Adventures of Curl

MY FAMILY IS HERE! MY FAMILY IS HERE!!! Well, almost…

My sister Lindsay and her friend Andrew will be landing in Sydney in twelve hours. My dad, mom, and sister Caitlin will be landing in Sydney just twenty-two short hours later! Everyone but my brother Charlie will in Australia for the next two weeks. He’s got a big boy job now, and too much responsibility to take time away from :( To say I’m excited would be a HUGE understatement.

We’re going to be spending one week in Australia and one week in New Zealand – and let my just give a quick shout out to my sister Lindsay for being the bomb.com at planning this thing (saved me the stress of it all). She found cheap flights, cheaper accommodations, rental cars (with wifi…HUGE), and heaps of adventure activities for us to do along the way. – The first week in Australia we’ll be road tripping from Sydney to Brisbane, stopping at all the beaches along the way. No more winter weather for them…they’re in for a treat! The second week is all about the South Island of New Zealand; it's a good thing we all love each other, because there will be a lot of driving and close quarters this trip!

So here’s our itinerary :

March 9: Lindsay and Andrew arrive in Sydney at 8:40am. We’re staying at an AriBnB* loft in the nearby suburb of Paddington.

*AirBnB is this awesome website where you can find local people with houses/spare bedrooms to rent. Lindsay used it quite a few times to find accommodations for us along the way.

March 10: Mom, Dad, and Caitlin arrive in Sydney at 6:30am. They’ll pick up the rental car then pick up Lindsay, Arnold, and I in Paddington…then our road trip begins! We’ll stop in Maitland so that they can meet my flatmates, Mitch and Phil, and of course Snoop[dog]! We’ll continue our drive to Smith Lake, passing through Port Stephens on the way. I’m sure I’ll be driving this first leg…my dad won’t quite be “un-jetlagged” and he may still need a little time adjusting to the thought of driving on the left side of the road.

March 11: Smith Lake – full day of relaxation

March 12: Bellingen (near Durrago National Park, and Coffs Harbour)

March 13: Main Arm (near Byron Bay, and Yamba)

March 14: Brisbane! Back in my old stomping grounds ;) – boat ride AND koala cuddling AND kangaroo feeding

March 15: Fly to Christchurch, New Zealand

March 16: Kaikoura – hiking and looking for baby seal pups

March 17: Punakaiki - tubing adventure, and hiking (Panckake Rocks and blow holes)

March 18: Fox Glacier – glacier hike

March 19: Lake Wanaka

March 20: Queenstown – Fergburgers: the mother of all burger joints! And I don’t even like burgers…

March 21: Sydney Harbour - we’ll probably go to Maitland and watch Mitch’s basketball game. He can try and show off…

March 22: Sydney - Lindsay and Andrew’s flight back to America departs at 11:25am.

March 23: Sydney - Mom, Dad, and Caitlin’s flight back to America departs at 11am.

So there you have it. The next two weeks are going to be legen…wait, for it…dary! Stay tuned for pictures.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

– Psalm 37:4

XO – Cristin