I booked the first flight out on Thursday morning on Tiger Airlines (my first experience with the airline!) and Renee was nice enough to drive me to the airport before work in her pajamas. I had planned to meet my mom at the domestic terminal in Sydney since her flight was meant to land in Sydney before mine. Her cell phone (mobile - pronounced mobeyele in Australia) would not work once she landed since they take a different SIM card here, so she was going to wait for me in baggage check.
I started to get a little nervous when I had already collected my bag and my mom was nowhere to be found. I went to the information desk, but since I was in the domestic terminal, they could not tell me any information about the flights landing in the international terminal. I decided to walk back and forth for about 30 minutes just in case my mom was there and I had not seen her. Still no sign of her... The problem with Sydney airport is that the international terminal is only reachable by train, and I did not want to pay the $5 to go there only to find out that my mom was at the domestic terminal all along. So I decided to call Qantas, the airline she flew in on, and the automated message told me that a flight had landed from LA at 8:50AM. Her flight was meant to land at 7:35AM, so I thought maybe it had been delayed a little bit so I should continue waiting for her for a little bit longer.
Luckily, I had also brought my laptop along for the trip, and even though there was not free wi-fi available, the Sydney Airport site popped up which shows all flight information. I discovered that her flight was actually delayed a few hours and had not yet landed, but was expected to arrive at 10:20AM. At this point, it was only a little bit after 9AM, so I decided to take the train to the International Terminal and would be there waiting for her as she exited customs.
Once I got to the International Terminal, I sat down and started to read my book until I realized that her flight had landed on one of the nearby screens. I figured it would take some time for them to go through customs, and knowing my mom she would probably get stopped and possibly searched. She had told me she was planning to bring snacks with her (the things I missed from home), but I warned her that they might be confiscated at the airport. I should have known that she would be able to talk her way out of getting in trouble even if she had.
Anyway, it was really clear when the flight from Los Angeles landed, because all of the American tourists definitely stood out. However, it was nearly 30 minutes after I had seen the first person exit from her flight, and I still did not see my mom. I was starting to worry that she had gotten scared and decided not to come or she had missed her flight, when I saw her coming towards me. Apparently, Qantas had grounded her plane in Los Angeles for 3 hours due to an "engineering problem." They had to communicate with Sydney while they sat in the plane waiting. Then I guess they decided that the problem was fixed and they took off in the same plane! While they were fixing the problem, they were not allowed to use any electronic appliances, so she could not even call me or my dad to let us know that they were delayed. At least we were able to find each other, eventually...
We took the train from the airport to Sydney Central Station, and we checked into our home for the next two nights. I had decided to book a place that was close to the center of the city mostly just so we could put our bags down quickly and go be tourists. Where we stayed was really central for everything, and we could easily walk or take the train anywhere we wanted.
Since it was a beautiful, sunny day, we decided to walk down to Circular Quay (even though we could have taken the train) and take the ferry to Manly Beach. One of the first things that my mom said she noticed about Sydney is that it reminded her a lot of New York City, and I agree. Since it was a Thursday (nearly lunchtime), a lot of the workforce were out in their black suits, walking like they have somewhere really important to be. Also, the sun was blocked out by the tall buildings surrounding us on all sides.
The Manly Ferry runs on the 1/2 hour from Circular Quay, and we barely made the 2PM ferry by the time we got there (barely making it would be a common theme for the public transportation in Sydney). We sat outside on the back of the boat (finally figured it out!!) which is the best place to watch the Opera House and Harbour Bridge fade away as you leave it behind. By now, my obsession with the Opera House is pretty well known, but I had to tell my mom about it as we were passing by.
Before we left Manly, we decided to go to the public library and email my dad and brother to let them know that my mom had safely made it, and that they were missing out on an amazing trip! From there, we barely caught the ferry back (we actually ran and were the last ones on-board!) to Circular Quay and said good-bye to Manly.
Once back on land, we decided to walk around the Opera House to the Botanical Gardens. We took the obligatory pictures in the Botanical Gardens with the Opera House, bridge, and city in the background, and then we decided to head back to our accommodation since it was getting dark and a little bit cooler. My mom was also looking a little bit tired, and I had already given her a good workout on her first day. And we did not really have a choice in the matter as the ranger kindly showed us the way out of the Botanical Gardens!
On Friday morning, we woke up pretty early and decided to check out Paddy's Markets for some fresh fruit before heading to Bondi Beach for the day. We caught the train to Bondi Junction and then took the bus to Bondi Beach. I decided to rent a surfboard and catch a few waves while my mom soaked up some sun on the beach. I did not realize that I should have asked for a longer surfboard, and I was really frustrated when I was unable to catch my first few waves. I must have looked helpless, because a guy nearby came over and started giving me surf tips... He was actually really nice, and he ended up switching me boards so that I was more comfortable. I caught a few waves and was exhausted (it is a hard work out!), so I got out and laid out a little bit with my mom.
After a little bit of relaxing, we decided to do the coastal walk over to the next beaches, Tamarama and Bronte. Although we did not make it all the way to Coogee (still the only time was with Humme!), we took in the amazing views and watched the many surfers from the path. We walked as far as the cemetery and then we decided to turn around and walk back along the coast when we were starting to get hungry. We ate at my favorite Thai restaurant (the one with the lunch special) then caught the bus back to Sydney Central.
A nap was much needed after all of the sunshine and our long walk, so we snoozed for about an hour before getting ready for the night. My friend from Melbourne had suggested we go eat at his friend's wine bar/restaurant in Surrey Hills called Vini, so we were headed there that night. It was very small and casual, and Giorgio was our host for the night - he was so sweet. My mom loved chatting with him in Italian, and he paired each one of our plates with a different wine (and never let our glasses go empty). We had not planned on eating much since we had a late lunch, but we were both stuffed as we left and could not believe we polished off (both!) of the desserts he comped us.
We walked back to our accommodation so my mom could change her shoes, and then we walked to Darling Harbour. We wanted to walk our dinners off, and since we had taken naps, we could actually stay up to almost a reasonable hour. As we were walking around Darling Harbour, we met these two guys from Uruguay (who like most of the South Americans I have met have been very flirty!) who took our picture. There were a lot of people out drinking and dancing, but we were just enjoying walking along the water taking in all of the sights and sounds.
My mom and I had a whirlwind trip planned for the next two weeks, and we did not have much time left in Sydney before we were headed to Cairns. On our last day, we had a good (and free!) wi-fi connection, so we decided to call people over Google Phone before we checked out. We talked to my dad, my uncle, and I left messages for a few other people who would did not answer. It was Homecoming Weekend in Tucson, and I could not believe it was my first time in 8 years that I was not actually going to be there. We called Humme who was there and chatted with him before he headed to Frog and Firkin (so jealous!). Since we only had a short amount of time left in Sydney before our flight, we decided to walk around Hyde Park then head to the airport.
We had checked the weather for Cairns before leaving, and the forecast did not look great over the next few days. It was surprising then that as we were flying into North Tropical Queensland that the sun was shining even if there were a few clouds in the sky. We flew into Cairns Airport, but we were going to be making Port Douglas our home base for this leg of the trip. I had already spent a lot of time in Cairns, and it was more of a backpacker scene. Port Douglas (Humme and I had stayed here on our trip) is much more laid-back, exclusive, and picturesque than Cairns, so I was excited to be returning. We picked up our rental car at the airport (trusty Hyundai Getz!) and found our way north to Port Douglas. Since I was driving, my mom was enjoying the cliffside views over the water, even though she was holding on for dear life around the corners haha.
When we arrived in Port Douglas, we found our resort where we would be staying for four nights. It had recently been remodeled and was built into a rainforest setting with the beach nearby. With many trees and plants, there were always bugs and birds welcoming you when you walked outside. Before dinner, we ventured out to famous Four Mile Beach (still don't understand why they lose the metric system when they name their beaches). We did not really walk very far as it was getting dark, but we met a couple of people along the way. We saw this young couple digging an enormous hole in the sand (the guy was standing in the hole and you could only see the top of his head), and we started chatting with them. They were from Minnesota (I have never met so many Americans as when I was with my mom!) and they joked that they had not booked accommodation so they would be sleeping on the beach!
When it really started to get dark quickly, we decided to walk back to our hotel. There was a full moon which actually made me think of Amy, because she was planning to go to the Full Moon Party on Magnetic Island. Basically just another reason to party, when there is a full moon, backpackers make their way to the beaches at Magnetic Island (can you tell I am jealous that I missed out?).
On our walk back to the hotel, we met a girl on a bike who was lost in the dark. We tried to explain to her how to get back to the main road when we realized that we were a little confused in the dark too. We did not stress out too much though, and eventually we found our way, also leading out our new biker friend. Once we returned to the safety of our hotel, we decided to eat dinner at our hotel on the first night. We sat poolside while we enjoyed our asparagus and pear risotto with salmon (sounds weird but was actually pretty good) and Thai beef salad.
The next morning was Sunday, so we planned to walk down Four Mile Beach into Port Douglas to go see the famous markets that are held there weekly. While walking down the beach, we took off our shoes and walked in the water. Even though November was just around the corner (when the stingers return), we did not worry as we could see right to the bottom of the crystal clear water. When we reached town, we stopped for iced coffees after our walk. I wanted my mom to experience the iced coffees in Australia (complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, yum!), and she really enjoyed it.
We walked around the Port Douglas Markets for a little while, sampling the freshly squeezed pineapple juice and homemade frittata with tomato relish. We ended up buying fruit (paw paw or papaya, mangoes, passionfruit, kiwis, bananas, etc.) to take back with us for snacks over the next couple of days.
As we were walking around town, we decided to stop at one of the tour booking desks to do some research for which boat we should take to the Great Barrier Reef. We ended up meeting Jilly at the tour desk, who would forever change our trip. She not only recommended which boat we should book for the reef (Aristocat!), but she gave us advice about where to eat dinner (a locals restaurant), how to avoid tourists but still see Mossman Gorge beauty, where to go to see George (a Port Douglas tradition), and told my mom to make sure she got sea sickness tablets before heading out on the boat. While we were standing there talking to Jilly, she stopped talking all of a sudden and asked me, "Who is your ex-boyfriend?" It was completely out of nowhere, so I was really confused, but then she told me that she was able to see into the future, and that I would end up getting back together with him. I am not really sure who she means, but she said I should email her and let her know what happens haha...
While we were talking with Jilly, we met a couple from Melbourne who were also getting advice for their trip. They did not have any plans to go out on a boat to the Great Barrier Reef, so we were surprised when we ended up running into them a few days later on the Aristocat. Jilly must be a really good salesperson! They invited my mom and I over to their house for dinner for when she would be in Melbourne, and we told them we would give them a call when we got in.
After chatting with Jilly and our new friends, my mom and I walked back along Four Mile Beach to our hotel. We relaxed for a little while, then we packed up the car and drove to Mossman Gorge. Even though Humme and I had been there only a few months before, Mossman Gorge was completely different this time around. They are currently constructing a new boardwalk for tourists, so they no longer let you drive in and park near the gorge. Instead, you now have to park down the road, and a free shuttle comes by every fifteen minutes to take you there. When Humme and I were at Mossman Gorge, we tried to go to the Aboriginal Centre for a guided tour through the rainforest but it was closed. My mom and I did not have luck with this either as it was Sunday when we were there, and the Aboriginal Centre was closed again!
The shuttle bus dropped us off at the entrance to Mossman Gorge, and we started the walk through the rainforest. When we reached the part where you can actually enter the water and swim (against the advice of the signs posted there), I convinced my mom to take off her shoes and feel the icy water. I went for a quick swim, but my mom quickly got out and waited for me on the banks.
Instead, we decided to drive instead to Shannonvale Tropical Fruit Winery for some wine tasting. Like regular wine made from grapes, the fruit wine is made in a similar way using fruits such as mango, pineapple, and other tropical varieties. The only difference is that grape wine is a much more natural process, and has a more delicious result! In tropical fruit winemaking, they actually add a lot of water before the wine is made, because the fruit flavor is too strong otherwise. My mom and I tried about fourteen different wines, and neither of us really loved any of them. In fact, my mom used the word "horrible" to describe the pineapple wine haha. It was a fun experience, but I think we will stick with grape wine in the future.
On our second night, we decided to venture to the locals restaurant that Jilly told us about, the Beach Shack. She told us how to walk "the back way" from our hotel, so we decided to be adventurous and see if we could find it. As it was already dark when we set out, it was very hard to see anything with the absence of street lights. My mom made me walk in front of her in case anything jumped out at us. Jilly told us that "the back way" would appear a little sketchy because it does not look like there should be a restaurant there, and then all of a sudden, you walk over a bridge and come out at the entrance. My mom was skeptical as I led her in the dark over this random bridge, but sure enough, we found it! The Beach Shack would become our nightly routine, we enjoyed it so much.
Like the Sandbar in Scottsdale, the Beach Shack has sand on the ground and is pretty casual. Our same waitress was there every night, and instead of ordering from the menu, we would try different specials such as duck with citrus dressing, yellowfin tuna with tiger prawn-infused mashed potatoes, pork dumplings, teriyaki beef skewers, and apple crumble with rum raisin ice cream, yum! They also offered takeaway pizzas as an option, so one night (when we did not feel like getting dressed up for dinner), we drove by and grabbed a pizza to eat at our hotel.
In the morning, we set out to find the Silky Oaks Lodge, another recommendation from Jilly. She told us that if we wanted to spend some more time in the Mossman Gorge setting away from the tourists, we should drive to the 5-star resort. We had tried to find it the previous day and were unsuccessful, but this morning we were more confident that we would be able to find it, and we did.
After enjoying some more iced coffees overlooking the flowing river, we decided to do one of the hikes at the resort called "the Mountain Trail." Throughout the entire walk, we could hear the river flowing somewhere in the distance, which was so peaceful as we made our way through the rainforest. We followed the trail markers and were reaching the point where the trees were thinning out and the sunshine was shining through, when we lost our way. For about half an hour, we tried to find the path again unsuccessfully. We were really disappointed that we had walked up all this way and would not even be able to see the view from the top! After we both fell down trying to find our way, we decided to head back down the way we came.
Tired, sweaty, and annoyed that we had gotten lost, we decided to relax by the side of the river for a little while. The rainforest setting was so incredibly peaceful that we could have spent the rest of the day there. We had planned to drive down to the Atherton Tablelands and do the Waterfall Circuit though, so we eventually had to get on our way.
The drive from Silky Oaks Lodge to the Atherton Tablelands was very windy through the mountains. It was an incredibly beautiful drive through the rainforest with a few lookouts over the water. Then all of a sudden, when we reached the tablelands, the land was much flatter and there were farms and cows everywhere. It was such an abrupt change in scenery that we did not expect. To be honest, we were not exactly sure what we were looking for while we drove through the Atherton Tablelands. It has been commercialized for tourists I think, and there were many random museums and tourist traps along the way. We did not really care to stop at Humpy Nut World or the Go Kart racetrack, so we drove straight through to the waterfall circuit.
First along the drive, we stopped at Malanda Falls which we could have skipped. I cannot really say if Malanda Falls is a manmade waterfall, but it was definitely not picturesque. We briefly stopped here before continuing on to Milaa Milaa Falls. The town of Milaa Milaa was not worth seeing (we made a wrong turn that took us to the tiny town centre), but the waterfalls here were actually quite impressive. I went for a swim under the falls, and it reminded me of Costa Rica. Swimming under a waterfall is an entirely different type of experience, and even though water kept getting in my contacts, I was glad I did it.
Next up was Zillie Falls, and although the water at this one was quite brown, it was still beautiful in a weird way. Zillie Falls did not have a path to walk down but instead you just kind of peered over the edge to see the drop below. The last waterfall for the day along the circuit was Ellinjaa Falls. We walked down the path to the bottom of the falls, and since we were the only ones there briefly, we enjoyed the peace and quiet. We decided to start our drive back after we climbed back up. I wanted to quickly show my mom Cairns, and then we drove up to Port Douglas once again.
We did not even spend an hour in Cairns, and my mom was so glad that I had decided to book our hotel in Port Douglas instead. I pointed out the esplanade and the lagoon, the hotel that Humme and I had stayed at, and the hostel where I had stayed with Amy, Vic, and Mark for about a week. It was getting dark by this point, so we made our way back to our hotel (stopping for pizza at the Beach Shack on the way).
The next morning, we were waking up early to go to the Great Barrier Reef for the day. My mom is terrified of any kind of swimming, but she could not come all the way to Australia and miss out on seeing it! We got picked up from our hotel in the morning and driven to the marina in Port Douglas to meet our boat, the Aristocat. This one differed from the one that Humme and I took, because it left from Port Douglas, and it could fit a lot more people. My mom and I wanted to go to the Outer Reef for our trip, because it is not too far from Port Douglas, and the visibility is supposedly better there. Sadly, due to tourism, crown-of-thorn starfish, global warming, etc., a lot of the Great Barrier Reef is getting bleached in many places. However, the Agincourt Reef is still relatively well-preserved, and that is where we were going.
Once we were on the boat, my Mom and I found some seats and a table inside to claim as our own for the 1 1/2 hour trip out to the reef. My mom had taken sea sickness tablets (just in case!), so we were prepared for the ride. The weather was perfect for a day on the water (it was not as windy as when Humme and I went), so the boat ride was pretty calm for the most part. Once we helped ourselves to the complimentary tea and coffee as well as cakes for breakfast, we were joined by a daughter and her father who asked if they could sit with us. We spent the entire trip to the reef getting to know them (instead of listening to the safety briefings, oops!) and it was a pleasure. They were from Rhode Island (more Americans!) and were in Australia for a conference. The father owns a business for which his daughter does the marketing, so they had flown in for the conference and then decided to travel for a month afterward in Australia and New Zealand.
We learned that the dad had bought a private plane and was taking lessons to learn how to fly it. He had also already published a business book and had just secured a publisher for his second book. My mom thought it was too bad that he was not a little younger, because he was a great catch haha. I automatically thought of Sarah's mom who also lives in Rhode Island - maybe I will have to do a little matchmaking!! Anyway, it was a good thing that we met them, because Liz (the daughter) rented an underwater camera from the boat to take with her when she went snorkeling. (This is foreshadowing a little bit...)
This post is getting a little long, so I will continue with our trip (Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock, and Melbourne) in the next one. Lots of good stuff to come, promise!
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