Blogs from New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 1155

Another hot day in Sydney trying to avoid too many Christmas shoppers! Today has been a getting things sorted out kind of day, and a trying to get rid of headache from surf lesson two days ago... So tomorrow we will have lunch up the Sydney tower at the revolving restaurant, then Kate leaves for Bangkok before Vietnam and home to Ireland. Tomorrow I am going to a performance of The Messiah in the evening at the opera house, and probably the aquarium beforehand. Then it is off to the Blue Mountains for a couple of days - hooray. These pictures cover Queensland & the start of Sydney - Port Douglas, Daintree, Cape Tribulation etc, Fraser Island and time in Brisbane with Anne, Conor, Cormac and Ronan (and I did see Malcolm briefly - unfortunately it ... read more

Sunday 11th December 2005 Up early 7.30am, breakfast in hotel, then out. We took train from Kings Cross to Martin Place, walked through the city with its high rise blocks of tinted glass, concrete and stainless steel. Walked down to the harbour front and around the key to the Opera House. We did the usual tourist things taking photo's of ourselves in front of the Opera House, walked up the banks of steps onto the podium. Up close, the glistening shells are covered in cream and off white glazed tiles, which have been set out in a chevron pattern. David had been to the Opera House before, but I decided to do a tour of the inside so booked myself on the 1pm guided tour. The guided tour would take in the inside including the performance ... read more

It is so nice to return to Sydney, Australia. Especially straight from Asia - the immediate reduction in traffic noise - no continuous horn honking, or noise from dodgy old motorbikes with a family of six precariously perched... anyway.... The sights in Sydney are iconic - the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and of course the beachs. Over a few days we visited them all. Took the Manly Ferry from Circular Quay to...where else... Manly. Pleasant walks through the parks and gardens and a bit of pre Christmas shopping. All in all a riot! ... read more

Well, here I am in Sydney at last. I can't quite get my head round being here. As the plane flew over the opera house and the harbour bridge I found myself feeling quite emotional. They are amazing structures. I'm booked in to climb the bridge next Monday. Hoping to see something at the Opera House too - maybe a performance of The Messiah - perhaps that will get me in the Christmas spirit. Anyway, here are some Flinders photos - will do some more of the Queensland ones later. The Flinders Ranges were probably my favourite place in Australia so far . The mountains and Wilpena Pound were beautiful and it was very peaceful - just what I needed. Life in my mobile home was simple! Enjoying time with friend Kate in Sydney now. Yesterday ... read more

I'm staying the night at Auntie Lian's place and am leaving for Fiji tomorrow. Hurrah! Land of taro (yams) and cannibals. Have a feeling will probably end up eating Indian food. http://www.bekanaislandfiji.com.fj is the place we're staying. I definitely 'feel' like I'm leaving tomorrow, but it hasn't quite hit me that I am actually GOING somewhere. I'm going with my friend Amy. I think it would have been nicer if there were more people coming with us, but then again, we both have similar interests, and it's easier to decide on stuff between two people rather than four. Would have been cheaper with four though.....*sob*sob* Amy just got her Hep A and Typhoid shots. I have been trying to convince her that she is NOT experiencing the symptoms of either. Basically, this link is a map ... read more