Monday, June 2, 2008

Stuck on Hamilton Island, and a bridge climb....

The next part of our adventure landed us on Hamilton Island, one of only seven inhabited islands part of the Whitsunday Island chain off the coast of Australia. It is the only island with a domestic airport. The mode of transportation once on the island is only hotel shuttles and golf carts. There is one owner for the whole island, so all the different hotels, shops and restaurants, are pretty much owned by the Hamilton Island Enterprises. It is extremely beautiful, but tends to get a little old for a few days since all the food is similar (aka bad), and there are lots of families and kids everywhere. Luckily we found our way around to the other side of the water and made it to the shooting range. It was the first time I'd ever shot a gun, since no license is needed in Australia. They don't have quite the gun problem were accustomed to in the States.

The strangest phenomenon on the island, is that the ocean has a massive tide, so once one or so in the afternoon hit, you could walk about 300 yards on into the water and still wouldn't be more than knee deep. We would have thought it was the ugliest beach ever if we hadn't gotten there early. Mostly, we spent the time relaxing and doing random things on the island, including watching an awesome sunset from the highest point on the island. On our final day on the island we took a sailing trip to Whitehaven beach, rated the 3rd best beach in the world, and then to another island for snorkeling. In the 80's, the Australian government declared that only about nine of the close to 90 islands in the Whitsunday chain could be built upon. So most of the islands sit uninhabited besides the occasional camper. Whitehaven was obviously amazing with perfect white sand and clear blue water. Unfortunately the weather was not quite what we expected, but its hard to complain in paradise.

After three days on Hamilton Island, we we're off to our final stop, Sydney. Kevin had not yet seen it, and was incredibly impressed, like most are. We had an amazing view from our hotel over Hyde park, and were in the heart of downtown. After a quick shower at the hotel, we were off to do the infamous Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. Sydney's bridge was the first ever bridge to allow public climbing in the world. An entrepreneur about 20 years ago, petitioned the local government to change countless laws and regulations eventually allowing the public to climb the bridge. Now it is world famous as the views are truly amazing, and tons of celebrities and people of that nature have no experienced the climb. Luckily we climbed at dusk, which in my opinion ended up being the perfect time to do it. It was sunset as we began the climb, and night by the time we got to the top. The views of the city were absolutely stunning, and although I was a skeptic, I now have jumped on the "Bridge climb in Sydney is one of the coolest things you can do in Australia" bandwagon. We ended the night with a great dinner overlooking the Harbour and the bridge, with the taste of good food and a sense of accomplishment. Although in reality its just a bunch of ladders that you climb to the top, but as far as your concerned its extremely hard.

The next day after a delicious breakfast at "Pancakes on the Rocks", in the part of Sydney known as The Rocks, I gave Kevin my best few hour tour of Sydney. A quick stop at Darling Harbour, King's Cross and a walk through the park and I was off back to Newcastle. Ending what was A long journey spanning two weeks, countless flights and miles, and a great experience.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That was an amazing adventure..It was an interesting read..
Study in Australia is a great option in going out to study abroad..Aside from it's safe environment it is much cheaper to study there compared to european countries...and Australia is a very beautiful place...