Today’s adventure took us into The Australian outback in the Northern Territory, Australia’s last frontier in search of towering termite mounds and incredible waterfalls as well as a most delicious Aussie lunch.
Our much anticipated excursion to the Great Barrier Reef from Queen Mary 2 docked at Yorkey’s Knob near Cairns, Australia turned out to be not quite what we had hoped for but did yield an absolutely amazing helicopter experience as we flew above Moore and Elephant Reefs.
Our excursion to Tamborine Mountain National Park immersed us in the history and culture of the Brisbane, Australia area giving us a chance to learn about characteristic and unique plants and animals as well as relaxing and savoring good food and drink. It was a day full of rich experiences.
An overnight stop in Sydney, Australia gave us the opportunity to get to know at least little of the history, culture, and landscape of this young nation melding with native traditions on an ancient bit of earth.
As longtime fans of the tales of Middle Earth crafted by J.R.R. Tolkien, we jumped at the opportunity to visit Hobbiton at Matamata NZ, the movie set crafted by Peter Jackson’s team for the filming of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Trilogies.