Hard to believe, but this is full circle, back in Sydney and just two more days in the CBD and the harbor, then I will be on a plane headed for Singapore first and then for Zurich – back home at last.

In Sydney center, I can highly recommend staying at the Park Hyatt – one of the best and most precious views of all cities, I am sure, and great for people and cruise ship watching.

Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge from Mrs. Macquaries Point, Sydney, Australia

CBD skyline from Botanical Garden, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Sydney Harbor from Park Hyatt Hotel, Sydney, NSW, Australia

After a quite terrible Surfing experience in Surfer’s Paradise owed to probably incompetence and difficult waves, a quick trip to the coastal mountains and the beautiful Springbrook and Tamborine National Parks helps with the recovery process…

puttygen ssh , Queensland, Australia” width=”584″ height=”388″ class=”size-large wp-image-2451″ /> Blue winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) in Springbrook NP, Queensland, Australia

Lights in the rainforest, Tamborine National Park, Queensland, Australia

Curtis Falls, Joalah Section of Tamborine National Park, Queensland, Australia

Heading south, we decided to skip Noosa Heads and rather replace it with Rainbow Beach and the Carlo Sand Blow. If we still had been in possession of our 4WD, we could have cut the drive south by just heading along the beach, but unfortunately we had to take the inland road. Still, was well worth the trip getting out to the sand dunes catching some paragliders as well as the sand formations down on the beach.

Jellyfish on Rainbow Beach, Queensland, Australia

Sand formations at Rainbow Beach, Queensland, Australia

Carlo Sand Blow and paragliders, Rainbow Beach, Queensland, Australia

On the way south towards Brisbane – yesterday’s trip was after the sailboat excursion from Airlie Beach just to Mackay, and then today it was the long drive from Mackay all the way to Bundaberg.

Road sign on A1 south, Queensland, Australia

Bundaberg steel bridge, Queensland, Australia

Parrots in the Rockhampton botanical gardens, Queensland, Australia

A last day in the Whitsundays – a boat trip to Hill Inlet and the outlook across the bay, then a fantastic OZ-style barbecue on the far end of long Whitehaven Beach next to two shiny waterplanes, and finally a snorkel excursion to the perfect spot where even snorkelling you can discover nice gorgonia coral, reef sharks, and our guide even found a white tiny nudibranch crawling across some stone coral.

Hill Inlet from the outlook, Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia

Waterplane on Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia

Heavy traffic on Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia

Two-night stay with boat transfer to a remote island in the Whitsundays including its (tame) wildlife. So close to civilisation yet so far away from it all!

We call him Frederic, Palm Bay Resort, Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia

Palm at Palm Bay Resort, Palm Bay Resort, Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia

Wild yet tame Cockatoo, Palm Bay Resort, Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia

Great luck on the day – great afternoon sun, still pretty good visibility with little haze in the air, the tide table showed the conditions were right for both Whitehaven Beach and the famous ‘Heart Reef’ out on the Great Barrier Reef – what better than to take to the air and shoot some aerials?

The Heart, a reef formation part of Hardy Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

Whiteheaven Beach pano from the air, Whitsunday Islands, Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

Spit of Langford Island, Whitsunday Islands, Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

Drive up to the Atherton table land with a visit to Crater Lakes National Park, the Waterfalls circuit including Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls, to the Platypus and intense blue Ulysses butterfly and dragonflies.

Elinjaa Falls, Waterfall Circuit, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Blue dragonfly, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Rare platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in a pond in the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Saw shelled turtle (Wollumbinia latisternum) in Crater Lake National Park, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Last part of the GBR series, with a selection of close-up shots of really tiny fish and small details from clams and coral. Enjoy.

Incurrent siphon of giant clam, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Giant clam half open, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Damsel fish in a garden setting, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Tiny damsel fish, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

Garden eel, Outer Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia