Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures in the world and is made from the smallest organisms in the entire world. It holds over 350 coral species and is the home for marine life. This marine life includes over 2000 fish species, 4000 mollusk species, 7 marine turtle species, and 215 bird species. I was lucky enough to experience the reef from the sky and the water and it is amazing from both views. My mom and I took a helicopter ride from our resort, Qualia, over the Great Barrier Reef and landed on a platoon which we scuba dived off of. Under the water was a sea of colors. The entire reef looked as if it was covered in the brightest of acrylic paints. We did our dive during the day, but at night time the reef glows. This is by far one of the most amazing things I have experienced and hope I can return again soon!

Uluru Camel Tours

Earlier this year I wrote about my time at Uluru and the culture of the aborigine I grew to understand. I wrote posts about the dreamtime, song lines, dances, and weaponry. What I did not write about was CAMELS! As soon as Kerry batted her long eye lashes at me and ate bread from my palm I fell in love with camels. Kerry was the baby camel at Uluru Camel Tours when I was there in December. She is beautiful and I though we had become very close when I fed her bread, but as soon as she swallowed she was done batting her eyes at me. Oh well! My love for camels did not die. As the sun still hid behind Uluru my mom and I climbed upon our camel for the morning and rode off with five other camels into the sunrise. As we made it deep into the dessert the sun began to rise and wow, was it a spectacular sunrise. To my left was Kata T’juta and to my right was Uluru. The sky was a gradient of yellow to blue, scattered with puffy clouds. It was breathtaking. The experience I had with Kerry and the sunrise were amazing, but what tied it all together was the comedian who led our tour. Once a horse rancher, he now lives in the middle of the desert rounding up wild camels with the rest of the Uluru Camel Tours staff. For more information on Uluru Camel tours click here for their website. To visit their facebook page with beautiful and amusing photography click here.

Happy Hump Day!

Hamilton Island Golf Club

Another must see around Hamilton Island is the Hamilton Island Golf Club. The golf club is actually an island of its own. On the island is an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse. They have a private boat that takes visitors to and from the island. My mom and I love to play golf but did not have time to play this course, unfortunately. However, the public is welcome to make a reservation and dine at the golf club and have a golf cart tour of the course. For more information on the Hamilton Island Golf Club please click here.

Qualia and Hamilton Island

When you talk to people about their time at the Great Barrier Reef you hear more often stories told about Hayman Island. My mom and I stayed on Hamilton Island though, and got to experience the worlds #1 resort (according to Condé Nast Traveler magazine), Qualia. The Qualia site explains the word by saying, “in Latin means "a collection of deeper sensory experiences". A byword for Hamilton Island luxury, qualia is situated on the secluded northern-most tip of Hamilton Island surrounded by all the splendour of the Great Barrier Reef. With a relaxed aspect and mesmerising calmness, time seems to stretch forever.” For more information and photos please click here.

Outside of spa treatments, Great Barrier Reef dives, beach days, and dining Hamilton Island offers a wide range of activities. My favorite thing about Hamilton Island is the outstanding views. I found two places that showed me the vast beauty of the island. The first is very easy to get to: the center of the island.  The entire island drives around on American golf carts and when you drive to the center of the island you will find yourself elevated with a 360 degree panorama view of the ocean and surrounding islands. The second place is Passage Peak, a 1700-meter hike to the top of the islands peak. This is a moderate hike that includes a lot of stairs but the burn is your legs will be worth the view.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures in the world and is made from the smallest organisms in the entire world. It holds over 350 coral species and is the home for marine life. This marine life includes over 2000 fish species, 4000 mollusk species, 7 marine turtle species, and 215 bird species. I was lucky enough to experience the reef from the sky and the water. It is amazing from both views. My mom and I took a helicopter ride from our resort, Qualia, over the Great Barrier Reef and landed on a platoon which we snorkeled off of. Under the water was a sea of colors. The entire reef looked as if it was covered in the brightest of acrylic paints. We did our dive during the day, but at night time the reef glows. This is by far one of the most amazing things I have experienced and hope I can return again soon!

Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo is another Sydney attraction I recommend if you’re into zoos and want to see some Aussie wildlife, although I do have to recommend Healseville Sanctuary in Melbourne over it (http://myadtravels.blogspot.com/2012/12/experiencing-healesville-and-phillip.html). The truly special park about Taronga Zoo is the view you have overlooking the city and the harbor. I recommend taking a ferry to get to the zoo because it is very scenic. When visiting the zoo I became a seal trainer. We went to the seal show and I was pulled from the audience to command a seal to do a big jump. It was very fun getting splashed and soaked in the heat.

Bridge Climb Sydney

The Bridge Climb! This was one of my opportunities to not only make my mom incredibly scared, but also to show her something new that she hadn’t experienced on previous trips to Sydney. Growing up I probably watched Our Lips Are Sealed a hundred times. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen films this one involves the girls being put in the witness protection program and moving to Sydney. In the movie the girls do the Bridge Climb and visit Luna Park. I knew that these were two sites I could not miss when I was in Sydney since I was very young.

When we arrived at the Bridge Climb office you have to sign your life away and do a few simulators for climbing the bridge. It is all really easy, fun and enjoyable. I can honestly say that since we stepped off of the Sydney Harbor Bridge my mom has told all of her friends and all the tourists we met in Australia that it is a must-do! It is an incredible way to see all of the beauty Sydney has to offer.

When we finished our Bridge Climb and my mom bought all of her souvenirs as proof that she actually did the climb we headed to the ferries station to check out Luna Park. I called this whole day, “My day as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen,” a childhood dream come true. At Luna Park we walked around and enjoyed the views of the harbor and bright colors the amusement park had to offer.

Sydney Sea Life Aquarium

Our next stop was to the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium where I looked at all the fish with my nose pressed to the glass, amazed by some of the crazy sea life and amazing colors. Let me tell you a little bit about some of the sea life we saw.

The first time we saw the Little Penguins was in the aquarium, but Ill tell you more about the penguin parade in Melbourne at this link (http://myadtravels.blogspot.com/2012/12/experiencing-healesville-and-phillip.html). Little Penguins can grow up to 43cm in height and eat small schooling fish, squid and krill. They live in rocky shorelines that are suitable for breeding.

My photos absolutely do not do them justice but the Moon Jellyfish probably tie the Dugongs for the coolest sea life in the aquarium. Moon Jellyfish can be as long as 50cm in diameter and eat a variety of plankton. They live in inshore waters and are interestingly too weak to sting humans. Some people even eat them.

Dugongs can grow to be up to 3.5 meters in length and eat seagrass. They live in seagrass beds in estuaries, bays and shallow waters. It is important that we pay attention to water pollution as these animals are in a vulnerable extinction status.

Lastly, Ill tell you about the Grey Nurse Shark that can grow to be Justas long as the Dugongs. They eat bony fish, young sharks, crustaceans and squid. They live in sandy coastal waters, estuaries, shallow bays and tropical reefs no deeper than 19 meters. These animals are also in a vulnerable status.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is a great area to walk around in to get out of the city for the day. I highly recommend doing the Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk starting at Bronte Beach and making your way along the coast to Bondi Beach. The walk is very beautiful and you will get to play with lots of cute doggies along the way and see all of the cities active residents out on their morning jog. If there is one place you have to eat in this area its Trio café and restaurant. I am still carving the amazing breakfast I had there last month. 

Sydney Opera House

When I visited Australia last month with my mom our first stop was in Sydney (not the capital of Australia). Although it was not my mom’s first trip she took me to all the main touristy attractions that I couldn’t miss. Straight off the plane and we were off to the Opera House.

When visiting the Sydney Opera House it is hard not to be amazed by the architecture of one of Sydney’s main tourist spots. The stunning backdrop of the Sydney harbor graciously welcomed the Opera House, an iconic Sydney site. It took 16 years to build the Sydney Opera House, from 1957-1973, but was originally predicted to take 6 years. I was also amazed by the fact that the Opera house was originally said to cost $7 million and ended up costing $102 million. Jorn Utzon is the man we can all thank for this amazing architectural donation to society, although its conception was rather controversial. This particular design was repeatedly removed from the selected piles of reasonable designs but in the end, Jorn Utzon finally won. When I visited the Opera House the roofing enamored me. It can be described as interlocking vaulted shells covered in 1,056,000 glazed white granite tiles all imported from Sweden. I was also amazed by the fact that the Opera house was originally said to cost $7 million and ended up costing $102 million.