We flew 14 hours on our longest and largest flight yet across the Pacific Ocean, from Santiago to Sydney. We were both super excited to start the second leg of our adventure in this new continent. Right on the plane, our hostess’s name was Oceane, which was already a welcoming sign for us to this exciting new world.
Sydney is a really modern city but it feels like it always needs to be under construction to keep itself up to date. It felt weird to be cruising downtown on a weekday amongst all the business people dressed to impress. We’ve been in such a traveler mode that we feel a bit out of place in this environment. We did take advantage though of the modern commodities and had nice food, fancy coffees and also bought some stuff that we needed for our journey.
When you get to the harbour you see the famous Opera House right away. It’s truly a great piece of architecture that blends perfectly into the city’s vibe. They say the white structures resemble the sails of a sailboat which makes total sense–there is definitely a big sailing culture in the city. Walking on the Royal Botanic Gardens is very cool and you can really feel the contrast between a busy city and beautiful nature outdoors.
A ferry took us to Manly Beach where we enjoyed a more relaxed SoCal kinda vibes in this town crowded with surf and coffee shops. Also walked along the coast to Shelly Beach where the turquoise clear water and sunny weather invited us for a quick dip.
Our campervan was waiting for us to take her on a 21-day ride along the East coast of Australia. We set off stopping at the famous Bondi Beach. I had always been fascinated by Instagram pics of the pools next to the ocean and couldn’t wait to check them out. The pools themselves are pretty amazing and the walk towards Coogee Beach is worth doing. Unfortunately the weather was not great but still cool to go to the local farmer’s market and stock up on food supplies at a really cool whole food bulk store. Let me tell you: Tumeric —Cúrcuma in Spanish— is literally found everywhere here, a clear indicative of the nation’s healthy-living culture.
We did several stops up the coast along the way exploring the amazing scenery in our tiny home on wheels and made it to Hunter Valley to try some local wines. It was a nice pitstop that reminded us of Napa and Sonoma Counties in our beloved California.
Rugged cliffs with golden sand beaches, turquoise water and tidal pools is our everyday bread-and-butter along the way. We were lucky enough to catch the whale migration and had impressive views of humpback whales jumping out of the water and waving their white dorsal fins at us as they guide their newborn calves down south towards Antartica. Dolphins also came up close to us in the calm waters of Nelson’s Bay, kangaroos took over a golf course and the rainbow wild parrots called Parakeets came to our table.
Byron Bay was a fun stop to chill out and enjoy the surfer vibe as we took some longboards for a ride in the pristine clear waters and met fellow travelers from Andorra with whom we travelled north checking different spots along the way.
Quick stop at Balter Brewery to pick up some of their delicious XPA craft beer. Mick Fanning, the famous pro surfer is actually one of the owners of this cool place.
I was excited to see my childhood friend Roser who is now living in Noosa and explore the area with her. We did a half-day hike in the Noosa Headlands National Park, a beautiful coastal walk passing through secluded beaches with many Eucalyptus and Tea tree oil trees all around. I tried to spot a wild Koala up in the trees, because they sleep like 20 hours a day, but I wasn’t lucky. I love seeing animals in the wild, without interfering with their environment, that’s what makes it special.
off to the unknown 
Sarah/Aleix,
The pictures are great especially the wildlife….. just to see the natural world is breathtaking. Soak up as much of it as you can. I’m writing this from Suzy’s computer and just enjoying life in Virginia myself. Cheers!
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Thanks for all your lovely comments Alice! Say hi to everyone in VA on our behalf and have heaps of fun up there! Love, Aleix
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Howsome pics! What camera and lens are you using?
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Thank Francesco! The blog pics are exclusively taken with iPhone 7 Plus and a Lumix LX100 (Leica Lens). And for videos we mainly use the iPhones and the GoPro H5 🙂
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Your photos are great. I miss my home country!
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