Last Sunday, the second round of US visitors passed through
Customs in the Sydney airport and onto the other side of the world. We headed on over to the car rental counter
to pick up our wheels for the weekend, a Kia minivan. I know, pretty awesome (read: soccer
mom). Australian roads are NOT designed
for this type of vehicle. Luckily, the previous
trip up to Gold Coast gave me some practice time behind the wheel before
hauling six people around metropolitan Sydney for the next three days. Unfortunately, we didn’t snap a picture of it
so you’ll have to use your imagination.
Despite the jet lag and baggy eyes, everyone decided to hit
the ground running with what I’ll call the tourist trifecta of Sydney. The first stop was the Sydney Tower Eye. For those of you who don’t know, the Sydney
Tower Eye is the tallest building in Sydney (260 meters, I think?) and allows
people to go up to the very top floor and take in 360° views of Sydney. You can also go up on top of the building and
do a Skywalk. We had to wear jumpsuits
and tether ourselves to the railing like ADHD children at Disney. Luckily it was a nice, bright sunny day so we
had great visibility and got an awesome aerial view of Sydney. See the slideshow for pictures.
The second stop was the Wild Life experience. Amongst other Australian creatures, I
finally got to see a kangaroo. It was an
awfully suggestive creature, laying spread eagle and leaving nothing up to the
imagination. I guess I’d get bored
hopping around for tourists all day and would need a new way to entertain
myself as well ;). Other than the ‘roos,
we saw koalas, wombats, kookaburras, wallabies, snakes, and the largest ants
I’ve ever seen. See the slideshow for
pictures.
The third and final stop for the day was the infamous Sydney Aquarium. This place had all sorts of marine life. Sharks, fish, penguins, rays. You name it, they had it. See the slideshow for pictures.
After the aquarium, we headed back to the apartment to cook up some lamb on the spit and give the Americans a proper Aussie roast dinner. Jet lag had finally won the battle for everyone who arrived that day so we turned our lounge into a pseudo hostel and called it a night.
May 28th Blue Mountains
Something I’ve been wanting to do ever since I came out to
Australia was visit the Blue Mountains to see what all the hype is about. We piled into the van and took off on the
two-hour drive out to Katoomba. The
drive was worth it. Mountains, plateaus,
waterfalls, and winding staircases descending into the abyss, not the Australia
you see in Outback Steakhouse commercials.
Throughout the day, we visited the Three Sisters, Katoomba Falls, rode
the Skywalk, and did a couple of bushwalks.
In true cliché, pictures are worth a thousand words so I’ll let them do
all the talking. We also ate lunch at a
little café that was as mom and pop as they come. Fresh mountain air, good food, and a laid
back atmosphere. What’s not to love?
May 29th - May 31st Cairns, QLD and Diving the Great Barrier Reef
On Tuesday, we descended into our second level of vacations
and were off to Cairns, QLD to dive the Great Barrier Reef. KP said it best. Cairns is Gainesville, FL on the water. What a shit hole. The food was mediocre at best and the
nightlife was all but nonexistent. But
we weren’t after anything on land or near shore. Our sights were set a 70-minute,
vomit-inducing, boat ride to the east.
On May 30th, we hopped aboard the Silver Swift
for a day of diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
More specifically, we spent the whole day at Flynn Reef and visited
three different dive sites called Gorden’s, Tennis Courts, and Tracey’s. The boat ride out was stomach wrenching to
say the least. At one point, nearly
everyone on the boat was out on the back deck with faces buried in barf
bags. Last time I try to tough it out
and say “I don’t need that shit” when asked if I would like any Dramamine. Once we got out to the reef, all was well and
we suited up for our first dive of the day.
Despite the overcast and dismal weather, visibility was
actually pretty good (roughly 30 ft/10M).
All three dives were down to about 16-17M with a duration of about 35-40
minutes each, allowing for plenty of time to explore the underwater world. Again, pictures, 1000 words.
With the exception of Kristen, we all made the return trip
home puke-free. After a quick shower and
change of clothes, we went back down to the marina for some dinner and a few
beers at The Pier Bar before calling it a night.
Unfortunately, our last day was plagued with less than ideal
weather. We spent the day eating,
drinking coffee, and ducking into a movie theater to watch MIB 3. The day actually wasn’t all that bad despite
the crappy weather but I was glad to get back on the plane to Sydney and sleep
in my own bed rather than a makeshift bed of couch cushions on a tile floor. Oh, we also stepped up our minivan game into
a full-size people mover. See slideshow for pictures.
June 1st Sydney Scenery, Opera House Tour, Vivid
Festival, and Bar Hopping
Coming back up to our first level of vacations, we decided
to explore other parts of Sydney and do some bar hopping. First, we took a walk along the Royal Botanic
Gardens to get some panoramic views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, and cityscape. Then we took a tour of the Sydney Opera
House. Unfortunately, no cameras were
allowed so no pictures. After the tour,
we grabbed a few beers at Opera Bar and checked out the Vivid Festival, a
combination of lights and animations projected on buildings and the Opera House
around the Sydney CBD and a celebration of music, film, and art. We then headed down to Darling Harbour to do
some more drinking. Once we were all
liquored up, we headed back to Dee Why, stopping at Kebab World along the way
to get a Kebab and show the US visitors how Aussies get their late night food
fix. See the slideshow for pictures.
June 2nd Karen O Presents Stop the Virgens
The previous day, after a few beers, we made the decision to
buy tickets to a rock opera being shown at the Opera House as part of the Vivid
Festival. When in Rome. It was called Karen O (from the Yeah, Yeah,
Yeahs) presents Stop the Virgens. $100
well spent. I’ll describe it as a loud,
chaotic, sinister, and sweet medley of guitars, strings, drums, bass, and
voices all organized to create one hell of a production. One of the coolest musical performances I’ve
seen so far. Again, no pictures allowed.
June 3rd Americans Depart and Off to Bali,
Indonesia!
All good things must come to an end and it was time for
three of the four US visitors to depart.
However, where one story ends, another begins. As my friends were beginning their journey
back across the Pacific Ocean, Danielle, Steve, Kelly and I were boarding our
flight to Bali, Indonesia for six days and five nights of warm weather, surf,
and exploration. Stay tuned…
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