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Island Hopping Around the Pacific

We’re back! It was a whirlwind 24-day summer trip. This was our itinerary: LA – Brisbane- Bangkok – Nagoya/Kyoto- Guam – Cairns- Brisbane- Fiji-LA. Here are some stats for perspective: 10 flights, 7 airports, 4 countries, over 25,000 miles and countless memories. If you’ve seen our other travel itineraries, you know we’re not slow travelers. We prefer to see and experience as much as possible in our limited vacation time. Some call it crazy but we like it that way. Although after this trip, my family may disagree with me.

OZ_Asia Trip
Mapping created through www.travellerspoint.com

Thank you to some of you who sent me messages asking if we were okay since I hadn’t posted. I haven’t written a post in weeks and I did minimal updates on social media and honestly, it felt good and liberating. After blogging for almost three years, posting almost weekly, getting caught up and promoting on social media on top of a full-time job and parenthood, I really needed this break and time with my family.

Though, my travel blogging mind was still working while traveling. I still thought of various ways to share a particularly place with all of you. I’m excited to share these highlights from our trip. But, I’ll be writing more about each attraction and experience in depth in the months ahead (with a lot of pictures, of course).

Sigatoka River Fiji

The Land Down Under

Our first stop was Brisbane, Australia – the country’s third largest city. It’s usually not on many people’s radar when visiting Australia. So, why Brisbane or as the locals call it, Brissy? My husband and I spent part of our honeymoon in 2000 in Sydney and Melbourne and we wanted to see other parts of “Oz”. But, the main reason was weather. Since it was winter season in the Southern Hemisphere, we wanted to be some place a bit warmer and Brisbane has milder weather. We were out in our t-shirts while the southern part of Australia was freezing.

Brisbane Australia

The South Bank Parklands is Brisbane’s cultural destination. It is a great place to visit or hang out with an enviable location by the river and filled with museums, attractions (including the Wheel of Brisbane), parks and even a beach in the middle of the city.

Wheel of Brisbane

One of the highlights for us was a visit to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Touted as the “world’s first and largest koala sanctuary” and with over 130 koalas, there is no shortage of adorable koalas here. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle these cuties?
Lone Pine Koalas

They also had other animals native to Australia like the emu, tasmanian devil, cassowary and wombats. We spent hours here and a lot of it was spent trying to hand feed kangaroos and wallabies. I cannot wait to share our adventures here.{update: see our Koala Cuddling and Kangaroo feeding post}

Lone Pine Kangaroos

We stopped at Cairns on the way home to get a taste of tropical Australia and for the Great Barrier Reef. We loved our two visits to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. We enjoyed learning how to throw spears and returning boomerangs among other things from the Tjapukai Aboriginals. This was such a great way for the whole family to learn about the indigenous rainforest people in a fun environment and with a great program for kids.

Tjapukai boomerang spear throwingFor a completely different experience, we returned the day after for a dinner and dance show at the cultural park. The traditional dances show, story time and even learning how to make fire were highlights for us. The kids enjoyed mingling with the performers too.

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park night

The best way to see Cairns from above is through the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. This ride took us on a magnificent journey over the tropical rainforest canopy and through various stations to learn about this unique environment.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

We loved the scenic lookouts including this one of Barron Falls. Since it was their dry season, it wasn’t flowing heavily but still a stunning sight to see.

Barron Falls Australia

Our Skyrail ride ended at the “village in the rainforest”, Kuranda, which was a charming place to shop and wander around. We got down from the mountain by riding the refurbished train carriages on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. But, the best part of the ride was passing through the tropical rainforest and greeted by amazing views. We highly recommend combining these three attractions for an incredible experience in Cairns.

Kuranda Scenic Railway

We ended our trip in Australia with a day trip to one of the islands within the Great Barrier Reef (the world’s largest coral reef system). Fitzroy Island was such a wonderful place to spend the day which included a visit to a turtle rehabilitation center, a sea trampoline, snorkeling, hiking, coral viewing and an afternoon at Nudey Beach (picture below). It’s really not what its name implies.

Fitzroy Island Nudey Beach

The Asia Stopover

Bangkok was a short layover at their impressive airport. The city was supposed to be a 4-day stop for us but my husband was too paranoid with the political situation. It was disappointing to be so close but not see the city. One of these days, I will finally visit you, Bangkok! Though, I’m happy I still got my mango and sticky rice and a cheap massage after a long flight.

Bangkok Airport

Nagoya is Japan’s 3rd largest city and frankly, was not on my places to see. It became a convenient layover stop but I’m so glad we got the chance to visit. The highlight of our visit here was to Nagoya Castle. At one time, this was one of the largest castles in Japan but most of its buildings were burned down during a World War II air raid. There is a good museum inside the castle but the characters we saw around the castle made this visit much more interesting.

Nagoya Castle

We were so excited to finally ride the Shinkasen or bullet train in Japan. The 66 miles (107 km) from Nagoya to Kyoto only took 35 minutes. It is amazing how fast these trains go at most 240–320 km/h (150–200 mph). Kyoto was such a great city to explore and such a contrast to Tokyo’s metropolis. This was old Japan at its finest with so many well-preserved and beautiful shrines and temples.

shinkansen japan

Our first stop was the Golden Pavilion or Kinkakuji. This stunning Zen temple’s top two floors are entirely covered in gold leaf. It was very crowded here with tour buses and school field trips but my husband managed to take this picture with not too many distractions.

Kyoto Golden Pavilion

Our most memorable time in Kyoto was a hike through the thousands of vermilion torii gates at the Fushimi Inari Shrine. A planned leisurely visit turned into a 3-hour hike through the woods and up to the top of sacred Mount Inari at 765 feet (233 meters).

Kyoto Fushimi Inari Shrine torii

The Pacific Islands

The main reason for this trip (even though we took the longer way to get there) was actually to see my family and friends in Guam. Read my intro to Guam post if you want to know more about one of my childhood homes. And the blogging Gods smiled upon me when this post went semi-viral a couple of weeks ago among my fellow islanders and gave me the biggest blog traffic numbers ever.

Guam sunset

This was a first visit for my husband and kids. I know that’s hard to believe and trust me, I’ve gotten plenty of grief about it through the years. Guam also isn’t the easiest or cheapest place to visit. But, we finally made it and my husband and kids loved it and can’t wait to return. For my kids, riding a water buffalo or carabao, which is still used in some parts of Guam for farming, was a truly “cool and awesome” experience.

Guam carabao

I was reminded of the laid back island lifestyle I had long forgotten and wish I can sometimes replicate in my hectic world. This was taken at Two Lover’s Point which is one of the island’s main attractions.

Guam Two Lover's Point

It was also fun to discover some places in Guam I never knew existed despite its small size. We enjoyed a relaxing jungle river cruise and were rewarded with beautiful sceneries like these. Most of my family and friends haven’t even ventured here. See an overview of our Guam trip.

Guam Talofofo River cruise

We ended our island hopping trip in the Fijian Islands. Fiji has 333 islands and we managed to visit only three of them. It’s hard to forget cultural performances that leave you in awe like this one during our cruise to Robinson Crusoe Island.

Robinson Crusoe Island fire dancers

Cultural experiences were a huge part in our visit to Fiji. But, there was also some adventure including this fun and exciting ride on a speedboat on Fiji’s longest river. We have quite a few videos to share with this ride.

Sigatoka River Safari Fiji

But, the best part was visiting a Fijian village, having lunch prepared by the locals and interacting with them. This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip and it still brings back a lot of emotions for me. This was an unforgettable experience that affected our whole family.

Fiji with kids

Relaxing for a few days in an exotic, tropical paradise was a fitting end to this trip. We spent our last day at South Sea Island relaxing in these hammocks and enjoying Fiji’s warm, crystal clear waters.

South Sea Island Fiji

I hope you enjoyed seeing our travel highlights for now and are inspired to venture into these lesser known and visited places. You can see some other photos on our Instagram and FB page.  Sometimes, it still feels like these past few weeks were a dream. I look forward to sharing our stories and tips with you in the coming weeks and months.

Which places or attractions here are you most curious about? Have you visited any of these places?

51 thoughts on “Island Hopping Around the Pacific”

  1. What an incredible trip! Loved that you got to Brissy and further north in Queensland but sad you didn’t make it to our neck of the woods in WA! Your pics are mesmeric :)

  2. Super cool itinerary and destinations! I hope to visit some of them later this year so will use your post as a reference. Glad you got back home safely!

  3. To me, it’s a perfect summer getaway!! I’m a big fan of temple and island hopping. My last time was in Indonesia and trust me, I had a time of my life! You look so amazing with koalas on your arms!! :)

  4. Loved seeing your kids’ smiles on your adventures! Thanks for all the ideas you are giving me and for sharing your experiences with us! :)

  5. OH my gosh I could write a novel of a reply here, Mary! First, it’s so nice to see a post from you! Wow, what an incredible trip and thank you for including the map. I’m a map “addict” :) I’ll pick two things…the kids holding the koalas is absolutely priceless. But, getting to toss boomerangs from an expert would have been a blast! Glad all of you are safe and sound :)

  6. Mary, I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip! It’s good to see some photos and I can’t wait to hear about your travels when you post! BTW: We are six days from Iceland! Yay!

  7. WOW what a trip, and welcome back!! I’m so jealous that you guys got to cuddle koalas and feed kanagaroos, and I can’t wait to read about that!! Actually, I’m looking forward to reading about everything! :)

  8. What a great trip – we are curretnly in Thailand for the summer months, just left Bangkok and now Phuket we are really enjoying it but now I am looking at your island hoping and feeling lazy! how much fun you must be having! thanks for the ideas for future travels – love how you and your family travel! :) Now FIJI is on my bucket list Geez it grows daily! :)

  9. What a fantastic trip. I am looking forward to a bigger post on South Sea Island, it looks devine and your Fiji Village experience. I am glad you enjoyed your blog free holiday. Back to the grindstone now :)

  10. Very interesting tour. I’ve been in South Pacific (New Caledonia) and I have to say that the Southern Hemisphere is indeed a great experience for both kids and adults. By the way, I love that picture of the four of you with the Koala bears.

  11. WoW that’s one amazing trip ! I have been to LA & Bangkok, the other places are still on my list.
    It’s incredible how much you did in one vacation, glad you had a wonderful time.
    The pics are again amazing.

  12. We did a similar trip in January—-minus our grown sons. The first 40 hour day: Philadelphia to San Francisco to Manila (with a refueling stop in Honolulu), Manila to Bangkok, Bangkok, to Chiang Mai Thailand. Over two weeks, we also visited Luang Prabang, Laos; Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angkor Wat; then to Hong Kong to board a 13 day cruise with port stops at Halong Bay, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam; Bangkok (some excursions were cancelled due to the political unrest); Ko Samui (a Thai island), ending in Singapore. After a few days in Singapore, we flew to Honolulu where my husband did a 3 month sabbatical. I really admire you for doing your trip with the entire family.

  13. WOW. What a fabulous adventure for your family. Your children will
    always remember this trip! And the photos are sensational. That koala bear looks like a cuddly, soft stuffed animal. LOVE! x

  14. When you went a few weeks without a post, I assumed that tons of fabulous fun must have been occupying your time during your travels. I didn’t realize that you were going to pass through Oz twice as I thought you’d do a Japan to California flight or vice versa. I see some familiar places in your post — Cairns and Kyoto — and you seem to have enjoyed them just as much as I did.

  15. Wow … what an amazing trip! I was pretty sure you were travelling somewhere, and that’s why you weren’t posting. I think it’s a great idea to give up social media (as much as possible) when you travel, so you’re more immersed in the experience. Looking forward to more posts in the future!

  16. Wonderful trip. I was following you on FB, and was amazed to see where you were going and how fast. I was in Australia more than 30 years ago. There definitely seems to be a lot more to see and do now. I would love to go to the Koala sanctuary.

  17. I knew you were in Guam and Australia but I hadn’t appreciated the other countries that you managed to visit. Wow is all I can say. What a trip – what photos and best of all what a superb break from blogging. We all need it more often.
    It’s hard coming back after being gone for 24 days – to life, jobs, blogs… Hope it’s an easy transition.

  18. Cool trip- will you plan summer vacations for our family?!
    I grew up on Brissy, so fun to read that. And headed to Kyoto in November, so interested in that.
    Just got to use some of your tips in Copenhagen and Stockholm – like not doing the church spire! Thanks
    Michele

  19. Sounds like an amazing trip! So good that you got some time to relax and let go of the blogging world a bit and also that your family finally got to visit Guam! The koalas are adorable! Hope y’all are settling back in to things well :)

  20. Good for you taking that break. I have the same limitations with time, and seeing a lot with limited vacation. It’s hard to write and work a full-time job! Sometimes you need s break, so s hobby doesn’t become a chore. Great photos by the way, and I think I’ve told you before that i love the maps in blogs. Very Indiana-Jonesish.

  21. Hi Mary! You know I’m dying to hear all about your trip:) looks like you had so much fun! The koala sanctuary is definitely on my bucket list now! Welcome back!

  22. I really enjoyed living through your adventures during this post. Those islands look pretty awesome, as does Australia!

    Were the flights expensive or would someone normal like myself be able to pull off such a trip?

    I’ll be heading to Japan and can’t wait to stop by Kyoto. It’s such a marvelous city, huh? I’m definitely going to share this post. Great one you’ve got here! Love your site as well!

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