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I spent the last couple of weeks of Anne's Awesome Adventure in the Sydney area. After landing at the Sydney airport I travelled south to the beachside surf town of Cronulla. I took a little ferry from Cronulla to Bundeena which is on the edge of Royal National Park.....second oldest in the world to Yellowstone. I hiked along the coast and through the bush. Nothing spectacular, but pleasant. I was a typical tourist trying to take photos of all the colorful parrots and cockatoos flying around. I still think they are really cool and got excited watching them fly through the trees by the dozens. The locals think they are noisy pests.
Next stop was a trip north of Sydney to the Pittwater area. I stayed in a great YHA there in the Ku-ring-gai national park which is only accessible by a little ferry. The YHA is in an old lodge built in the 20s. VERY AWESOME! The scenery was beautiful and I enjoyed hiking through the bush, kayaking along the sound, talking with the few other guests and staff members by the fire and watching the wallabies eating grass on the front lawn. Great place for a relaxing get away
from the hustle of Sydney.
After a couple of days in Aussie paradise, I got an email from my friend Marinda that she would soon be in the Blue Mtns after travelling down the east coast from Cairns where we met. So after a ferry/bus/train trip, I arrived in Katoomba in the Blue Mtns inland of Sydney. I had read that the weather there was often cloudy obscuring the views, but we were blessed with blue skies for most of the stay. It was great fun reuniting with Marinda and we had a terrific few days hiking in the mtns. Fortunately for me, Marinda likes to cook so she cooked up some great meals at our hostel. The hostel was nice, full of interesting people to talk with by the woodburning stove at night. Unfortunately, I think the stove was the only heating in the house and as autumn was setting in in the mountains it was pretty chilly once the fire went out.
The owner let us borrow a tent and sleeping mats to go on an overnight camping trip. We hiked past a spectacular waterfall and into the valley. As it was a beautiful fall weekend, we shared
the spacious camping zone with a couple of family groups as well as a school group of 14, 14 year old boys. The boys came to visit us by our campfire that night. They got a big kick out of it when I started doing my best redneck southern accent. They see a lot of American TV, but probably had not met a real redneck in person before! It was a cold night after the fire went out, but no rain and we had a good hike out the next morning.
We took the train back to Sydney the next day to explore the city. Marinda only had a couple of days before she had to head off to Melbourne. I enjoyed her company (and having my own personal chef!) for a few more days before she took off. See you when you get to America Marinda!
Sydney is a great city. Dynamic, easy to get around, scenic beaches.....what's not to love! I did a lot of the tourist things, Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, touring around the city, Opera house, ferry rides. The two things I liked the most though were going to a rugby game and kayaking. I was
invited to join Nicola (the lady I met in Uluru) and some of her friends for their 10km open water swim as a support kayaker on the day before I left. What a great way to end my adventure! Joining a group of locals, paddling from Bondi Beach into the harbour to Watson's Bay. My job was to carry water and food for one of the swimmers and make sure they were getting proper nutrition during the swim. It was a great day, great scenery, and a fun atmosphere cheering on the swimmers. We enjoyed a celebration beer at the end, I had some fish and chips by the water front and bought some souvenirs on the way back to the hostel and packed my bag for its trip home.
The morning of my flight, I woke up a backpacker in my dorm room for the last time, took the train to the airport, checked in and went to wait for my flight in the lounge. I stepped into a different world than the one I had inhabitated for the past 4 months....free food and drink, free wifi. Well dressed people who weren't wearing the same pair of jeans for
the 6th day in a row (like I was). I ate well, drank well, and watched lots of movies in my comfy business class seat on the way home. After about 24 hours of travel, my mom picked me up at the airport and I enjoyed a welcome home dinner with all my favorite dishes (thanks Mom!) For now the great adventure is over and its time to re-enter the working class (unless someone wants to sponsor my continued trips!)
It's been great!
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