 Lucky Kirsty S. and her partner Sam were the winners of our fantastic BBQ Christmas competition. So we sent them ‘down-under’ for 2 weeks and they sent us the following report...
There were so many highlights of our trip to Australia. We spent a lot of time in Sydney and Cairns, with trips to Bondi Beach, where we met Sam's brother and his girlfriend, and the Great Barrier Reef. But we also ventured into the rainforest and climbed into the mountains. And then there was the brilliant wildlife and the amazing scenery. I could go on and on … but here are just a few of our memories:
In Sydney, we went to Featherdale Wildlife Park, where we got to stroke a couple of koalas. We also hand-fed one of the kangaroos hopping about in the park. Darling Harbour, which is only 10 minutes from Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, is a great place for shopping and eating. It’s got lots of other attractions, too. The IMAX theatre was massive: more than eight stories high. Oh, and the Sydney Aquarium, where you can walk on the ‘ocean floor’ along 145 metres of see-through underwater tunnels. Loads of beautiful fishes!
 Up in the Blue Mountains, we took the steepest railway in the world down to the bottom of the mountains. We came back up on a cable car, ‘oohing and aahing’ at the spectacular views. We would really recommend our guide, Dave from Oz Trails, who was very interesting and informative - he will certainly keep you entertained!
On our first full day in Cairns, we took a ‘reef trip’ on a small boat to the Great Barrier Reef, where Sam and I did an accompanied dive. You wear all the diving gear but the instructors hold your hand. Among lots and lots of other tropical fish, we saw nemo (Clownfish) and a giant clam. We then took a motorboat over to Green Island, which is a stunning environmentally protected island, and met six turtles that were being rehabilitated into the wild. We went on a rainforest tour at Cape Tribulation, which is called that because it’s where Captain Cook’s troubles (tribulations) started, apparently. It’s one of the few places in the world where the rainforest goes right down to the sea. Again, we had a very informative guide. He showed us a snake, a shark, a tree dragon, a kangaroo and a wild crocodile in just one day! We also learnt a lot about the rainforest itself and mangroves.  The lava tubes and caves at Undara volcano, which is 1,000s of years old and one of 160 volcanoes in McBride Volcanic Province, were really spectacular. We saw quite a few wallaroos (a type of kangaroo) while we were there. So it was a brilliant day and well worth the long drive (4.5 hours each way), even though our hire car nearly ran out of petrol! But we got back in the end, and enjoyed relaxing in our fantastic apartment in Cairns. We had to share - luckily our flatmate, a lizard with no tail, didn’t seem to mind us being there. I don’t know if he’ll remember us, but I’ll definitely think of him now we’re back in the UK. Along with all our other wonderful memories, of course.
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