The Gold Coast Trip

In these tough Covid times, going to Queensland was much more difficult than going to international destinations. Crossing the Queensland border seemed like a huge achievement. 

Day 0: The Covid Test

This one is a special trip, as the preparations started couple of days before our actual trip. That included going to the Covid test, which meant standing in the queues for hours together and waiting for our luck. And this time we were lucky, we all tested negative and the results came back just in time for our trip.

Day 1: Sydney to Lismore

Lismore is a small town on the Queensland-NSW border, in NSW. 

Lismore is quite popular for its street art. If you can spare a few more days, then there are national parks, magnificent waterfalls and amazing nature walks around. We just had 1 night stay there, so we could explore just the town.

Day 2: Lismore to Brisbane

The drive from Lismore to the motorway, is actually quite scenic and picturesque. 

Border checkpoint were checking for the Queensland Pass, which is like a Visa for entry to Queensland. As we approached the border, the traffic was quite slow moving. After an odd 20 mins in the traffic, the banner read -"Welcome to the Gold Coast. Finally everything was happening, just as we planned!

We directly went to Brisbane to meet a friend and his family. Had a wonderful lunch at their house and then headed to Mount Coot-Tha. Mount Coot-Tha Lookout gives you a birds eye view of the Brisbane city, showing the Brisbane river meandering around. On the way down, we visited the botanical gardens. Unfortunately the planetarium was closed by the time we reached there. 

From there, we went to the Brisbane CDB. It took us an odd 20 mins drive to the city. The city is quite beautiful with the iconic bridges and landmarks. They even have a impressive man made beach in the city.

It was a day well spent. Finally we drove back to Gold Coast, which was our actual holiday destination and would be our home for the next few days.

Below are the views from our serviced apartment, which was on the 30th floor.

Day 3: Gold Coast - Sea World and New Years Eve

Next day morning, we booked the Warner Bros Amusement parks ticket and headed to Sea World.

Sea World was quite impressive. The dolphin show was amazing. And so was the Seal and Walrus shows. They have very few thrill rides, but quite good. They do have many rides for younger kids though.

In the evening, we headed to the Surfers Paradise beach. The environment was getting lit up for the New Years Eve, and so was the crowd. Finally we went to the Broadwater Parklands to watch the magnificent fireworks. The atmosphere was filled with lovely music, food stalls, fun rides and  dazzling fireworks show at the end.

Day 4: Gold Coast - Natural Bridge

It started raining in the morning, so we decided to go to the Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. It is one of the Queensland's largest shopping centre and located in Broadbeach Waters. 

In the evening, the rain started to recede, so we headed to the Natural Bridge. It is around 45 mins drive from Gold Coast and the drive is very scenic. 

Natural Bridge is located in Springbrook National Park and it a part of Gondwana rainforests of Australia. It takes you to a easy one-kilometre circuit walk and descend through the ancient Gondwana rainforest to the Natural Bridge rock arch. Hoop pines emerging from surrounding forests are living relics of the Jurassic Age, 180 million years ago. At night, you can join a guided nocturnal tour to see the resident colony of protected glow-worms and microbats. This is one of the must see places if you are around Gold Coast. Nature's True Gem.

Day 5: Gold Coast - Movie World

Warner Bros Movie World is one the the best theme parks. If you are a thrill lover, you will love it as it has some of the most thrilling rides. 

After a exhausting and busy day at Movie World, we went to Surfers Paradise in the evening. Its a lovely place to visit especially at nights. They have local markets along the beach on Fridays and Saturdays, which are quite good. The skyline looks amazing at night.

Day 6: Gold Coast - Wet n Wild

This was the last of the attraction left and the most exciting one. 

With kids, you can actually spend a whole day here. They have Wave Pools, water rides, beaches, etc, etc. All amazing. Some of the water rides are quite thrilling as well.

Again after spending a whole day at Wet n Wild, we went to chill out at Surfers Paradise. 

Day 7: Gold Coast to Byron Bay

Before saying adieus to Gold Coast, we visited the Surfers Paradise beach once again. And then headed to Byron Bay

Byron Bay is a touristic town in NSW along the Queensland-NSW border.

This was our second visit to Byron. It is such an amazing place, that you would want to keep coming. We had a lovely lunch. We played in the water at the Main Beach and finally went to the Lighthouse.

After spending the whole day at Byron, we drove to Grafton to take a halt for the night.

Day 7: Grafton to Sydney

Grafton is known for its Jacaranda flowers. But since we did not visit in spring time, we could only see the last blooms.

The town is quite big and a lovely place to halt for a night.

Finally we headed back to Sydney. Our Sweet Home :)

Byron Bay and the North Coast

We were planning on visiting Gold Coast since quite long, But since the borders were closed due to Covid, this wasn't getting on our cards.

Finally we decided to drive till the north end of NSW - that's the Byron Bay and I must say, it was not at all disappointing. In fact, Byron Bay seemed like one of the best tourist destination place I have seen so far in Australia. 

Most Easterly Point of Australian Mainland

Day 1: Sydney to Ballina

Unfortunately our car broke down just a day before leaving for our trip. Hence we had to rent a car for our trip. Due to this unexpected surprise, few things did not go as per plan. But the vibrant blue car was enough to keep our moods up.

Sydney to Ballina is quite a lovely drive. The Upper North Coast region is full of surprises. The flora and fauna is quite different from the rest of NSW. As we approached Ballina, we could sense that we are indeed getting closer to Queensland. 

At the entry of Ballina, we spotted the Big Prawn, which is the iconic picture of Ballina. It is a quiet, small and lovely coastal town. You will fall in love with this place. In the evening, we walked to the waterfront. The waterfront is quite lively compared to the sleeping town. We grabbed some dinner and walked around the place. 

Day 2: Ballina and Waterfalls

The next day we visited the Ballina Information Centre to pick some maps and info. 

We started our day with Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum, which was next to the Information Centre. Its a small local maritime history museum.

Next we visited the North Wall. Walking the North Wall was an amazing experience. The strong waves breaking on the rocks creates a plethora of tiny blow holes. The locals say that you can usually spot the dolphins from here, but we had no luck.

Finally the most awaited destination - Protestants Falls. It is located in the Nightcap National Park. The drive to this amazing place takes you through winding and dirt roads. But once you reach there, you realize that its worth the drive. Its one of the most beautiful places, I have visited.

The walk to the Protestant Falls should take you around 45 minutes return and its an easy one, so tag your kids along. The walk takes you through World Heritage sub tropical rainforest, before arriving at the Spectacular Protestant Falls.

Protestants Falls

To conclude the day, we went to another waterfall - Minyon Falls Lookout  This one is also nestled in the Nightcap National Park. But it took almost an hour to reach this place due to the dirt roads. Initially we did plan to trek to the base of the waterfall. But since we were running out of time and its a long 4 hours return trek, we decided to skip it this time. But the lookout gives us the feeling of how magnificent the water fall is and also offers stunning views of the dense rainforests.

Minyon Falls Lookout

After a busy day, we finally headed back to Ballina, enjoyed some dinner at the waterfront and headed back to our motel.

Day 3: Ballina to Byron Bay and return

Finally arrives the highlight of the trip...Byron Bay. The coastal drive from Ballina to Byron is a must do.

On the way we stopped by a lookout, near a caravan park. We took a short walk through the forest to reach a lookout, which had a spectacular view of the North Coast beaches and its rugged coastline.

Next we stopped at Lake Ainsworth also called as Tea Tree Lake. When you enter the lake, the water doesn't look appealing, but its actually fresh and clean. In fact it has healing benefits. The tea tree lake is surrounded by Tea Trees. The oil from these trees drips into the water. Hence the water gets the tea like color. This lake is a perfect place for bodyboards and kayaks, and of coarse swimming.

Tea Tree Lake

After a wonderful swim at the lake, we headed straight to Byron Bay. Since it was already lunch time, we had a delicious Thai food. We were roaming around the streets of Byron Bay. 

After a while, we headed East to have a gorgeous walking view to the light house. So we parked the car at Massinger Street, which has 4 hours free parking. We walked along Lighthouse Road, as it was the fastest route to reach the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse looked like a postcard picture. 

Byron Bay Lighthouse

We walked further to reach the most Easterly point of the Australian Mainland. We walked along the coast  to reach the Main Beach. The whole walk might be around 3-4 hours circuit. Along the way, are stunning views of the beaches - Tallow Beach, Wategos Beach, Clark's Beach. Unfortunately we had no luck spotting dolphins this time either. The whole walk was a wonderful and amazing experience.

Once we reached the Main Beach, we went for a swim in the water. The water was quite warm, very different from the chilling cold Sydney waters. We watched the sunset from the beach. There was live music and the place looked really lively. Byron Bay is a popular tourist destination, with lots of backpackers, even during the Covid season.

Day 4: Ballina to Port Macquarie

In the morning, we decided to revisit the Tea Tree Lake once again. All of us took a dip in the healing waters of the lake. Later we went to the Lennox Head Beach to enjoy the smashing waves. After a lovely morning date with the waters, with had a nice lunch in an Italian restaurant along the Lennox Head Beach. 

Finally we started our journey back home. But there was still more on our trip. Our next destination was Port Macquarie. On the way, we stopped by the Forest Sky Pier near the Coffs Harbour. It has stunning views to the Coffs Harbour coastline as well as the city.

Finally in the evening we reached Port Macquarie. After checking in the motel, we headed to the city for grabbing some dinner. The city area was quite a happening place, full of people. 

Port Macquarie - Night Mode

Day 5: Port Macquarie

In the morning, we headed off to the city. We booked the dolphin spotting river cruise, in a final attempt to spot the dolphins. 

Next we went to the Sea Acres Rainforest Centre. Its a fascinating journey through the Sea Acres National Park. Its an easy 1.3 km boardwalk through the rainforest canopy. If your are lucky, you can spot animals and birds.

Sea Acres Rainforest Boardwalk

We had a nice lunch at the Ashty's near the Shelly Beach and then headed to the Lighthouse Beach. It was quite a hot and sunny day, so we skipped entering in the waters. The lighthouse is quite small but has stunning views to the beach and the cliffs.

Lighthouse Beach

Finally in the evening, it was the most awaited event - time for  river cruise along the Hastings River. Unfortunately the cruise wasn't really as per our expectations and we could not spot the dolphins either. But we did have a nice family piknik.

River Cruise

Overall Port Macquarie was not as fascinating as Byron Bay, but was a good stop over.

Day 6: Port Macquarie to Sydney

At last, the last day of our trip. 

We took the tourist drive that takes you through the beaches and lakes and national parks and then finally joins the M1. 

On the way, we stopped at the Blackbutt National Park. It has a big reserve, housing koalas, kangaroos, peacock, wallaby, emus and many many specious of birds. There is no entry fee, but just a small parking fee. This place was really amazing and a wonderful way to conclude our trip.

Tropical Bali!!

Bali is a small island in Indonesia, which is known for its Hindu temples and traditions, coral reefs, beaches, volcanic remains, etc. In short, its a lovely picturesque holiday destination.

Accommodation:
Jimbaran - Bali Paragon Resort - 3 nights
Ubud - Sri Bungalows - 6 nights

Day 1:
Vacation Starts!! All of us are thrilled and excited!!
We took a flight to Bali. We landed late night and took a cab to our resort.
The resort was just amazing. We had a warm welcome.
Our room was also very good, with a direct entry to the swimming pool!

Day 2:
We woke up very early in the morning as we were still living in the Sydney time zone. We were the first ones to jump in the magnificent pool.

Charvi all ready to jump in the pool :)

Our lovely resort

After having a lovely breakfast at the resort, we headed out exploring the place on foot. At the first sight of Bali, everything looked amazing.

We tried different local food - Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice), Mie Goreng(Fried Noddles)

Roti Chocolate

The resort was quite impressive with many activities to keep everyone busy. The pool was quite big with water slides and Jacuzzi. The play area was also quite good.

Day 3:
Pandava Beach: 
The entry to this beach is laid out with temples of Kunti followed by each of the Pandavas - Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. There is also a viewpoint to enjoy a panoramic view of the beach.

We had a wonderful time at this beach, all of us hitting the ocean, sinking the cold waters in the hot weather. We also hired a Kayak and tried kayaking.

Padang Padang Beach:
This is one of the best beaches in Bali. As we walked down the steps, we were really amazed by the picturesque view of the white sands and the blue oceans and the rocks. Truly Amazing.

Uluwatu Temple:
This is the most popular attraction in Bali. It is a Balinese Hindu temple located in the south of Bali. The temple is located on the cliff, with amazing views of the oceans. The route to the temple takes us through the garden , welcomed by the monkeys, along the cliff , with breathtaking views of the ocean.

Kecak Dance:
Every evening, around sunset time, there is a fire dance performed at the Uluwatu temple. Through the fire dance, they tell us the story of Ramayana. Its really an amazing experience to see the Kecak dance

The arena set for Kecak dance

A scene from Ramayan

Sumit taking a picture with the beautiful Sita :)

Day 4:
Turtle Island:
Turtle Island is a conservation center for the Turtles and many other animals. We hired a glass bottom boat to visit this place.

Sumit holding the Bat

Sumit holding the turtle

Brave Charvi!!

Sea Walk:
At Turtle Island, there are many adventure activities like sea walk, para sailing, banana boat ride, etc.
We decided to go for the Sea Walk. You will definitely not regret the money you spent on this. We went towards the deep water on a speed boat, from there we hopped on a floating deck, where we put on all the equipment like the helmet. Finally we jumped into the ocean. This was the most amazing experience of my entire trip. I had never done anything like this before. I saw variety of fishes in rainbow colors. They had laid a rough path on the sea bed. I was walking on the sea bed, using the railings, going up an down. An experience of a lifetime!!



Balinese House:
After a wonderful experience at the Turtle Island, we visited a traditional Balinese house. The guide explained us the different parts of their house and their customs and traditions. Its amazing to see how they still keep up with their traditions in today's busy life.

Coffee Plantation:
On the way, we visited coffee plantation. They gave us to try variety of tea and coffee. We also tried Luwak Coffee. Read about Luwak coffee and its specialty to find out more. They also had Luwak animal there. They showed us the whole process of preparing the Luwak coffee.

At last, we finally reached Ubud. As we entered Ubud, it was a very different experience. Ubud was very happening and lively, full of tourists and also shops. The next few days we would be living here and that made me really thrilled.

Finally we landed in our resort. This also was a very lovely place. We had a pool facing room, with a garden view as well as paddy field view. Just on the busy monkey forest road, lies this amazing resort, which takes you into a rustic world.

Day 5:
To start with, we decided to explore Ubud by walking.

Ubud Palace:
In the heart of Ubud, lies the Ubud Palace. Ubud palace is quite big and a nice place to visit. It has quite ancient architecture.

Saraswati Temple:
Just next to Ubud Palace lies the Saraswati temple. The surprising thing to note was that the devotees are not allowed to enter the temple, which is quite different from the temples in India. The Saraswati temple is surrounded by a pond, full of Lotuses.

Campuhan Ridge Walk:
In Sydney, we do go for many bush walks and they are really amazing. This one was a normal one, but still different to the ones in Sydney. Along the Ridge walk, you can view the terrace paddy fields, some old temples, and some nice sunset views. Its a nice refreshing experience especially when you go in the late evening, when its cooler.

Sunset at the Campuhan Ridge

On our way back home, we found an amazing Indian restaurant called Dal Roti, which served us really amazing Indian food.

Day 6: 
We hired a cab to see around places near Ubud.

Tegalalang Rice Terrace:
This gives a panoramic view of the paddy fields in terrace farming. It also has zip line and jungle swings.

Pura Gunung Kavi:
This is an 11th century temple, which has ancient shrines carved into the face of the rock. The walk to this shrine is a moderate one and takes around half an hour. Walking back upwards is a bit challenging esp in the hot sun, but its worth the visit.

Crazy Us!!!

Tirtha Empul:
This is a Balinese Hindu water temple, where the Balinese Hindus go for purification. They also allow tourists to have a purification bath. After an exhausting walk to the Gunung Kavi, we decided to go for the bath here and it felt refreshing.

Volcano at Kintamani:
We stopped at Kintamani for viewing the remains of the volcano. We can clearly see the remains of lava.

We had lunch at Amora, which also had amazing views of the volcano.

Pura Kehan:
This is also a nice temple to visit.

Goa Gajah:
We concluded our day with the visit to Goa Gajah, which means elephant caves.




Day 7:

We decided to take rest and chill out.

Day 8:

Tanah Lot: 
This is a very popular tourist place and is the photography icon of Bali. This temple is located in the sea and can be visited only at low tides.

Taman Ayun temple:
Its a lovely temple surrounded by water.

Creepy Charvi !!

Mt Agung volcano:
On the way to Besakhi, we did see the Mt Agung volcano

Besakih Temple:
Bali has many many temples and this is called as the mother temple, the most important temple for the Balinese people. Its located on Mt Agung and looks awesome with the fog at the temple head.

Ulun Danu Beratan:
This is one of the popular temples and is located in the mountains. The drive to this place is also amazing. This is my personal favorite. This temple is also located in the water.

Creepy Charvi Again !!

Day 9:
This was the last day of our vacation. So we visited the Ubud market and did some shopping for us as well as our close family.

Pooja prasad outside peoples houses

Day 10: 
Finally the day when the vacation comes to an end. We took a flight back to Sydney.

All set to go home!

Vacation ends !!