Blogs from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 18

Geo: -33.8671, 151.207Headed off on the Ferry to Manly. Walked the beach, was very lovely, albeit windy. Very busy, but it is a Sunday and they offer $2.50 all day public transport, so good value.From Manly, we ferried back to Circular Quay and onto Luna Park. Pretty cool, but very hot and quite tacky. Walked back over the Sydney Harbour bridge but honeslty, it has prison fences and Brooklyn was much nicer.Headed back to the room for an hour's rest and then down into Darling Harbour for a few drinks a some farewell dinner. Our hotel actually links to the Darling Harbour via a walkway which is wonderfully handy.Sydney was a beautiful place and we'd come back here. Well that's end of our adventure as we leave tomorrow.What a trip. Ella's ready for home but mum's ... read more

Showing up into Sydney I realized that I've become a seasoned vet at this travel thing. I rolled into the city of 5 million with no direction or plan. Before I left home if I did not have a plan for the smallest things like getting to the hockey game on time I would be border line aneurysm. Nowadays I just show up in major foreign metropolis centres with no worries. Grabbing a map at the airport information kiosk I hopped onto the train that links the city centre (Denver should really get on the ball on the transport to and from DIA) to the airport. Fifteen minutes later I was downtown. After about a five minute march down the main thoroughfare I had found a place to stay for the never bargain price of $AUD ... read more

My Aussie Backyard...the Birds. I am woken by Lyrebirds...a cacophony of whoops of these mimics of the bush greeting the day. The calls of many birds from one spot gives them away. It's the beginning of spring and the number of times I've got close to getting a clear photo of their mating dance I cannot count. Cannot count but cannot give up...lie there wondering if they are close or far. Can I beat yesterday? I crouched on a rock overlooking seven lyrebirds...a veritable orchestra...some scratching the ground for grubs...three males strutting...their tail feathers raised over their backs...their white lyre plumage quivering for the females...tendrils of vines and undergrowth obstructing the focus on my camera so foliage in focus but the white lyres to my camera a blur. Then I saw it...never seen this before...has anyone? ... read more

Geo: -33.8671, 151.207We caught the metro to Circular Quay where the kids saw their first sight of the Sydney Harbour Bridge & the Opera House. Making our way to the point where we could walk up to the stairs to walk along the bridge we came across a large gathering of people with half a dozen or so Aborigines, we stopped to listen to the speech being given by someone who turned out to be a government minister formally announcing the governments recognising "The Rocks" as being First Nation Aboriginal land; after the exchange of paperwork and a few more speeches the Aborigines performed a dance ceremony. We asked one of the Aborigines if we could take their photos at which point Sophie asked are they really real Aborigines, Jacob loved the music and was really ... read more

Geo: -33.8671, 151.207We'd decided to take the scenic route to Sydney via the Blue Mountains rather than the quicker direct route unfortunately the mountains weren't at their best being shrouded in mist most of the time. By the time we arrived at the Three Sisters which is a rock formation in the Blue Mountains they were nowhere to be seen like the mountains they were shrouded in mist, we tried to explain to the kids why we had brought them here when all of a sudden the mist started to clear and we were rewarded with fantastic views of the Three Sisters and Blue mountains. We pointed out to the kids and Michelle the cable car that's strung out across the valley which has a glass floor and stops mid-point across the valley so you can ... read more