• YEAR VISITED: 2026
• Sydney, Newcastle, Port MacQuarie, Gold Coast, Brisbane, & Sunshine Coast.

———- SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW) ———-

EXPERIENCES: Traveling to Australia is a dream come true. However, getting there does present some challenges. First, it is difficult to find a flight longer then the flight from The United States to Australia. We flew from Portland to Honolulu (6 hours) and then from Honolulu to Sydney (10 hours). It was nice to break up the trip, and flying through the night helped, but no matter how you slice it the flight is exceptionally long. Second, Sydney is seventeen hours ahead of the west coast of the United States. This meant we were a full day ahead of friends and family back home. These two factors alone translated into jetlag having a very real effect. It took me a full week to adjust, and truthfully I am not sure I ever fully adjusted. The first couple of days of the trip I regularly woke up between 3:00 – 4:00 am. While I eventually adjusted, take this into account when planning the first couple days of your trip. A trip to Sydney isn’t complete without exploring the world famous Sydney Harbor; specifically the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. We spent time shopping and taking pictures of the Opera House from every angle imaginable.

Additionally, we walked the Harbor Bridge. The bridge is just under 1-mile long and took us roughly 30 minutes to cross. There are multiple viewing stations along the way, and we routinely stopped to take pictures.

Our walk concluded at Bradfield Park, which also provides unbelievable views of downtown.

Another way to see the bridge, although a bit expensive, is the BridgeClimb. This experience allows people to walk along the suspension arch of the bridge; truly a unique and once in a lifetime experience. After a bit of research, we discovered a popular attraction is taking a kayak tour of the harbor. Therefore, we signed up for a sunrise kayak tour.

The day of our tour was overcast and a bit rainy. However, nothing took away from the beauty of Sydney. Being on the water and looking at the world famous Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, and the rest of downtown was absolutely surreal. This was one of my family’s favorite adventures – I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Far and away Australia has the most walking paths, parks, and trails of any place I’ve ever been. This is true from Sydney all the way to the Gold Coast – we were impressed with the beauty of the trails as well as just how active people were. Of course it is easier to be active when you are blessed with beautiful parks, trails, and of course the sunny weather. The most extraordinary trail/walk in Sydney is the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk (names of beaches).

From start to finish the trail is 3.7 miles long. It snakes through neighborhoods, cliffs, and of course the beach. The day we walked the trail it was overcast and rained off and on. Yet, the views were breathtaking – truly something special. I can only imagine what the experience would be like on a sunny day.

If I was forced to highlight just one destination on the coastal walk it would be the Bondi Icebergs Club. There is an Olympic sized swimming pool building on the ledge of the rock and beach. When the tide is in (as it was when we visited) the waves splash right into the salt water pool. I have never seen anything else like this.

HOTEL / RESORT: We stayed at Club Wyndham in the Surry Hills neighborhood of Sydney. Besides being close to shopping and some great restaurants, it was also just two blocks from Hyde Park. One of my best memories of Sydney was waking up the first day at 3:30 am to watch the sunrise. Our hotel was just over 1-mile from the Opera House and I decided to walk down to Sydney Harbor.

I walked through Hyde Park, downtown streets, and the Botanical Gardens all before the city of five million awoke from their slumber. As I sat on the elevated steps of Bennelong Lawn watching the sunrise over the Opera House the feeling that came over me is truly indescribable. This is one of my all time favorite travel memories, and a moment in time I will not soon forget.

RESTAURANTS: Bar 83 has the distinction of being Sydney’s highest elevated bar (83 floors up). It is located in the Sydney Tower and offers unparalleled views of the city.

They offer multiple “sky high seat” reservations which guarantee window seats. The night we ate there we were blessed with a beautiful sunset.

Pancakes on the Rocks has been serving food since 1975. It is strategically located in the heart of the historic ‘Rocks’ district of Sydney. We ordered their famous pancakes and enjoyed the fact they came with two scoops of ice cream.

The Fortune of War, also located in the ‘Rocks’, is Sydney’s oldest pub. It was established in 1828 and is a cool place to post up and enjoy the historical ambiance. I enjoyed sharing a pint with my oldest daughter as the drinking age in Australia is 18.

Como Italian is located right on the Sydney Harbor, directly across from the Opera House. When traveling abroad we enjoy splurging for one fancy dinner with a view. This was that place in Sydney. While we had a perfect table and the food was amazing, unfortunately on the day of our reservation it was raining. As a result umbrellas and plastic rain walls blocked our view. However, on a nice day it would be tough to beat the view and again the food was amazing.

Yo Chi is a frozen yogurt chain in Australia. We stumbled upon a location in Sydney. In fact we enjoyed it so much we sought out multiple other locations as we traveled north. Tough to beat frozen yogurt covered in candy toppings.

Other restaurants we enjoyed are all located in the ‘Surry Hills’ district of Sydney. We visited and enjoyed Summer Saigon; Vietnamese Street Food, Mr. Wu’s Dumpling Bar, Harry’s Pub, and Joe Black Cafe.

STADIUMS AND/OR SPORTING EVENTS: When traveling to new places we make a point to try new things – “When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do.” To our family, rugby would definitely qualify as a ‘new thing’. In 2026 Australia hosted the Nations Championship in Rugby.

Countries with the best rugby teams in the world converged on Australia. The four of us were lucky enough to attend the Wallabies (nickname for Australia’s Rugby team) vs Ireland.

The game was played at Allianz Stadium, which was built in 2022 and has a capacity of 42,500. Every seat seemed to be filled the night we were there, and the atmosphere was electric. We joined in cheering for the Wallabies and quickly caught onto the strategy of the sport. Unfortunately Australia came up just short, 33-31. Hands down this was one of the best sporting events we have ever attended.

Few Americans can say they have traveled all the way to Sydney, and even less can say they have seen the inside of the Opera House. We are lucky to have done both.

We saw Gil Shaham perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony. The performance took place in the Concert Hall, which is the main venue. Interestingly enough, the Sydney Opera House contains five different performance venues.

While I don’t regularly listen to classical music, I do find it beautiful. Listening to one of the world’s greatest violinist, inside one of the top concert halls anywhere in the world, was truly a magical experience.

ADVENTURE(S) AND/OR NOTABLE DESTINATIONS: The Queen Victoria Building was built in the late 1890’s and is located in the middle of downtown. Today it is a 5-story shopping mall.

The QVB website proclaims this is a destination that, “fulfills the desires of shopaholics, architectural enthusiasts, and history-buffs.” I couldn’t agree more – QVB is the prettiest shopping mall I have ever visited.

Just across the street is the Westfield Mall. Truthfully, I struggled telling the difference between the two. My family and I spent quiet a bit of time shopping, exploring, and people watching in this part of downtown. The Rocks is the oldest neighborhood in Sydney. It is located on the southern side of Sydney Harbor. The buildings are old, streets narrow, and Restaurants and Pubs historic. We attended the Rocks Farmers Market. We enjoyed browsing the vendor booths while simultaneously admiring the architecture.

Hyde Park is Australia’s oldest park. Altogether it is 40 acres in Central Sydney. While I enjoyed the various statues and monuments on display throughout the grounds, my two favorite things were the Weeping Fig Trees and the the Australian Ibis Bird (aka the “Bin Chicken”).

Along the east side of the park is the Hyde Park Barracks. This restored building was originally built by convicts in the early 1820’s. It has served as a immigration depot, asylum, court of law, and government offices. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Also on that street is the Rum Hospital and the Royal Mint. The hospital, while no longer a working hospital, has a fascinating story regarding how it was built and it’s connection to alcohol. The 1854 Australian Gold Rush facilitated the need to print money. The Royal Mint served that purpose until 1926 when it was moved to Canberra.

Blue Mountain National Park is one of the most renowned destinations in all of Australia. It is located an hour and a half from Sydney and you can choose to travel there via public transportation (bus and train) or by booking a tour. We choose to book a tour, which came in the form of a Sprinter Van and a driver.

The park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers unparalleled views of the Jamison Valley. The mountain peak (Three Sisters) as well as thousands of acres of eucalyptus trees is also a major draw. Scenic World, located inside the park, offers a scenic cable car and the worlds steepest train.

It is our understanding that normally these two forms of transportation offer stunning views of the national park. Unfortunately, the day we picked to travel to the Blue Mountains the entire park was completely fogged in. This was one of the most disappointing tours of our trip as the weather simply did not allow us to experience the beauty of this area.

———- NEWCASTLE, NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW) ———-

Following Sydney, we decided to road trip north along the Gold Coast. I was outwardly nervous, but secretly excited about driving on the left hand side of the road. This was my first time taking on this challenge – it is amazing how much of the daily routine of life you don’t think about.

As a way of not accidentally driving on the right hand side I got into the habit of of muttering out loud, “stay to the left” nearly every time we made a turn. Yes there were some close calls that the family now laughs about, but there were no accidents and we all returned home safely. Our first stop was Newcastle. It is located roughly two hours north of Sydney and was just the right place to stop and stretch our legs. We ate lunch at the Customs House Hotel and Restaurant. It was built in 1877 and served as government offices for over a century. In 1995 it reopened as a hotel and restaurant. Their webpage describes the eatery as an, “iconic waterfront restaurant, bar, and outdoor beer garden overlooking Newcastle Harbour.” We enjoyed the location, history, and food.

After lunch we drove across town to King Edward Park. The park is over 30 acres in size and consists of a playground, gardens, walking paths, and open fields. It is built into the hillside, which subsequently allow for views of the ocean.

This is the first time we saw a Gouldian Finch (aka Rainbow Finch) in the wild. We were drawn to it’s beauty and the lovely noise it was making in the tree it was perched on. We also saw a handful of (I believe they are called) Australian Brush Turkey’s. These I would not describe as beautiful, but they have a distinct red head and we were drawn to their size.

While the grounds of the park were beautiful, the main reason we stopped at King Edward Park was to see the “Bogey Hole.” I had read up on this location prior to our visit and had grown fascinated with the story behind it. First, it is a swimming pool filled by the ocean. Second, the pool was chiseled by hand out of sandstone at the base of the cliffs and the beach. Construction was completed in 1920 and today it is a public pool. Unfortunately, the day we visited it was high tide and not safe to enter.

———- PORT MACQUARIE, NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW) ———-

The next stop on our Aussie road trip (roughly five hours north of Sydney) was Port MacQuarie. We spent two nights there. We started our one day in town with breakfast at the Big Boiz Cafe. I ordered the Big Ol Breaky, and it very well could be the best breakfast I’ve ever had. The combination of french toast, brisket, bacon (the list goes on and on) was unique and amazing.

Following breakfast we explored Lighthouse Beach. The lighthouse was perched on a hill and was a perfect location for whale watching.

We didn’t see any, but judging from the multiple groups of people scanning the horizon this is a preferred whale watching destination for locals. This beach was stunning, and it is mind blowing to me that Australia is home to thousands of more beaches just as beautiful.

Lastly, we visited the Billabong Zoo and Koala Wildlife Reserve. It wasn’t crowded and showcased multiple animals we aren’t used to seeing. We saw jaguars, crocodiles, echidnas, and a variety of snakes.

Far and away the highlights were feeding the wallabies as well as seeing Koalas up close and personal.

We paid for a ‘personal encounter’ that allowed us special behind the scenes time with the koalas. We absolutely loved our experience at Billabong and can’t recommend it highly enough.

———- GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND ———-

From Port MacQuarie we drove five hours to the Gold Coast. In between we discovered the Big Banana Fun Park located in Coffs Harbor. There were rides, a water park, restaurant and gift shop. We merely stopped for a snack – a banana split. We also got a kick out of the banana themed gift shop.

We arrived in the Gold Coast just in time for sunset, which was beautiful. An uber driver later described the city as, “it’s an Australian Miami.” I couldn’t agree more. Any direction you look you see water, (The Coral Sea) spectacular beaches, and there are high rises everywhere. I can only imagine how bustling this place is during Australian summer.

Jill and I took a sunrise walk on the beach – yet another Australian location with a beautiful jogging path and various parks.

That afternoon we booked a snorkel excursion through Sea Seafaris – Gold Coast Turtle Tour. We met the boat at a northside jetty and they took us to Fingal Head Beach and the Cook Island Aquatic Reserve. This is by far the largest concentration of turtles we had ever seen on any of our previous snorkeling adventures.

Our guide informed us we were seeing Sea Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles, and Loggerhead Turtles.

This was our first experience seeing Loggerheads, and it is difficult to describe just how big they are in the water. Snorkeling is one of our families favorite activities and I don’t believe we have ever had a better snorkeling experience than this one. Following our time in the water, we had dinner at the Agave Rose Restaurant and Taqueria; great food and 1/2 price cocktails. Before heading back to our Airbnb we caught a magnificent Gold Coast sunset. This is one of my favorite days on our entire trip.

———- BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND ———-

An hour up the road from Gold Coast is Brisbane. If I was to move to Australia, Brisbane would be at the top of my list of locations. The weather, beaches, walking paths, parks, and lay out of the city are as good as anywhere I have visited. Our first activity was to take a river cruise that we booked through Koala and River Cruises.

We boarded downtown (the Brisbane River runs through the center of downtown) and we cruised a little over an hour to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Lone Pine opened in 1927 and is the oldest and largest koala sanctuary in the world. While over one hundred koalas call this sanctuary home, Lone Pine also features seventy-five other native Australian animals. Highlights were feeding kangaroos and paying for a “Koala Moment”.

When our time at the sanctuary came to a close, we re-boarded our boat and sailed back downtown. We stayed one night at the Royal on the Park hotel, which is adjacent to the City Botanic Gardens.

The park is 138 acres in downtown Brisbane and contains walking paths, playgrounds, gardens, and open fields. Personally, my favorite was seeing the Banyan Fig trees. These trees are unlike anything we have in the Pacific Northwest and I found them to be magnificent.

We had dinner at Walters Steak House and Wine Bar. It opened in 2018 and is modeled after New York style steakhouses. Our dinner was fantastic and we enjoyed getting ‘fancy’ for dinner.

The following morning we checked out of the hotel, returned our rental car, and took an uber to the International Cruise Terminal. Our ultimate goal was to travel from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef and had originally planned to drive the entire way. However, we got a great price on a 4-day Carnival Cruise from Brisbane to the Whitsunday Islands (the heart of the Great Barrier Reef).

So we sat back and relaxed while we cruised to one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Our one day excursion took us to Airlie Beach. While beautiful in it’s own right, it serves as the a transportation hub to the Whitsunday Islands. We booked a 1/2 day snorkel and 1/2 day beach tour through Thunder Cat Adventures.

The weather on the day of our excursion was less than ideal. It was extremely windy, which created choppy water, and not the smoothest boat ride. But the scenery was beautiful and we pushed through. Snorkeling the reef was a dream come true. Seeing the coral up close truly made it feel like an entire other world under the sea. Our only complaint was the experience wasn’t long enough.

Following snorkeling, we returned to the boat and headed to Whitehaven Beach – consistently ranked as one of the top beaches in the world. If there is a prettier beach anywhere in the world, I haven’t seen it.

We were amazed by the color of the water and the fact the sand doesn’t hold heat. That afternoon we relaxed on the beach, and later walked to a viewing platform to take it all in. Truly, this is one of the prettiest locations we have traveled to anywhere in the world. Later we learned the Disney movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, was filmed here.

Prior to concluding our Brisbane visit and heading back to the United States, my daughters talked my wife and I into getting tattoos as a way to commemorate this amazing adventure. We booked through CB Ink Tattoo Studio and we all got ‘freckle’ tattoos. We laugh about just how small our tattoos are, but loved having the experience.

———- SUNSHINE COAST, QUEENSLAND ———-

Our cruise returned us to the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal at 8:00 am. From there we rented another car and headed to our final destination, the Sunshine Coast. On the way we stopped at the Australia Zoo. This is the home of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter.

Unfortunately, Steve passed tragically in 2006 but his family keeps his legacy alive by continuing to oversee the zoo. The property is extremely well laid out and easy to navigate. We also found it easy to view the animals within their enclosures. While we weren’t able to see all of them, 1,200 animals call the zoo home.

The highlight was the Crocoseum. This is a large stadium where once a day the zoo provides a show designed to teach people how to co-exist with crocodiles and other predatory animals.

The show we attended starred Murray, an 18-foot crocodile. As if the show wasn’t exciting enough, Steve’s son (Robert) was the one that spoke and fed Murray.

Robert had recently starred in the TV show, Dancing with the Stars. My family, and judging from the audible gasps from the crowd many others, were over the top excited to see Robert in person. We had an amazing afternoon here. This very well might be our favorite all time zoo experience.

We left the zoo and continued to the condo at the Sunshine Coast. The view from our balcony was fantastic, yet the view from the rooftop hot tub was nothing short of spectacular.

A boardwalk ran through the middle of a nature reserve that ran adjacent to Marcoola Beach. I took a morning walk, and yet again marveled at just how many beautiful paths and parks there are in Australia.

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate for us. The entire time we were there we dealt with gale force winds and rain. So much so, we weren’t able to carry out our original plans that involved the ocean. Therefore, we were forced to pivot and found things to do inland. We shopped at Hastings Village in Noosa Heads. This is an outdoor shopping center with stores, restaurants, boutiques, and bars. We enjoyed a snack of french fries at a place called Chips n Mix. This is a fairly new phenomenon where you select the type of french fries you would like and then add your own toppings.

Later that night we had dinner at the Capri Bar. This was an upscale restaurant located approximately in the center of the shopping village. We enjoyed a couple cocktails and found it to be a great place to people watch.

We began our last full day in Australia by booking a kayaking excursion through the Noosa Everglades. We booked through Everglades Adventures Kayak & Eco Tours and greatly enjoyed our experience.

Besides Florida, this is the only other everglade ecosystem in the world. They are famous for kayaking through mangrove trees that line the shore as well as their clear water. While you are typically able to see sting rays, the day we were there the water was so choppy we had zero visibility due to the storm.

Just a half mile from our condo was Mt Coolum National Park.

My daughter and I chose to hike the summit trail. The hike wasn’t long, but it sure was steep. Steps had been built from rocks nearly from the parking lot to the final destination at the top of the hill. It was definitely a leg workout, but the views were spectacular.

The next morning, we drove back to Brisbane, returned our rental car, flew to Sydney, and then started the long trek back home. Our 2026 Australia vacation was nothing short of spectacular – truly an experience my family will never forget!

OUR LIST TO VISIT OR RETURN TO:

• Uluru
• Melbourne
• The Great Ocean Road (Southern Coast)
• Kangaroo Island
• Tasmania
• Palau