Brisbane

We only spent one day in Brisbane, and it was more of a relaxing day after a couple days of excitement. Our morning in Brisbane was spent hanging out by the pool at our Airbnb and listening to our audio book. After that we had lunch and went down to check out the Queen Street Mall. It was HUGE. We walked around a little, and then headed back to our Airbnb for dinner.

Gold Coast

Our time in our Airbnb in Gold Coast started off great. We had rented a spacious, well decorated apartment in an older building near the beach.

Our first day in Gold Coast was spent checking out the Harbor Town Outlet mall. There were so many shops with discounted prices, and I got the BEST hot chocolate that I have ever tasted. It was heaven.

The second day in Gold Coast was spent at the beach close to our Airbnb. It was windy so we didn’t realize how warm it was and ended up getting pretty sunburnt, even though I had 50 proof sunscreen on! The sun is definitely different here. Dangerous for us pasty northern girls!

Our third day in Gold Coast was spent at Warner Bros Movie World! I’m not sure if I have been spoiled with my previous amusement park experiences, but it was really underwhelming. It was expensive to get in and there were only a couple of rides. A lot of the rides were closed, and there wasn’t anything else to do there other than go on rides. I would not recommend spending your time or money there. Luckily Top Golf was right next door, so we went and hit some balls for an hour! It was fun! Afterwards we went back to the Airbnb and rested for a bit before heading down to the Surfers Paradise Market. The market had so many different vendors and was right on the boardwalk beside the ocean. It was awesome! After the market, we grabbed some groceries and went back to the Airbnb to make dinner. While making dinner…. mom came across two COCKROACHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never heard her scream so loud or run so fast. I can’t say I blame her because they are huge and ugly. I killed them, but it was not a pleasant experience. We asked our Airbnb host if it was normal and he said that they can be found because we are so close to the beach, but offered to get in pest control if we wanted. The cockroaches put a little damper on the evening, and we sat on the couch for an hour scared to go to bed. I am happy to report that we never did come across any cockroaches in the bedrooms.

On the fourth day, we only found one cockroach in the kitchen. Mom killed it before I got up. I may have heard her freaking out and laid in bed longer than normal until I knew the threat was dealt with. After getting ready for the day, we headed down to Mermaid Beach for some mini golf. I haven’t been mini golfing in ages. Afterwards we started walking to the Miami Marketta. It’s an old warehouse that was converted into a market with street vendors and food. On the way, we got thirsty and decided to stop into an old bar about 5 minutes away. It started storming about 20 minutes after we got to the bar, so we decided to stay for a while longer. Turns out it was karaoke night. I figured that I would never see anyone there again so I decided to sing a couple songs! It was so fun. Everyone there was nice and supportive, even though I’m pretty sure I broke a couple of glasses. It was Halloween, but no one at the bar was dressed up. We did see some kids along with way in costumes though.

Byron Bay

We got to Byron bay around 1:30pm and went for lunch and then to the beach. We checked into our hotel and then headed to the North Byron Hotel, which is not a hotel at all. It’s a restaurant and liquor store. We had dinner and hung out for a bit – It was night of the dead so there was a DJ and lots of people dressed up and dancing. It was a good time 😊

It was raining our second day in Byron, so we decided to go shopping and check out the Town Center. It’s such a cute little town with a bunch of great shops and restaurants. After shopping, we headed to the Stone and Wood brewery and tried some flights of beer. Then we headed to the Treehouse for some woodfired pizza and Nutella calzones for dessert. It was pretty good!

Our third day was spent on a tour of the hidden gems of Byron Bay! The day started off with our shuttle picking us up right from our Airbnb, which we have learned is quite the luxury. We normally have to walk a ways to any pickup points because we never stay right down town. Our first stop was Killen Falls. The hike down to the falls was pretty steep, and I was happy that both mom and I are in okay shape because it was not made for the weak. The pool under the falls is full of turtles and fish, and apparently snakes live in the little caves along the edges. I am happy I found this out after we went swimming. We saw lots of turtles and the water was really nice. Next we headed to Lennox Heads to have lunch on seven mile beach and swim in Lake Ainsworth. The lake is surrounded by Ti Trees. The oils from the trees leak into the lake which gives it a maple syrup color. The water also made your hair and skin feel so soft. Lennox Heads was really cool because the ocean was on one side of the road and the lake was on the other. After the swim, we went to broken head for a walk through a nature reserve. It had stunning cliff top views and then we hiked down to walk on the beach. This was the first time we saw a snake in the wild too! It was a red belly black snake. Luckily it was in the grass and we were on a wooden platform overlooking the grass.

Sydney

The drive from Byron Bay to Sydney took about 8.5 hours. We stopped for lunch at a Turkey Restaurant in Port McQuarry and it was DELICIOUS. Mom got a kebab (donair) and I got a rice bowl. I think it was one of our best meals. We got to Sydney around 7pm and checked into our hotel in the Potts Point area. The location was awesome. There were cafes, grocery stores and pubs just steps from our door. We went for a couple drinks at a the Potts Point Hotel before turning in for the night.

We took it easy for mom’s last day in Australia and went for a walk through the botanical gardens down to the harbor and opera house. Mom did some last minute souvenir shopping and then we headed back to the Airbnb to get packed up. On the way to our Airbnb we stumbled across a tattoo shop, and got matching tattoos. After we were all packed up we popped some bubbly to celebrate the end of an amazing trip together, and then went for dinner at the Potts Point Hotel along with many drinks! It was a great last night.

Mom left today and it was really hard saying goodbye. I am going to miss her so much, but I am excited for this next chapter. We had a really great time together over the last 5 weeks. I am so fortunate to have gone on this trip of a lifetime with her.