Today was our first full day in Cairns and we spent the day exploring the most popular attraction in the area, if not all of Australia. No one should visit Cairns without exploring the Great Barrier Reef, and that is exactly what we did today.

Today was our first full day in Cairns and we spent the day exploring the most popular attraction in the area, if not all of Australia. No one should visit Cairns without exploring the Great Barrier Reef, and that is exactly what we did today.
Today we got up early to see a few remaining things in Sydney before catching a plane to head to warmer weather in the tropical north (it still sounds weird to say that). After three days in Sydney, we will be heading to Cairns in Queensland. Here we hope to enjoy some beautiful beaches, head into the rainforest for a tour, and of course snorkel and dive on the Great Barrier Reef.
Today was our last full day in Sydney, and we made the most of the day despite a continuation of the rain. There was still quite a bit that we wanted to see and we weren’t going to let a little rain ruin our day. We had a free pass for the Harbour Bridge’s Pylon Lookout that we got from our bridge climb that we wanted to use, and we had a harbour cruise scheduled for the afternoon.
We were expecting rain on our second day in Sydney, and boy did we ever get it. A storm front moved into the area today and we got a steady supply of rain throughout the day. Even though it was quite wet, we didn’t let the weather ruin our day and we got out early to start exploring some more of this amazing city.
All things considering, we had a very successful first day in Sydney. We arrived at 6:30am after nearly 30 hours of traveling and we weren’t all that tired. Lucky for us, we were able to plan out and execute our sleep fairly well during our travels. The key was not sleeping until the second half of our flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, and then getting a good chunk of rest then. That aligned us up with the daytime and nighttime hours at our destination, which really helped when we landed.
It is my goal to take you with us every step of the way on this trip, so I have put a lot of thought into how I am going to provide you will updates as we move from one adventure to the next. While I won’t be publishing any detailed guides while I am away, I will be posting quite a few journal entries here on the blog that you can read and provide quite a few social media posts with updates on our experiences. In case you are interested, I have included our rough itinerary below as well as what my plan is for providing updates on the blog and my various social media accounts.
On my way to the Apostle Islands yesterday, I made a stop in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. To call this state park gorgeous would be a significant understatement, and that is coming from an avid national parks enthusiast.
My trip to the Apostle Islands in Northern Wisconsin is officially underway. After a five hour drive this evening, I arrived at Lake Superior just in time to get some great sunset shots. The whole coast of the lake is absolutely beautiful, but the trick is finding a stretch of coast that lines up right with where the sun will be rising or setting.
I wanted to do something special for my regular readers who are subscribers, so I have decided to start sending some of my premium content to those of you who have subscribed or do subscribe. Everyone who signs up will receive a FREE copy of my Ultimate Guide for New Travelers that includes my full travel planning process.
If you have always wanted to see the Northern Lights, but you haven’t had the opportunity, this weekend you might be in luck. The best part is, you might not have to go anywhere to see them. According to NASA, a solar storm is set to hit the Earth this weekend and it may give those of us who live further South the best chance to see them in a long time.