Our first stop on our world travel adventure was Australia! Since we lived in New Zealand, it was a must to hop on over to Australia. And we are so glad we did! My time in Australia was so fun and way too short!
Our family flew into Brisbane for the first part of our Australia stay. We stayed at a simple airbnb outside of the city. Our goal for traveling is to not go go go, but to pick a few things to see and do and then just live normal everyday life as usual….work, relax, play.
Unfortunately, the day after we arrived in Australia, I got a cold. All of the stress of packing, moving, and traveling and lack of sleep finally caught up to me! That cold turned into a sinus infection, but I was able to battle it with nasal rinses and essential oils…phew!
Some of the things we loved in the Brisbane area:
South Bank- We loved the downtown vibe and family friendly atmosphere of this area! They have a free ferry that takes you around the harbor and a really cool free public beach pool.Burleigh Heads- We took a walk through the bush and around the cliffs of this area. It popped back through to the creek where we loved lounging in the sand and splashing in the warm water.Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary- We really wanted to meet some Australian critters and this was the perfect place! We got to see koalas up close and personal, pet and feed kangaroos & wallabies, and see lots of other cool Australian animals.
After our week in Brisbane, we headed north to Cairns. Oh Cairns…what a pretty place! I was pleasantly surprised by this tropical paradise! It was hot & humid and lush & green! Our airbnb home in Mission Beach was absolutely amazing! It was literally a 3 story treehouse in the middle of the rainforest! We could hear bugs, birds, and frogs chirping all day and night. We had a gigantic spider perched on the outside of our bedroom window….yikes! We were surrounded by lots of bugs and critters, but thankfully all outside!
Unfortunately, 4 out of 6 of our family members got hit hard and fast by a tummy bug part way through our stay here! It took us down for 2-3 days and was no fun! Even though we were sick, it was still nice to be in the middle of such a beautiful place, with an awesome pool to relax in.
Some of the things we loved in Mission Beach are:
Going on a Crocodile Tour! We were bound and determined to spot a croc in the wild. When our own attempts proved fruitless, we approached a tour guide to help us! It was such a cool experience floating along the river at sunset and then at night, searching for crocs. We saw a few small ones dive into the water and then we saw a young one lounging on the banks. It was awesome! We couldn’t have picked a better tour…we had such a nice time!
Etty Bay- After we started feeling better, we took a drive to try to find cassowaries (the planet’s deadliest bird!)…they look like an ostrich with a rainbow colored neck. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any, but we absolutely loved the bath water warm water and beautiful beach. It was a little unnerving swimming at the beach because you had to swim in a stinger netted area. Luckily, we didn’t find any stinging type of critters!Babinda Boulders- Babinda is a charming little town! And just near this cute town is a fresh water swimming hole. It has emerald green cool water. It was so beautiful and refreshing!
Australia is such a pretty place and we didn’t even get to see much of it!! We definitely want to come back to experience more of the outback and beaches. Our first stop on our world travel was a great success and left us wanting to come back for more in the future!
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