3 Days Trip: Goldcoast - Brisbane

My first post in 2020.

Setelah pulang untuk summer holiday di Jogja selama 3 minggu, akhirnya aku balik ke Australia pada tanggal 8 Januari 2020. Karna agenda untuk summer course masih di akhir Januari, jadi aku mengajak Bunda untuk ikut liburan ke Australia selama 10 hari. Bunda juga memiliki waktu yang agak longgar untuk bisa liburan karna di Indonesia perkuliahan juga masih libur. Meskipun pada kenyataannya, setiap hari beliau juga harus menyempatkan untuk menyicil pekerjaan.

Day 1: Currumbin Wild Life Sanctuary Park – Surfer Paradise

Kami sampai di Melbourne pada tanggal 9 Januari dan menghabiskan waktu seharian untuk beristirahat dan berbelanja untuk kebutuhan beberapa hari ke depan. Keesokan harinya, tanggal 10 Januari, kami berangkat ke Goldcoast dari Tullamarine Airport menggunakan pesawat Jetstar. Kami sampai di Goldcoast sekitar pukul 9 pagi. Setelah mengambil koper, kami membeli kartu transportasi yang bisa digunakan di sana. Jadi ada 2 tipe kartu. Yang pertama adalah GoExplore yang pengisiannya adalah daily pass, bisa diisi dengan jumlah hari yang diinginkan. Untuk satu hari, sebagai turis kita bisa menggunakan kartu ini secara unlimited dengan hanya $10. Namun, GoExplore sendiri hanya bisa digunakan pada tram dan bus khusus di Goldcoast saja. Kartu yang kedua adalah GoCard yang bisa digunakan untuk seluruh moda transportasi di Queensland termasuk kereta dan ferry.

Setelah membeli GoExplore, kami pergi ke bus stop terdekat. Karna belum bisa check in di penginapan, akhirnya kami harus membawa koper kami kemana pun kami pergi. Tujuan pertama adalah Currumbin Wild Life Sanctuary Park. Letaknya tidak jauh dari bandara. Untungnya di sana ada tempat penyimpanan koper dengan harga $3 dolar per kopernya. Dibandingkan dengan Wild Life Park yang pernah aku kunjungi di Ballarat, yang ini jauh lebih besar, fasilitas yang lebih banyak, dan lengkap jenis binatangnya. Dengan harga yang cukup mahal juga sih, Adult $50 dan concession $40. Tapi jalan-jalan disini cukup memuaskan karna bisa melihat binatang-binatang yang jarang ditemui hahaha. 

Dari Wild Life Park, selanjutnya kami pergi ke Surfer Paradise menggunakan bus dan tram. Perjalanan cukup jauh sekitar setengah jam lebih. Karna kami harus menitipkan koper kami, sebelumnya aku sudah booking luggage storage secara online dengan harga $10 per koper. Lokasi penitipan barang ada di convenient store, Ezzy Mart yang terletak di dekat pantai. Setelah menitipkan koper, akhirnya kami pergi makan siang dan jalan-jalan di sekitar pantai. Kalau dilihat-lihat, suasana area ini seperti di Bali. Daerah pantai dengan banyak pertokoan di sekitarnya. 

Setelah itu, kami lanjut pergi ke Syk Observation Desk. Harganya $31 dolar untuk adult. Kami naik ke lantai 77 untuk melihat pemandangan Gold Coast dari atas. Pemandangan dari atas sangat lah bagus. Di atas juga ada semacam café untuk membeli makanan dan minuman. Selain melihat dari dalam, ada juga opsi untuk berjalan di tangga yang ada di luar Gedung.

Karna sedang musim panas, pantai-pantai penuh orang. Di sekitar pantai, banyak orang-orang yang berjualan. Kebanyakan adalah kios souvenir dan pernak-pernik. Ada juga beberapa makanan dan minuman yang bisa dibeli.

Akhirnya setelah puas berjalan-jalan di sekitar Surfer Paradise, kami memutuskan untuk pulang. Kami menginap di Airbnb di daerah Elanora yang letaknya dekat dengan bandara. Untuk menuju sana, kami pulang menggunakan tram, bus, disambung lagi dengan menggunakan Ola. Dengan harga $80 per malam, penginapan ini sangatlah nyaman.

Day 2: Explore Brisbane

Keesokan harinya, kami pergi ke Brisbane dengan menggunakan kereta. Sebelumnya, kami membeli kartu GoCard terlebih dahulu agar bisa digunakan lintas kota. Dari penginapan, kami memesan Ola untuk menuju stasiun terdekat, yaitu Varsity Lakes. Perjalanan ke Brisbane membutuhkan waktu sekitar satu jam dua empat puluh menit. Kami turun di Southbank Station dekat pusat kota.

Sesampainya di Brisbane, kami berjalan-jalan di sekitar Southbank yang berada di tepi sungai. Karna hari sedang cerah, tempat ini ramai dikunjungi oleh orang. Di sekitar sungai, banyak restaurant dan orang-orang berjualan. Ada juga kolam renang dan juga taman-taman kecil yang sangat nyaman.

Dari Southbank, kami menyebrang menggunakan ferry menuju Botanical Garden. Ternyata Queensland University of Technology berada di sekitar taman. Tempat ini cukup luas dan cocok untuk bersantai. Namun, dibandingkan dengan Melbourne, rasanya koleksinya lebih sedikit.

Kami lanjut berjalan kaki menuju pusat perbelanjaan di Brisbane sembari menikmati makan siang di sekitar Queen Street Mall. Tempat ini tersusun rapi dengan path yang terstruktur. Setelah makan siang, kami berjalan-jalan di sekitar situ sambal mencari tempat sholat. Kami sempat sedikit bingung karna lokasi praying room yang ditunjukkan di google maps tidak tampak jelas. Padahal google maps sudah menunjukkan kami telah sampai di lokasi. Alhamdulillah ada bapak baik hati yang tampaknya melihat kami yang sedang kebingungan. Kami pun ditunjukkan jalan menuju mushola yang ternyata letaknya berada di belakang pertokoan, dekat area parkir. Lokasi mushola berada di bawah dan memang susah dicari oleh orang yang belum mengetahui. 

Setelah selesai sholat, kami berjalan-jalan di sekitar Brisbane Square. Selanjutnya, kami pergi menuju Roma Street Parkland karna kurang puas melihat koleksi yang berada di Botanical Garden. Kami menggunakan bis dari Brisbane Square. Tamannya cukup luas dan menyenangkan.

Destinasi terakhir adalah menuju area perpustakaan, museum, dan art gallery yang berada di satu kompleks. Karna hari sudah sore, akhirnya kami hanya berkesempatan mengunjungi art gallery dan perpustakaan. 

Day 3: Springbrook National Park – Burleigh Heads National Park

Hari terakhir di Queensland, kami pergi ke Springbrook National Park yang ditempuh dengan 1 jam perjalanan. Kami menyewa mobil di bandara yang letaknya tidak jauh dari penginapan. Karna sekalian checkout, ini memudahkan kami agar koper bisa disimpan di dalam mobil. Sebelumnya, aku sudah booking mobil di Avis, salah satu rent car provider. Sesampainya di bandara, aku hanya tinggal mengonfirmasi bookingan dengan passport, sim international, dan sim Indonesia asli. Perjalanan ke sana cukup menyenangkan karna tidak macet sama sekali hahaha. Kami pergi ke daerah dataran tinggi sehingga jalan cukup berkelok-kelok. Untuk ke daerah national park, kami membutuhkan waktu sekitar satu jam.

Berbeda ketika di Tasmania, tidak ada biaya yang dipungut untuk masuk ke area national park. Di sini, ada beberapa spot yang bisa dinikmati. Area ini terkenal dengan spot air terjunnya. Orang rata-rata datang kesini untuk berjalan jauh sekitar 2-6 jam. Namun, karna kami hanya ingin menikmati alam, kami hanya berfoto-foto dari area lookout dan berjalan sedikit saja sampai sekitar satu jam. Area national park ini tidak terlalu impresif dibandingkan dengan national park yang ada di Tasmania hehe.

Setelah dirasa cukup, akhirnya kami kembali ke city. Kami pun mampir sebentar di Burleigh Heads National Park yang berada disamping Tallebudgera Beach. Di area parkir, ada aborigin center bernama Sellurgah, namun sayang toko ini tutup di akhir pekan. 

Kami kemudian makan siang di Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, mall di Goldcoast dengan design yang menarik. Dan ternyata parkirnya gratis! Hahaha. Di gold coast sebenarnya sangat terkenal dengan theme park nya, tapi karna aku pergi dengan Bunda, jadi agenda ke taman bermain harus diskip deh hehehe. 

Setelah menghabiskan 3 hari di Goldcoast, akhirnya kami berdua menghabiskan sisa liburan kami di Melbourne 😊 

Tasmania Trip in Four Days

It has been so long I have not written about my travelling journal. So, here I am writing it again. 😆

Alhamdulillah, I officially finished my first year of the degree. This semester was tough and challenging for me. To appreciate myself, I plan a trip to refresh my mind. Directly after I finished my last exam, I planned this trip with Kak Dina and Kak Anin. We had a plan to have a trip together after the exam, but hadn't planned anything, even about the destination. Thus, this trip was only planned a week beforehand. Overall, I am so glad that finally we chose to go to Tasmania. This place is really beautiful!

Day 1: Hobart City

We departed from Melbourne at 7.15 AM from Tullamarine Airport and landed in Hobart, Tasmania around 8.30 AM. We booked the Airbnb in West Moonah and went there directly from the airport using Uber. I can recommend my place to stay as it was really convenient and clean. The host was so nice as well. Click the link for more information: Airbnb West Moonah, Hobart .

On the first day, we spent the time to explore Hobart city. As we hadn't rented the car on the first day, we tried to use public transport (bus) to the city. The bus stop is located near the homestay. However, the bus frequency is very rare considering the small city. Most of people use their own car. We did not need to buy the card as we can pay the bus driver in cash. For one ride, we payed $2.4.

Our first destination was MONA Museum. To get there, we should transfer to the other bus route and need to pay twice. Thus, actually the price of using Uber was not too expensive compared to using the bus. MONA Museum is a very cool museum I've ever visited in Melbourne. With only $27, we can explore so many things. This money is so much worth it. The building seems to be so small from outside, but actually it has a broad place inside as it uses underground level. It offers exhibition from a wide range of theme. We were provided with a device to learn more about the exhibition. 

After MONA, we went to Salamanca to have lunch. Since the bus frequency was less, we decided to take Uber which was more convenient. On Sunday, this area is occupied for Salamanca market. However, on the other day, we can enjoy many restaurants along this area. After looking for a place, we finally decided to eat fish and chips around the pier. 

We then took a bus again to visit Tasmania Royal Botanical Garden. For me, this place is very beautiful compared to the other royal botanical garden that I have visited before. Or maybe because it has been spring while my visit to the other garden was on the winter. However, this garden offers different style from Japanese to French garden. I really like it. 

Day 2: Mount Wellington - Port Arthur

We rented the car from Europcar for the trip onwards as the locations are hard to be reached by public transport. The car rent in Tasmania is very convenient since we can book it in Hobart and return it in Launceston which was suitable with our trip route. We got a brand new Baleno car which the initial distance was only 10km. Our first destination in the second day was Mount Wellington where we could see Hobart's view from the top. From Hobart city, it took about half an hour to reach Mount Wellington. The view was soooo magnificent!! And we did not have to pay anything for this.

Our next stop was Port Arthur. It was a small area for former convict settlement built during the British Empire. We reached there in 2 hours from Mount Wellington. In Port Arthur, we had a walking tour and listened to the story about this heritage area. This site is very wide and we can take a look to the buildings and houses there. The place is very beautiful and really put into a good care. We also took a ferry to see small islands around the site which includes the cemetery island and other important site. We paid $32 for all this package. Exploring this wide site took a lot of time, but I really enjoyed it.

Day 3: Wine Glass Bay - Cataract Gorge

On the third day, we went to the north. Our first destination was Wine Glass Bay. I drove around 2.5 hrs to get there. The view along the way was soooo beautiful. I really enjoyed my drive since the road was not full of cars, thus it was not boring at all as I could drive smoothly. Things I realized when I was there, I saw so many dead animals on the road. How sad. They must be out during the night, while the road has no road lighting. 

Once we arrived, we went to the visitor centre to buy the ticket. We paid vehicle ticket which includes the passengers, $24. Wine Glass Bay is a part of Freycinet National Park. Unfortunately, we arrived at Wine Glass Bay when it was so cloudy. It was even raining at first. To get to the lookout, we did trekking for about 1.5 hrs return. Maybe because it was so cloudy, the view was not as good as I thought. The water was not that blue. The view reminded me of Pulau Padar, Labuan Bajo, which for me is way more beautiful hehe. However, I really enjoyed my trekking there. We also found several animals such as wallaby and echidna! How cute!

After that, we continued our trip to Cataract Gorge in Launceston. From Wine Glass Bay, it took around 2 hrs to get there. It is a free big public reserve. There is a sky lift there to enjoy the view from the top. However, when we got there around 5.15 PM, it had been closed. Thus, we just walked around to enjoy the scenery. We even found peacock there! And he was set free. This place is very suitable to relax with family. It has a big pool and even public BBQ spot.

We had a dinner in Launceston city before going to our Airbnb. The city was small and quiet at night. Although we did not have a lot of options for dinner, luckily we found a good Thai restaurant. We then took about 1.5 hrs to get to our Airbnb in Barrington. We wanted to save our time by choosing the place which only 1 hr away from Craddle Mountain, our next destination. Barrington area is in the suburb. As we drove at night, we just relied on our car light. Our Airbnb is quite unique. We stayed in eco-friendly homestay which even has composting facility for their toilet. It was like back to nature since this place has no wifi and there is no data signal in that area. Click this link for more information: Airbnb Barrington.

Day 4: Craddle Mountain

This was our last day in Tasmania and I was so excited to go to Cradle Mountain. It took about 1 hr from Barrington. In the morning, we could see so many farms with many cows, sheeps, and Llamas along the way. It was so cold in the morning and little bit cloudy. Once we arrived, we purchased the ticket in the visitor centre. Since on the other day, we had gone to Freycinet National Park, here we could get the discount since Cradle Mountain includes in Tasmania parks and wildlife service. We got $10 discount which was not too bad for us.

In Cradle Mountain area, there are several points to explore. People usually spend days to explore this place. However, we had no time for that. Thus, we just picked the most popular ones. There was a shuttle bus which brought us to several different points from the visitor centre. First, we went to Dove Lake which is the most popular destination. We took 3 hrs walk around the lake. I really enjoyed my walk and the view I could see from the different angle of the lake. We entered the bush and forest, went up, and went down again.

Actually I would love to walk around wombat area, however we did not have time. Thus, we just took another 20 minutes in Enchanted Walk to enjoy the river. But, we did see wombat from the bus! We then had our lunch in visitor centre and directly went back to Launceston Airport which took 2 hrs from there. It was not that surprising that our speedometer had reached more than 10,000 kilos when we returned this new car hahaha. 

Alhamdulillah I got the opportunity to go to Tasmania this year. This place is so adorable. All the nature beautiful scenery are so enjoyable. One of the best thing is that all the places are super clean. Thanks to Kak Anin and Kak Dina who made everything was so easy and absolutely fun. In total, we drove more than 10,000 in four days and at least walked 15,000 steps per day. I love this trip so much! Really want to go to NZ next year. Hopefully I have another opportunity to go! :)