Wendy's trip log: Australia: Sydney

Sydney Australia
November 19th, 20th, 21st and home!!!

First thing that morning we all took a coach to the airport. It was the only time during the whole trip that I had a panic attack on the plane. I am really getting good at this flying thing. My amazing tour guide gave me a beautiful picture for my Birthday!

We arrived in Sydney fairly early in the day and took an awaiting coach for a tour of the city.
Sydney is the capital city of Southern Wales and one of the largest cities in Australia. It is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, but often is voted as one of the most livable cities. It also has some of the most diversity in the world, over 250 languages are spoken in the city.

Along our tour we got a glimpse of some of the cities highlights.

The Rocks (although this is not the cottage) is the oldest cottage in Australia built in 1816. The Rocks area is a very popular area for visits.

Newly arriving is the updated transportation system.

More city pictures.

The Nelson Hotel (located in the Rocks) is the oldest hotel established in 1841.

The Walsh Bay Performing Arts district, located along the river, was founded by Cate Blanchette in 1978 and launched careers for Mel Gibson and others. Also in the area is the Sculptor walk, below is a sculpture created by Jimmie Durham.

Just around the corner is our first views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

This bridge is the 6th longest spanning Arch bridge in the world, and is the tallest as well as the widest steel arch bridge in the world. The height is 440 feet and the width is 160 feet.

Construction on the Crown Casino. (Below) owned by billionaire James Packer, who was once engaged to Mariah Cary. The height is 801 feet tall.

Soon we were at our new home for our stay in Sydney, the Hyatt Regency hotel. It was indeed one of the nicest stays of our three locations and we had lots of fun while staying there.

Our hotel lobby, had fresh flowers for sale everyday, they were very pretty.

After a little confusion on our luggage, we made our way to meet with Kyle and our tour group to head for our evenings adventure.

No coach needed here, we all walked to Darling harbor, and it was a beautiful stroll. Pictured is the blooming of the Jacaranda tree, these blooms were all over Sydney.

A few sights as we walked along the Harbor,

We soon came to our next tour, a dinner cruise in this infamous bay.

From the dock we began to see some of the more famous icons of the area, below is Luna Park

It opened in 1935, but had its share of issues and many times closed over its 84 years. A fire caused the death of 6 children and 1 adult, poor maintenance of the rides and noise complaints are among a few of the issues for closing over the years.

Soon we were passing under the Sydney Harbor bridge...

The Cliffs of multi million dollar homes that have one of the worlds most amazing views to wake up to every morning.

Inside the ship we enjoyed a very lovely meal.

And gawked at this luxury sail boat....

Up ahead is the Sydney Opera house....

I took several pictures of this incredible view.

This little island, is Fort Denison a formal penal site.

A naval ship in the military area.

A few group shots over the bay.

A front view of the Sydney Opera house.

Back under the Harbor Bridge. People can climb this bridge. Some of our tour went to do it. Oprah created a new bucket list item of climbing the Sydney Harbor bridge in 2010 when she and her fans broke the record for climbing.

This was an incredible evening and what amazing views. We ended the day a top the hotel sky deck bar with Birthday cocktails and this incredible view over looking Darling Harbor.

Back at our room, I received this lovely card and gift for my Birthday from the hotel.

The next day we had an amazing breakfast in the hotel dining room. This was one of the largest spreads of breakfast foods I have ever seen in my life. The food was located everywhere. They were quite proud of this place and we even had water made from plants.

After breakfast we met our coach for today's adventure.

First we headed to the Royal Botanical gardens for a group photo overlooking the opera house, bridge and the bay.

Then we walked a bit out on the peninsula to one of Sydney's oldest landmarks, Mrs Macquaries chair.

We were told that Mrs Macquane had despised living in this new country. She longed for the day of her return back to Britain/Wales. Her husband was Major General lachlam Macquane and the Governor. In 1810 convicts completed this sandstone bench for Mrs. Macquane, she would walk from her home, later becoming a road Mrs Maquane's Road, which is no longer there today) and sit looking out into the bay awaiting the ships to bring her home.

A few pictures from the area. I was intreged by this baby and momma magpie.

Back on the tour we took a back road to see along the water. Below one of the navel ships.

This is one of the public pools, and over in the distance is one of the very exclusive apartment complexes.

This is where Russell Crowe lives. I tried to zoom in as far as I could.

Pretty nice living wouldn't you say.

Below is the art gallery.

And this statue of Rabbie Burns, Scottish poet, who is said to have inspired the tittle of John Steinbecks book of Mice and Men off Burn's poem To a Mouse.

The Sydney streets.

below is the statue of Matthew Flinders and his cat Trim. Its hard to see as I took the picture from the far side and we were moving. Flinders is known for circumnavigating New Holland- now Australia, and Trim is his sailing cat.

Here is Trim from the internet.

Our coach took us around and back towards the bay where we walked to the Sydney Opera house for a morning tour.

The Sydney Opera House is perhaps the most iconic and recognizable structure of Sydney. The Shell like roofing and sleek expressionist design was something of an architectural dream.

The production of the building was opened for a contest in 1957 and there were 233 entries from architects from 32 countries. The winner of the design was Dutch architect Jorn Utzon.

The scales/shell consists of chevron pallets these are made up of 1,056,006 tiles.

A view from the deck of the opera house.

Construction of the building was completed in multiple stages costing millions. Stage I 5.5 million, stage II 2.12 million and stage III 3.56 Million. It cost an additional 26 million for the interior, stage equipment, the organ, the theater and the fees/taxes.

By stage II in the construction of the design there was much dispute with Utzon and the government. Ultimately Utzon resigned from the project.

I thought this saying designed with forage was funny. Our tour guide was not happy with it.

There are four preforming areas and two studios located within the walls of the opera house. The Concert Hall and largest, seats 2,679 people. It is also home to the largest mechanical organ in the world with 10,154 pipes and taking over 10 years to build. The Joan Sutherland Theater is home to the Opera and the Ballet.

The Drama theater and the playhouse offer performances of smaller venues. There is a smaller studio as well as a recording studio.

The interior is just as impressive as the exterior. We were not allowed to take pictures with in the theaters or concert hall, but the Sydney Symphony orchestra was practicing while we were there and this was pretty cool. Apparently there will be construction in the concert hall soon, the plan is to increase the acoustics.

The building was completed in 1973 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

Our tour guide had provided us with a bunch of information about the building, but what stuck out was how terrible Utzon was treated during the process which forced him to resign. His design was changed several time, his character and competency was challenged and he was owed several millions of dollars to he and his workers. His hands were tied and he resigned. Utzon left Australia in 1966 never to see his design completed. His name was not even mentioned at the opening ceremony.

There has since been changes to recognize Utzon, although he died in 2008. In the 1990's there was reconciliation and Utzon was appointed trust to future designs. The tapestry from the 1959 original design was hung to display in 2016.

Its a pretty impressive place. Once our tour was completed we were given the opportunity to get tickets to any potential shows. My mother and I declined.

Once back on the tour bus we made our way through the city towards our next adventure. I got a picture of this statue as we were going by because I have seen him before at Great Escapes Theme Park and Hershey Park.

Here's a better picture. Rubbing his nose is suppose to bring good luck.

Statue of Prince Edward.

Statue of Queen Victoria.

A picture of the Observation tower. (We did not visit), but I bet it has nice views.

The iconic coca cola sign, "gateway to the cross" Kings Cross actually. Originally the sign was erected by the coca cola company in 1974 and is still the largest billboard in the Southern hemisphere.

A few more miles and soon we were at our next location for adventure Bondi Beach.

Bondi Beach is known as one of the best beaches in the world. It is especially known for its surfing and accessibility year round.

In 1877 the beach was called O'Brian estates after the land owner Francis O'Brian, in 1882 the government stepped in and made it a public beach.

The word boondi is the aboriginal word to describe the sound of the waves breaking on the beach.

The beach is popular for its surfing and while we were there although we did not surf, we did see several surfers. These waters are known for sharks and whales are often seen during migration, to protect the swimmers and surfers there are shark nets along the water way.

Time for a daily selfie and a group photo,

Bondi Beach is well known for Black Sunday. On February 6th 1935 5 people drowned and over 250 were injured needing rescue after a large wave dragged people under water. The Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club lays claim to the largest rescue ever on that day.

The Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving club was founded in 1907 and claims to be the very 1st surf life savers club.

We were offered a demonstration from a few of the current members.

After we were provided a lunch at the North Bondi RSL.

RSL stands for Returned and Serviced League. This is kind of like the American Veterans Clubs.

My meal was amazing!!!!

After lunch we strolled along the beach before making our way back to the coach.

Apparently there is a reality tv series filmed here called Bondi Rescue and follows the Bondi Lifeguards. I didn't see it, but its popular in Australia.

On our return we passed areas referenced to the Los Angeles Rodero Drive district.

We also saw many pubs. I am not sure if this is the actual place, but The Slip Inn was where a local girl named Mary met Fredrick during the 2000 Olympics. It turned out that Fredrick was the Prince of Denmark. Eventually Mary married Freddie and she is now a princess. And people always say you will never meet your true prince in a bar.

We were soon back at the hotel, but we had some time to explore when we got back so we were soon off to Darling Harbor for some exploring. My mother and I had discussed going to the Aquarium, but when we arrived there was a long line to get in and decided against it. We did a tiny bit more exploring and returned to the hotel with plans to meet with some new friends later.

Santa was available for some pictures. The women in the 2nd picture closest to the right was with her husband visiting, she did not speak English, but she had asked if she could get a picture with everyone. It was interesting, that a stranger would want to have a picture with us. I cant recall where she was from. The other women include my mom, Barb, Barbara, and Carol. Two Carol's and two Barbs.

We made our way down the harbor, stopping at a few sights including the playground.

Also enjoyed were the several holiday decorations scattered along the walkways.

There were multiple fountains to enjoy as well.

My mom, took the trip to the center of this one.

What great fun all these fountains can provide. If I was only a little girl again.

My mom decided she still is.

A bit father along we found the Japanese Gardens. There is a fee for entrance, and we went very near closing, but it could easily be a few hours spent in these lush gardens.

It was very tranquil.

Many pathways take you to hidden resting spots.

A good book or a picnic would be nice.

Ahhh...relax

These little lizards were about the gardens. What fun to watch them scamper around.

Birds seem to enjoy these little gardens as well.

A few Bonzi trees.

This was a definite good stop to help us relax after a busy day. Back on the harbor walk we made our way back towards our hotel.

The six of us had a wonderful dinner along the harbor where the special was Chicken and fries. We all had the special and enjoyed each bite. YUM

We walked a little father down the harbor gazing at the many ships docked along the way.

A large group of runners ran past us.

We turned back at this interesting looking building and called it a night.

Back at the hotel, I think my mom and I fell to sleep pretty easily, this whole trip had been move move move and we still had one more full day. Tomorrow we head to what has been identified as the Grand Canyon of Australia, The Blue Mountains National Park.

The following morning we awoke and the smell of smoke was everywhere. It was actually so potent I became alarmed, that perhaps there was a fire within the hotel, at breakfast we were informed that it was smoke from the many fires burning around the Sydney area. In retrospect, now knowing how much damage these fires have caused since my visit, I can only imagine how devastating these fires have been for the people, animals and wildlife. I pray that there is relief, rain, water anything to stop these fires from continuing.

This trip was an add on to our general tour. Mom and I were up and ready to go, catching the coach and soon we were off.

You can see the haze in the sky from the smoke.

Crossing the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Before our day in the Blue Mountains we had a stop at this Animal Sanctuary.

Featherdale Wildlife Park.

This was my most favorite animal park of the whole trip. There were so many opportunities to get up and personal with the critters, it also had some of the most diverse Australian animals of our whole trip.

A few wallaby.

and some pelican. These guys were ginormous. I have never seen such big flying birds.

These birds seem to be everywhere in Australia although I do not recall their name. I am not even sure if these two were zoo resident, many just flying by and spotted an easy lunch.

Of course there were lots and lots of Kolas.

and a whole sections of birds.

These owls were the best.

We then came across a critter I have not seen on this trip, a wombat.

These creatures are often not thought of when thinking about Australian animals, but they too are native to the area. They average 40 inches long and can weigh up to 77 pounds.

Wombats waddle, but this does not slow them down, they can run up to 25 mile per hour.

Wombats are know to dig well and tunnels in the ground to make their burrows.

They are marsupials, and like Kangaroos have a pouch, however their pouch is upside down, it is thought that this would prevent the baby from getting rocks and dirt thrown in the pouch when mother is digging .

Up next we got to see the Penguins, these were the little guys that my mom and I had watched walk up the beach and up the cliffs to their homes to feed their babies.

They are so cute!

Oh my gosh are they cute!

a few more Kolas .

Here is the Tasmanian Devil. He doesn't really look like the one from the Bugs Bunny Cartoon. The devil in his name comes from the high pitched sound and wild behaviors exhibited when mating or eating, The Tasmanian name comes from the only place these critter live. Although they once were found on Australian coast they no longer live in Australia in the wild. They nearly went extinct due to hunting to protect livestock and the use/sales of their pelts. They went on the protected list in 1941.

Tasmanian Devils are the largest carnivorous marsupials in the world. The generally are 30 inches in height weighing approximately 26-30 pounds. They store their fat in their tails and a slender stick like tail will indicate poor health. They are generally solo animals, but will become territorial when attempting to mate. Mothers carry the baby in a pouch. They do not go after humans, but if they are threatened they will open their mouths wide to show their teeth and excrete a terrible smell.

There are 15 species of Kangaroo and apparently this guy is one too.

He is a little different from the others, he is a Tree Kangaroo. These guys are often also found in New Guinea as well as North Eastern Australia.

They are found in trees and climb well.

few more birds including the Kookaburra.

I watched this guy try and try to eat this fish.

It took him a bit, but he finally got it in the right position.

I believe this is a Pademelon. They are small marsupials that are threatened as their meat and fur is sought out after. They are also threatened by dogs and other animals.

More Kangaroo's

The not so cute animals of Australia.

Dingo's! They really look like dogs to me. I did inquire about the reality of the story about the Dingo that ate the baby and it is true that a Dingo could eat an infant.

More birds.

The Echidna, is actually an animal that I had never heard of. Native to the Australian, New Zealand and Tasmania these unusual characters have spines like a porcupine, a pouch like a kangaroo, a beak like a bird and lay eggs like a reptile. They grow to be about 17 inches long weighing 4-10 pounds. They have a slow metabolism and their body temperature regulates to the environment often providing them with 45-50 years of life. Like an anteater , they use their tongues to lap up ants, larvae and bugs.

These guys also have an unusual mating ritual and the males have four headed penis's (I did not make this up.) Males complete during mating season by digging a ditch around the female, sometimes for days they will competed to push one another out of the ditch. The sole survivor is deemed appropriate for mating. The female lays an egg and the baby climbs into the pouch where unlike nipples of mammals, obtains milk from patches located in the pouch. They are kind of cute despite how odd they are.

The Bilbies or Rabbit eared Bandicoots.Often referred as the Australian Easter Bunny. The Bilbies named so after the aboriginal word for long nosed rat, are nocterinal, marsupial omnivorous. They have one of the shortest pregnancy stage lasting 12-14 days until the young Bilbie makes its way to the mothers pouch, where it will stay for about 12 weeks. These nearly extinct animals are no longer found in the wild, due to humans and predictors. Although they eat bugs, shrubs and even small lizards they do not drink water as they are able to obtain fluids from what they eat.

The visit to this animal sanctuary was much to quick, but we had to get back to the tour coach and head to Blue mountains. Off the coach we were able to ride the several gondola like structures to get across the wide canyon.

This is the open bottom (glass) gondola.

The scenery was incredible.

I am guessing that this is Wentworth Falls, but there is also a Katoomba Falls and a Bridal Veil Falls in the Blue Mountain National Park.

During the wet season I am sure the water falls much more.

Even with the haze of the Fires, you can still see how beautiful.

At the top the view of the three sisters is seen. (Notice the three pillars standing.)

The aborigine story of the three sisters is told; (I got this version from the internet, but we were told a slightly different version on the coach tour).

3 sisters fell in love with 3 brothers of a different tribe. This was forbidden for them to marry. The brothers were angry and caused a tribal war. A witch doctor turned the 3 sisters into stone to protect them during the battle. The witch doctor was killed during the battle and the three sisters remained in stone to this day. I was told that the stories were often told to give a lesson. In this case, do not fall in love with someone of another tribe or you could be turned to stone.

Our coach tour guide told us this story. Three beautiful sisters, Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo were daughters of the Witch Dr. Tywon. Deep below the cliff was a dark hole within the earth, this was the home of the Bunyon. The Bunyon was feared by all. One day Tywon crossing the cliffs, his three lovely daughters danced on the cliffs adjacent, suddenly a snake arose and frightened the girls. One of the sisters threw a rock to scare the snake away, but the rock fell into the Bunyon hole awakening the beast. Tywon saw the Bunyon coming for his daughters and taking his magic bone, he changed them in to stone to protect them.
When the Bunyon saw this he came after Tywon. Tywon cornered by the Bunyon, turned himself into a Lyre Bird and flew away, dropping his magic bone in the process. He was safe, but his magic bone was lost forever. To this day, you can still hear the Lyre Bird calling to his daughters on the cliff ledge as he searches for his lost bone.

Well at least these 3 have a lovey view....

Ive never seen the Grand Canyon, but if this is a comparison....wow!

This thin mountain formation reminds me of something from another world (maybe like the worlds at Disney-Pandora from Avatar)

If you look close, perhaps you can see where there were once stairs and railings on this mountain.

(here is better shot, this is no longer considered safe.)

We crossed and returned as we didn't have a hole lot of time to explore, although I bet there are some great hikes one could take.

We took another gondola to the bottom of the mountain and into the canyon.

On the rain forest floor.

Beautiful from the bottom and the top.

We walked along the trails and could have seem more of the coal mining village, but instead kept walking towards the steepest railroad.

The steepest rail road was a fun surprise. My mom and I boarded and the car went backwards up the mountain. First it was dark and you leaned a bit forward, but then you went forward nearly parallel to the mountain. It was a fun kind of freaky.

Out of the cave a view of the Three Sisters as you creep up the mountain.

Mom and I went back down for another ride.

Above are the tracks. Can you see how they shoot nearly straight up. Below is the train when the coal was being mind.

Back up top, we strolled around the souvenir shop and exit area. This was a beautiful clock.

Before heading back to Sydney, we did stop in a small town for a quick lunch. Mom and I found a little pizza place. It was very yummy.

On our way back to Sydney, our guide gave us a list of foods we need to have tried while we were in Australia. Some items included Kangaroo, Vegemite, and these favorite snack cookies called Tim Tams. Apparently a very popular treat. He shared shared some with us. It was good!

Back in Sydney, and you can see the smoke haze over the city.

New flowers in our hotel lobby. Once we returned we had a little time to ourselves before the last thing we would do with our tour group; the goodbye dinner.