Beach

Australia – Day 08

Australia Jose Micheri

We decided to visit the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas. It is located about thirty minutes north of Palm Cove. Along the highway, you will see the beautiful coast and beaches of the north coast. Keep an eye for a great stop with a fantastic view called Rex Lookout. 

Once at the habitat, we decided to add the breakfast with the birds. The option is an additional $23 AUD for a breakfast buffet next to the temporary bird enclosure. It is an expensive addition, but the food and experience were well worth it. 

After breakfast, we started our morning with a bird feeding tour with one of the staff members. This was so informative and it is one of many activities happening during the day.

As you get deeper into the park you can feed the kangaroos and Wallabies.

I learned that they will eat a little from your hand then stop and chew the food for a while then come back for more. 

Later in the day, we went to the croc feeding experience. There was a smaller croc that the staff member baited with a piece of meat and it was impressive hearing the thumping of the jaws when it missed the food. The larger 500 kg croc got close and opened its Jaws but did not take the bait. 

We cut our visit short to have time at the beach back at the hotel, but there were other activities that I would have enjoyed to participate in. 

One of the best things about the habitat is that you are inside a lot of enclosures and get really close to the animals. All the animals look very happy and well taken care of. 

Back at the hotel we got ready and headed out to the beach. The waters had strong waves so we decided to take on an offer from the hotel Manager to borrow a bodyboard. Matt had a blast learning how to use a bodyboard as well as how to read the waves. 

Paradise On The Beach Resort was a fantastic option for our stay. The staff made us feel welcomed and like part of the family. Highly recommended if you want to stay in Palm Cove. 

We worked an appetite and decided to head back to the hotel and go get some food but once back we decided to check out the pool. The pool was on the cold side so we jumped on the hot tub and spend more time with the family. 

By the time we left the pool, it was no longer lunchtime and more like dinner. We finally got out of the pool and went out to a restaurant called Lucky Fish for a quick fish and chips. It was amazing. 

Now with something in our bellies we did the long walk on the beach to the south part of town. 

We decided to eat some pasta at Vivo Palm Cove. We had beef cheek ragù, crab linguine and some of the best calamari I’ve had in my life. Highly recommended. 

To end the day we decided to keep walking and get some ice cream. White chocolate and macadamia nuts were the best. 

Australia – Day 03

Australia Jose Micheri

Started the day by getting an Opal card. This is used for all public transportation methods in Sydney and it is the most convenient way to get around.


The card is free, I started with $20 dollars for adults and $10 for children. For three days of constant traveling, we spent about $50 for adults and half for the little one. Using the app was convenient to add money to our accounts on the go.

Now with our transport card, we start looking for breakfast. We settled on Gazzi, a restaurant with a delicious Mediterranean and contemporary Australian menu. I had a baked Shakshuka which is eggs cooked on top of a tomato sauce. My wife had the Gazzi breakfast consisting of two poached eggs with bacon, roasted tomato, fresh avocado, feta on sourdough Eggs. Great flavors and service.

After breakfast, we boarded the bus toward Bondi Beach. From the Museum Station near Liverpool Street, it was about 30 minutes on bus 333. Once there we were greeted with a sunny day and a wonderful view of the beach. There were almost no tourists when we arrived but plenty of surfers catching waves. We spent a few hours just walking and people watching.

There are coin-operated lockers and restrooms if you want to spend some time at the beach.

Around 11:30 am we left the beach and walked on the trail along the side of the cliffs. This leads you to another beach. There are great views along the way.

We were getting hungry mad hiked to a seafood restaurant for some fish and chips. Bondi Road Seafood is a great small place if you are looking for fresh seafood. The place was clean and the staff was wonderful.

We decided to go back to town and explore the Central Park Mall. The building has a very unique architecture, covered with vegetation. The area has plenty of restaurants to choose from as well as an open space south of the building to relax.

A great find was gelato from Anita, the gelato was creamy and they had plenty of delicious flavors. I got pistachio swirl with white chocolate and Ferrero Roche. Later I learned that there was another Anita on Bondi Beach.

One thing I wish I had done on day one was to buy a local sim card. I got a prepaid sim card with 36GB of data, local and some countries calls included for $29. There were some cheaper plans as low as $15 for 3 GB.

Between the months of May and mid-June Sydney has different light and music shows around the city. We went north to see the show displayed on the outside of the Opera House.

At this point of the night, Matt was tired and hungry, we decided to call it a night. On the way back we found a Thai restaurant (Show Neua Thai Street Food) and decided to give its Pad Thai a try. It was a great way to end the night.