Sydney: The First Stop on Our Australian Adventure

No tourist arriving in Sydney can help but be moved by its beauty. Sydney has many spots worth visiting, but the most famous of these is definitely the Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House is a symbol not only of Sydney, but of the whole of Australia. It frequently crops up in Hollywood movies and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

After seeing Sydney's most iconic building in person, my visit was already a success. The Sydney Opera House is open to the public every day, with guided tours of the inside held every 30 minutes. The tours are available in English and Chinese.

For those needing refreshment after their tour, there are cafes with plenty of outdoor seating right next door. Why not order a cup of coffee or slowly sip a cold drink while soaking in the beauty of the Sydney Opera House?

Suggested visit time: 2–3 hours

Many people believe the Great Barrier Reef is one giant reef, but in reality it's neither a reef nor an island; it's actually a very long string of separate coral reefs extending for 2000 km along the north-eastern coast of Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to almost 3000 coral reefs, coral islands, sandbanks and lagoons. This spectacular scenery is all built by coral polyps in the natural course of their life cycle.

If immersing yourself in Melbourne's unspoiled natural surroundings and communing with wildlife sounds like your thing, then you can't afford to miss the penguin colony on Phillip Island!

Every day at nightfall, Phillip Island is inundated with adorable little blue https://www.trip.com/travel-guide/phillip-island-16477/. After a long and busy day spent catching fish, a line of Little Penguins (the world's smallest penguins, which have been breeding in Australia and New Zealand for thousands of years), parade up the beach to their nests. People from all over the world gather on the island to view this remarkable scene.

There's even an underground viewing area if you want to get super close to the action. Just try not to be overwhelmed with cuteness as you watch them waddling along, their bellies stuffed with fish and prawns.

Melbourne's Puffing Billy is the last of several experimental steam railways built here in the early 1900s. It's also the oldest heritage steam line in Australia and one of the best preserved in the world.

The journey is 24 km long, passing through beautiful forests and fern valleys en route from Belgrave to the Dandenong Ranges. The striking scenery is best viewed from the open-sided carriages.

Paronella Park near Cairns was one of the inspirations behind Hayao Miyazaki's classic anime film Laputa: Castle in the Sky. (And for those of you who know your Cantopop, it's also the location where Hong Kong duo Twins shot their photobook and music video!) The park flaunts the classical beauty of its castle, as well as the natural beauty of its waterfall and emerald-green rainforest surroundings. Seeing all of these different types of scenery interwoven in one place makes you feel like you're walking into a dream. Knowing that the park inspired a touching love story makes it all the more special, and is the reason why many people come here for wedding photoshoots.

While you're here, you could do a lot worse than joining the Castle in the Sky Day Tour – not only will you break into another dimension and enter Hayao Miyazaki's animated world, but it's also the opportunity of a lifetime to experience a picnic in a castle or go canoeing on the lake.

Of course, I couldn't come to the Southern Hemisphere without seeing something you can only find in Australia or New Zealand and blowing up my Moments with it, could I?!

On that note, there's a Gold Coast night-time excursion that I simply have to recommend – one where you can explore deep inside a waterfall cave and see luminescent blue glow worms found only in Australia and New Zealand! Once you enter the cave, switch off all flashlights and thousands upon thousands of fireflies will appear, like a night sky filled with stars. The fantasy index here is off the charts!

Once you reach Surfers Paradise, a day at a fun theme park is a popular next stop. Whether you dream of living in a movie, taking your child into a fairy-tale land of fantasy, or experiencing the wonders of the ocean, there are theme parks here to suit your tastes. Of course, when you're only here for a limited time, choosing the best theme park is a big deal for the little ones.

The most popular choice is undoubtedly Warner Bros. Movie World – it's one of the Gold Coast's favourite theme parks, and a must-see for movie fans and families alike. They have all the attractions you'd expect, along with six different themed performances throughout the day and ample opportunity to take photos with your favourite characters for that picture-perfect souvenir. If you like the sound of blending into scenes from classic Hollywood films, this is the place for you.

Movie World, Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast and Paradise Country are all close to each other, but it takes at least two days to experience all three – I recommend staying in the area overnight and picking two of the three, as doing them all in one day would be a bit too intense.