Joe and I had our first date on September 21, 1974. Five years later, on September 15, 1979 we were married. We were more interested in becoming homeowners when we got married so we opted for a smaller wedding. We didn’t take a honeymoon and from that point on life took off for us. Through the years we have been able to see some of the world but for the most part big vacations have never been a part of our lives. Three kids and their activities were a large part our lives for many, many years.
Since moving to China, our opportunities to see different parts of the world have opened up tremendously. In the past year, I have actually experienced first hand places I had read about but had never in my mind thought I would get a chance to see first hand.
We departed for Sydney on September 2. Although not as long a flight from Chengdu as from Texas, it still took us almost a day’s travel to get there. From Chengdu we flew to Hong Kong where we had a layover of about 4 hours. At 9:55 PM we left on an over night flight to Sydney. We arrived at Sydney at 7:00 AM the next morning. It actually wasn’t a bad way to travel. By the time we got off the plane and got checked into our hotel we were ready to see Sydney on that first day. Our hotel had a view of the Sydney Harbour, the harbour bridge and a partial view of the Sydney Opera House.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the harbour area and getting to know the area, taking lots of pictures. The day was beautiful and very comfortable compared to the heat we were having in Chengdu. We bought an activity card that got us into a number of sites around the area over the next couple of days. We took a tour of the Sydney Opera House and learned about the major undertaking that was the construction of this world famous site. It is a beautiful place and the views out onto the harbour and the city are amazing.
After the opera house tour we took a jet boat ride. This was a choice made by Joe, one I probably wouldn’t have selected myself. It’s also not something I had actually pictured myself doing but it was only the beginning of crazy things I would find myself doing over the next ten days. It was starting to rain a little, also making things worse. They gave us ponchos to put on over our clothes. We were buckled into this jet boat and away we went into the harbour. By this time, the rain was really coming down.
The purpose of this boat ride was NOT to see the sites of the Sydney Harbour by any means. It was a thrill seeker’s ride and along with the rain it was quickly living up to it’s purpose. We spent the next thirty minutes (although I have to say I thought it was MUCH, MUCH longer) riding the waves and wakes of other vessels in the harbour. Along the way we would also do donuts in the boat just to add a little excitement to the adventure. As I said, this was not my choice of activities at all. I spent the majority of the time holding onto my hood to keep the pelting rain out of my face with one hand and the other hand tightly holding onto the rail for dear life! The driver would make sudden turns and stops along the way, which would send large amounts of water cascading into the boat. So much for the ponchos! By the time we got back to the dock we were drenched, cold and ready for a hot shower. Sorry for no pictures, too wet.
After showering and getting warm, we walked to a steak restaurant and had a great steak dinner. It was good to have a good steak, knowing that the beef we were eating was actually beef of a COW! End of the first day, the start of a great vacation.
On Friday we got up and started a full day of seeing Sydney. We took a ferry ride over to Darling Harbour. It is a very popular place full of activities, shopping, eating, just about anything you can think of. We visited Sydney Wildlife World where we got our first glimpses of kangaroos and koalas. We also saw some of the many species of birds, butterflies and insects of the country at this place. Next we went to the Sydney Aquarium. It was full of exhibits of various fish around the area. We saw an exhibit on the dugong (similar to the manatee). It one of the most gentle, graceful creatures I have ever seen. I think I could have stood in the underwater tank watching these guys all day long. We also visited the shark tank. Now that was another experience altogether. Watching those things swim over you and seeing those teeth was very frightening. We rode the ferry back over to Sydney Harbour and our hotel.
On Friday evening we took a sunset cruise around the harbour that included dinner and a show. It was very relaxing to watch the sunset on the harbour and see the city as it lit up for the night. Dinner and the show were great. We got some amazing pictures of the opera house as a full moon was rising over the harbour.
Saturday morning we walked around the area near Sydney Harbour called The Rocks. It is full of little shops, coffee shops and eateries. It also had a street market going on and we enjoyed a quite morning of walking through the market, seeing some of the hand made crafts. We decided to book a whale watching tour for the afternoon. It was supposed to be one of the best in Sydney with a guaranteed (99% success rate) chance of seeing the whales. Well, I’m sad to report we were in the 1% that did not get to see a whale that day. There were reports of a mother and newborn calf (only hours old) in the area that they were attempting to track and that took up the better part of the tour. By the time they figured out that they were not going to find the mother and calf, they doubled back to try to catch up with other whales in the area. Our luck all we saw were a few dolphins off the sides of the boat, very quick and hard to see if someone didn’t tell you they were around. Very disappointing. We did get a voucher for another day on the boat but we were leaving the next day so our whale watching was a bust.
Saturday night we ate dinner at a harbour side restaurant called Nicks, on Darling Harbour. Great seafood, great atmosphere, great evening. Everything we ate in Sydney was amazing. We definitely were enjoying the food Australia had to offer. Sunday morning we shopped at the street market a little more. We also went into some opal stores. Opals are mined in Australia and just happen to be my birthstone. We found a beautiful pendant for me at one of the shops. It’s called a boulder opal. These beautiful stones are mined with the opal attached to the boulder. They are polished and beautiful in color. There are several kinds of opals in color. Mine has a deep blue/green color. Not anything like the opals you are used to seeing. Happy Birthday/30th Anniversary to me! Thanks honey!
Stay tuned.
Love to all!
2 comments:
Looks like an awesome trip! I've always wanted to go to Australia. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through you. So fun!
PS The picture of the moon over the Sydney Opera House is amazing!
Of course, you know I LOVE the picture of the sea turtle!!!
Looks like your first leg of the trip was pretty awesome... I can't wait to hear about the rest of it. I am so proud of the adventurous side mom has shown on the trip thus far.
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