Sydney is a gorgeous city. I absolutely loved visiting and I could totally see myself living there someday. But I didn't experience a real "day" here because I was so jet-lagged! I would lay down for a nap at 3pm then wake up at 5am the next day. My absolute favorite excursion while in Sydney was the tour and (shopping trip that ensued) in the Rocks. The Rocks is the historic area of the city that was originally settled by the convicts when Australia was a British colony. I love learning about history so touring the historic sights was right up my alley. Years ago the government converted this residential area into a commercial district. It is now home to some of the best shopping from top designers and local retailers alike. The Rocks is also right across the harbor so you can experience beautiful unobstructed views of the Sydney Opera House! I absolutely loved the day I spent here and I would recommend it to anyone visiting.

While visiting Sydney I also took a day to visit the blue mountains which is a few hours away from the city. While outside of the city I went to Featherdale Wildlife Park. This park was more like a petting zoo and it allowed me to interact with some of my favorite animals! I got to feed kangaroos and pet koalas. It was amazing to learn more about the animals that are native to the continent. This was one of the highlights of my trip to Australia!

Port Douglas is the city that is closest to the great barrier reef. It is a small beach town built for the tourism of the reef. Snorkeling the great barrier reef was amazing but the best day that I had while traveling to Port Douglas was our tour of the Daintree Rainforest. We started the day by hopping into our tour guide's all terrain vehicle and driving straight for the forest. It was difficult to reach because there are not any roads that reach our intended destination. You have to cross a river on a ferry in order to even get to the Daintree Rainforest. After we got into the forest we pulled off and hiked one of the trails.

This rainforest is home to many of the oldest trees in the world. It was stunning to see an untouched piece of nature. The absolute best thing about Australian nature is that the flora and fauna have evolved to be so different than anything I've ever seen before! The coolest creature we encountered was a cassowary, we saw one while driving through the forest ( A large bird featured in my pictures ). The animals we encountered were like nothing I have ever seen before. That is why I absolutely loved this experience.

The next highlight of this day was that I got the opportunity to swim in one of the fresh water creeks. The water was freezing but it was so fun to jump in the hidden oasis in the jungle. luckily we didn't encounter any of the infamous crocodiles in the area!

Our next stop was lunch and after that we visited a local fruit orchard that makes their own exotic ice cream. They produced flavors of ice cream that I had never even heard of before. The only flavor I can remember was jackfruit which is the same flavor of juicy fruit gum. It was so good. Next we were able to explore the orchard and we found so many insane looking fruit trees.

Our final stop was the lookout point. We could see where the jungle met the ocean. It was stunning. The best part about the Daintree rainforest is that it is responsible for the formation of the great barrier reef. The massive tree roots block sediment from washing into the ocean which keeps the water clear. That has created perfect conditions for coral to thrive.