A Journey of Discovery and Inspiration
Posted on 17th March 2025 at 13:54
Author: Carol Dickens
It was one of my Lifelong Dreams- A visit to Australia!
Last year, my husband Phil and I embarked on a 5 week trip exploring the South East coast of Australia.
To break up a long flight we arranged a 2 night stopover in one of our favourite cities, Singapore. We visited once before but still had much to see:
City sightseeing by open top bus – A favourite to do in all cities!
The beautiful Gardens by the Bay,
Yes, I love flowers, especially orchids which were in abundance!
We couldn't visit Singapore without visiting the famous Raffles Hotel to sample a Singapore sling! At around £23 per glass, there was no need to “sling” us out of the bar for having one too many! We met a couple from Adelaide in the queue and enjoyed their good company too.
Next stop, Australia – A new adventure begins!
Our plane lands in Adelaide and we have finally arrived in the land down under.
It was a strange feeling when we arrived. After the culture shock of Singapore, I thought we had got on an aeroplane home by mistake. How could we be 14,000 or so miles from Manchester and it all feel so familiar!
Adelaide had free inner city transport so we saw the best of it, courtesy of our new found friends in Singapore. Highlights were the beach, an interesting food market with unusual delicacies. We had the unexpected opportunity to visit one of Chihuly’s unique blown glass exhibitions - which was quite amazing. Our entry tickets allowed us to see the glass art during the day and at night, both visits offered a very unique experience.
We picked up a hire car as our main reason for visiting Adelaide was the wildlife parks. Vast open spaces to be up close and interact with animals, many of which we hadn't seen before:
Kangaroos
Koalas
Rare reptile species
Wombats
Possums
Bandicoots
Tasmanian Devils
Dingo’s
Plus some rather intimidating emu's!
We then journeyed north to visit the vineyards in the Barossa Valley region
Of course, being wine enthusiasts we had to find the time on our travels to visit the Barossa Valley Wineries where we spent a couple of hazy days sampling some lovely wines at the well known producers' establishments including;
Jacobs Creek
Yalumba, and
Schwarz
Our personal favourite was the family-owned Yalumba for its beautifully landscaped gardens, original wine making equipment, and unique architecture - not forgetting the wine itself!
Onward to the Great Ocean Road
To reach Melbourne, we needed to travel miles of Australian highways. Fortunately, this included travelling along The Great Ocean Road, which offered some truly breathtaking views and destinations along the way.
Our drive was approximately 520 miles long and included stops in Rove, Port Fairey, and Apollo Bay. When visiting these places we experienced:
Stunning coastline cliff formations
The Blue Lake in Mount Gambia
Sink Holes
Blow Holes
Stunning beaches
Charming sleepy villages. A meal before 8pm or it was a bag of crisps!
Discovering Melbourne’s Hidden Gems
When we reached Melbourne the atmosphere was great! Everyone we met was easy going, and friendly.
The city was easy to get around on the free tram service allowing us to see ACDC street as featured in the long running soap series Neighbours, if you remember that?
Our highlights in Melbourne were:
Taking a trip down the river, and,
Frequent trendy riverside bars.
We loved Melbourne for its people and the blend of old and new architecture.
Sydney was Big, Bustling and Exciting
To make the most out of Sydney we took a tour on the hop-on hop-off bus giving us access to many of the great sights and experiences such as The Sydney Opera House, and views from the Sydney Tower Eye.
Despite my initial anxiety, we made a brave climb to the top of the famous Sydney Bridge, where we enjoyed unique and magnificent views of the harbour and city.
We attempted a Happy Birthday harmony on video to our Granddaughter, 12 hours before she went to school. Poor child!
We picked up another hire car for our next stop the Blue Mountains, an hour and 30 minutes drive from Sydney. We drove through clouds which unfortunately limited our views.
However, a stop at The Blue Mountain Botanic Gardens proved to be an eerie but fascinating experience with some trees, shrubs, and plants we had never seen before.
The next day was warm and sunny so we could do a lot of walking along the mountain pathways and witness some stunning scenery including:
Vast areas of Rainforest with the deafening sound of Cicadas,
Many lovely waterfalls,
Dramatic cliff formations,
An almost vertical descent on the world's steepest cable-driven funicular railway, formerly used for mining.
Excellent restaurants with very quirky 70’s style décor and exhibits.
Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef
We dropped off our hire car in Sydney and flew to Cairns. We then hired another car to drive to the beautiful coastal town of Port Douglas, with a 4-mile-long beach and easy access to the Great Barrier Reef.
By boat, out several miles into the ocean it was crystal clear, but rather undulating making it a joyful and exhausting experience to snorkel. We snorkelled for hours seeing:
Colourful corals,
Brightly coloured fish, and turtles,
Shipwrecks.
Fortunately, no sharks this time!
That evening we indulged in a unique and delicious 5-course dinner in the Rainforest at the Nautilus Restaurant with wine accompaniments, finishing the day very nicely.
On to the Last Leg of our Journey in Australia
We had so many amazing experiences with a personal favourite experience for me which was towards the end of our adventure when we booked a night safari which produced some unforgettable and rare sightings.
The night safari produced sightings of:
Flying Foxes,
A Ringtail Possum,
Tree Kangaroos,
A Forest Dragon,
Northern Leaf Tailed Geckos.
And my lifelong favourite animal the unique, rare and elusive, Duck Billed Platypus! I was ‘hell bent’ on seeing one which tried Phil’s patience to the limit, however, he admitted (albeit reluctantly) that it had been worth the wait!
We saw very large Saltwater Crocodiles in the creeks in the ancient rainforest at Daintree which were quite intimidating when they approached our boat, but equally fascinating to see up close… not too close of course.
The end of our adventure in Australia
We ended our tour of Australia in Cairns itself with more snorkelling off the beach at beautiful Fitzroy Island, then it was a flight back to Singapore for a day to relax around the hotel pool before starting our journey home to Manchester.
What a truly amazing holiday I had with my husband, everything I loved to see and do had all been done in just 32 days. I feel very grateful and fulfilled from this experience and I’m looking forward to sharing my adventure with anyone who is interested.
We lost a precious life long friend to cancer earlier in the year and it was a stark reminder that life is not a rehearsal. This is what prompted us to make Australia happen.
My best financial advice is to make your money work for you and most importantly, Live the Life You Love With Who You Love…… Now!
Tagged as: Active In Retirement, Ambitions, Cheshire, Financial Planning, Financial Planning Adventure, Goals, Independent Financial Adviser, Lifestyle, Peace Of Mind, worklife balance
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