Australia

In 1998, I managed to take three full weeks off of work (and THAT was a HUGE battle) to take a trip to Australia.  I spent four days touring around Sydney, staying in a friend's flat in the Pyrmont area.   Then, for a week and a half, I interned on a research project in Hervey Bay, studying the migratory pattern of the Humpback whale.  I ended the trip with a 4-day liveaboard dive trip out of Cairns.  

In Sydney, I did as much as possible in a short amount of time.  Here's a wonderful resource for things to do in Sydney.  My friends, Phillip & Steve (whose flat I was staying in), left me a wonderful walking tour they had written out to follow.  They also left me an Australian dictionary in case I had a difficult time understanding Australian!  Obviously, I went to the Opera House and the Wharf.  But I also went to the Zoo, the Japanese Gardens, and did a walking tour of various architechural structures, gardens and statues.  

When I left Sydney (my time there was far too short), I took a quick flight to Brisbane and then a hop up to Hervey Bay, where I was met by a respresentative of the Pacific Whale Foundation.  I was about to start a 10-day internship with the Pacific Whale Foundation's project in Hervey Bay.  For the next ten days, we went out in a 21-foot Niad, searching out pods of Humpback whales and photographing them.  It was an incredible experience!

Finally, I headed up to Cairns, and hopped aboard the Rum Runner, which headed out to Holmes Reef.

In 2002, Kirk and I headed to Australia for 2 months as part of our RTW. You can read all about it on our RTW pages.