Australia Part 3: Wildlife

Click for Part 1: Sydney and Part 2: Gold Coast

Here's the final part to my Australia trip :) (I didn't want to bombard all of you with so many images & text so I've split it up in three posts.)

I possibly couldn't visit Australia and NOT see the wildlife so we visited the Currumbin sanctuary and an aquarium [Underwater World] during our time there.

Below are the colorful Lorikeet, and super cute koalas.

Wombats and crocodiles..

...and kangaroos!
Other animals we saw were eels, pelicans, stork, echidnas, dingos, Tasmanian devils, parrots, iguanas, ducks, emu, eagles, turkey, etc.

We also saw a few shows in between like the Didgeridoo show (which is basically an Aboriginal instrument), a snake show, free flight bird show, and Aboriginal dancing.
At Underwater world, we saw a bunch of colorful fish and we even watched a seal show.

My favorite were the Asian sea otters - sooo adorable!
We also saw stingray, sharks, turtles, lobster, crab, etc.

Additionally, we went to a show called the Outback Spectacular; it was basically a performance + dinner. Horses did tons of tricks, featuring some cows, dogs, pigs, and of course cowboys & cowgirls. It was an enjoyable show - the music was great, but the steak they served was so hard to cut through. Everyone in the audience had a hard time sawing through it lol.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Australia. Everyone is refreshingly super sweet and friendly, and the weather was perfect. Of course, I did include some shopping and eating out during my trip. I bought mostly basics - cardigans, summer dresses, a lace top, and a few pairs of earrings. We ate out at buffets, cafes, and small restaurants - definitely had fish and chips! By the way, they have this thing called chicken salt which they put on fries to give it more flavor, and it's delicious! Too bad it's not done here in America.

Australia Part 2: Gold Coast

As you know, I went to Australia for about 2 weeks & I recently came back to New York this past weekend. For part 1: Sydney, click here.
After visiting Sydney, we flew to Brisbane to meet with relatives. They live in Helensvale, which is part of the Gold Coast. The beach was absolutely gorgeous. The sand was just so clean. Although, compared to New York beaches, any other beach is much more preferred!

The sunrise was so majestic!
So we started our sightseeing. We went to a hand glider's cliff. We wanted to watch some people dive off the hill but it started to drizzle/rain so they started to pack up to leave.

Then we drove further out into the country to visit a rainforest. On the way, we stopped by a quaint little cafe, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. But there was this massive but super friendly dog there - it's head was about 5x my hands!

After, we finally reached the rainforest. We walked through a trail which led us to a waterfall and a cave. We wanted to spot some glow worms (apparently, they twinkle like stars), but unfortunately we didn't see any. However, the water & trees were pretty. It also started to thunderstorm while we were in it, but we were kept mostly dry from the canopy of trees. I'm not much of a nature person but that was an incredible experience.

The next day, we took a stroll along the Gold Coast beach & the Surfers Paradise boardwalk/plazas. We also walked to a nearby park & pond.

Next post -- Australia Part 3: Wildlife!

Australia Part 1: Sydney

How have you all been?!! I'm back in New York!
Australia was absolutely amazing; I almost didn't want to leave. I visited Sydney, Brisbane, Helensvale, The Gold Coast, and other areas while I was there. First, let me tell you about Sydney - I was only there for about 3 days with my mom.

It was so windy the day I arrived. I'm so glad I packed layers since it was becoming wintertime over there. I could see the Sydney Harbor Bridge from my hotel window in Kings Cross (that street is apparently a popular place for people to go clubbing at night, and a bit further down it was also the red light district).

I arrived in the early afternoon on the first day, so my mom & I just walked around the area. Sydney is a pretty small area - we walked half of it in just a couple of hours. We visited nearby parks, St. Mary's Cathedral, shopping areas, Hyde Park, Chinatown, and we passed by the Australian Museum.
The second day, we took the tour bus around Sydney. We passed by the same places we walked by plus a navy base, the public library of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Hospital, Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, Darling Harbor, tea house, Exchange Centre, and Pitt Street.
On our last day, we took the other tour bus that was much more scenic and showed us the views of the breathtaking Bondi Beach and its surrounding wealthy residential areas where there were views of the water & the whole city.
After those 3 days, I flew to Brisbane to see some family who live in Helensvale.

Next post will be about my visit to various parts on the Gold Coast! :) Stay tuned.