Two weeks in Australia - Week 1

I haven't been home for any length of time in the last couple of weeks, with finishing work, my brother and sister visiting, gadding about the country and a few parties. I thought unemployment would bring plenty of free time for blogging, but there is just too much fun to be had.

To make up for two lost weeks i though I'd give you our itinerary for the last two weeks - what you could do with two weeks in Australia. Here is Part 1. We did alright!

Day 1. Tuesday. First Melbourne coffee at Los Chicas on Carlisle Street (it was delightful to go when it was quiet - I'm never going on a weekend again). And a pretty fine pretty coffee it was too.



Checked out Federation Square. Visited tourist info and admired tat. Had lunch with passing friends at EQ Bar, Southbank. Ish had her first ever calamari and the waitress give us money off the bill for a couple of Richmond smokes (she was Welsh). Riverboat cruise on little riverboat Grower round to the Etihad Stadium and back. Walk along Southbank past the casino and 112 tram to St Kilda for a very blowy walk along the beach, before retiring home for a beer on the balcony. Train in to city (the day just kept on giving) to Hotel Carlton on Bourke Street for a cocktail before heading up to Chinatown for Pork Dumplings, Pork Bun Chilli Mud Crab and a mountain of food besides. Home.

Day 2. Flight to Hamilton Island - worth it just to land at the one runway airport jutting out in to the paradise blue water. 100 metre walk to the ferry to Airlie Beach.



Checked in and had lunch in the town and a wander followed by a bit of salad shopping and a dip in the hotel pool (it was a 1 in2 gradient climb to the hotel in 30 odd degrees) and a quiet night in with a DVD.

Day 3. Kicked back at the Lagoon, had a smoothie and a panini for lunch in a local cafe, booked our reef trip and had an afternoon nap. Headed down to the Airlie Beach Sailing Club for tea (their version of the RSL I'd guess) (it was poker night) and had the best chicken parma (perfect combination of light crisp batter, tomatoey sauce and cheesey goodness) with a glass of wine and a beer looking over the ocean. It looks like it was too big, but it wasn't.



Day 4. Fast boat out to the the Whitsunday Islands for a snorkel over reef fringes (Ish's first snorkel and my first jump off the side of a boat - accompanied by a completely unexpected and unstoppable scream). The water was a little cloudy from recent rain, but there was coral and there were colourful fishes.



Then on to Whitehaven Beach past the famous sandy inlet (which wasn't sandy swirly as usual because of the rain) (one of the five most photographed sights in Australia along with the Opera House, Uluru, the Blue Mountains and the Twelve Apostles - which means Tony is only missing the last off his list - next trip) for lunch at the beach, with a few friendly goannas dropping by for tit bits. Fast trip home with doughnuts served on route and then down the the local seafood and rum bar (could be messy, but we weren't) for fresh barbequed calamari and snapper.

Day 5. Cleared out of our hotel and took the ferry back to Hamilton Island (Ish the only person lying out on the sun deck) for our flight to Sydney. Checked in to serviced apartments in Potts Point - ninth floor room with wide panormaic view of the city, harbour bridge, opera house and harbour. Had a wee wine chez Jacqui, then old school italian food at Chez Roma and then a couple of bevvies. And a couple more. And some of us a couple more...



Day 6. Breakfast at DOV on Victoria Street, Potts Point then walk down to Woollomoroo, through the Botanics, to the Opera House, Circular Quay (with a bit of souvenir shopping en route) and the Rocks where we ate our chips whilst watching the man on a bike on a pole juggling with a lit flame and a knife whilst eating an apple.



Then on to the Harbour Bridge via the Rocks Market and back round to the Heroes of Wellington pub - a really old pub where an old lady in a pink jumper played trumpet in a jazz band. Not the oldest pub in Australia as we were otherwise informed. Just a famous old pub. Back through the market with our corn on the cob and all the way back to the killer steps back to Jacqui's apartment. The wee one was asleep on the sofa by then but she dragged her ass off of it and took us to the Tropicana cafe (home of Tropfest film festival) for some tea. God Bless Her.

Day 7. The Queen Mary had docked at midnight so we headed back down to the wharf for a quick look at her massive bulk before cabbing it to Bondi Beach for our morning coffee. Then we walked around the cliff walk to Bronte (lunch consisted of sushi - me; salad sandwich - tony; massive burger - Ish) and on to Clovelly (past a very fine cliff top bowls club) (photos for you bowling boys)



(and an even finer swimming inlet) and Coogee, where we put our feet up and let Tony read the paper a while. Then it was off for Japanese food (Ish's first ever sushi -and yes it was the raw fish version) and a night cap of some frozen yoghurt at Woo Moo or Moo Coo or whatever the place with the cow on the ceiling is called.

So that was the week that was week 1. The highlight of week 1 (for me) was definitely jumping off a boat with Ish and going snorkelling together. She's a game girl! Plenty more highlights to follow in Week 2...