Tales from Down Under #1 - 2/28/2004
We are well into our trip, and haven't yet taken the time to sit down at an internet cafe until now. Therefore, we have seen much, and only have 2 days left of our trip to Oz.
The trip started last Wednesday when we traveled a total of about 26 hours via Vancouver BC and then Honolulu, HI (a stop over we weren't expecting). This is all because we are traveling with frequent flyer miles and therefore weren't given the easiest path. It doesn't bother us much, however. Although our stay in Honolulu was minimal (just enough to refuel and add some passengers), we spent 7 hours in Vancouver. Instead of waiting in the airport, Paul and I rented a car and went for a drive around town. We had lunch on the waterfront and had a look around the Gastown district. Later we toured Stanley Park and found it wonderful!
Arrival
We met my mom in Sydney, who, although leaving SFO 11 hours later than us, arrived in Sydney about an hour before us (gives you an idea of what flying direct is like!). We quickly found our 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Sydney and started to get oriented.
Kitchen Tea Shower and "Buck's Day"
We took the train out to Parramatta where mom and I spent time doing all the traditional wedding shower things. Paul joined Scott (the groom) with the other boys at the Rosehill Racetrack and proceeded to jump into the Aussie traditional Buck's Day (Bachelor Party). The racetrack here is much different than, say Bay Meadows, back home. The gals get really dressed up, including hats and high heels and always dresses. Paul's main observation was that the horses, like the drivers in this country, go the wrong way. Apparently, the horses run clockwise here in New South Wales.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
What trip to Australia would be complete without a cute photo with a fuzzy koala? James, Kim and Nathaniel (Scott's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew) treated us to a trip to the Featherdale park. Here we had a great time seeing all the Aussie natural wildlife, including wombats, dingos, petting the kangaroos and koalas (which roam free around the park), emus and other birds (kookaburras, too), and the boys' favorite, the great big "salty", the salt water crocodiles. The one we saw was about 25 feet long. A baby compared to the largest they've discovered in the north which measured about 60 feet in length!! Wow!
Afterward, our Aussie baptism continued as we were invited for "dinner" at the "barbie" -- a barbecue lunch at their house. Great steaks and a nice visit with friends.
Walking Tour of Sydney
We walked from the downtown district down Hyde Park (a large elongated park with ice water fountains and statutes), past St. Mary's cathedral, crossing the street to another large park area they call The Domain which leads to the Royal Botanical Gardens. In walking this way, we were able to walk in uninterrupted park and greenery for nearly 3 miles. The Botanical Garden gave us a couple surprises. There is a flock of Flying Foxes (bats) that reside in the park and hang on a group of trees to snooze during the daytime. The flock varies between 1,000-8,000 in the group, depending on food availability, and apparently, the food source, with the summer fruits ripening now, is quite good. Therefore, the flock must be in the larger numbers at this point. If you are not watching above, you can still tell when you are near their roost as the guano on the ground can get quite thick. Mom ended up needed to clean her shoes! At the end of the walk, there is a large man-made pond with a sign describing how the eels in it came to live there. They are apparently salt-water eels, but the travel to freshwater to bear their young. The garden keepers have tried many times to drain the pond and "relocate" the eels, but they just jump out of the bay again and slither across the grass to the pond once again. They also, apparently, upset some park goers when they see the new little duckings get taken under by an eel - something out of a Jaws movie. Paul liked that part! Another surprise was a tree laden with wild cockatoos. They were so thick, they looked like Christmas tree ornaments!
We walked down by the harbor side walk that led to the Sydney Opera House. This building, although a true Australian icon, would be a disappointment to some architects as some areas were build very cheaply. The reason being, there were many problems in its building and it went way over budget. They actually had to create a lottery in order to raise the funds to finish its construction (sort of like how California is trying to raise money for the schools with it's lottery). We finished the tour with a trip into the Sydney Aquarium, which despite the price, we really enjoyed. There were some great shark tanks, a nice coral simulation, and, yes... we did find Nemo!
Trip to the Blue Mountains
We picked up a rental car, which we return on our departure, and headed an hour and a half outside of town for the Blue Mountains, a great national park full of a number of interesting sites. Half way up, however, the weather proved uncooperative. By the time we reached the town of Katoomba, the center of the good sites, the rain was so heavy and the fog so thick, we could hardly see across the street much less the rock formations and scenery. Quite a disappointment! It was partially made up for with the best hot chocolate I've ever seen, heard about, or tasted! At Cafe Zuppa, their hot chocolate comes in a bowl with a mountain of whipped cream, 3 good sized chocolate batons, and large pink marshmallows.... enough to be an entire meal! The town is rather "hippie-ish", so the shopping was rather ridiculous... quite junky. Anyhow, the drive was nice.
The Sydney Bridge Climb
Long before we left, I had booked reservations to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge, a rather newish attraction within the last 3 years. Well, wouldn't you know... the weather from yesterday was just a warm up for the storm of today. And, there are no refunds for the Climb, so Paul and I climbed the Bridge in a gusting rain storm!! Quite an event! They did issue good rain gear, so we stayed nice and dry.
Well, that's a long enough email for now. I will write later about other things we have already done. Highlights to include:
The trip started last Wednesday when we traveled a total of about 26 hours via Vancouver BC and then Honolulu, HI (a stop over we weren't expecting). This is all because we are traveling with frequent flyer miles and therefore weren't given the easiest path. It doesn't bother us much, however. Although our stay in Honolulu was minimal (just enough to refuel and add some passengers), we spent 7 hours in Vancouver. Instead of waiting in the airport, Paul and I rented a car and went for a drive around town. We had lunch on the waterfront and had a look around the Gastown district. Later we toured Stanley Park and found it wonderful!
Arrival
We met my mom in Sydney, who, although leaving SFO 11 hours later than us, arrived in Sydney about an hour before us (gives you an idea of what flying direct is like!). We quickly found our 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Sydney and started to get oriented.
Kitchen Tea Shower and "Buck's Day"
We took the train out to Parramatta where mom and I spent time doing all the traditional wedding shower things. Paul joined Scott (the groom) with the other boys at the Rosehill Racetrack and proceeded to jump into the Aussie traditional Buck's Day (Bachelor Party). The racetrack here is much different than, say Bay Meadows, back home. The gals get really dressed up, including hats and high heels and always dresses. Paul's main observation was that the horses, like the drivers in this country, go the wrong way. Apparently, the horses run clockwise here in New South Wales.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
What trip to Australia would be complete without a cute photo with a fuzzy koala? James, Kim and Nathaniel (Scott's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew) treated us to a trip to the Featherdale park. Here we had a great time seeing all the Aussie natural wildlife, including wombats, dingos, petting the kangaroos and koalas (which roam free around the park), emus and other birds (kookaburras, too), and the boys' favorite, the great big "salty", the salt water crocodiles. The one we saw was about 25 feet long. A baby compared to the largest they've discovered in the north which measured about 60 feet in length!! Wow!
Afterward, our Aussie baptism continued as we were invited for "dinner" at the "barbie" -- a barbecue lunch at their house. Great steaks and a nice visit with friends.
Walking Tour of Sydney
We walked from the downtown district down Hyde Park (a large elongated park with ice water fountains and statutes), past St. Mary's cathedral, crossing the street to another large park area they call The Domain which leads to the Royal Botanical Gardens. In walking this way, we were able to walk in uninterrupted park and greenery for nearly 3 miles. The Botanical Garden gave us a couple surprises. There is a flock of Flying Foxes (bats) that reside in the park and hang on a group of trees to snooze during the daytime. The flock varies between 1,000-8,000 in the group, depending on food availability, and apparently, the food source, with the summer fruits ripening now, is quite good. Therefore, the flock must be in the larger numbers at this point. If you are not watching above, you can still tell when you are near their roost as the guano on the ground can get quite thick. Mom ended up needed to clean her shoes! At the end of the walk, there is a large man-made pond with a sign describing how the eels in it came to live there. They are apparently salt-water eels, but the travel to freshwater to bear their young. The garden keepers have tried many times to drain the pond and "relocate" the eels, but they just jump out of the bay again and slither across the grass to the pond once again. They also, apparently, upset some park goers when they see the new little duckings get taken under by an eel - something out of a Jaws movie. Paul liked that part! Another surprise was a tree laden with wild cockatoos. They were so thick, they looked like Christmas tree ornaments!
We walked down by the harbor side walk that led to the Sydney Opera House. This building, although a true Australian icon, would be a disappointment to some architects as some areas were build very cheaply. The reason being, there were many problems in its building and it went way over budget. They actually had to create a lottery in order to raise the funds to finish its construction (sort of like how California is trying to raise money for the schools with it's lottery). We finished the tour with a trip into the Sydney Aquarium, which despite the price, we really enjoyed. There were some great shark tanks, a nice coral simulation, and, yes... we did find Nemo!
Trip to the Blue Mountains
We picked up a rental car, which we return on our departure, and headed an hour and a half outside of town for the Blue Mountains, a great national park full of a number of interesting sites. Half way up, however, the weather proved uncooperative. By the time we reached the town of Katoomba, the center of the good sites, the rain was so heavy and the fog so thick, we could hardly see across the street much less the rock formations and scenery. Quite a disappointment! It was partially made up for with the best hot chocolate I've ever seen, heard about, or tasted! At Cafe Zuppa, their hot chocolate comes in a bowl with a mountain of whipped cream, 3 good sized chocolate batons, and large pink marshmallows.... enough to be an entire meal! The town is rather "hippie-ish", so the shopping was rather ridiculous... quite junky. Anyhow, the drive was nice.
The Sydney Bridge Climb
Long before we left, I had booked reservations to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge, a rather newish attraction within the last 3 years. Well, wouldn't you know... the weather from yesterday was just a warm up for the storm of today. And, there are no refunds for the Climb, so Paul and I climbed the Bridge in a gusting rain storm!! Quite an event! They did issue good rain gear, so we stayed nice and dry.
Well, that's a long enough email for now. I will write later about other things we have already done. Highlights to include:
- The Hunter Valley
- The wedding and commentaries about Aussie culture
- Bondi Beach
- Manly Beach
- and a really bad sun burn!
Cheers from Down Under!
posted by Our Growing Family | 11:00 AM
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