Australia: Planning & Travel Day
After nearly a year of meticulous research, we dove deep into crafting the ultimate vacation itinerary for our adventure in Australia. Countless hours were spent surfing the internet, (okay, Karen started with an actual book), seeking tips from well-traveled friends, and mapping out a comprehensive wall chart. We realized we needed to come to terms with just how vast the continent is, and select from among the diverse landscapes we wanted to visit in a reasonable amount of time. Ultimately, we opted for a "Road Scholar" (RS) trip that encompassed many of our must-see highlights. However, since the group travel did not cover some of sites high on our list, we decided to extend our journey with a few extra days in Sydney and Melbourne. The extra days gave us a chance to acclimate to the new time zone, check one big item off our list, and add those others we only had an inkling we would enjoy.
One of the items we added was a visit to the Blue Mountains just north of Sydney. The views include dramatic cliffs, lush eucalyptus forests, and hidden waterfalls. Another unforgettable experience is to climb the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge, where you can enjoy unparalleled views of the Sydney skyline and harbor. After planning these exhilarating activities, we had to start narrowing down our days and times for the journey. We settled on the last week of February ‘25, ensuring we’d hit the sweet spot for pleasant weather and supposedly fewer crowds.
With Sydney planning completed, next focus - Melbourne. While the itinerary from RS outlined a variety of experiences, we couldn't help but notice that it was missing one of Australia's most iconic routes: the Great Ocean Road; a stunning coastal drive, with breathtaking views of the ocean and rugged cliffs,
We made our reservations to climb the iconic bridge, eager for the breathtaking views it promised. Alongside that, we booked (using Viator) an tour of the Blue Mountains and a day trip along the scenic Great Ocean Road, ready to witness the rugged beauty of the coastline. With our flights booked it seemed like the only thing left was to book flights home. I don’t remember how or when I found the return flight solution, but it was it was a plan that would become the longest time away from home on vacation. I found a cruise that left Auckland NZ one day after our RS itinerary ended, giving us a day of travel between Sydney and catching the boat in Auckland. This cruise would sail around the east side of New Zealand, to Tasmania, Melbourne, Sydney and then island hop through the Polynesian Islands; a few days in the Hawaiian Islands, hit British Colombia and finally end in Seattle. This combined with the Australia itinerary made the total trip 68 days. Just like that, we didn’t need flights home!
Departure day finally came. Caitlin dropped us off at the airport. Just three bags slightly under the 50-pound limit and a couple of carry-ons. Not to mention my camera bag that weighed in at just over 32 pounds. Don't ask what the limit was… I just knew I would have to avoid being asked to weigh it. We had a short flight to San Francisco, where we found out that the winds were in our favor and our nearly 15-hour flight was only going to be closer to 13 and a half. Great, I thought; we will get in early. No, the flight had a set landing time, so we had to delay takeoff that hour and a half. The flight was comfortable as we had gone with the upgraded seats; well worth it. As the plane ascended, I could already feel the butterflies of excitement fluttering in my stomach, anticipation building as heading into the unknown adventure that awaited us.
After landing in Sydney, while I recovered the bags, Karen figured out the train/tram system. A quick stop to get our phone SIM cards changed to an Australian number provided us with a much cheaper solution for phone and internet service than our US charge you 10 bucks everyday. With newfound connectivity, we quickly navigated the train system like seasoned pros and made our way to the hotel.
Upon arrival, it became clear that the hotel Karen had picked was a VERY nice one, nestled right in the heart of the CBD (Central Business District). (Karen comment: Whew, finally vindicated for the bad hotel in Assisi that I have been paying for for YEARS!!) We dropped our bags off to lighten our load, knowing it was still too early to check in. Excitement bubbled (we understood the language around us, and the people were SO NICE. A complete stranger asked Karen if she needed assistance with the luggage as we made our bag drag from the train to the hotel. “Are you alright Luv? she asked. Need any help?” We headed toward the botanical gardens, our next stop for a leisurely lunch.
The gardens welcomed us with the beauty of nature, and finding a nice lunch spot in the park, we settled down with our food and brews. Surrounded by greenery and humming with the sounds of the city, we eagerly raised our glasses to enjoy some local beer. It was the perfect way to kick off our Australian adventure!
