Australia Specialist

Holding a Koala

In 2022 I completed the Aussie Specialist Program and booked a four-week trip to Australia.

My Australian adventure started in the region of South Australia in the city of Adelaide where my brother lives. We spent five days exploring his new hometown including wildlife parks where I got to hold a Koala! The parks do an amazing job feeding the Koalas while you hold them so that they are content. As one Koala gets fatigued they rotate in a new one. It was a highlight of the trip and it happened right at the beginning. We also did a day-trip to the McLaren Vale wine region where we sampled several Pinot Grigios, Sangiovese Rose, Shiraz to name a few. At the Hugh Hamilton Vineyard, they gave their wines fun names. The Pinot Grigio is “The Trickster” and the Rose “The Floozie”.

From Adelaide we set off south via car to the Great Ocean Road. This is a 400 mile stretch that features multiple ecosystems and natural wonders. From the rainforest to Mt Gambier's sink hole garden to the Bay of Islands and the 12 Apostles, there was a ton to explore. I loved seeing all of the wildlife that is so different from what we have in the U.S. including wild Koalas high up in the tree canopies.

Our road trip took us to Melbourne, Australia's third largest city, in the Victoria Region. We spent two nights there and explored the nearby natural wonders including the Fairy Penguins at Phillip Island. A colony of thirty-two thousand Fairy Penguins call this island home and make the walk back from the sea every night. We experienced this natural marvel via a private tour, I highly recommend this type of experience.

We continued north on the Great Pacific Drive and saw truly spectacular scenery. One of my favorite activities was hiking in Snowy River National Park. Snowy River is located in the alpine and Gippsland regions of Victoria Australia. The most unique thing I saw on my hike was just how bad the flooding was this year. Next we did the Illawarra Treetop Walk, a 1 mile steel walkway through the rainforest treetops with ocean views from the spiral lookout tower, it was magnificent! Driving in these areas was interesting because of the ever-present wild kangaroos. Just like we have wild deer throughout Wisconsin, they have wild kangaroos. Our next adventure was driving along the Sea Cliff Bridge, an engineering masterpiece the 2,000' long bridge offers visitors the chance to get out of the car and stretch their legs. It is also a great viewing platform for migrating whales heading north/south during migrating season. We left the Great Pacific Drive and headed west into the Blue Mountains. We spent several days in Katumba exploring several of the hiking paths along the rim. The views were spectacular and so many waterfalls! Seeing the Three Sisters at sunset was one of my favorite moments. One of the most prevalent animals in this area was Parrots, that was unexpected! This portion of our trip ended in Sydney for one night before boarding a plane for the Northwest Territory to Uluru.

Once in Uluru we joined a small-group tour with Intrepid Travel to see Watarrka National Park and Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a National Park. The first night we spent in Watarrka National Park, home to Kings Canyon. Here we did several hikes including the Rim Walk and Cliff Routes. The Uluru-Kata Tju?a National Park is home to spectacular geological formations including Ulu?u and Kata Tju?a. Ulu?u (aka Ayers Rock) is the largest sandstone monolith in the world, while Kata Tju?a is made up of 36 giant domes spread over more than 12 miles. We hiked extensively around both areas at sunrise and sunset. The National Park puts a large emphasis on honoring the aboriginal tribes of the area. There is a cultural center where we could learn about Three Dreamtime Stories. We then went on a hike with an aboriginal guide to learn about the history and culture, viewing of women's and men's caves, hieroglyphics and more. From Ulu?u we flew to Cairns.

Cairns is in the region of Queensland on the Northeast Coast of Australia. Cairns is home to the iconic Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforest. We spent three nights in Cairns with the highlight being snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. The snorkeling was amazing we saw so many different fish: clown fish, parrot fish... Also while in Cairns we went shopping in Karunda, a picturesque mountain village. From Cairns we flew to Sydney.

Sydney is the second largest city in Australia and the most famous. In Sydney we stayed downtown in the outskirts of China Town about half an hour walk from the bridge. We explored the city for two days using the "Hop On, Hop Off" bus, one day we saw Bondi Beach and the other we did a city tour which took us to the Bridge, Harbor and Opera House. The third day we did a biking city tour which took us over the Bridge twice, across the bay. We covered a lot of ground! Our Australian adventure had come to an end and it was time to head home.