The End of the Trip of a Lifetime

Australia is such a beautiful country. Aside from the high prices, I have yet to find a negative comment about the country. Being able to share it with my family just made the whole experience even better. While back in Sydney, we did a multitude of fun and exciting things. First was a night on the Sydney Tower restaurant. The views were spectacular! The city lit up so well and was just magical. The next day, we went on a tour of Sydney. It was really interesting to hear all of the history behind the buildings and the city itself. We got to visit a few beaches - another one of my favorite spots. A lunch cruise was the only other option to get a good view and background of the Harbour. There's no place in the city that you'd be able to see these sites unless you were on a boat. Then we explored the Blue Mountains. I think the steepest incline railway was all too exhilarating for my family, but the scenery was impeccable! The rainforest walk at the bottom was so cool, too. The canopy was filled with so many different types of trees, leaves and birds. The wildlife park to follow was a good summation of all the wildlife that Australia has to offer, in a small, confined space that was easy enough to navigate in a short amount of time.

After a wonderful time in Sydney, it was time to leave and go explore Melbourne! For starters, we went and saw a footy game. For those of you that don't know...footy is the Australian Football League - Aussies just shorten it to "footy." This sport is different from rugby. It's better, in my opinion. The game was awesome! It was even better that I got to share it with one of my good friends that lives just outside of Melbourne. The next day we got to walk through the Melbourne Aquarium. There were so many fish there to see! We were then able to walk around downtown and see the different shops, restaurants and crazy people that were out and about. After that, we were so exhausted that we had to just go back to the hotel and sleep. The following day we went to check out the Polly Woodside - a ship that has circumnavigated the globe 17 times. We got to tour the ship and swab the deck...lots of good fun. After our tour, we met up with another one of my friends and played laser tag! It was a lot of fun, but I realized that if I ever had to go to war, I would die...fast. So I will explore another field. Then we went to the Eureka Sky Deck and rode the 38 second elevator ride to the 88th floor. The views were also stunning. The next day we were able to drive down the Great Ocean Road. It was so beautiful, words aren't quite enough to describe it. The 12 Apostles, we learned, aren't the 12 Apostles anymore...rather only 8. 4 of them have fallen into the ocean.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip that I will never ever forget. If you ever get a chance to visit, take it...you'll never regret it. I guess I'm done journaling for my blog, I hope you all have enjoyed it!

Manly Beach - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Sydney Opera House - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The Three Sisters - Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia.

Gum tree in the Blue Mountains Forest - New South Wales, Australia.

Colorful bird at the Featherdale Wildlife Park - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Koala - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Arches underneath the train rails - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Cliff and beach along the Great Ocean Road - Victoria, Australia.

Tree trunk in a rainforest along the Great Ocean Road - Victoria, Australia.

Lighthouse - Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia.

The 12 Apostles - Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia.

The 12 Apostles - Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia.

Melbourne at night - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.