Grandparents Vacation: Part II

Tasmania

Flew into Hobart, Tasmania’s largest town, toured the town and stayed the night. In the morning we went to the city’s market and also looked in a few artist galleries. We moved on to Port Arthur, this is where prisoners were held until around the 1860s. So we toured the prison and then headed north to Launceston. We traveled up the east coast, and stopped in a small town called Bicheno. Here we saw the native penguins as they waddled up from the shore, to their burrows. In Launceston, we went to a gorge and dined at the harbor. Tasmania ended up being a very scenic place, and quite comparable to New Zealand, with vast forests and a ton of sheep. My favorite part was the coastline, from cliffs to great beaches Tasmania had it all.

Coast of Taz 

Coast of Taz 

Blue Mountains

We landed in Sydney, picked up our rental car, and took the two hour drive to the Blue Mountains. These mountains are Australia’s equivalent to the Grand Canyon. We stayed here for 2 nights and toured the different lookout points. Rode a gondola and also the world’s steepest railway car, at 50˚. This was a great place to take photos, as I got a few of the mountains and some of the waterfalls.

Blue Mountains (Three Sisters) 

Blue Mountains (Laure Cascades)

Sydney

In Sydney we spent four nights, a good amount given that I had already been there. Stayed right on Darling Harbor, and had a great view of the Harbor Christmas Parade and firework show. The Maritime Museum was a highlight, having an exhibition on Ansel Adams, a famous landscape photographer. Pat and I went to see a Shakespeare play in the Sydney Opera house! This was something that I have always wanted to do. We also went to the famous Bondi Beach, along with Manly beach, both suburbs of Sydney. I had to pick up a piece of art while I was in Australia, so we went to multiple Aboriginal art galleries, finally settled on an abstract, depicting sandstorms.

Fiji

Fiji was a great way to end the trip. Our hotel was right on the water and had three great days of relaxation. With temperatures around 90˚ during the day, the short afternoon rains were a great relief. The only standout moment of the trip was getting Nan, on the paddle board! I also learned the sport of lawn bowling, pretty fun actually, and played some beach volleyball as well.

Next photos were taken from outside of our resort

By the end of the trip we were all at each other’s necks, and were quite ready to get home. But all in all, it was an amazing experience, and I’m so glad I could travel and spend all this time with my Grandparents.

Ryan