Australia

 

Four Weeks Down Under

✈️ OUR BIG JOURNEY  ·  FRIDAY, 23 JANUARY 2026

What better way to spend Christmas Eve than jetting off to the other side of the world? After spending time with Danny, we found ourselves on a mammoth 22-hour journey via Singapore, touching down in Sydney on Boxing Day to the welcoming smiles of Ryan and a hand-painted picture by Jack. The jet lag was already kicking in, but seeing Ryan made every bleary-eyed hour worth it.

Our Australian adventure unfolded over the next four weeks. We rang in 2026 with Ryan, Niamh and her family; Fergal, Georgina and Jack; plus our niece Megan and her boyfriend Jim, who had travelled down from Brisbane — a lovely way to celebrate the new year. From Fergal and Georgina's apartment in Bondi, we could see the Harbour Bridge and the incredible fireworks. It was strange to think that the UK was still eleven hours away from their celebrations.

The next week was action-packed. The cricket at the Sydney Ashes was one of the better days for English cricket, followed by our escape to the Great Barrier Reef — first Hayman Island, then Hamilton Island. Hayman is a 30-minute boat trip from Hamilton and has just one hotel set within the coral reef, but we arrived with a cyclone heading inland as the backdrop. Wind and rain were on their way.

The Hunter Valley wine region was another highlight. Ryan and I couldn't resist a round at Greg Norman's course, The Vintage — absolutely beautiful fairways surrounded by rolling vineyards. Then on to Melbourne and a chance to visit my cousin Stephen and his family. It had been ten years.

While in Melbourne we caught the opening day of the tennis Open. Ryan's good friend Ben had travelled with his family to Melbourne to escape the heavy rain in Sydney, so we met them at the tennis. A big country suddenly felt small.

We even squeezed in the Melbourne parkrun, our third of the holiday — the first two in Sydney. The food highlight had to be our meal at Stokehouse in St Kilda — hands down the best dining experience of the entire trip, although the food and wine throughout the holiday were wonderful. I was not expecting to write that.

As all good things must end, we found ourselves back in Sydney for our final adventure: canoeing through the harbour as the sun painted the sky in brilliant oranges and pinks. What a perfect way to close the chapter on three incredible weeks, already dreaming of when we might return.

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Journeys End - Shannon Airport

 

After a fantastic week and 750km driving we arrive at Shannon Airport. It is sad to be heading home. Ireland is not a holiday destination you go for the weather. It’s a holiday destination to see beautiful scenery, experience the culture, find a warm welcome and have the opportunity to drink some fine Guinness. It’s hard to understand, but without doubt you can’t get the same quality of Guinness anywhere else in the world. They take their Guinness seriously here, unless its near to perfect the publican will soon be told. 

We had an incredibly warm welcome meeting family and friends. The most dangerous part of going to Ireland is being killed with kindness. Food and drink always comes in wholesome qualities, which is fantastic, but it keeps temptation always at hand. When sitting in an Irish pub with a drink listening to music, no one cares what the weather is like outside. 

We had not visited Northern Ireland before. Most of our views came from the news broadcasts over the Irish troubles. Visiting helps you understand how beautiful the north of the Ireland is and they take their Guinness as serious as they do in the south. 

Until the next time Ireland. We had a great time. 

Cliffs of Moher

 

A day trip from Clair Galway to the Cliff of Moher. A car journey south around the rugged coast line, going past parts of Ireland used to film the 1990s comedy program Father Ted. The Cliffs of Moher is a famous tourist site with coaches of tourists arriving daily to walk the path above the cliffs to see the breath taking views.  

Walking the cliffs is hungry work, so time for lunch. We head for Monks bar and restaurant in Ballyvaughan. Their Seafood Chowder is lovely and what was needed. 

From Ballyvaughan, back to Clair Galway. We arrive in time to change and head out from the evening. This nights dinner at Barry Donovans wonderful Trieste Café & Wine Bar in Galway. A great night. 
 

Clare Galway via the Wild Atlantic Coast

 

Next stop Clare Galway to stay with Richard and Paula. The journey took us west along the Wild Atlantic Way, which is a tourist route following the coast.  First stop Berta Beach, which sits below the mountain peak of Croagh Patrick. Its name comes from its association with St Patrick who is said to have spent forty nights fasting on the summit. This is a beautiful area, exposed to the wind from the Atlantic Ocean. The doors of our car were nearly ripped from our hands by the gusting wind as we stepped out of the car to take a few photos.

Continuing along the coast we came across OldHead, a small harbour along the coast. The rain started as we arrived.  We stopped for a very short break to take a few wet wind swept photos before continuing on our journey. 

Doolough Famine memorial. In the Doolough valley is a memorial to the 600 people who walked the valley in the freezing cold to request food from the land owners in 1849 during the famine. They were denied and sent back. Many perished on the walk to and from the inhuman landowners in Delphi. They died where they fell, with no one strong enough to help them. We arrived on a wet, windy and overcast day, so it created a sense of how a difficult a walk it must have been. 

Cong

Then on to Cong, the home of the Quiet Man film starring John Wayne. It is also home to Niamh’s family. We stopped to meet Bernie and Michael who gave us a friendly Irish welcome. They both work in Ashford Castle, so we were treated to a visit around the incredible 5 star hotel, once owned by the Guinness family. Most of the guests were American, who arrive each year to find family and pay pilgrimage to the film. This hotel is the height of luxury, with its own cinema (The Quiet Man is often on the list of films) and an incredible snooker room and many bars and restaurants.

The trip from Cong to Galway is about 40 km. This was our final leg to see Richard and Paula. The last time we were here was in 2007. In that time the population of Galway has expanded. New houses, business parks were clear to see. Most obvious was the traffic jams, which we had not seen during our previous visit. As always fantastic hospitality. Kathy and Luke joined use for a fun evening and a few glasses of wine. 

Next stop Westport

 

Our next stop is Westport in county Mayo, which is 185 km from Harveys point. The plan was to stop at Donegal Castle and Rosses Point just outside Sligo. 

Before leaving we joined a walk around the Harveys Point Hotel. Our guide was Noel Cunningham who works for the hotel and a celebrity on RTE television, presenting on an afternoon show. He leads the walk when he is available, very proud to talk about his home county Donegal. Noel was great fun and full of energy. The walk lasted about 2 hours, stopping for him to tell his tails and history of the area. This is beautiful Donegal and as Noel explained, it typically rains twice each week. The first time for three days and the second time for four days. I think we got caught in the first rain fall. 

Donegal Castle 

Only 6 km from our hotel, the castle is in the centre of this busy town. We decided to walk around and then quickly back to the car to avoid the rain that stated to fall again. It was nice to see, but time to get moving to Westport. 

Rosses Point

Our new friend Noel recommended our stop at Rosses point. A town on the Atlantic, which is both beautiful and exposed to the weather. It is home to the Sligo Golf Club, founded in 1896 and in the top 100 UK and Ireland golf clubs. When the wind blows, which I suspect it does all the time this must be a brutal course to play. 

Westport and Matt Malloys

Westport is a party town, with many restaurants and bars. The most famous bar is Matt Malloys, which is owned and named after its owner (Matt Malloy) who is a member of the Irish band The Chieftains. 

Matt bought the bar 34 years ago and turned into an Irish music pub. Musicals turn up with their instruments and join in. Occasionally someone in the audience will break into a traditional song. The Guinness flows and the music plays late into the night. To top the night, Matt turned up in the pub with his wife. Janice managed to get a photo with them to remember the night. 

Donegal

 

After our Irish breakfast, it was time to head towards Donegal and across the boarder. However, before we could leave Portrush we needed to visit the Portrush golf course. The course was closed as the summer season finished over the weekend and the greens were being repaired, so it was very quiet, but nice to visit. Hopefully we can return for The Open in 2025.

From Portrush we headed to Londonderry, everyone shortens to Derry. Most of what we knew of the city came from the events during the Northern Ireland troubles, apart from the more recent comedy program “The Derry Girls”, which is hopefully playing its part in making Derry be seen as a happier place. 

The old city wall built in the early 17th century and still exists. The only complete city wall in Ireland and one of the finest examples in Europe. It allows you to completely walk around the old city centre. The ancient wall has protected the city during the many centuries. Today it overlooks the housing estates built in more modern times. One of these areas is the Bogside, which is where the events of “Bloody Sunday” took place in the 1972. Murals remain painted on the local houses as a reminder of what took place. Hopefully this is now just a reminder, but you sense tensions still remain. It was a fascinating place to visit, but nice to leave and head for the countryside.

From Derry we set off for Donegal. Within 15 minutes we had crossed the boarder, which was extremely uneventful, the only indicator was the road speed limit signs changing from miles to kilometres. The drive was beautiful, although the rain had started to fall. This is Ireland in October, so it seemed appropriate. 

We eventually arrived at our hotel; Harveys Point on Lough Eske. We were welcomed with the opportunity to do some wine tasting, hosted by the head of catering, a little introduction for the evening meal.  I would not have expected wine tasting in Ireland, but as they say over here, we were “very welcome”. 

Harveys point Hotel