Sydney

So there is no way you can come to Australia and miss Sydney. Not only is it a great city with plenty to do but the views and the Harbor are really just awesome. I started in Darling Harbor which is about a 30 min walk or 10 min ferry from Sydney Harbor. This area is very nice full of water front bars and restaurants, an animal sanctuary, shops and the Casino. I walked around for an hour or so since I took a red eye and nothing really opened until 9 or 10, but as things started to open and people started to head off to work I realized what a fantastic and exciting city Sydney was.

I started my sightseeing at the aquarium. It is a prety good one I was told it was better then Melbourne's and I can't say first hand but the array of fish, the sharks, and the reef tank were pretty cool. I will say that I was thrown off by the displays that you can see in some of my pictures as they have recently decorated the aquarium with Spongebob characters all over the place so there were cut outs in all the tanks or stuck to the outside glass. Apparently that is there lure to bring in kids during the vacations that were quickly approaching. So I will say the aquarium is worth a stop its a little pricey but its got a great diversity of creatures, feedings, and some interactive stuff (that didn't start at 10 am when the first person, aka me, walked through).

With my aquarium trip completed I was off to the Taronga Zoo. The Zoo was across the harbor so I took a water taxi from the Aquarium and Harbourside mall around to Circular Quay in Sydney Harbor, home of the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. We dropped off a few people picked up a few and were off to the zoo. I got a great day of weather and really was very lucky to have had such nice weather in the beginning of winter.

The Zoo is by far the coolest one I've ever been to. A decent amount of the animals I had seen before but I just loved the layout of the Zoo and ease of getting around. The Zoo is set on a hillside with 2 options to explore you can start at the bottom where the ferry drops you off or take a gondola ride from the bottom up to the very top of he zoo. This allows you to get some bird-eye views of the different enclosures see out over the Harbor to the Bridge and Opera House across the water and basically the best way to see the zoo. From the top you basically get to ease your way down through an assortment of different exhibits from Australian creatures, reptiles, African animals, bird sanctuaries, seals, pandas, elephants and really just about anything you could imagine. All the while you are working your way down the hill with scenic views of the bay, and Sydney Harbor. I will say that the Zoo is a very worthwhile pitstop in Sydney and that it was one of the most enjoyable parts of my trip.

Following the zoo I was off to meet up with Megan. Meg and I had met through her brother Tommy, who was in my fraternity in college, and by chance she found me on facebook and stayed with me for a weekend trip to Melbourne. So that being the case she was willing to put me up for the weekend I was in Sydney. Which was fantastic save a few bucks and have some connections and people to experience the night life with. We went out with some of her Co-workers from the Sydney Film Festival, which she has volunteered at, and then out for Tapas for one of her friends birthdays. All you can eat, and drink house sangria and beer. YIKES! Well that night was a wash and our group did our best to make sure they ran out of every last drop of sangria.

Saturday, as a direct correlation to Friday night involved sleeping until about noon and not leaving the house til about 3:30 pm. Not how I intended my Saturday in Sydney but I was able to get out to the Rocks, try some of Sydney's best pizza and go to a German bar with huge Steins of beer which was pretty awesome. For the night we went and saw a cover band at a bar in the Rocks. Got involved in a mini scuffle because Australians have this strange need to challenge anyone that they think looks at them wrong, but overall it was great night and a good montage to MJ as this was in June and the weekend after his tragic demise.

Sunday I forced myself to get up and get rocking earlier in the day and went to Bondi Beach. It was a gorgeous day, sun shining, surfers tearing some waves brah and luckily enough whales were migrating through the harbor while we were there. I then headed off on my own and took a scenic bus ride to down town. Walked through the Botanical Gardens, saw the Parliamentary House and took a boat ride around to some of the different Quays.

Sydney is really a great city. I had a great long weekend there. I do hope that I can back there before my travels here are done but we will see where the wind blows me next. Well I suppose since this is two months late it blows me to Singapore and Hawaii next.

Tasmanian Highlights

Cataract Gorge

Tazz

My personal Favorite the Cascade Brewery

View From Norm's Lookout at Ralph Falls


The Carved row of trees between Launceston and St. Helen's

Tasmania Continued

Alright so I was a little lazy last night and didn't feel like muttering on in run-on sentences anymore so I figured I'd get a fresh head and finsih the trip to Tasmania today.

I should also mention here since I neglected to last night, that we had made a new friend, Gabby, in Swansea she was from Canberra and had been touring Tazzy for a few weeks so she had gave us some pointers on how to get around and what to see with our last two days. She also was going to Hobart on Sunday so she happened to tag along for the brewery tour and our trip that night to Port Arthur. She was pretty cool a nice little addition to our crew for a day trip.

So following the brewery tour the four of us set out for a Tasmanian Devil/Animal Sanctuary where we saw a few different local Australian Birds as well as a Devil feeding. Devil's do not move like Tazz did in Looney Tunes unfortunately but they eat almost identically. Devil's a re fierce little carnivours that will eat anything and everything bones and all. Saw that first hand.

The sancutary was nice a little over priced but worth a stop to see some of the local animals some of which are only found in Tasmania.

The Sanctuary was on out way to Port Arthur which is a historic Jail site for Great Britain. Convicts and outcasts were sent there as a punishment and forced to work hard manual labor jobs, and experienced excrutiating torture techniques which were quickly banned.

Now it is said to be haunted and its used for tourist events during the days and haunted Ghosts walks at night which the 4 of us went on as we got their rather late in the day.

The ghost was fun. The guide Courtney, put on a a good presentation, he told believable and haunting stories that made some of our group jump from time to time so it was well worth the trip. It is supposed to be a very nice sight to check out during the day time so I would recommend anyone going there to plan for a day trip over the night trip but like I said we were just flying by the seat of our pants so it was what it was.

The final day of our trip we climbed to the top of Mount Wellington. There are a few pics of the view from almost the top of the mountain as the peak was covered with a thick layer of fog on Monday morning. You could see for miles in every direction and the city down below was quite a sight.

After our kodak moments had run out from the top of the mountain we headed north for Launceston where we were set to fly back home. We stopped in Lanny as they call it for a quick peak into Cataract Gorge which I will include some pictures of after this so keep an eye out.

So all in all Tasmania is a must-do if you find yourself down under and looking for a good 3 or 4 day escape to a little hidden gem. I am pretty sure that we hardly scratched the surface of everything that Tasmania has to offer, but what we did see was amazing. From waterfalls to historic ghost towns, breweries to devils there is something for any traveler in Tasmania.

Alright I have a few more updates I will post within a few days as for now...Davsy over and out