Our Bucket List

Having seen the movie ‘The Bucket List’ years ago, it crossed our minds how many things we would actually like to do before … well, before we die obviously, but while we’re still young enough to actually do them and enjoy them! So, as part of becoming young Aussie nomads, here is our bucket list. We may not accomplish all of them in our travels, but we’ll give them our best shot! So, here in no particular order …

• Visit Lord Howe Island – apparently it’s “the last paradise”. That’s good enough for us!
• Fly over the Bungle Bungles – one picture and we’re convinced this is worth seeing from the air.
• Walk along Wineglass Bay – we’ve seen it from a hilltop on a day trip many years ago. Up close and personal is now a must.
• Visit Australia’s Antarctic Territories – a part of Australia but a whole world away.
• See the Flinders Ranges.
• Drive the Great Ocean Road. DONE!
• Meet the Dolphins at Monkey Mia – have wanted to do this since the first time we saw it in a travel magazine.
• Swim with Whale Sharks on Ningaloo Reef – wow … talk about an exerience you’d never forget. Cannot wait for this one!
• Sail the Whitsundays – might have to pack the seasickness tables for this one!
• Snorkel Rowley Shoals Marine Park – apparently an often deserted reef to rival the Great Barrier Reef.
• Join a Cattle Drive in the Outback – our legs and bums might regret this after one day, but you can’t get much more Aussie than this!
• Visit Remarkable Rocks – an outdoor art gallery we can probably handle!
• Reach Australia’s Northernms Point, Cape York – apparently with a sign saying “You are standing at the northernmost point of the Australian continent”, we shouldn’t miss it!
• Trek the Bay of Fires.
• See the Penguins on Phillip Island – according to the movie ‘Old Dogs’ these little creatures aren’t as innocent as they look, but cute enough to deserve a look in the wild.
• Dive the Great Barrier Reef.
• Whale Watch in Hervey Bay.
• Scavenge for Gold – every Aussie’s dream. If it happened in generations past, why can’t the great gold rush happen again?!
• Go on a Ghost Tour. DONE!
• Visit Melbourne Gaol. DONE!
• Walk through the Treetops in Lamington National Park – a particularly frightening thought given a certain someone (Susie) has a particular and rather large fear of heights, so this could be interesting …
• Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge – ditto!
• Visit the Tutankhamun Exhibit – have always found Egypt truly fascinating.
• See the Wildlife at Kangaroo Island.
• Watch the Sunset from Steep Point.
• Spend a Day Exploring Victoria’s Spa Country.
• Climb Mt Kosciusko – or at least get to the top somehow …
• Go Underground at Coober Pedy.
• Travel down the Murray on a Paddle Steamer.
• Kayak in Coles Bay.
• Explore the Barossa Valley.
• Stay on an Outback Cattle Station.
• Fly over Whitehaven Beach.
• See in the New Year on Sydney Harbour.
• Watch an Australian Ballet performance.
• Learn to Surf.
• Ride a Camel Train along Cable Beach.
• Horseride along a Beach.
• See Something Big at the MCG.
• Be the first in Australia to see the sun rise.
• Walk with the wild on Maria Island.
• Visit the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
• Explore Melbourne’s Laneways. DONE!
• See The Pinnacles.
• See a Performance at the Sydney Opera House.
• Visit the Australian War Memorial. DONE!
• Join the Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial.
• Watch a match at the Australian Open.
• Learn to windsurf.
• Cruise Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania.
• Visit Taronga Zoo.
• Do the St Helena Ghost Tour.
• Go on a Ghost Tour at Port Arthur.
• Ride the world’s steepest railway.
• Visit the Eureka Stockade. DONE!
• Sun with seals.
• Swim with seahorses at Mornington Peninsula.
• Have a meal on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant.
• Feed the dolphins and stay overnight at Tangalooma.
• See a Cirque de Solei performance.
• See an Orchestra perform live.
• Take a helicopter ride over Heart Reef.
• Go up a lighthouse.
• Visit an aerial show.
• See the Horizontal Falls.
• Watch a movie in an outdoor cinema.
• Visit Gunlom Top Pools, Kakadu.
• Visit Mimosa Rocks National Park.
• Camp on Fraser Island.
• Visit the Melbourne Zoo.
• Drive around Albert Park Lake. DONE!
• Tour inside the Sydney Opera House.
• Sunbake on Bondi Beach.
• Get up close to a Great White Shark – preferably with a very solid wall between us.
• Go on a Jetboat ride.
• Cruise a city river in a Gondola.
• Sleep by a campfire under the stars.

Originally posted 29 May 2013. Updated 28 April 2014.