Thanks to Simon & Sheila
and Daisy for bed and breakfast to get us on our way. Also thanks to Jo and Paul for the parking and lift to the airport. This is the Bigbird that will be taking us to Hong Kong for the first leg of our trip.Although the flight lasted for eleven and a half hours the time went quite quickly. We were lucky enough to get the seats near to the emergency exit so we had plenty of leg room and nobody reclining their seat backs into our space.
Hong Kong airport is a very modern place. When we arrived there was a little Chinese man with my name on a card to meet us and take us to the hotel, made us feel important.
Hong Kong is a mass of sky scrapers as there is little land to buildon so they have to build up high. It's a very clean place and the people are extremely friendly and helpful. We did a city tour this morning ( Thursday ) and saw some great sights and learnt a lot about Hong Kong's history.
Here are some photos taken from Victoria Point.
After Victoria Point we had a ride on a sanpan round the harbour and looked at how the local fishermen and their familys live on their boats. Here are some photos
SANPANS IN HONG KONG
In the evening we went for a harbour cruise which included dinner and and a view of the Laser light show which came from the tops of the skyscrapers which were also lit in multy colours. All in all a good day and evening.Here we are on the last day in Hong Kong and we thought we would go shopping so we went to the main area called Causway Bay but it was like Meadowhall on the last Saturday before Christmas so we gave up and went for a walk round the Botanicle Gardens and Zoo. Later we went to the airport for an overnight flight to Sydney. Talk about a small world we shared a bus with a couple from Rotherham who were staying at the same hotel as us.
Although the flight took eight and half hours it was a good one and we arrived at our hotel mid morning. Did a bit of exploring had an evening meal and a couple of beers before an early night.
Tuesday morning after a good breakfast we set off to explore Sydney. First stop Darling Harbour which is really lovely and then on to main harbour for a cruise to see the wonderful sights. We got our first views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
Although the flight took eight and half hours it was a good one and we arrived at our hotel mid morning. Did a bit of exploring had an evening meal and a couple of beers before an early night.
Tuesday morning after a good breakfast we set off to explore Sydney. First stop Darling Harbour which is really lovely and then on to main harbour for a cruise to see the wonderful sights. We got our first views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
After the cruise we went on a city tour which included a visit to Bondi Beach. Tomorrow Wednesday, we are going to climb the Harbour Bridge. It takes about three and a half hours to climb to the top of the main arch and get back down (scary or what) That will be our last day in Sydney as on Thursday morning we start the tour to Cairns.We did the bridge climb today and what a fantastic experience, hard work on the legs but what an incredible view of all around Sydney.
SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE CLIMB
This evening we had a lovely dinner, then went to the theatre to see Billy Elliot the musical, it made our last day extra special.
So its Goodbye Sydney.
Today is Thursday and the bus came to the hotel to collect us to start the tour. There are twenty people on the tour now and more to be picked up when we arrive in Brisbane on Saturday. We took a steady drive out of Sydney during the rush hour and headed north on the Pacific Highway. Not much to say about the drive apart from visiting a couple of nice towns for breaks. We arrived at Port Macquarie for our overnight stay. The hotel was right on the beach and we were up at the crack of dawn having a walk on the seafront.
These are the photos from Port Macquarie.
Today is Thursday and the bus came to the hotel to collect us to start the tour. There are twenty people on the tour now and more to be picked up when we arrive in Brisbane on Saturday. We took a steady drive out of Sydney during the rush hour and headed north on the Pacific Highway. Not much to say about the drive apart from visiting a couple of nice towns for breaks. We arrived at Port Macquarie for our overnight stay. The hotel was right on the beach and we were up at the crack of dawn having a walk on the seafront.
These are the photos from Port Macquarie.
From Port Macquarie we travelled further north to Surfers Paradise. It's a nice place but completely geared up for the surfers. But I do think the views are good at the beach.
After Surfers Paradise we took a short journey to Brisbane. We spent nearly three hours there looking around the sights as well as a city tour in the coach. It is another interesting city. There were six more people joined us on the tour today so now we are twenty six. There are people from England, Canada, France. Holland, South Africa and one I'm not sure of yet. From there we went to our next port of call which was Moreton Island. It takes one and a half hours by ferry to reach the island but when you arrive its fantastic. We are hear for two nights so we get a chance to relax after all the travelling. On the island we stayed at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. The dolphins come to the shore in the evening and the guests can hand feed them. There are also pelicans that gather on the beach in the mornings.
In the morning we took the return ferry crossing back to the mainland and started heading north towards Hervey Bay. On the way we visited Australia Zoo but we did'nt see Steve Irwin because he had a pain in the chest. A very well run place based on good animal welfare.
After Surfers Paradise we took a short journey to Brisbane. We spent nearly three hours there looking around the sights as well as a city tour in the coach. It is another interesting city. There were six more people joined us on the tour today so now we are twenty six. There are people from England, Canada, France. Holland, South Africa and one I'm not sure of yet. From there we went to our next port of call which was Moreton Island. It takes one and a half hours by ferry to reach the island but when you arrive its fantastic. We are hear for two nights so we get a chance to relax after all the travelling. On the island we stayed at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. The dolphins come to the shore in the evening and the guests can hand feed them. There are also pelicans that gather on the beach in the mornings.
In the morning we took the return ferry crossing back to the mainland and started heading north towards Hervey Bay. On the way we visited Australia Zoo but we did'nt see Steve Irwin because he had a pain in the chest. A very well run place based on good animal welfare.
Upon arrival in Hervey Bay we found our hotel overlooked the beautiful marina which was full of yachts. We had our evening meal overlooking the wonderful bay in the Cafe Balaena. Below are a couple of photos from our bedroom window.
In the morning we cruised to the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island which is the home of Australias only pure wild Dingo. The island is the worlds largest sand island which has no roads, only sand tracks. All the vehicles are 4x4 and took us on a tour of the island which included very rough tracks and fast flat sandy beaches. We visited some inland lakes and creeks and we went for a flight in a small plane which took off and landed on the beach. Then we caught the ferry bach to Hervey Bay for one more night.
These photos are on the beach at Fraser Island and in them I am stood with a couple from Canada and a couple from Bury.
The next day we travelled to Rockhampton. Not much to say about this place apart from visiting the zoo on our way there.
DINGO POSSAM KOALA
Today,Thursday we travelled to Mackay, the sugar capital of oz,then onward to Airlie Beach were we caught another ferry to Daydream Island. The island is the gateway to the 74 idyllic islands of the Whitsunday Passage. The resort on the island is wonderful, and it feels like a dream come true. The next morning we cruised to the Great Barrier Reef were we spent the day at the edge of the reef,snorkeling, sunbathing, and eating. We then cruised back to Daydream for our second night stay.
PART OF HOTEL FOYER BARRIER REEF FERRY DAYDREAM ISLAND
BILL SNORKELING GREAT BARRIER REEF
Saturday morning we left Daydream Island and carried on heading north towards Cairns calling at a couple of towns on the way. One large town was called Townsville and we were suprised to find it mostly closed at 2pm for the weekend. We arrived quite late into Cairns so it was a case of getting a quick shower going for a meal and a beer and early to bed.
The next morning we went on a coastal drive to the town of Port Douglas and then up a mountain to a beutiful place called Kuranda where there was a large market. After a couple of hours in Kuranga we returned to Cairns on the Skyrail which is a chair lift that travels up over the rain forest. It takes about one and a half hours and the views are breathtaking.
In the evening we went to a farewell dinner at an Aboriginal themed venue called Tjapukai where there was a show of local arts and traditions.
Tuesday last day in Oz. which we spent with our four friends shopping and having a last meal together. We have had a wonderful time here in Australia and seen sights we will always remember but it is time to move on to Singapore in the morning.
We flew from Cairns to Sydney and then on to Singapore arriving very late and tired so it was straight to bed. In the morning after breakfast we went exploring. The first thing we noticed was how hot and humid it was. The second noticable thing is the massive amount of shops on the road that our hotel is on so I gave Carol $10 (£4) to spend all to herself. After lunch we took a city tour which showed us the main landmarks including Raffles Hotel, Little India, China Town and some funny statue we can't remember the name of which is there national symbol.
RAFFLES HOTEL FUNNY STATUE LITTLE INDIA
Today (Thurs) after a leisurely breakfast we did a bit more exploring untill after lunch when we went to the island of Sentosa. To get there we went on a cable car across the harbour and visited the museum, underwater world and a pyrothechnic light show set to music which was very good.
Friday morning arrives and the last day of our holiday. Because we had a late flight we didn't check out of bthe hotel untill mid day and left the luggage at the hotel. We took the underground to City Hall where we could walk to Raffles Hotel. It is nice to see that they still run it as it was in the thirties. We then went for a ride on Singapores version of the London Eye. It is the largest observation wheel in the world and the views are great.
That's the end of this blog. We hope you enjoyed looking at it because we enjoyed the experiances we had posting it. Carol and Bill
THE END
