2025 New Zealand Australia bike and cruise

We don't need to have luggage out until 9:00 in the morning, and don't meet our coach until 10:00. It's the first time we've been able to sleep-in for a while. Today we go to Sydney, and tomorrow we go home. The hotel has a nice buffet breakfast before we leave. The day went by fast, but we really didn't do much. Once we got to Sydney and picked up our luggage, including the stored bag, which was already in our room, we went to the food court and had Japanese food for dinner with dessert in our hotel. Our final dessert of the trip was shared chocolate lava cake. Wakeup call at 5:00.

Another early morning. We're meeting at 5:45 to go see the sunrise over Uluru before breakfast. Some of our group is departing early, so they did the group picture now. Then off to a cultural tour. We drove around Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock and stopped at various points. Australia is trying to move more towards using native, aboriginal names for many of its cultural sites, instead of westernized names. This place is really out in the middle of nowhere. Many believe Uluru is fairly close to Alice Springs, but it is over 200 miles away. They get enough tourists here to have their own airport, but there's just a few hotels, a campground, a couple of restaurants, a gift shop (of course), and a single grocery store. Greener trees and shrubs that signifies water nearby. Further down the path, maybe .25 miles, there is a water hole, where rainwater runs off the rock in a waterfall, filling a small basin at the ba...

Early start today. We have to be downstairs by 5:30 in the morning. They're going to give us a boxed breakfast to go. It has a croissant, a yogurt, apple juice, a hard green apple, and a granola bar. Nothing dried last night, so we packed damp clothes in our bags, but we are traveling to a desert so it should all dry today. It's raining for our departure, of course. To use their entertainment, you had to have already downloaded the Qantas app which we did not know to do. There is no internet on the plane to do it. We arrived in Uluru or Ayers Rock, and it is spitting rain here, too. It is on the verge of being cold, haven't quite pulled out my jacket yet. Misty says Violet's ultrasound was normal and they will go home tomorrow. The town of Uluru is tiny, only 1500 people. There is our resort, a small hotel, a campground, and apartments for residents. We stopped for a distant view of Kata Tjuta and had a little walk. ...

Misty had Violet early this morning. Everyone doing well, Violet is off to NICU for a bit. 5 pounds, 10 oz, and 18 inches long. Today we're going to the Great Barrier Reef and of course, I forgot my rash guard and water shoes in the bag that was in storage. Paul has a cold. The catamaran we're taking to the reef is the Reef Magic III, and holds 300 passengers, but today, has only 127. It's nice to finally have an activity not at full capacity. This is the reef we are going to. This is the view out the window. The rain and sea spray is sheeting off them. Little Violet isn't happy. Here is our pontoon in the rain. This is the glass bottom boat. I don't want to do it. I think I'm about to puke. It's certainly rocking in the wind. We got dressed up in a jellyfish guard outfit called a sting suit. Not quite a wetsuit, no buoyancy at all. I think Paul would have preferred a wetsuit. But oh, well! This is the snor...