Sydney, Gold Coast and Canberra (Australia): sea, food and sun

2 January - 14 January 2011












January 2nd, 2011. Today is Chinese New Year's eve. My sister and I have booked a hotel in Chinatown (of course) to celebrate the Rabbit New Year. I'm meeting my sister in Sydney at the airport. Hard to believe it was my sister, I was so tan (dark as I have never been) and my sister so pale (coming straight from Brussels where it was still snowing).

That was the beginning of a 4 weeks trip with my sister in Australia. It was also the beginning of our budget trip, no more shopping, no more restaurants and no more hotels, only the minimum, sandwiches, cooking and backpackers dorms... a real chock for my sister...

We first spent some days with our parents and their friends in Sydney (still can't believe how many friends they have in Australia, especially in Sydney!). We visited all the main attractions like the Opera House, The Harbour Bridge, Chinatown, ... under 38 degres on average... hot really hot...

First time in Australia for the whole family and so surprised by the people and the place.
People are just so nice, helpful and polite and in all the places we went to, streets were very safe and clean. So different from Belgium.
We had a great time and like usually, amazing food. We even tried lobster's sashimis, yummy! Well, the lobster was still moving when the waiter brought it on the table (poor animal) but it was so delicious!

After few days, my sister and I hit the road and flew to Brisbane. We rented a car and drove along the East coast. We passed by the Gold Coast, THE place for the surfers and the beaches. And it is true that Australian beaches are beautiful. It makes a big difference when the weather is sunny and very hot (we got 40 degres one day, unbelievable!). We saw some very sexy surfers but it was not easy to take pictures of them...

We drove quite a lot per day, on average, 4-5 hours. Not very easy when you are not used to drive on the left side of the road. We scared ourselves several time but nothing serious, hopefully...

We stopped at many nice places. Surfers Paradise, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie (where we visited a koalas hospital), Byron Bay (with our favorite beach), ... mostly for the beaches.





Then we passed by Sydney again and headed to Canberra, the capital of Australia. Well, it was a big disappointment. Besides the main public buildings, nothing. City was quite small, empty, quiet but surprisingly, all the hostels were fully booked. So we had to stay in a Formule 1. A bit of privacy, that felt good.
The good thing about that night is that we saw and fed some possums with bread, so cute.


Next stops: Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia.

Noumea & Pines Island (New Caledonia): relatives, paradise and excellent seafood

28 January - 2 February 2011



After spending 1 day in Sydney, I arrived in Noumea in New Caledonia. It's a French territory, located nearby Australia (a little bit less than 3 hours flight from Sydney), in the Southwest Pacific. it comprises a main island and several smaller islands.

My auntie (my mum's sister) and 2 of my cousins moved from Paris to New Caledonia a few years ago so we, my parents and I, decided to visit them. The capital and main city is named Noumea, where my relatives live.

New Caledonia is famous for its white-sand beaches and emerald lagoon (the world's largest enclosed lagoon) and I can testify that this is true. I have never seen such beautiful beaches and water. First, when I got there I couldn't believe what I saw. It is definitely the first time that I see a paradise like New Caledonia.





We stayed one day in Noumea with the family and the second day, we went to Maitre Island for a day trip. My parents and I found the island amazing but it was nothing compared to Pines Island, where we went the next day.

Pines Island is 30 minutes flight from Noumea. The beach was just in front of our hotel. White-sand beach and turquoise water. Just like postcards. My cousin's friend took us to his private island. A little paradise on earth. We spent the day there, sun baking, swimming, sun baking and swimming. It was simply a wonderful day!
I got so tanned that when I came back to my auntie's place in Noumea, they were a little bit shocked.

It was just nice hanging around with my family in such a beautiful place. Besides, seafood was fresh and delicious!
Another great discovery in my trip...
But 5 days in such a place is definitely not enough. I will certainly go back one day.


Next stops: Sydney & Gold Coast, Australia.