We wind down our month in Australia today. And what a month we had. We had all these goals, we’d go to Adelaide! Maybe see the outback! But while roadtripping around New Zealand was possible, Australia is the same size as the US, and impossible to see everything in a month.
We readjusted, flying from Sydney up to Cairns, driving to Brisbane, flying to Melbourne, then Tasmania, and back to Sydney. We had a fantastic month and I feel like we just scratched the surface. Here is our list of Top Hits! (Just like the NZ list, these aren’t in a specific order.)
The Penguin Parade on Phillip Island
“The exhausted penguins stumbled onto shore like so many little fat men bursting the seams of their tuxedos after a long banquet. The fact that 40 people were watching them mattered little.” - Sally Connell, 1983
Phillip Island is home to the largest Little Penguin colony in the world. When my parents went in 1983 it was a more casual affair. Only 40 people, no set seating. H and I went on a Thursday night and sat in stadium seats with hundreds of others. And yet the magic of the penguins is still very real. They swim onshore at dusk, wait until they have a few friends with them, and dart across the sand. (They don’t let you take photos of the penguins, the light on your phones is too bright for the little guys. In that way I guess we were similar to my parents, phone free and enjoying the experience. The text above is from my mom’s travel column. Photos below are from the Parade Conservation center.)
2. Byron Bay - Crowded but oh so beautiful. We raced over to the much quieter Brunswick Heads to camp and watch the sunset and found it chiller and similarly beautiful.
3. Noosa Heads - The walk along the coast here is to die for. We stopped so many times to grab photos, watch surfers sail across waves and/or wipeout. It’s very crowded, but absolutely worth it.
4. Bourke Street Bakery sausage roll - H and I have eaten A LOT of sausage rolls in the last few weeks. We love savory breakfast goods and sausage rolls check all the boxes. HOWEVER, a lot of folks in NZ and AUS sneak BBQ sauce into sausage rolls. It’s not my favorite. H’s friend got us these sausage rolls from Bourke Street Bakery and they are absolutely delicious. We went back on our last day in Sydney to try them again. We’ll dream about them.
5. Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef - Unforgettable. We saw two sea turtles! 100s of fish. The reef is a trek, you board a boat in Cairns and are on it for about 2 hours before you get to the snorkeling spot. But you get free food on the boat, the views are great, and if you take motion sickness medicine and sit outside you can stomach the big waves. 😅
6. Malatang - I love hotpot but before Australia I’d never had malatang. We’ve had it twice now and I’m hooked. You walk in, grab a bowl and tongs, and pick out your own meat, veggies, noodles, and tofu from a big grocery store produce fridge. Then you pick your soup and spice level. It’s so spicy and so delicious. It has healing properties curing sinus issues, hangovers, and more.
7. Magnetic Island - This island off of Queensland was a bit of a timing stretch for us. We hadn’t initially planned on it but we kept hearing that we should stop and that we might even see koalas in the wild. Reader, we stopped. We saw a koala. It was just off the trail and sleeping in a tree. It was perfect.
8. MONA - An eccentric museum up the river from Hobart. Take the ferry. Drink at the winery. Eat the food. Immerse yourself in the sexy, promiscuous art, that sits next to ancient art. I saw a mummy, a Picasso, and a lot of genitalia artwork in one day. In one section! A must-do experience.
9. Mt. Wellington - Pray for good weather and start early. A lot of folks take a bus or drive up, but the hike is beautiful. We went up one side, down the other. We didn’t time it out well and ended up finishing the hike in the dark and my headlamp ran out of battery juice. But it was so worth it. Amazing views of Tasmania.
10. Melbourne - I’d like to live here one day.