Insider's Guide to Australia: Off the Beaten Track

Happy Hump Day to everyone out there! Again sorry for my elongated absence - it's true that Australian hostel wifi is really not the best, oh and I have been rather busy with all this backpacking malarkey! Hoping to get a few more posts up in the next few weeks though! (But don't hold me to that)

This post is - as you've by no doubt guessed - a guide to some of those not so obvious places in Australia that you really should add to your bucketlist. I'm happy to say I've ticked off a few and have now got some more great ideas for when I head a bit further down the coast. This post has been written by the lovely Amy from highstylife.com - a true Aussie and therefore I fully trust that she's got some good insider's tips!

Image 1 - Sydney - Featured image, Source

The Amazing Uncle Brian's Tour - Part 2

Woo! So I finally found a computer in which I could download some of my camera (better) photos to finally put together part 2 of my Uncle Brian's tour post! 

This one was the Cape Tribbbin trip which was a whole day (food included) and we went to;

Port Douglas

Cape Tribulation

Daintree Rainforest (oldest rainforest in the world just FYI)

Crocodile Tour

We jumped in the bus and headed up (quite a drive) to Port Douglas where we climbed up to a viewpoint to take some stunning shots of the Four Mile Beach and had a spot of morning tea and cake!

 We walked through the Daintree forest to a gorgeous little creek where we swam in the natural waters and jumped off ledges and swang from vines! It was beautiful!

Depending on the tide the crocodile boat tour usually occurs in the morning or afternoon, we had ours in the afternoon when the tide was low so we got to see the gigantic 'Scarface' just chilling in the waters and a couple of smaller crocs contently basking in the sun!

We also got to spot a Python wrapped round a tree - this was the best photo I could get from the boat (without potentially falling out!)

The views, the people, the food was all incredible, I absolutely loved every minute of it and totally recommend it to anyone wanting to do these parts of Australia (which you absolutely must!)

I would recommend it particularly for solo travellers because everything's included and you meet a great bunch of other travellers so easily - they were my first tours when I got to Australia and made me feel so much more confident going forward! I even met a great friend further down the line in our travels!

Check out the Uncle Brian's website for the Cape Tribbbin Tour here

(once again, I'm not collaborating with this company at all, just want to share my experience so others can enjoy the same!)

There's also the 2 day tour which I didn't do (but kind of should have because it incorporates most of the two tours, plus the little cabin is ADORABLE and it works out cheaper) - check that out here

Has anyone ever been on the Uncle Brian's Tour before?

The Amazing Uncle Brian's Tour - Part 1

Hi again! I'm still here I promise, things just might be a bit slow as I'm pretty busy with the amazing-ness of Australia right now!

Little update, I've been alone and in Cairns for 3 days now! It's incredible, I'll just tell you now! I've been staying at Mad Monkeys which is a lovely hostel by the way - so clean and close to everything and the people working here are so friendly and helpful! (They also offer free breakfast, which is actually really nice and a free BBQ on Saturdays which was a godsend yesterday when I didn't have time to go out shopping!)

So far I've been on a lush hike up Mount Whitfield by the Botanic Gardens, a hilarious pub crawl round all the fab bars/clubs in Cairns, a trip to the lagoon and markets and a bike ride along the sea front plus a free BBQ! 

And yesterday, I went on my first tour which - although it's my first and I have nothing to compare it to - was incredible! I went off on a tour round the beautiful waterfalls of the Atherton Tablelands with Uncle Brian's tours and I 100% rate it! There was about 13 of us plus our awesome guide Sid (who was blooming hilarious), who went off on a mini-bus out to the Atherton tablelands playing all sorts of hilarious games and singing along to some great tunes along the way!

Sunrise in Sydney

G'day mates! 

Yep that's right, the time has actually come that I'VE MADE IT TO AUSTRALIA!! 

And I know I've only been here 2 days but, so far it's everything I dreamed it would be!

So after our 24 hours of travelling we finally arrived in Sydney at 5am. And of course, being the determined opportunists we are, we dropped off our bags at the hotel and headed straight out for some sightseeing. And I'm blooming glad we did as the first thing I got to see was the beautiful sunrise over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House! What an amazing first start!

Being just literally 5 minute walk from the Marriott in Sydney we were right by the harbour - and after the sunrise we took comfort in a nearby diner/restaurant overlooking the harbour for some coffee (as it was rather chilly at 6am in the morning deep in Australian Winter - although can I just say that as the day progressed and the sun came out the weather was absolutely gorgeous and although it wasn't quite sunbathing weather it wasn't far off the current English temperature - and it's meant to be summer over there!)

Being right by the harbour we got to gaze and people watch as all the Sydney residents began their trip to work and their jogs round the town. We then took the 30 minute ferry over the Manly where my dad used to live eyons ago.

He took us on the most beautiful walk round the bays up to Fairlight in search of what was once his old flat. And then we headed out through the town over to Manly beach - a stunning white sand beach, good for beginner surfers, surrounded by loads of lovely bars and restaurants overlooking the sea. I mean just look at these photos...

We stopped of at the Sugar Room for some juices and smoothies overlooking the beach!

Probably one of the best views I've had from a hotel! ^

After popping to all the nostalgic bars my dad used to visit back in the day, we took a lovely stroll around The Rocks, an area of shops and historic buildings by the harbour before taking space at some lovely bars to soak up the last of the sun before our jet lag set in and we had to amble back to the hotel at about 5 for an early dinner and were konked out in bed by 6!

So all in all, a pretty incredible first day on the Down Under Adventure and I'm now overlooking another incredible view (all posted over on Instagram stories) a little more north in Surfer's Paradise after a day of some gorgeous sunbathing (WINTER - it's meant to be winter here! It's bloody hotter than English summer for goodness sake!) and I will share all the gorgeousness in a post as soon as possible!

Anyone else visited Australia - tips for Brisbane/Surfer's Paradise? 

Also, don't worry I'm planning on spending longer in Sydney around Christmas time - I'm starting the adventure off with a family holiday - cray right!? - before parting ways and riding solo up to Cairns to start the proper backpacking journey down!

Graduation and Blog decisions

Well. What a wirl-wind eh? Who'd have thought I'd actually come out with a degree?

Summer Driving*

I hope you're all enjoying this lovely sun! 

Now that all schools/unis are broken up, I'm sure many of you have some lovely trips planned. Whether they be short mini breaks to the beach or the country or luxury holidays abroad, with hotter climates and sunny days it's worth knowing how it can affect our cars and our driving.

I had recently read a similar post by Sophia here, which I thought was so useful and taught me things I hadn't known, which I think are really good to keep in mind around this time of year. So I've done my own post in collaboration with a UK car tyre dealership network, where you can buy tyres online in a few easy steps at Point S, to remind you how to drive safe in the summer.

Current Fave Bloggers

Morning all! I'm so sorry I haven't been very active lately, there'll be a post up soon on that hopefully! But I've finally got round to posting and I thought it'd be lovely to do a little post sharing some of my inspiration lately in the form of some of my favourite bloggers! These gals never fail to make me smile and I always love each and every one of their posts, so here we go...

Mollie Bylett ~ Where's Mollie