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Sydney, Australia seen in a whole new light.

Kangaroos, surfing, and the Outback were all I knew of Australia before I visited in January. I quietly hoped it would surprise me, and as you’ll see below, there were no shortage of favorite moments!
Highlights -

couchsurfing with Ben in Brisban
doing nothing in Byron Bay (and watching Green Street Hooligans)
4×4 safari on Fraser Island [...]

Dare #4
From Stu: I dare you to get a hamburger with the lot in Australia from a real fish and chip shop (that encompasses the following ingredients)
- fried egg (hard yolk/soft yolk optional)
- bacon
- lettuce
- tomato
- beetroot
- grilled onion
- cheese
- grilled pineapple ring
Must include two steamed dim sims with soy sauce as a side. [...]

I booked my departure flight from Australia out of Melbourne for the end of January because it seemed like a noteworthy city to visit. It was only after talking to my tennis fiend of a friend (code name – Sup2dresq) before leaving that I learned my travels would offer me the opportunity to attend [...]

On my last day in Sydney, before a night bus to Melbourne, Bonnie took me on a 1/2 day tour which included a few errands she needed to run. The second brought us to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the central business district. Almost 2 months after rediscovering Cadbury candy, my veins were [...]

Bonnie was new to couchsurfing, and I was her third guest.  She worked in Sydney, and lived with Tom and Eliza in Newtown, a very close suburb to downtown Sydney.  It’s also right next to the University of Sydney, so it’s got a college town feel to it.  Supposedly it has one of the highest [...]

 
After an afternoon at the Opera House, my next day in Sydney was dedicated to checking out Bondi Beach.  It was a short train and bus ride to get there from King’s Cross, and the weather was beautiful.  When I got off the bus, I was looking at one of the coolest beaches I’d ever [...]

The rains of Queensland were a thing of the past by the time I reached Sydney (and later Melbourne). Aside from a thunderstorm during the soccer match, my days were filled with blue skies and puffy white clouds.
 

I felt a great sense of excitement when I first stepped out of the train station [...]

After catching a bit of sport at the soccer match, I spent the following day around the Darling Harbor area of Sydney. The first stop was the Queen Victoria Building which I ran into almost as soon as I got off the train. Normally a shopping mall wouldn’t be a must-see for [...]

I caught a glimpse of the Australian A-League soccer schedule when I was couchsurfing with Ben in Brisbane. I had noticed Sydney FC had a home game around the time I’d be there so I picked a flight from Cairns that would give me a fighting chance to see it live.
After checking into [...]