Australia 2019

Australia has always been on our bucket list but is only now an actual journey. We first started with planning thinking that we would spend 3 months and drive the east coast from Melbourne while including a drive along the Great Ocean Road as well as a short journey to the outback.

After several months of planning, it started to become clear that this was a journey that would be at least 6,000km in driving kilometers plus some air travel to the outback. This caused us to re-think the journey as I was not very keen on doing that much driving. While New Zealand might have been 4,500kms, it now seems easy by comparison.

So driving was off the table, what next, how do we make this journey happen? All good questions but immediately no answers are forthcoming.

Then after a casual conversation with family, the idea of cruising around the island of Australia came forward as Princess Cruise Lines was offering a 28-day cruise that included one stop in Alotau, Papua New Guinea. No immediate action occurred but the topic was revisited over a period of time in late 2018 and a rough plan was formed. This plan involved a cruise aspect as the main part of the journey and included a 3-day trip to the GOR followed with a 3-day trip to the outback around Alice Springs. This was interspersed with a few days in both Melbourne and in Sydney.

  • Melbourne
    Best Regards, Bill & Joan from vanwykjourneys.ca
  • Great Ocean Road
    September 22 – 24 Three days and two nights on the Great Ocean Road Going for a drive in Australia is an interesting experience for people from countries that normally drive on the right side of the …
  • Alice Springs
    September 25, 2019 Alice Springs is our next stop on our journey. To get there we decided to fly, as making the trip any other way would have taken too many days. We flew Qantas, our first …
  • Uluru – from Sunset to Sunrise and more
    September 26th & 27th An early start to the day had us up at ~5:30 a.m. to get ready for a lengthy bus trip out to Uluru starting at 7:00 a.m. Our bus driver was Peter and …
  • Kings Canyon – around the rim
    September 27th, 2019 Kings Canyon was the next stop on our tour. We made our way from Kata Tjuta and spent about 2 1/2 hours on the road ending up at Kings Canyon Resort just as the …
  • Sydney – before the fires
    September 29th, 2019 Today is a big day as we are flying to Sydney to start the last four days on the ground in Australia. Our flight was once again on Qantas and we received good service …
  • Bondi Beach – and walk along the ocean
    October 1st – Sydney to Bondi Beach and Surrounding Area Today the destination on this journey is a clifftop coastal walk, the Bondi to Coogee walk which extends for six km in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The walk …
  • Sydney – A day ending with West Side Story
    October 2nd, 2019 Darling Harbour was our destination today. Well within walking distance as viewed from the 42nd floor of our hotel was Darling Harbour. The harbour is a very popular tourist and resident spot to stop …
  • The Cruise – Departing Sydney
    October 3rd – Day 1 of 28 of the Australia circumnavigation cruise. It is was a bright sunny day in Sydney. After a quick breakfast we pack our belongings, a quick double-check that nothing was left behind …
  • A Day at Sea
    October 4th – Day at sea Today is a day at sea which means more time to explore the ship. Off we go looking for the walking track. Thinking that it would be on the uppermost deck …

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