In my previous Australia travels, I’d spent a grand total of about 15 hours in Adelaide, and that included sleeping. This time I had a week and a half here, with a few days before and after the cricket to see the city and around.
Back to a hostel for the first 3 nights where most of my roommates were here for the cricket, and one of whom works for the same company I do and is also on a sabbatical…very small world
I’d booked a Barossa Valley wine tour on my first full day here and found that it was also full of Brits here for the cricket. A lovely group of people and we were drinking our first glass of wine at 9.40am!! A good way to start a Sunday
Barossa Valley Wines
In the remaining days before the cricket started, I mostly spent my time wandering around the museums, which are all handily on North Terrace (and free), as well as the Botanical Gardens
The cricket started just in time to coincide with a heatwave. I’d arrived on a Saturday and it was a very pleasant (to this Brit) temperature, in the low 20s. The cricket started on Wednesday, when the temperature was in the mid 30s. On Thursday it got to 40C. Thankfully it was a dry heat rather than a humid heat, but being sat in it, albeit in shade, for 7 hours certainly wilted me. By the time the game ended on Sunday, it had been raining and was only in the high teens. Such a crazy change in temperature in a very short space of time!
Views from the cricket
England were quite a lot better in this match – it got to day 5 and there was a tiny part of me that thought we were going to chase down the runs at one point in the morning session on the last day. But it wasn’t to be. I’ve now been to 5 test matches in Australia across 2 trips and have yet to see us win. But I’ve had a lot of fun watching the matches. There’s almost a mindfulness quality about watching live cricket. All I have to do for 6 hours is watch what’s going on on the field. I’m not staring at a screen. I’m not constantly looking at my phone. The ebb and flow of test cricket can’t be beaten in my opinion and despite the result I’ve had a great time.
I had a couple of days after the cricket in Adelaide before flying back to Perth on Christmas Day before onwards to Thailand. One of those days was an admin day involving finding a laundrette to do a big load of washing, as well as firming up and booking a couple of parts of my SE Asia itinerary.
On Christmas Eve I went out to Glenelg. Ordinarily you’d get the tram from the centre of Adelaide, but due to engineering works, it was a replacement bus which took about 25 minutes. Sadly the weather in Glenelg was cold and windy, so it wasn’t looking its best. When I returned to the city mid afternoon, I found it in blazing sunshine!!
Glenelg
I really enjoyed my time in Adelaide. It seems to get a bad rep on occasion for perhaps being a bit boring. Certainly I thought it less intense than some of the other big cities here. But there’s plenty to do, it’s really easy to get around, and I squeezed in my third (and fastest) Aussie parkrun.
That’s it for my Australia travels on this trip. I’ve been here for 7 weeks, and covered a lot of places I hadn’t been to before. I think Perth and WA was my favourite part, the scenery and coastline there was just stunning. But I’ve loved it all. The people are friendly, the lifestyle seems great, everywhere is very clean and tidy, public transport is cheap, there are lots of amenities in all the cities and overall just a great place to visit. I’m sure I’ll be back again at some point!
After my stay in Brisbane, I hopped onto a Greyhound coach for the 90 minute journey to Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast. The coach was actually going all the way through to Sydney, a journey of nearly 1000km. I’m quite glad my trip wasn’t anywhere near that long!
I’d booked 4 nights in Surfers Paradise after the cricket for a bit of R&R, or as much R&R as you can get in a 100 bed dorm room. In fairness, this chain of hostels was pretty good, I also stayed in these in Brisbane and Adelaide outside of the cricket. The pods give pretty decent privacy and the price (around £30 per night) includes breakfast and dinner which is pretty unusual in a hostel.
After a day of doing laundry (cost $12 and all done in an hour, and could pay by card which was a bonus), I spent the first couple of days wandering around and finding shade on the beach, which, due to the massive buildings, was actually quite easy even without my own tent/parasol/shade. I don’t read very much anymore but I’d bought a physical book in Brisbane and so spent my time on the beach reading Michael Palin’s New Europe. I do enjoy reading his travel books, and especially when I’ve been to some of the same places. It’s also useful inspiration for future trips…
On the beach in the shade at Surfers Paradise
Given all the very tall buildings, I thought I’d go up one of them to take in the views. I went to the Skypoint observation deck which is on the 77th floor of the Q1 building. Some spectacular views to be had whilst enjoying a tea and slice of cake
Views from the Skypoint Observation Deck
On my final full day, I’d booked (at fairly late notice through Viator) a half day trip to the Hinterland (the rainforest area inland behind Gold Coast), to Springbrook National Park and Natural Bridge. The weather was a little gloomier on this day and I did at one point have to get my waterproof out for the first time on this trip. The scenery was stunning. so green and lush, and it was a nice change from the coast and cities I’d mostly seen on this trip. Also apparently where UK I’m A Celebrity is filmed.
Natural BridgeSpringbrook National ParkBest of All LookoutPurling Brook Falls
There were beachside markets in Surfers Paradise on the final night I was there so I ended my trip by wandering up and down all the stalls before calling it a night to reorganise my bags before my flight to Adelaide the next day.
I’m glad I’ve been to Surfers Paradise, I’d seen it from a distance on one of my previous visits to Australia. It’s got a bit of a party vibe about it. Lots of bars and restaurants and fairly fancy hotels, and miles of golden sand and surf. I’m not absolutely sure I’d go back (maybe if I was 20 years younger…), but it was nice to have a few days by the beach…onto Adelaide and some more cricket
Trundling into Brisbane Roma Street train station nearly 2 and a half hours behind schedule was actually fairly helpful as instead of arriving at 9am, I got to the hostel shortly before midday and was able to check in.
I had a couple of days in Brisbane before the next attempt at cricket started. I have been to Brisbane once before, in January 2016, and saw fit to write barely a paragraph about it here. I honestly don’t remember much beyond the koalas and a few photos I have revisited to attempt to jog my memory. We must have stayed fairly centrally based on the photos I have from then but I’ve no idea where, and honestly from walking around Brisbane this time, I don’t remember any of it really.
That said, it has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years…
I spent most of my first day on the South Bank wandering through the various museums and art galleries in this area – all free. I was also quite glad of the air conditioning, despite it being less humid than in the north, it was still approaching 30C.
The South Bank itself is a lovely area of rainforest, beach, open space, restaurants, cafes and bars and I actually spent some part of most days wandering and eating here.
After getting some tips from a guy in the hostel, I went up the Sky Deck at the Star, which is one of the very tall buildings that wasn’t there in 2016! This viewing platform is around 23 storeys high and is, unbelievably, free to visit. There are a couple of cafes and restaurants ready to take your money though.
From the Sky DeckGlass walkway on the Sky Deck
Brisbane is a really good city to wander around, and I found myself doing a lot of walking. The test match was a day/night match which didn’t start til 2pm. And the Gabba is a good 40 or so minutes walk from the CBD where I was staying.
Various photos from my wandering: the city botanic gardens, St John’s Cathedral, the Story Bridge, Brisbane by night
The Gabba is not a particularly easy ground to get to. It’s across the river from the CBD and is surrounded by increasingly gridlocked roads in the lead up to the match. Once I was there though, getting in the ground was very efficient, as were all the bars and food outlets (more so than the Optus in Perth which struggled with some bottlenecks at various points which did make me feel slightly anxious).
The atmosphere at the Gabba is incredible. It’s a proper cauldron, literally and metaphorically, and the intensity of the sound, especially when Australia were on top, was unlike anything I’ve heard before in a sporting arena. On the first day I was sat on the first level but essentially at the back, and some of the sound didn’t travel too well (took me an hour or so to locate the Barmy Army and I’m certain they were making a lot of noise), but on the following days when I was slightly further forward, the acoustics were a lot better.
I guess there were 2 positives about this test – it lasted 4 days (and a lot longer on day 4 than I might have imagined); and secondly, Joe Root scored a hundred in Australia and might finally be able to shut up all the naysayers
Joe Root – absolute legend
On my final (bonus) day in Brisbane, and in order to cheer myself up a bit after feeling fairly deflated over the cricket, I went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I mentioned earlier that I’d been here on my previous visit, when you were still able to cuddle a koala. Probably for the best that this practice has now ended. But you can still enjoy looking at the koalas, and the other animals there, including walking in amongst kangaroos and wallabies
Koalas – mood The guns on this guyA cassowary ChillingA dingo
After my week or so in Brisbane, it was time to hop onto a Greyhound coach and head to Surfers Paradise for some beach time…
There is slightly over a week between each of the first 3 test matches so I am taking the opportunity to see some other bits of Australia that I’ve not been to before. First up was a 3 hour 40 minute flight from Perth to Darwin. After struggling at the bag drop alongside Mike Atherton and Steven Finn, the flight was uneventful and I even had a spare seat beside me – result!
I arrived in a sticky Darwin in the early evening, and after a brief wait for the Uber pricing to reduce slightly, I arrived at my hotel, which is the biggest bargain accommodation so far. Outside of the cricket and my side trips in Perth, I have been staying in hostels to keep the cost down. I am being a little picky but have generally been paying slightly over £30 per night for shared accommodation. This place (DCH on Mitchell) was £38 per night for my own en suite room. Not too many frills at the hotel but the room was clean and had a fridge and TV, the AC worked, and there were toiletries in the bathroom so all in all, a very good deal.
The sun was setting by the time I’d arrived, so I had a brief walk around Darwin and its waterfront. The city centre is pretty small and easy to walk around. I was expecting humidity here and I was not wrong, but it possibly wasn’t quite as bad as I’d feared. A cyclone had blown through only a few days beforehand which may have tempered the heat and humidity a little bit. There were several trees across the city that had been uprooted by the winds.
I only had 1 full day in Darwin, which I think is plenty to see the city. But you can easily spend longer in the region with a car, enabling easier access to the national parks.
I took an Uber to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory – probably only a 10 minute drive but humidity. An interesting (and free) museum with a number of thought-provoking exhibits including some Aboriginal Art, an exhibition on the 1974 Christmas Day cyclone which essentially destroyed Darwin, and maritime exhibits with examples of different types of boats used in this part of the world, including Indonesia and SE Asia which are much closer to Darwin than other Australian state capitals.
I was particularly struck by the introduction to the Aboriginal art exhibits which started with the words ‘in so-called Australia…’. The other very noticeable thing almost everywhere I’ve been so far is the acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land and their ancestors. I don’t recall so much of this in my previous visits to Australia, or maybe I wasn’t paying so much attention…
After a very good lunch at the museum cafe, I walked back to the hotel, via the Botanical Gardens which were, unfortunately, closed due to the impacts of the cyclone. I did, however, manage to sneak in to some bits, which helped make the hot and humid walk slightly more direct!
After making it back to the hotel and some AC, I spent the afternoon chilling out before another walk to the waterfront and then a very reasonably priced (and good) sushi dinner.
My very brief visit to Darwin was over the next morning as I headed back to the airport for my flight to Townsville.
I was at the airport way too early, partly as a result of basically only ever taking international flights. You’d be fine rocking up about 90 minutes before a domestic flight here, no one has yet looked at my ID on the 2 internal flights I’ve taken so far, and there are no liquid restrictions in hand luggage.
I arrived in Townsville mid afternoon after a 2 and a half hour flight. As I was staying with a friend in Townsville, she came to pick me up from the airport, and after dropping my bags at her place, we went for a late lunch on the Strand. After lunch (by now late afternoon), we had a lovely walk along the Strand, which is fairly well shaded so the heat and humidity wasn’t too bad for me at this point. In the evening, we drove up Castle Hill for views of the city.
Views on the StrandTownsville by night from Castle Hill
We went to Magnetic Island the next day which is just a 15 minute ferry ride from Townsville. Maggie Island, as the locals call it, is a beautiful little island off the coast with some great beaches and hiking trails. There is a hop on hop off bus (for something ridiculous like $1 each for a day ticket) which runs between the ferry terminal and Horseshoe Bay and allows easy access to the main sights. We did the Forts Walk, along with quite a few other people. This is an approximately 2km hike up to some WW2 fortifications. It was very humid so it was a hot and sticky walk but well worth it for the views.
On the Forts Walk, Magnetic Island
After lunch we headed back on a mid afternoon ferry to some cool and refreshing air conditioning. The AC is absolutely vital here, I’d dread to have to deal with the heat and humidity without it. Apparently I’ve visited at a less than ideal time for the humidity, next time I shall visit in the winter!
The next morning I met up with an old school friend who lives out here and had been in touch when I’d posted on Facebook that I was in Australia. It must be more than 20 years since we saw each other and it was great to catch up and hear how he’s settled into life over here. Just slightly different to Colne!!
My brief visit to Townsville was over that afternoon, and I boarded the Spirit of Queensland, a long distance train which runs 3 times a week in both directions between Cairns and Brisbane. It was running an hour late by the time it arrived into Townsville, but we eventually boarded and I settled into my Railbed seat and enjoyed watching the scenery pass by. The weather got more moody as we headed south and there were the occasional flashes of lightning. Dinner was served in the early evening (complete with gratis alcoholic beverage) and then the staff came through to change the seats into beds at 8pm (for those wanting an early night) and at 9pm (also for those wanting an early night…). The train makes stops probably every 90 minutes or so through the night before its scheduled arrival into Brisbane at 9am so I wasn’t worried about having to wake up in the middle of the night for my stop. By the time we were awoken at 6am to return the beds to seats for those of us still on board, we were running nearly 3 hours behind schedule. Breakfast was served at around 7.30am and we eventually trundled into Brisbane at 11.20am. Thankfully for me, the delay wasn’t a problem and was actually an advantage as I was able to check in to the hostel when I arrived.
It might sound odd but the train was genuinely one of the things I was most looking forward to in Australia. A 20 hour (well 22 hour) train ride, with plenty of legroom, bed, entertainment, dinner and breakfast cost me about £155. I really enjoyed watching the scenery pass, being able to lie flat (even if I didn’t really get that much sleep), and arriving at my destination without the various stresses of air travel. There wasn’t much phone signal outside of the stations so not being able to look at my phone every few minutes was also quite refreshing!! Trains will feature again at various points in my travels and I’m already looking forward to them.
LegroomDinnerBed
After a couple of hot and humid destinations, I was glad to arrive into a slightly more manageable Brisbane for the next week or so…stay tuned for my next post to hear all about that!
After spending a week exploring south and north of Perth, I arrived back in the city with a couple of spare days before the cricket. And, as it turned out, 3 spare days after the cricket…
Back to hostel life and the first thing on my hit list was to do some laundry. Long time readers of this blog may recall my previous quests for cheap hostel laundry…my first impression of 2025 hostel laundry is that there has been a significant increase in price in the last 10 years. $6 for a wash and $6 for sufficient drying time is a lot more than I remember…anyway, at least I had a bag full of clean clothes.
The next day I was up bright and early to head out to Fremantle to catch a ferry to Rottnest Island. I’d booked ferry tickets the previous week (doing it 7 days before travel gives you a discount), though was obviously a little tired when doing so as I’d booked the outbound ferry from Fremantle rather than Perth City. This meant a slightly earlier start to take the train out to Fremantle and to be there 30 minutes before departure. It all turned out fine, and Perth is a city that gets going early so despite being on a train at 7.45am on a weekday, it was not busy as most people had already got to where they were going.
Rottnest Island is home to a large population of quokkas. There were also more flies so I was glad yet again for the fly net!!
I hadn’t really made any plans for my 6 hours on the island, but spotted there was a Catherine Bay that I thought would be worth visiting… This turned into a 7 mile round hike in some quite sticky weather, but I passed through a number of extraordinarily beautiful beaches along the way.
Beaches on Rottnest Island, the last photo is Catherine Bay
After returning to the main settlement, I had lunch and was joined by a few quokkas who clearly knew where to look for food. There are signs everywhere telling you not to feed them so I was very careful about not spilling any of my Subway!
Quokkas are really quite odd animals, mouse-like, yet hopping along like a rabbit, or a small kangaroo. But very endearing
Quokka on Rottnest
Caught the ferry back to Perth City (as intended) at 4.30pm. One of the advantages of getting the ferry all the way back to the city is that it cruises up the Swan River so you get some lovely views of the outer suburbs of the city, and then a great view of the CBD as you come into the jetty.
Elizabeth Quay and around from the ferry
The next day was a moving day, from the hostel into a hotel for the next 6 nights. This was part of the package I’d bought for the cricket. I’ve done a hotel and ticket package through Gullivers Sports Travel for the 3 test matches that I’m attending. It was quite nice having my own space, and the room had a decent-sized fridge so as I was on a room only deal, I went to the local IGA to stock up on healthy breakfast food and snacks.
The next day I was up and eager to get to the cricket. The Optus Stadium was about a 30 minute walk from the hotel and I followed the crowds towards the ground. It’s a very impressive stadium and after the usual security, I was in my seat just before the toss. I was sat amongst the Barmy Army and it was great fun with all the singing and clapping, trying (and one might argue failing) to encourage England to bat. The first half of day 1 was less than ideal but the second half, with Archer and Wood steaming in, was incredible to witness.
At the Optus Stadium, day 1 of the 2025/26 Men’s Ashes
The next day was Saturday, which means parkrun. Parkruns in Perth start at 8am so I just about had enough time to walk the 20 or so minutes to Claisebrook Cove parkrun, huff and puff round the 5k in 35 minutes, walk back to the hotel to shower and then walk the 30 mins to the stadium in time for the first ball of day 2 at 10.20am. It was a slightly frantic morning, which included some interesting warning signs along the parkrun course…
Seen at Claisebrook cove parkrun; you don’t get this at Tremorfa!!
The less said about day 2 at the cricket, the better…it did mean I had 3 extra days in Perth though, to see things I’d so far missed.
I started by meeting up with some old travel companions from my Peru trip 10 years ago who live in Perth. It was so lovely to see Janine and Pat after all this time, we had brunch and a scenic drive around the city
That evening I ended up going to see the Kaiser Chiefs, who were in town and playing their debut album (out when I was at university) in full. It was great fun relieving my uni days as they blasted through Employment and some of their other hits.
My remaining 2 days in Perth were full of walking. I went to Kings Park, for wonderful views of the city, and also a lovely walk through the Botanical Gardens. And on my final day, I failed to find any kangaroos during my walk to Heirisson Island Kangaroo Sanctuary.
In the Botanical Gardens
After 2 and a half weeks, it was time to leave Perth. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and exploring Perth, Margaret River and the coast up to Monkey Mia. The coastline is absolutely stunning, the people are friendly and laid back, and it seems like a really good lifestyle here. The only bugbear (!) was all the flies!! I highly recommend a trip to this part of the world, and don’t forget you can fly direct from the UK and Western Europe to Perth, if you can stomach 16 hours or so in the air at once!
My second side trip from Perth, and this time I headed north. This was a 4 day / 3 night trip with Autopia Tours (found through tourradar), and there were 10 of us in total on this trip, including 1 other Brit over here for the Ashes!
A slightly later start (8.15am pickup) compared to the Margaret River trip, I was the last pickup and then we headed north out of Perth. We stopped at Jurian Bay for an early lunch and a very windy (I was soon to learn that wind is very normal in these parts) walk along the front.
Then we carried on to the highlight of the first day, a visit to Hutt Lagoon which is naturally pink because of algae in the water. I’ve not altered the photo, it really is that colour!! It takes your breath away the first time you see it.
I have a vague recollection of perhaps seeing another pink lake in my previous Aussie travels, somewhere in the outback in South Australia. However I can find no photographic evidence of this, and if it is when I was thinking, I was incredibly hungover that day so could well have been seeing things. If anyone else from that G Adventures trip in January 2016 is reading this, did we see a pink lake? After the William Creek stop? Or have I made it up?!
Hutt Lagoon aka Pink Lake
We then continued to our overnight stop in Kalbarri. As it was a Saturday night, we struggled to find anywhere with space to accommodate us for food so after a drink in the local tavern ($15 / £7.50 for a pint of cider!!) we ended up with takeaway pizza.
We started the next day with a visit to nearby Kalbarri National Park, to see Nature’s Window and the Kalbarri Skywalk views. Both of these overlook the Murchison River Gorge and have some amazing views. Unfortunately they also have a lot of flies so we were all very glad to have bought fly nets in the morning!! The flies will be a recurring theme…
Nature’s WindowViews from the Kalbarri Skywalk viewing platform
The landscape here reminded me a little bit of Zion in the southwest USA. Perhaps not the scale, but certainly the colours.
We continued to head north and had a lunch stop at the Billabong Roadhouse where it was a cool 38C. With the wind, it felt like standing in front of a hairdryer!! And yet more flies…
After lunch we continued north and arrived at Shell Beach. The shells all come from cockles which live in the waters and, as with every other beach I’ve seen in WA, the water is an incredible shade of blue
Shell Beach. On the right, you can see the tiny cockle shells
We then continued towards our overnight destination of Monkey Mia (pronounced my-a) with a stop at Eagle Bluff for another opportunity to be blown away. I had no idea that it would be so windy here, though I suppose the wind has the whole of the Indian Ocean to build up a head of steam, and it certainly does.
Eagle BluffHotel room view at Monkey Mia
The main draw at Monkey Mia is the wildlife, and each morning from around 7.45am, the dolphins that live in these waters come into the bay to see all the tourists (I think that’s the right way round…!). Until very recently I’ve never really been an animal person, but there’s something about seeing them in the wild that really changed my mind. We also saw turtles swimming in the bay too
Dolphins at Monkey Mia
Some of the group went on a boat cruise in the morning but I opted to stay on dry land and had a relaxed morning in some shade which was welcome after several days on the go (this trip started the day after my Margaret River trip ended). We set off back south after lunch and this was essentially an exercise in getting to Geraldton, some 4 and a half hours away, before sunset. We had another pit stop at a roadhouse where the flies were perhaps the worst they’d been. Just absolutely everywhere. The only positive thing I can say is at least they don’t bite!
Monday evening in Geraldton isn’t the most lively place in the world. We ate at The Murchison Tavern and were pretty much the only punters in there.
On our final day we started with a visit to the HMAS Sydney II memorial in Geraldton which remembers the 645 men who lost their lives when the HMAS Sydney II was sunk in 1941, which was the greatest single tragedy in the Australian navy. Actually the anniversary of the sinking was the day after our visit. Not something I was previously aware of but I found the memorial very moving.
We then continued to head south back towards Perth. Our next stop was at the 3 Bays Walk at Green Bay, for some more ridiculously beautiful WA beaches. Fly net still a necessity though.
Beautiful beaches at 3 Bays Walk, Green Bay
Our lunch stop was at the Lobster Shack in Cervantes where we had some Australian Rock Lobster for lunch, absolutely delicious
Our final stop on this trip was at The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. Possibly one of the weirdest landscapes I’ve ever seen. With yet more flies and a few hailstones for good measure
The Pinnacles
We then headed back to Perth and arrived around 6pm. This tour was a really good way to see this region. I think it would be pretty difficult to do independently as a solo traveller without my own car. We covered some pretty large distances – around 500km drives on some days – and there isn’t a whole heap of public transport in these parts. I would definitely recommend this trip, and route, to anyone coming to Western Australia!
I’ve mostly come to Perth for the cricket. However, having never been to Western Australia before, I was keen to explore the surroundings which is why I arrived a couple of weeks before the first test starts.
My first side trip was down to Margaret River. Several people had suggested it was worth going to so off I went. I’d booked a 3 day / 2 night trip with McLeod Tours which started with a bright and early 6.50am pickup at a location 15 minutes walk from the hostel I was staying in.
After we’d picked up the other 15 women on this trip, we headed south out of Perth towards Mandurah for a brekkie and coffee (green tea) stop.
After refuelling both ourselves and the van, we continued south towards Busselton for lunch and a post lunch walk along the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere (the equivalent in the north is Southend pier).
Busselton jetty sticks out 1.8km into the ocean and we just about had enough time to walk out and back, though there is a train which runs along the jetty too if you don’t fancy the walk
You can just about see the jetty curving to the right, and the building in the middle of the photo is at the end of the jettySignpost at the end of the jetty – quite a long way from anywhere
In the afternoon we stopped at a bean-to-bar chocolatier (where they create the chocolate from the cocoa beans) for some chocolate tasting, before heading to our hotel for the next 2 nights on the coast in Prevelly, a few kilometres outside of Margaret River.
The beach at Prevelly
The next day we headed further south. Firstly to Mammoth Cave, one of several cave complexes in the region, and a very accessible one at that. The stalactites were so delicate and there were hundreds if not thousands of them
We headed further south to Cape Leeuwin, which is the south-westerly most point of Australia, and where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. I climbed the 176 steps up the lighthouse for this great view
Indian ocean on the left. Southern ocean on the right
After lunch in Augusta, we headed for our first wine tasting at Red Gate winery. A very comprehensive tasting, I reckon at least a dozen wines from the list below, and unusually for me, my favourites at this stop were a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon.
After this, we had time for a wander around the town of Margaret River before heading back to the hotel.
On the final day, we started with a coffee tasting. Now, coffee definitely isn’t my drink of choice but I gave them all a go and concluded that the iced coffee which was flavoured with caramel was the most drinkable. I shan’t be converting to coffee any time soon!!
We then visited 2 more wineries and had wine tastings at both, along with some lovely cheese at the second one
At Edwards Winery
After another lovely lunch it was time to head back to Perth and we arrived back in the early evening. All in all, we covered a lot in 3 days but it felt a very well-paced trip with almost everything included (just evening meals weren’t but I’d often filled up at breakfast and lunch so only needed something light for dinner). To the various people who suggested I should go to Margaret River – thank you – and to anyone who comes to WA, you should definitely go!!
A long old flight from Manchester via Qatar. I found myself in a middle seat in the near 11 hour leg from Doha to Perth, and I am already contemplating paying to select my seat on my return home in April…
I arrived in Perth at around 7pm on a Sunday evening full of good intentions to use public transport to get me to my accommodation in the centre of Perth. However, Sunday evening public transport was not fully operating, and, as I was absolutely knackered, I opted for an Uber. 25 minutes later I was checking in to my hostel in Perth’s Northbridge area. (The train runs from the airport to the city centre in 20 mins or so, but was not doing so on this particular Sunday evening)
At this point I hadn’t slept in over 24 hours and so I pretty much crashed out as soon as I got to my bed
As I was staying in a hostel (https://www.spinnershostel.com.au) I headed out the next morning to the local IGA supermarket to get some provisions. Then after brekkie I decided to try and get my bearings by wandering around Perth CBD, firstly to Elizabeth Quay, and then through the malls in search of lunch.
Elizabeth QuayCute building in the malls
After lunch I headed towards the museum Boola Bardip to learn about Western Australia. To my surprise, they had a special exhibition about the Terracotta Warriers on display. This, unbelievably, is not the first time I’ve accidentally seen the Terracotta Warriers. In my ‘New York to Chicago’ post, I wrote about seeing them unexpectedly when in Chicago almost 10 years ago. They were just as incredible this time round. And I also learned a bit about WA in the rest of the museum from the indigenous populations to the early European settlers. It’s certainly very interesting to read the histories of these populations…
The Terracotta Warriers at the WA Museum Boola Bardip
After a lot of walking it was time to head back to base for dinner and sleep as I try (and so far fail) to sort out my jet lag.
My plans for the next day involved taking the train out to Fremantle and Cottesloe. A leisurely morning following by an approximately 30 minute train ride ($10.40/£5.20 for a day ticket) from Perth CBD out to Fremantle, and despite the 30c+ heat I found some AC in the Maritime Museum. A well timed visit on the 2nd Tuesday of the month meant that entrance was via donation instead of the usual fee. A nice way to spend an hour in a cooler environment. Afterwards I walked through Fremantle town, I loved the relaxed vibe here, and the more colonial-style buildings. Perhaps it would have been better to visit on a weekend to coincide with the Fremantle Markets, but I can’t have everything. But look at the blue sky…
In and around Fremantle
I then took the train back a few stops to Cottesloe, another relaxed beach-side suburb of Perth with a beautiful beach which was surprisingly busy at 3.30 on a random Tuesday afternoon. A sign of the lifestyle here. After a wander and a gelato, I headed back into Perth and readied myself for a very early start the next day for a trip south to Margaret River
Cottesloe beach
I am in and around Perth until the 26th so there will be a part 2 at some point…
We arrived in Adelaide quite late on the Sunday evening, and as we left first thing the following day there wasn’t much (any) opportunity to have a look at Adelaide, which was a bit of a shame as I’ve heard it’s quite a nice city. I’ve also missed out on Perth. Nevermind, I’ll just have to come back next time the Ashes are on and take in the Adelaide and Perth tests…
We left Adelaide early to drive to the Grampians national park. We took a short walk to the MacKenzie Falls:
The Grampians were very scenic, and welcome change following several days of vast nothingness in the outback
We stayed at an eco YHA in Halls Gap, probably one of the nicer places we stayed on the trip.
Another early start the next day – Australia Day (26th January). Australia Day is on the day that Captain Cook arrived in Australia. It seems that it is becoming a bit contentious with it being on that day as it is not very sensitive to the indigenous population. They view Cook as an invader rather than explorer. As it happened, we went to a cultural centre that morning to learn more about the indigenous people. It was a lot more informative than the one we had previously gone to a Uluru.
After that we drove to the coast and the Great Ocean Road. Bit of a hiccup on the drive – as it was Australia Day, very few shops and petrol stations were open. We had to resort to using the emergency fuel at one point…
The Great Ocean Road was one of the things that I was really looking forward to seeing in Australia. The sky was a bit ominous but it stayed fine thankfully. We saw the London Arch (formerly London Bridge until part of it collapsed) in the afternoon before heading to Port Campbell for the evening.
The next day (the final day of the tour) we carried on travelling east along the Great Ocean Road and saw Loch Ard Gorge and the 12 Apostles (apparently there weren’t ever 12 and there are even fewer now as the sea erodes the rock away). I really loved this part of the trip, great scenery and interesting rock formations appealing to my geographic/geological side.
We arrived in Melbourne mid afternoon, and I headed off to the Australian Open. I had decided on a whim in Cairns that as I would be in Melbourne whilst the tennis was on, I might as well go and see some. I bought a ground pass for after 5pm for $30 (about £15) online and the ticket was sent via text message.
It was about a 35 minute walk to tennis from the hostel I was staying at. I managed to luck out on Andy Murray playing his quarter final match so when I got there, I got a glass of vino and headed for the big screens (budget didn’t stretch to tickets in the Rod Laver Arena itself). As I arrived, they were in the process of closing the roof on the arena as a massive rainstorm was heading our way. I got my brolly up and waited it out sat in the open for as long as I could, but eventually I had to retreat indoors. I watched the conclusion of the Murray game on TV from the concourse inside the Rod Laver Arena. Shortly afterwards the weather cleared up and I watched the conclusion of a women’s doubles match before heading back to the hostel.
My flight to Fiji was the following day but not until 11.50pm so I had a whole day to explore Melbourne. I went to the Old Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was imprisoned, the aquarium (where I finally saw Nemo) and the Melbourne Museum.
Also sat next to Lleyton Hewitt in Starbucks who was giving some tennis advice (‘you should work on your forehand’) to a bloke who I didn’t recognise but I assume must have been at the Australian Open. First celeb spot of the trip!
I had a great time in Oz. The bits I was looking forward to (Uluru and the Great Ocean Road) were as good as is hoped, and things which I hadn’t given much though to (Fraser Island and the Whitsundays) were excellent. I travelled with a great group of people who really added to the whole experience. Still a few things I’d like to see in Oz but they’ll have to wait until next time!
We flew from Cairns to Alice Springs – the flight was about a third full. We arrived early afternoon but unfortunately we were then stranded in the airport for 90 minutes as our transfer to the hotel did not arrive.
Not a huge fan of Alice Springs, or maybe I just didn’t have enough time to explore properly. It was certainly a different type of heat to the humidity of Cairns, very hot and dry.
The next morning we left early to drive to Ellery Creek watering hole for an early morning dip:
Then we drove onto Uluru. It was an eventful journey which included driving through a massive sandstorm/thunderstorm and passing something which looked like it was going to develop into a tornado:
At this point we weren’t sure if there was going to be a sunset to witness at Uluru, but thankfully by the time we got there the weather had improved:
The following morning was another early start to see the sunrise over Uluru before a 3 hour walk in increasingly hot temperatures at Kata Tjuta. The heat made it physically demanding but the views were worth it.
In the afternoon I splurged on a helicopter flight over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. More spectacular scenery, and you start to get an idea of how remarkable both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are because there is literally nothing else for as far as the eye can see.
We visited the cultural centre in the afternoon before doing the ‘mala’ walk around part of Uluru itself in the late afternoon.
In the evening and overnight, there was an almighty thunderstorm. We were meant to be sleeping in ‘swags’ – basically a large sleeping bag with a built-in mattress, which you sleep in outdoors. As it started raining in the early evening and did not stop, we commandeered some semi-permanent tents on an adjacent camping ground. When the occupants of those tents rocked up at 1.30am whilst it was still raining, it’s fair to say they weren’t impressed!
The next day we had an early start and a long driving day to the opal mining town of Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy gets so hot in summer (can be late 40s C) that many of the inhabitants live underground. We actually stayed in a motel that had been burrowed out of rock, and it was surprisingly (and refreshingly) cool in the rooms.
We had a tour of an opal mine the following day, and brief drive around the town before heading to the next overnight stop at William Creek.
William Creek is the smallest town in Australia (population 8), and is truly in the middle of nowhere. It was extremely hot in William Creek (over 40 when we arrived), fortunately there was a swimming pool to cool off in.
In the evening I had a very good meal of goat rogan josh and far too much wine.
The next day was quite hard work on the bus as everyone was feeling a bit delicate, and it was yet another long drive. These few days really gave me the impression of just how vast Australia is. We drove hundreds of miles each day, and there was flat land with very little to see. One horse towns every couple of hours to fill up with fuel, but otherwise just miles and miles of desert. And not the kind of desert that I had imagined – no soft white sand dunes here, it was actually surprisingly green as there has been more rain than normal
We drove to a sheep station at Beltana. This was a really cute place to stay. Very homely with good food, a pool, and various animals including goats, alpacas and camels.
The outback was a really interesting experience. I love how big and expansive it is. How you can see for miles and miles and miles and have an uninterrupted view. I also love how big the sky is here. Even when it has been grey, it has still been so much bigger than it is at home. You really get a sense of how vast Australia is.
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