Australia & New Zealand
Australia
We started this journey with the longest flight Ryan has ever been on (Fiji Airways was excellent btw). But after 30+ hours of travel we arrived to the beautiful Coogee, Australia. Home to two of our favorite people in the whole world, Kate’s Great Aunt Lynn and Uncle Keith. Fellow world travelers and lovers of adventure, good food and a nice glass of wine. We swam in the natural ocean pool, laid on the famous surfer’s beach, hiked in the blue mountains and enjoyed every minute we got catching up with family. Oh, and you can’t forget Kate’s favorite, the Thai food.
From there we took a quick flight up the coast to Cairns where Kate drove on the wrong side of the road, dodging wild kangaroos, further up to the town of Port Douglas. The next day we did a full day boat tour where we snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef. The experience was mind blowing and better than either of us ever expected. The exotic fish and vibrant colors are bolder than you would think. We also hiked in the oldest Rainforest in the world, the Daintree Rainforest.
The next day we jumped on another flight back to Sydney where we barely missed our layover due to flight delays. So JetStar put us up for the night in a beautiful hotel, gave us food credit, and put us on an even better timed flight the next day.
Airbnb Stays: Coogee , NSW, Port Douglas, QLD
New Zealand pt 1
After a couple hour flight we landed in the breathtaking Queenstown, New Zealand. We grabbed our rental car, tire chains and some lunch and headed south to Te Anau. On the way we stopped for a much needed latte at a cute little spot called The Coffee Bomb in a tiny town called Garston. We we’re surrounded by mountains and sheep in every direction. Te Anau is a great town to stay in. There’s several restaurants and shops, along with a beautiful path to walk along the bay.
The next day we made the scenic mountainous drive to the Milford Sound. Taking the boat tour is a must! Absolutely epic views of mountains, waterfalls and wildlife. They even served snacks and tea on board!
The next day we drove back northeast to explore Queenstown a bit. Next time we go back we will definitely spend more time in Queenstown. It just seems to have a nice mix of town and outdoor activities. We kept going and stayed the night in a little town called Twizel.
We continued our adventure North to Lake Pukaki to see the highest peak in New Zealand, the stunning Mount Cook/Aoraki. Of course, after our quick hike we had to have a latte and enjoy the view from the cafe deck.
Being the coffee snobs we are we found in Australia and New Zealand they like instant coffee. We couldn’t quite get on board with that so naturally we ended up drinking a lot of tea and bought many lattes from cafes.
Airbnb Stays: Te Anau, NZ, Twizel, NZ, Christchurch, NZ
New Zealand pt 2
Airbnb Stays: Dobson, NZ, Matamata, NZ