Whitsunday Islands : The Great Barrier Reef

For so long I had studied about the Great Barrier reef in my school years, about it being the biggest natural wonder in the world. So that was my must-visit-place when in Australia. I actually had no idea about how big this was, until I did some internet research. This majestic nature wonder flanks majority of the Queensland coast starting from the Faser Island till the northern tip of Australia, beyond Cairns and Port Douglas. There are many convenient places to explore it such as Whitsunday Islands(Airlie Beach), Cairns, Port Douglas, Townsville, Mackay and we had shortlisted Whitsunday's just because of a great airline deal. Well there was one more reason, the Whitehaven beach, which is considered to be THE BEST Beach in Australia. How could one miss that.

Ours was a short 3 day trip. 1 day to explore the Great Barrier Reef and the other to explore the Whitehaven beach and the remainder to just relax. A short and simple trip :).

The trip to the Great Barrier is the most interesting part. Its a full day trip in a medium sized cruise ship leaving early in the morning and returning by nightfall. The Great Barrier reef is close to 3 hours of boat ride and we reach a temporary pontoon in the middle of nowhere. The Great Barrier Reef is something which can be appreciated by going under the water and not that much above it. But as soon as we reached, we could see the spectacular reefs with those crystal clear turquoise waters. There are many activities which are part of the package such as scuba diving, snorkeling, under water gallery, helicopter joy-ride etc which caters to various demographics and tastes. It is no wonder the reefs are famous world over for their marine life. But we can see the effects of global warming, more prominent here than anywhere else. The reefs have started to bleach and slowly the entire reef ecosystem might turn white and marine life would just die over the next few years. That's the sad part. But we still enjoyed a lot snorkeling and observing various marine life at close proximity. Food is also provided in the pontoon. Got a go pro camera just to capture underwater images, which was worth it :).

The next day we took a half day package of the Whithaven beach. This is on an island close to 1 hour from the mainland. We were dropped at the beach to enjoy the pristine beach to our hearts content.

Ski Trip To Snowy Mountains

Snowy mountains is one of the nearest places to Sydney to experience snowfall. In fact snowy mountains and its surroundings are the only places in mainland Australia to experience consistent snowfall, consistent enough to engage in winter sports like Skiing, snowboarding etc. Snowy mountains covers the states of NSW and Victoria, and there are various Ski resorts to engage in such activities. On the NSW side there are 3 major Ski resorts. Perisher, Thredbo and Selwyn. The initial 2 cater to more professional demographic, whereas the later caters to a more family oriented , learner/amateur population.
















We had been to Snowy mountains on 2 consecutive winters. The first one was to just experience snow, since my better half had never experienced it before. The second year we had timed it to experience snowfall and engage in some winter sports. As mentioned previously Perisher and Thredbo can get very crowded with people who are serious about skiing. So much that Perisher had run out of parking spots and the cops had setup a roadblock at the bottom of the mountain and asking people to take a U turn and go back and take the train. This was last year and we were not very specifically intending to visit Perisher, hence we went to the nearby Thredbo. This year based on that experience we decided to just visit Selwyn resort.

We had booked a cottage in the outskirts of Adaminaby. Though it rarely snows right up to this town, the night we stayed it snowed very heavily even in these regions. It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale, a wooden cottage in middle of nowhere and heavy snowfall outside. By morning everything was whitewashed, and we were still 35 kms away from the Selwyn Mountain Snow resort which is right up on a elevation. Hence we were expecting some good snow for skiing.

Reached the Snow resort driving through the snow filled roads and some scary 2 wheel drive moments. We had rented the ski equipment and also some lessons. The lessons were not at all helpful and the ski equipment weighed a ton, with very restricted movement possible. Not sure how people have them on and move for an entire day. And if you fall, its takes a great effort to get back to your feet, which believe me was more frequent than comfort for a newbie like me. At the end of the day, I didn't quite enjoy the concept of skiing, but I always wanted to try it atleast once. Will I ski again ??? Probably Not !!!!

Sydney : The Heart Of Australia

Eventhough Sydney just a small drop in a big ocean named Australia, if just one city has to represent it, it would definitely be this city with its world famous tourist attractions and melting pot of cultures from around the world. Compared to the other Australian cities it might seem crowded,  with its job opportunities and it being the financial capital of the ANZ region, but with so many things to visit and experience it is truly a world class city.

1. The Harbors

Touted as the best harbour in the entire world for its views, which includes the famous "hanger" bridge and the Opera house, which are the iconic symbols of Australia in their own right. A site to the spectacular vivid light festival during the long winter hours. Darling harbour is another harbour further inland. Not as dramatic as its cousin, the main harbour, but still spectacular.

2. The Beaches

There innumerable stunning beaches dotting this harbour city, which gives Sydney an upper hand when compared to the other Aussie cities. Sydney has Bondi, Manly and Coogee which are the famous ones, but there are innumerable small and secluded beaches one can find along the entire coastline. The coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee is not to be missed.

3. The National Parks

Sydney is literally surrounded by National parks in all directions. This is one of the main reason why the city is facing constraints in expanding and is doing so only towards west where there is some breathing space.  There are infact close to 50 national parks and conservation areas inside the city and in its vicinity. Towards the north of the city there are likes of Kuringai and Lane Cove national parks. Towards the south one of the oldest, Royal National Park. On the east coast is the Sydney Harbour national park and towards the west the likes of Blue Mountain national park.

4. The Mountains

Just about 50 kms from the city central,  acting like a huge boundary wall for this majestic city are the Blue Mountains. There is so much to do and see in the blue mountains. For the hardcore nature lovers there are innumerable walking tracks which range from anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. The best walking track in my my experience is the National Pass trek which takes close to 2-3 hrs one and the double if returning on the same or other tracks. For the touristy kind there are places like the 3 sisters, Katoomba, Scenic world and so on.

5. The Buildings

The core part of any modern man made jungle are the concrete buildings, and Sydney has quite a few of very iconic buildings. The first obvious ones are the Harbor bridge and the Opera house. Other notable building include the very gothic and huge St Mary's cathedral and the iconic Sydney tower which gives 360 degrees brids eye view of the city.

6. The Museums

Some notable museums in Sydney include the Art Museum of NSW which has a free entry. This has an endless collections of art from the ages right from Indiginous art through to the Victorian era right upto the modern era. But frankly speaking museums in Sydney are a bit of a let down when compared to Melbourne, with the endless and colossal NGV museums. Probably Melbourne had to compensate in some way to their gloomy weather and keep their citizens happy :).

7. The Parks

With one of the most expensive real estate market in the world, it is no doubt that the green breathing areas within the city under tremendous pressure to hold their ground. Some of the famous green spaces within the city are the Hyde park, which includes the War memorial. Not as grand as its Melbourne counterpart though. The botanical gardens which is sandwiched between the Opera house and the sea. This area comes alive during the annual Vivid light festival conducted during the winter months.

Orange : In Search Of Fall Colours

Australia is not really a land wherein one finds autumn colours in the wilderness. But thanks to the locals with majorly European heritage and fairly favourable climate, some of inner NSW towns have planted their own European gardens with a lot of trees which gets transformed into stunning colors of yellow, red and pink during the fall season. But even then these areas are limited. Some of the towns near to Sydney with some great autumn colors are Blackheath, Orange and so on.

Apart from the fall color, Orange is also famous for its vineyards and wine tasting. Nearby we have Abercrombie caves which was good. Also the Bathurst racing track, which is actually open to the public. Hence we had a go at this race track which snakes and climbs to Mount Panoroma and back to the base. It was pretty good experience driving a car on a race track for the first time in my life.

The Great Whale Migration

Whale watching is one of the more popular attractions for tourists in Australia especially during the winter months. Unlike the likes of Sea World where one would see trained sea animals confined within a small pool, here you can watch completely wild whales on their great migration from freezing Antarctic waters to the warm cozy waters of the Great Barrier reef . These apparently they do every year and by the end of the winter head back to their rich feeding grounds in the Antarctic ocean. There are various species of the whales undertaking this journey, but the most easily spotted ones are the the humpback whales, which also travel closer to the coastline, making it easier to spot. Even though technically not as big as the blue whales (which are rarely spotted along the coast), the humpback whales are majestic in their own right.



From Sydney, there are various tours offering whale watching cruises which last from anywhere for a couple of hours to full day. The best season to encounter these beautiful creatures is in the end of June and beginning of July with maximum sightings during this period. Hence we planned our trip to coincide with this period and we were not disappointed.

We took the morning trip starting from Circular Quay and we entered the open water , which was the highway for these creatures. Within 10 minutes we started to get sightings. Whales breaching water and diving back into water is one of the most beautiful things to watch in the wild. They do this in order to get rid of the parasites in their skin which are removed due to the impact of water. The impact sound on the other hand is heard by other whales kilometers away and used also as a mating signal.

The first encounter was exciting , but with so many sightings with nearly 100+ breaches by the end of our 2 hr trip we were a bit saturated, but found ourselves lucky at the same time, since some cruises dont even encounter even a single whale , leave alone a breach. Overall a very satisfied customer !!! ;)

Fraser Island : Worlds Largest Sand Island

There are 3 biggest sand islands along the Queensland coast and all of them are at a drivable distance from the city of Brisbane. Frazer island is one of those remote islands and is preserved beautifully as a world heritage site. The access to these islands are via ferries from places like Harvey Bay and Rainbow beach. There are no proper roads within these islands and all the vehicles have to either use the inland bumpy roads or the wide sandy beaches for moving around the island based on the tidal activity of the ocean. Hence that means obviously only 4x4 vehicles are allowed into this island.

Since our car is a normal sedan, only option was to either hire a vehicle or go through a guided tour. We decided to do the later and our tour bus picked us early in the morning from a spot in Sunshine coast. There are various tour packages lasting for days together based on one's interest and we decided to go for a single day tour. Our means of transport was a refurbished 4x4 vehicle, used previously by Australian armed forces. Hence it was fairly comfortable journey in-spite of the road conditions.

We crossed the sea in a ferry and landed up in Frazer island. Initially our vehicle zoomed through the beaches crossing various fresh water rivulets draining to the ocean. These rivulets had crystal clear water and is prime source of drinking water in the island. First stop was the Central station, which used to be the heart of the island during the days when they were logging in the island for timber.  That is something unique about Australian cities or town, where there would be a place known as central. Currently abandoned after this island has become a conservation zone to protect its unique flora and fauna. This is one of those unique islands wherein rain-forest has adapted itself to grow on sand. Interesting.

The seventy five mile beach is the artery of transport into the island. It forms one of the longest beaches in the world running close to 120 kms. It also acts as a runway for small planes flying into the island. So much so that they even have a speed limit boards running along the beach. One can cruise in their 4x4 vehicles, with shark infested ocean on one side, rainforest filled sand dunes on the other and endless beach track ahead. A perfect driving experience.



Frazer island is also known for wild dingo population. Dingo is nothing but wild dogs and it was a bit odd for us to seek the dingos when we had seen millions of Indian street dogs back home, which look exactly the same. The highlight of the trip was a visit to Lake Mckenzie. We visited this island in the middle of the day, when we had a clear sky. Since we had visited on a working weekday, it was practically empty. The lake is easily the most pristine water body I have ever seen, with it gleaming under the afternoon sun under various shades of soothing blue. The initial shallow part of the lake is completely transparent and as the depth increases so does the shade of blue. Apart from this lake there are countless other lakes in the island which are formed due of collection of water between the sand dunes over the period of time. The sand bed also acts as a natural filter and hence we have crystal clear waters. We played to our hearts content in the mineral rich water.

After lunch we went for a walk along the Eli Creek. This creek with again crystal clear water was used by aboriginal tribes as a meeting place strictly for the women folk. Since the aboriginals had already got enlightened with the mineral rich properties of the water of this creek, they used it as a spot for child births, which is similiar to the latest trend of water birth in the western world. The walk along the Eli Creek and the rainforest took us close to half an hour at a leisure pace and was very enjoyable.

Finally it was time to return back. We took the ferry back to Rainbow beach and enjoyed its namesake under the glow of the setting sun. It was also a pretty sight to watch. Hence one more world heritage site is struck off my list.

Gold Coast : The Vacation Capital Of Oz

Gold Coast is indeed the vacation capital of Australia. It has one of the highest number of theme parks and other tourism based attractions in Australia, which is unusual for a town which is just 1/10 the size of cities like Sydney and Melbourne. The best attraction of Gold Coast is definitely the endless golden beaches. Listed below are some of the attractions we had interest in and visited. Apart from these there countless number of other theme parks like Dreamworld, Seaworld, Wet N Wild, Whitewater world and so on. The best deals for these theme parks can be obtained from websites such as experienceoz.

1. Q1 : Skywalk

Q1 building is the tallest building in Australia and also in the southern hemisphere. The design is inspired from the 2000 Sydney Olympics torch. Even though there is an observation deck from where one gets great views of the Gold Coast area, we decided to do something more adventurous, opting for the Skypoint climb , which involves climbing outside the building to the topmost point of the spire, getting an even better view and just a harness for safety. Skypoint ticket also includes a free ticket to the observation deck, hence this made more sense to us. After providing a brief with all the equipment such as harness, jumpsuits etc we entered the exterior of the building from where one has to climb close to 50 steps to reach the pinnacle. It was not as scary as I imagined it would be. But the views were great from here. We were provided with a complimentary cap and a group photo. Individual photos are extra.

2. Movie World

Supposed to be one of the best theme parks in Australia wherein we enjoyed a lot of rides related to the movies produced by the Warner Bros Studios like the Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Bugs Bunny, Road Runner etc. But to be frank this theme park was not as spectacular as the Universal Studios which we have been to. However having said that it is still a very enjoyable place.  We went through some scary rides like Superman, Green Lantern and Arkham Asylum. There are a lot of road shows happening which involved a lot of comic and cartoon characters. There is also a kiddy zone especially targeted towards children. There is also an indoor Scooby Doo roller coaster which aims to be spooky. The best show however is the Hollywood Stunt Driver show which involves a lot of live car stunts performed by the stuntmen. Since we went on a normal weekday, there was minimal queues for all the rides.

3. Coolangatta Beach

Apart from the famous Surfer Paradise beach right in the heart of the Gold Coast, there is another beach around 20kms south of the town known as Coolangatta. This is an absolutely gorgeous beach and we enjoyed our time playing in the water and watching a glorious sunset. Not at all crowded and good place to relax and unwind. One can also see the Gold Coast CBD across the water rising like a distant fairyland.

Noosa National Park

Noosa is one of the more popular beach vacation towns in the south east region of Queensland, and we learned that the hard way during a visit on an extended weekend. We visited this place on the Good Friday weekend, and boy this place was crowded with no parking spots available anywhere. In the end after roaming for close to an hour trying to find a parking spot, we did park in a place but did end up with a fine :P.

The best spot in Noosa is definitely exploring the walking trails of the Noosa National Park, which runs along the coastline providing some awe inspiring views. There are multiple trails running through the national park (map here). We decided to take the much popular coastal track upto Hells Gate and return back via some shortcut. The day was perfect with mild temperature and sunny day, making it an enjoyable day for walking. The water right from the Noosa Heads was glistening under the sunshine in turquoise blue colour. Our plan was to walk around 5 km return.

The initial park of the walk is close to sea level, but slowly the elevation increases with the highest point being near the Hells Gate. The views on the other hand are spectacular and the best views again at Hells Gate, which gives a birds eye view of the Alexandria Bay. Apart from the views it was quite windy. Probably this would be a great lookout point for whale watching during the migration period. We then returned back and it took us close to 2.5 hrs for the entire walk.

Once we returned back from the walk we went to Laguna Lookout point which gives a birds eye view of the entire Noosa Heads area and the river. Spent time relaxing here and had our lunch. This spot was sparsely frequented by tourists.



The finale for our trip was to enjoy the waters of the Noosa Main beach. Luck finally smiled on us and we got a parking spot easily when we were at the right place at the right time. Others waiting along with us where not so lucky :P. We enjoyed the waters of the main beach, eventhough the waves were quite rough.

Bushwalking in Mt Glorious

Mt Glorious is one of the nearest rainforest bushwalking tracks from the city of Brisbane, with it just being 40 kms from the city centre and a perfect getaway on an unplanned weekend. We had visited this area just the week after the cyclone Debbie had hit the Queensland coast and we could see a lot of damage on the road upto the Maiala Picnic area from where the track starts and also on the bushwalking track itself with lots of tree debris strewn across it, making it a bit of an obstacle race :).

Maiala Picnic area has plenty of parking spots and the drive upto this place is quite picture-some. This spot is a perfect spot to spend an afternoon with family and friends even if one is not interested to go bushwalking.  Also from this place the Greene falls circuit starts , which is a 4.3km easy grade walk with not so difficult gradients. We took an hour of walking at a leisure pace to reach the falls and enjoyed it. The Greene falls is a decent sized waterfalls, nothing spectacular , but still good in its own right.

Once back from the walk we had our lunch and relaxed by the grasslands of the picnic area. The next stop was the Wivenhoe Dam which is the source of drinking water for the city of Brisbane. Enroute to this place we also came across a lookout area up in the hills having a birds eye view of the entire Wivenhoe dam catchment area. We went upto the dam and to one of the visitor centers. From here one can get into water and enjoy the pristine water of the dam. Overall a great place to visit on an unplanned weekend.