Honeymooing in the Land Down Under!

We were so fantastically fortunate to enjoy two care free weeks in Australia and New Zealand.   

We went to three places that were all completely different:  Sydney, Hamilton Island (Australia), and Queenstown (New Zealand).  It was an amazing trip that included scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, numerous wildlife encounters, lounging on some remarkable beaches, and taking in some truly stunning scenery.    

We took thousands of photos -- LITERALLY!  But, we narrowed it down to the ones below to give you a good cliff notes version of the trip!

S Y D N E Y

      

Learned how to use a selfie stick like a pro.  "I can't see the screen!"  "Is it on?"  "Eh, just smile!"

  

The beaches in Sydney (from Bondi to Coogee) were amazing!

   

    

Took the ferry out to the zoo and then to dinner at sunset in Watson Bay!  The city is very scenic, especially from the water.

 

    

 

 

Went to our first rugby game! NSW Waratahs vs. New Zealand Highlanders!

 

We rented a car and drove to Manly Beach and a Wildlife Park to get up close and personal with some Aussie animals!

   

      

           

W H I T S U N D A Y  I S L A N D S / 

G R E A T  B A R R I E R  R E E F

Landing on the island was like arriving at Jurassic Park.  Big green islands with massive green hills and blue water everywhere.  The island felt so remote; just a little town in the middle of nowhere.  The "Great Barrier Reef" airport could only handle one flight at a time. (We didn't take that first photo.)

     

While staying in the Whitsundays ...

This was the view from our room:

Cockatoos are like pigeons there -- they are everywhere!

  

We spent a lot of time on the beach lounging and snorkling.

  

  

  

 

The art of taking a "jump" photo:

    

We held a koala!

   

W h i t e h a v e n  B e a c h !

We took a day trip to Whitsunday Island; home of Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet -- two of the most visually stunning places we've ever been.

Whitehaven Beach is a 7 mile strip of beach on an uninhabited national park island only accessible by boat and sea plane.  We sat on this beach for 1/2 the day with only about 25 other people.  The sand is 99.9% pure silica and is rated one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

   

      

 

H i l l  I n l e t!

 

Then we took a dingy to snorkel (this was just in the inner reef -- not the Great Barrier yet) ...

  

      

Headed to the G R E A T  B A R R I E R  R E E F  to snorkel more and to scuba dive! 

 

We didn't take this photo -- in case it wasn't totally obvious :)  Hardy Reef and boat dock where we spent the day.  

 

 

  

  

  

 

 

 

  

  

   

The next day we went out on a fishing charter.  Adam caught a huge fish but the line snapped right when he went to pull him on the boat.  Then he caught a poisonous puffer fish!  Kate caught a shark!!  Ultimately -- even with three people pulling the line -- we couldn't get him on the boat.  The battle was epic nonetheless.  Kate did catch her first fish though! 

     

  

Q U E E N S T O W N,  N E W   Z E A L A N D

The best way to describe Queenstown is to drop Sonoma County into Alaska and throw in a few thrill seekers (people jump off of everything here).  New Zealand is beyond stunning and the people are so laid back and nice.  The water is crystal clear, fresh water (most from glaciers).  The water served as mirrors to mountains around it.  Truly spectacular site.  

The view from our room:

 

    

Queenstown:

 

   

  

    
 
 

Lake Wanaka:

    

Taking in the scenery:

  

 

  

 

 

  

The drive out to Milford Sound was beautiful, which in the pictures below looks remote because it was!  It was pretty much us and sheep until we got to the Sound (which is actually a fjord).    

 

 

  

 

 

M I L F O R D  S O U N D

Apparently, it rains 250 days out of the year at Milford, so it should be no surprise that it rained while we were there.  They said the day was actually fairly nice in comparison to most though.  It really only misted but it was very foggy.  Regardless of the weather, it was gorgeous!  Waterfalls everywhere!  I totally understand why this place is so highly recommended.  

 

   

 

 

   

   

  

All in all we took 8 flights, flew about 46,000 miles, went through customs 4 times, got pulled aside and searched by security twice, had our carry ons searched for explosives, and ran into one basketball player. 

  

         

    

      

      

Thanks for checking out our photos!  

G'day Mates!!