Our day trip to Kuranda turned out different than expected. We thought the focus would be the markets, which turned out to be a disappointment. We did find an enjoyable walk through the surrounding area. Getting there and back was part of the fun.
Green Island is a small island off the coast near Cairns. Multiple companies offer excursions there. You can snorkel from the beach or just sit on it if you want. There are also walks and a place to eat.
We enjoy snorkeling and knew we had to see the Great Barrier Reef while in Australia. We chose to access it via Cairns because it was convenient and fit our budget.
The Alice Springs Desert Park is part zoo, part garden, and fun to explore. It reminded us of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.
The Alice Springs Reptile Centre has a collection of local reptiles large (a saltwater crocodile) and small. It was a perfect fit after our five-hour drive from Yulara to Alice Springs.
Uluru was one of my must-sees in Australia, along with the outback in general. It was everything I envisioned.
Hot. Dusty. Lots of flies. Also magical, eerie, beautiful, and unique. This was a centerpiece of our Australian trip.
We were intrigued — and just a little freaked out — by the giant bats flying foxes near our hotel and sought them out on our last day.
Melbourne is famous for laneways: narrow pedestrian streets that have restaurants and shops and such alongside them. We had never experienced them so we explored about 10-15 of them.
The Sea Life Aquarium has all kinds of cool underwater critters, from fish that we’ve seen snorkeling to sharks that I’m happy we haven’t seen snorkeling to rays and seahorses.