The Botanist, Kiribilli, Sydney, Australia

September 2014

The Botanist is located on the North side of Sydney a few 100 meters from the Milsons Point train station.

Citrus Mocktail $8

Tacos 4 for $20 (two prawn and two bean)

Sliders 4 for $20 (two beef and two pork)

 

Seared Kingfish $19

The trend for shared plates continued here, but the variety on the menu impressed me. I plan on returning.

Niramaya Villa, Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia

August 2014

The Niramaya Villas are located about 4 km along four mile beach from Port Douglas town.

The luxury villas are spacious and very private. 

With a fully equipped kitchen, its perfect to buy some supplies and just chill by the pool.

The bonus is the pool is heated in the winter months, making a late evening dip very comfortable.

The villas were stunning, well set up with everything you need. But they were out of town if you wanted to be near the action.

Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia

August 2014

Port Douglas is located 70 km North of Cairns, or just over an hours drive. It's a popular spot due to it's village feel, it's proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

Stay
I stayed out of town at the gorgeous Niramaya Villas, located about 4 km out of town.

Eat
The villa was self catered so I ate in most nights but I did eat out for lunch

The Little Larder 

Cafe Fresq

OTZ Foods

Do

To be honest I didn't do much on this trip

Walk up to the lookout at the town end of four mile beach

Walk around town

Walk along 4 mile beach

Cairns, Queensland, Australia

August 2014

Cairns is a popular spot for trips out to the Great Barrier Reef. Located a 3.5 hour direct flight from Sydney, the weather in winter was a perfect, low humidity, 28C.  The Esplanade made a great spot for a twilight run. 

I had dinner at Tamarind in the Casino. While it was a nice experience it was over rated, and my pork belly wasn't crispy.

The Flying Monkey Cafe does good coffee and snacks, including this ham toastie which was perfect for breakfast.

Townsville, Queensland, Australia

August 2014

I spent very little time in Townsville. But I did find a fabulous Thai place to have dinner at - Summerie's Thai.

Green Papaya Salad

The Green Papaya Salad was fabulous. I had it medium and it was nice spicy.

ChooChee Fish 

This seafood dish was fried, but not greasy. The sauce had a mild bite to it with plenty of flavour.

I nearly didn't try this place, I had a stereotype of Thai in small Australian towns. Sometimes it's good to test your stereotypes.

Yeppoon and Rosslyn Bay, Queensland, Australia

August 2014

Yeppoon is located around 30 minutes North East of Rockhampton. A large number of Islands of the south part of the Great Barrier Reef can be viewed from here and there were a large number of coffee shops and places to grab lunch.

Rosslyn Bay is only another 7 minutes south of Yeppoon and looked like a popular fishing spot.

Rockhampton, Queensland, Australaia

August 2014

Rockhampton is located about a four hour drive above Bundaberg, or an hour flight from Brisbane.

The river has a reasonably good pathway that can be run or walked along, and you get a great view from any of the bridges.

Another spot for a picnic or a stroll is the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens.

It's hard to miss this church as you drive in or out of town.

The Rockhampton Art Gallery is free and a good spot to stop if the weather is bad or you have a spare hour before your flight.