The Great Barrier Reef, Magnetic Island & Whitsunday Islands (Part II)

Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef was something I desperately wanted to tick off my bucket list when in Queensland, Australia… and I can now say I’ve been lucky enough to do just that.

A visit to Cairns wouldn’t be complete without visiting the world’s largest coral reef system. Made up of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World.

It spans 2,300 kilometres off the East Coast Coastline from Cairns all the way South to near Rockhampton – that’s the size of Holland, Switzerland and the U.K combined.

(To read about our first week on our East Coast Australian Road Trip, click here).

Day Eight – Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef

Yesterday, I purchased a pair of short-bladed rubber fins from INTERSPORT because I knew I would struggle to get my foot into the standard full-length flippers due to the cramps I get in my left leg. It’s a good job I did because they’re a legal requirement in Queensland.

Taking a trip out to this UNESCO World Heritage Area doesn’t come cheap, but it’s worth every single penny! We paid £127/$215 (AUD) p/p to go on a full day tour with Down Under Cruise and Dive which takes you out to Saxon Reef and Hastings Reef.

In total, we snorkelled five times in the three and a half hours we had in the two outer Greater Barrier Reef locations. We swam with a huge Maori Humpback Wrasse, a Reef Shark and hundreds of other species of fish.

By the end of the day, we were both knackered. Snorkelling is an amazing experience but it isn’t half tiring!

Day Nine – Waterfall Circuit – Atherton Tablelands

Today, we left Cairns and started our journey 219 miles South to Townsville – a coastal city in Queensland.

There were two different routes we could take, but we decided on driving through Atherton Tablelands, an area filled with rainforest, wetland and savannah to the Waterfall Circuit instead of going to Josephine Falls and Babinda Boulders.

(Millaa Falls, Zillie Falls and Ellinja Falls make up the 7.2-mile Waterfall Circuit).

We stripped down to our swimwear, grabbed the GoPro and braved the freezing water at Millaa Millaa. It was lovely and refreshing once our body’s had adjusted to the temperature.

Zillie Falls and Ellinja Falls were much less quiet, but after swimming earlier we decided to head to Tchupala Falls on our way to a nearby campground we had decided to stay at overnight.

Day 10 – Drive to Townsville

Nothing of interest to report. We drove the remaining three hours to reach Townsville.

Day 11 – Day trip to Magnetic Island

Townsville is most popular for day trips to Magnetic Island / ‘Maggie Island’. Other than being home to one of Australia’s largest army barracks, there isn’t a lot else here.

It cost $34/£20 return to get the SeaLink Ferry across to Nelly Bay on Magnetic Island from the port of Townsville, which takes 25 minutes and runs 20 times a day.

We hired a Mitsubishi Eclipse for $119/£70 with Isle Hire, but this was a mistake as we hadn’t realised that you can only drive six miles from Picnic Bay to Horseshoe Bay and that there was also public transport and taxis.

To start with, we saw wild cockatoos along the sandy beach of Picnic Bay before then taking in the views from the Hawkings Point Lookout.

With the temperature now touching a modest 32°C for Australia, we then hiked 2.2-miles to the heritage-listed Fort Complex. Similarly, the views were stunning.

However, without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight of the day was spotting a koala on our way back to the car. This fella wasn’t camera shy!

Before heading back to the mainland, we ambled around Horseshoe Bay and then tanned ourselves on Arcadia Beach.

Day 12 – Drive to Airlie Beach

Our home for the next four nights. Airlie Beach is an extremely popular destination on the East Coast for backpackers and it’s not surprising why.

This coastal locality is the ‘central hub’ for visiting the beautiful 74 Whitsunday Islands (most of which are uninhabited), and is also another gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

The Heart Reef as well as the popular island resorts of Daydream Island, Hamilton Island and Hayman Island are also easily accessible from here.

When we eventually arrived after a long 170-mile drive, we ambled around the town and then relaxed as we knew we had a busy few days ahead of us…

Day 13 – The Whitsunday Islands

From tours to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef to bungee jumping, hot air ballooning and sky diving, there’s so much you can do in Airlie Beach. Sailing on a catamaran overnight in the Whitsundays is a popular thing do, but we settled on a day trip instead.

We researched several tour operators and in the end paid $175/£103 to book with a company called Ocean Rafting. The selling point was spending two hours on the southern side of the 7km world-renowned Whitehaven Beach, hiking to the Hill Inlet Lookout and having an hour to snorkel at a ‘secret location’.

The 90-minute cruise across to the Hill Inlet Lookout on Whitehaven Beach from the Coral Sea Marina was exhilarating. Our skipper zig zagged through the ocean at speeds of up to 60 mph whilst blasting out music.

When we arrived, one of the crew members took us on a 20-minute guided bush walk to the Hill Inlet Lookout overlooking Whitehaven Beach. I couldn’t stop taking photos.

The views of the stunning silica sands and aqua water were absolutely mind blowing. I’m not surprised that it’s been quoted as being “one of the most magical spots in the world.”

After spending 15 minutes trying to get the perfect shot, we walked back to the boat and headed to a secret snorkelling location. The water was a bit mirkier than what we’ve snorkelled in previously, but I managed to see a turtle swimming on the seabed.

We then spent the next two hours topping up our tan on Whitehaven Beach. Emily described the sand as “being like flour”. We daren’t take any back with us though as we risked getting a fine of up to $28,000!

On our way back, we saw three migrating Humpback Whales. We’ve seen lots of these amazing mammals now, but the excitement is still all the same.

If you’re looking for a day trip out to the Whitsunday Islands, look no further than Ocean Rafting’s Southern Lights tour.

Day 14 – Sleeping overnight on the Great Barrier Reef (Reefsleep)

We’ve had so many highlights from our time travelling around the world and this is definitely another which will live long in the memory – spending a night at Reefworld with Cruise Whitsundays!

Reefsleep was a costly experience at $561/£330 but in my opinion, you can’t put a price on memories like this that will last a lifetime. When else are we going to get the opportunity to sleep under the stars on the Great Barrier Reef?!

The experience is located on a permanently moored pontoon at Hardy Reef, located 39 nautical miles from shore on the outer Great Barrier Reef.

I regretted not going on a helicopter flight when we spent the day at Saxon and Hastings Reef so we paid an additional $155/£91 to see the Great Barrier Reef and specifically the famous Heart Reef.

I’m so glad we did as this amazing natural ecosystem is just as spectacular from above!

Later, Em paid $149/£87 to go on her first introductory scuba dive. She had been having lessons as a Christmas present from my Mum and Gran before we came away with the end goal of becoming PADI certified, but she wasn’t able to complete the course in time.

I didn’t fancy joining her so instead enjoyed the sun from our Reefsleep daybed. Em came back buzzing about her experience, gloating that she had seen a turtle and got GoPro proof! (See below)

For those who had paid to stargaze on Reefsleep or to stay at the Reefsuite (Australia’s first underwater accommodation), we then had the pontoon and reef exclusively to ourselves after 15:00 PM where we snorkelled for the first time.

We had tried to go earlier, but unfortunately the choppy sea conditions made it incredibly hard to do so. Andy, the manager and his crew then put on some canapés and mimosas before serving dinner at 19:00 PM.

By now we’d started to really bond with four couples of a similar age from England and America, which made our experience even better.

One of the couples invited us down to have a peak at their Reefsuite. When we went down, this gigantic fish swam past. I’m not sure it was worth $995/£583 p/night though…

We’ve seen some impressive sunsets but none more so than tonight’s. The sky was on fire! For the rest of the evening, we made the most of the all inclusive bar.

Day 15 – Reefworld

Scientists predict that the Great Barrier Reef could become extinct by 2050 because of the ongoing issues with climate change, and toxic coastal pollution, overfishing and unsustainable tourism also contribute to the damage done.

The following day, we set our alarms for 05:45 AM to watch the sunrise, went snorkelling again and then chilled out on our daybed. Before the day trippers arrived at 11:00 AM, Em went diving again for a reduced price of $60/£35.

All good things must come to an end. By 15:00 PM it was time for us to leave the pontoon and head back to the mainland. A big thank you to Andy for the top-notch hospitality and to his fabulous crew.

If you’re looking for an all inclusive, 24 hour VIP experience sleeping overnight on the Great Barrier Reef, then Reefworld is for you!

In my next blog, we’ll pass through Cape Hillsborough, Seventeen Seventy and Agnes Water in the Gladstone Region on our way to Hervey Bay where we’ll be doing a 4WD day trip on Fraser Island.

If you’d like to keep up-to-date with our adventure, you can either enter your email at the bottom of this article to receive instant notifications every time I post a new blog; click the Follow ‘Al’ Around The World link, or drop me a follow on Twitter at @AlecW95 or on Instagram at @AlecW95 or @alatw95.

Alternatively, you can follow Emily on her travelling TikTok account at @emstraveladventure.

Thanks for reading, until the next time…

Al