Big Trip

After the excitement of the previous two days, we had a chilled day by the pool and writing postcards before getting the launch back to Brisbane. We landed in the rain again. Just time for dinner & bed again before getting up at 0400 (what's the O stand for?...) for our flight to NZ.
On reflection, I think it would have been nice to stay in Brisbane for longer, as it looks like a really nice city. We saw some nice bits on our way out of town on trips, but didn't have the time to make the most of them. Oh well, we'll just have to come back...

This morning was beautiful. Cloudless. We went on our quad safari in the end, and it was rather hotter than it would have been yesterday. Erin did exceptionally well, as we didn't stick to tarmac roads, and she coped very well with the bumpy sand tracks. She even nearly mastered braking hard enough to stop her running into the back of the instructor's quad bike. Nearly.
Better still, we bumped up into the middle of the island later in the afternoon to what they refer to as the desert. I think it's just the least vegetated area on the island, as the whole thing is 98% sand anyway. After an interesting chat about the various types & colours of sand, they pointed to a steep dune and handed us some bits of thick hardboard and a candle. We used the candle to wax the shiny side of the board, and then walked to the top of the steep dune in the afternoon sun. Mad dogs and Englishmen...
Then, one at a time, we lay on the boards and tobogganed down the dune. Waaaahoooooo!
All the way up the dune, Sarah had been saying, "I'm scared. I don't want to do this." However, she didn't say that on her second trip up. Of course, Max and Erin were fearless, and superb at it, going almost as far as the furthest adults. My last run started really fast, but I lost a bit of control on the way down and got a bit sideways. Otherwise, I'm sure that it would have been a record for the day. Max was chuffed to bits to be told he was the fastest kid of the week. I didn't have the heart to point out that it was Monday.

Off to Moreton Island today, to stay at Tangalooma Dolphin Resort. Unfortunately for Sarah, she had to get up in good time to get the transfer to the island. Anyway, off we went by launch on a beautiful morning. Yet again, no sign of the forecast rain. We found our room, with its beautiful views over the palm trees, white sandy beach and blue Pacific Ocean, and settled in. Given the limited time available, we booked quad biking (which Sarah decided she would miss out, opting to spend the time on the beach with a book - birthday privilege) and dolphin feeding.
Things started to look a bit dodgy on the weather front after lunch, with some cloud approaching from the west, and by the time our quad biking was due to start it had started to rain. We could see lightning out at sea as well, so thought we'd walk down to check if the quad bikes would go out in that sort of weather. Big Mistake. We got to the quad bikes just as the sky darkened and it started to rain heavily. Happily, they rescheduled our trip, and we dashed for shelter. By the time we got there we were soaked.
We sat and watched the birthday pyrotechnics for quite a while, marvelling at the people willing to walk along the beach holding big umbrellas with a spike on the top as well as the fantastic lightning. It was a great storm. About half way through, we decided to make a run for some more shelter that served coffee, but underestimated the distance, so were soaked again by the time we got there. The cafe was splashing about in a couple of inches of water, but still serving, so this time we watched the spectacle with warm drinks.
We made it back to our room when it cleared, and were rewarded with rather a good sunset. Dolphin feeding time was at 7, so we donned our swimming gear and went down to the beach, where the dolphins were already playing about in the shallow water. They've been coming for years, and turn up pretty much every night. They originally came to feed on the fish around the jetty, but then someone threw them some fish, and so the hand feeding started to become the tourist attraction it is today. They're pretty careful about it, and only feed 10-20% of a dolphin's daily intake so that they still have to hunt. There are lots of things you have to do and not do, for example, you must wash your hands in disinfectant before feeding so that you don't pass on infections to the dolphins, and you're not allowed to feed if you have a respiratory infection or a cold.
Anyway, all that taken on board, in we went with our chaperones. The dolphins come right up and pluck the fish out of your fingers incredibly gently. When they do, there's an almost overwhelming urge to stroke them, they're so cute, but it's a big no-no. We were lucky - because of the weather there weren't that many people feeding them (still a lot, though) so we got to feed quite a few fish. I guess it's obvious, really, but they're incredibly agile in the water. They were getting washed backwards & forwards by the waves, because we were so close to the beach, but never once did they bump into us. I kept backing away, or trying to avoid them, but I was very slow & clumsy about it, and in any case, it was completely unnecessary. Max & Erin were very good with them, too, with no real fear about getting so close to something so unfamiliar.
After the combination of euphoria and mild hypothermia, we headed off for dinner, to celebrate Sarah's birthday with a bottle of fizz. A bit of a mixed day in many ways, but I think it turned out OK.

Today was our only day in Brisbane, so we'd arranged to go to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. Originally we were going to go by train, but from what we could gather, it involved getting up too early, so instead we decided to get on the Croc Express coach, which would pick us up from our hotel at a civilised hour. We even got to watch a video about Steve & Terri Irwin on the way, which we wouldn't have got on the train. We also got some pretty close views of the Glasshouse Mountains, volcanic plugs which apparently reminded Captain Cook of the glasshouses used for cooling pottery back in England, hence the name.
Rain had been forecast again, so we left our sun hats behind and packed waterproofs. Of course, when we got off the coach it was hot & sunny.
We headed straight for the Crocoseum and the first animal shows of the day. The tigers were entertaining, but the snakes were, well, snakes, which aren't that exciting from a distance. The free-flying birds were much more fun. We were dive-bombed by red-tailed black cockatoos and rose cockatoos with their beautiful colouring. There was a beautiful display of formation flying by rainbow lorikeets, which the Red Arrows would have been proud of.
Finally, of course, there was the monster croc who, of course, wandered round the arena trying to take the keeper's arm off. I blame the keeper for walking round the edge of the water holding pieces of raw meat in his hand. You wouldn't catch me doing it.
We spent the rest of the day just wandering around the zoo, having our photo taken with a beautiful white python on our shoulders, or cuddling a koala; marvelling at Harriet, the 175 year old tortoise; laughing at the ridiculous places where koalas get to sleep; feeding carrots to the elephants; or feeling very relieved that the world's top 10 poisonous snakes were all securely behind glass.
We were the last people back on the coach at the end of the day, and we had a fantastic time. I'd recommend it to anyone. Though it undoubtedly capitalises on the commercial success of the Steve Irwin brand, it's a great zoo to visit. You can't help feeling that the animals are well housed and well treated, as are the spectators. Where else have you been that has water sprays along sections of the path for you to walk under to cool off? And the whole place was just about spotless. It's not the cheapest day out, but it's pretty good value for money. And you can always go & have a laugh at Steve Irwin's clothing brand...

Had a chilled day again yesterday, pottering around Port Douglas and catching up on blogs & email, so nothing much to report there. Then we checked out of our hotel and made our way to Cairns for the short flight to Brisbane. When we got there, it was raining! In Australia! Anyway, we just had time to get to the hotel, organise ourselves, and have some dinner, and it was time to go to bed, so we did.

Another coach trip today, this time to Daintree rainforest. Took a trip up the Daintree river looking for crocs, but only a couple were in evidence: a sleepy female and a little nipper who was too quick for the camera. The rest are spending most of their time in the water, now that the temperature is about right, so that they don't have to keep coming out to sun themselves. Still, I think we saw enough crocs in the NT to keep us going. Interesting fact of the day: there are more species of tree in one hectare of the Daintree rain forest than there are in the whole of Europe. It is renowned for its biodiversity.
We went for a quick skip through the rainforest centre, where there is a tower that shows you the structure of the forest at different heights, which is pretty fascinating. There was surprisingly little wildlife in evidence, but given the number of galumphing tourists, not that surprising, I guess.
Lunch was preceded by a quick swim (though not in the dangerous sea, of course), then back across the river on the cable ferry, and off to Cape Tribulation beach. What a beautiful spot - the rainforest comes right down to the beach, indeed with mangroves growing right at the edge of the sea in places. Then we trolled off to the Daintree Ice Cream Factory, where they make ice creams from unusual ingredients found in the rainforest. We had four flavours: macadamia nut (fairly conventional), jack fruit (again, fairly conventional), wattle seed (a bit like mocha) and black sapote (sort of chocolatey, but not quite, with a sort of muddy taste to it; far from unpleasant). Erin & Max were agreed that the wattle seed was the most unpleasant, the exact opposite of Sarah's & my view, much to our delight, as we had extra portions. Erin simply mixed them all together anyway, but Max thoroughly enjoyed his.
Our final call of the day was for a swim in the beautifully cool Mossman Gorge. Clean, flowing water, and a great way to cool off before getting back on the bus once more.
I think we're agreed that we've done enough bus tours now - they try to pack a bit too much in, and we've started to mind being herded, and having to get on & off a bus all the time. However, there's not much more of our trip that is likely to include them, so we're not worried. Tomorrow's our last day in Port Douglas. On Friday we're off to Brisbane & Moreton Island, hoping to see some more dolphins, & maybe even feed some. Back to the packing...

Max & I went out to the reef again today, again with Wavelength. The weather, if anything was even better - certainly hotter. Max made a friend on the way out there - a young chap called Luke, who's staying in the same place as we are - and they spent quite a bit of time together during the day. Both are ardent Star Wars fans, so had plenty to talk about.
We went to two different bits of Opal Reef (sites called RayBan and LB, if that means anything to you), the first of which had some pretty spectacular yellow & blue corals. Unfortunately, we forgot to take Max's underwater camera to that one :-( We saw another white-tipped shark and lots of butterfly fish, but the main thing was that the previous night the coral had spawned. This meant that the water was filled with tiny pink eggs, which you could feel as you swam through them. These were reason that there were so many butterfly fish - they were gorging themselves, having the feast of the year. We had a fantastic day, and returned to Turtle Bay as the third site, but still didn't see any turtles, unfortunately - they're all too busy with the breeding season, I think.
In the mean time, Sarah & Erin did lunch & shopped, as only a mother & daughter can.

Today we took a trip up on the Skyrail to Kuranda, but not before we'd been to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park It wasn't our best experience, as it was full of teenage students. We were somewhat herded from one exhibit to the next, and nothing was covered in very much detail, although the initial History Theatre presentation covering white man's unjust treatment of aboriginal people didn't pull any punches. The didge demonstration didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, and we should have skipped in and gone to the boomerang & spear throwing demonstrations instead. We had time for a very quick attempt at throwing boomerangs: Max & Erin did well, but only my third attempt came back. As we were leaving the field I heard the teacher saying to the person behind us, "Hurry up. If you're quick you've got three live ones...".
Then we had to dash off as our skyrail tickets were timed. From Skyrail, we had some cool views of the rainforest from the cable car above the canopy. We stopped off along the way for a quick guided tour round the forest by a guide with a very strange sense of humour. It might have been more informative if he hadn't been so busy playing up to the three giggling american female tourists in the party, but it wasn't too bad, and was over pretty quickly.
At the next stop we looked out over Barron Falls. The gorge there is incredibly steep-sided, but I was surprised at how little water there was coming over the falls, given how wide it was. When we went on with the cable car journey, we saw the reason - there's a dam further up which is regulating the flow.
Kuranda was pleasant, but very touristy, which was what we'd been led to expect. We had time for lunch and a gentle mooch, but not much else apart from the obligatory ice creams before it was time to meet up with our guide & go down to the station to catch the Kuranda Scenic Railway back down to near sea level. A nice ride in old-fashioned carriages with old-fashioned air conditioning (i.e. all the windows open). Stony Creek bridge (photo) is an obvious highlight. You can't see the waterfall on the other side of the train in this photo, unfortunately. Not a bad day out, but all was a bit rushed, getting from one attraction to the next.

Yesterday was our first day out from Port Douglas, snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef with Wavelength.
On our way out to the reef we were lucky enough to have a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat. There were loads of them: one of the crew said she'd never seen that many in all the times she'd been out to the reef.
We had a fantastic time. Sarah, Max and Erin all overcame their initial fears about swimming in the ocean, and swimming with other, non-human creatures, and had a whale of a time.
We saw innumerable kinds of coral, giant clams, countless varieties of fish, and even a white-tipped reef shark (fortunately he was a) small, and b) more scared of us than we were of him). We went to three sites on Opal Reef and Tongue Reef, but the day seemed to pass incredibly quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to come back into port. In fact, Max enjoyed it so much that he and I are going again on Tuesday!

Here we are back on the east coast, but a bit further north. Had a lazy day yesterday after our early flight, finding our way round Port Douglas, getting in essential supplies, that kind of thing, and are doing much the same today. Max & Erin have been catching up on their school work. We had a walk down to Four Mile Beach, which looks long, but we couldn't find any information telling us how long. Of course, you can only swim in one small area at this time of year, because it's box jellyfish season and the stinger nets are out. It's been cloudy here, and we had some pretty heavy rain early this morning, but it's still warm-ish. Mind you, the mid-20s seems cool after Darwin... We're off snorkelling on the reef tomorrow, so hope for a calm sunny day, but perhaps not too hot.

Our last day with Sab today. Started with a rocky walk in to Jim Jim falls, which was probably te most challenging thing we'd done, especially in the heat. Passed our first guide, Mike, coming the other way with another group. Passed a wide creek with a croc trap (gulp!) though Sab said there's never been anything in it. Not sure whether that means that there aren't any crocs, or just that they're too smart... Rewarded with a beautiful sandy beach in a cove at the side of the valley with a lovely cool pool, morning tea and cake. We all had a good dip - Sarah stayed with the children, and I swam through some disconcertingly black water to get a look at the plunge pool, some 216m below the top of the falls. There wasn't a great deal of water coming over the falls, but enough to inspire a little awe at least. It's a great setting, at the head of a steep-sided sandstone valley, with the stone the (male) aboriginal colours: reds, yellows, black & whites. Back to the truck after another swim, where Sab estimated the temperature at 37-38 degrees. It doesn't feel as hot in the bush as in Darwin, because the heat's drier here, where Darwin is much more muggy.
Drove on to Maguk, where the walk in was much trickier - smaller rocks, more difficult footing, and the setting not quite so inspiring. Good falls, but not as nice a pool to sit by & have lunch. Max & Erin took a little convincing to get into the water, because it was pretty dark & not as clear as any of the other pools we've been to, but once convinced, they were back to bombing from the rocks.
Finally, a long drive back to Darwin with a quick stop for fuel & chips on the way, and the prospect of a day washing & packing again, catching up on blogging, and reflecting on what has been an amazing three days. It's certainly unlike anything we've ever done before, and will easily be one of the most memorable bits of the trip for some time to come. Just hope the photos are as good as the memories.
We leave for Port Douglas at 6am, which means a 4.45am pick up. Early to bed tonight, methinks.

Sab overcame his hangover (he won the Heritage & Cultural Tourism Award) and met us a the hotel. Got some stunning views of the Arnhemland escarpment - a huge ridge of sandstone stretching 500km down the western side of Arnhemland. Watched aboriginees, or are we supposed to call them indigenous australians, painting & decorating didges at the Injalak Arts & Crafts Association in Oenpelli. It's not a particularly attractive township, & the back of the craft centre is not its best view, with some very dodgy-looking dogs hanging around. Picked up our guide, Wilfred, and set off for a walk up Injalak Hill, which is rich in rock painting sites. Not too bad a walk up the hill, though it was pretty hot. Wilfred was very quiet on the way up, but was very friendly once he did start talking. Injalak is also known as Long Tom Dreaming Hill. A Long Tom is a kind of fish found in the area, and apparently the ancestors would climb the hill and speak to the spirits. Then when they descended, they would find plenty of long toms in the rivers, which they would catch and eat.
The rock art galleries were amazing, often with many layers of paintings. Some we believe were up to 8000 years old, but many were more recent. There was a variety of cross-hatched and X-ray styles, and pictures of barramundi, bream, long tom and other fish, turtles, echidna, freshwater crocodiles, wallabies, all sorts of creatures. There were also pictures of their spirits - the Lightning Man (Namarrgon) and other bad spirits (I didn't catch the name, but they would tell you not it wasn't safe to go hunting if you saw one), and the good spirits like the Mimi spirits, which would teach the aboriginals all sorts of skills.
Injalak was used as a shelter during the wet season, and there were many areas where people had made homes under big rock overhangs to keep dry. They would weave mats from threads made from banyan trees to put on the floor, and burn certain trees from the area to keep mosquitoes away. It was all fascinating.
Then we rounded a corner to see Sab sitting on a little outcrop of rock with morning tea & cake all set out for us. It was a magical spot, looking out over the wetlands, the escarpment and Magpie Goose Dreaming Hill. The views were breathtaking, and there wasn't another soul around.
After morning tea, Erin went down with Sab - I think he was highly amused by her banter on the way down, and the rest of us went on to see some more galleries. Caught sight of some bats hanging on a bit of rock, and were shown a burial site complete with remains, where we were asked not to take photos out of respect. Wilfred described the kind of rituals that they observe when someone dies, which I won't go into here. We finished with a painting of the Creation Mother, who carries numerous bags with her children in. She walks the land, putting her children down in various different places, where they turn into the trees, hills, waterholes, people, animals, and so on, building up the landscape. A fascinating morning indeed.
We went back to the craft centre to drop Wilfred off and then Sab took us off for a late lunch on a beautiful little shaded sandy spot by a water hole in the middle of the wetlands. Again, there was nobody about but us and a few screeching birds in the trees. We finished with a bit of entertaining off-roading, and an early return to the hotel for a welcome cooling swim. What an amazing day.

Day one of our biggest trip so far. We're off to Kakadu National Park, and western Arnhemland with Lords Safaris. First stop: some wetlands at Fogg Dam, the site of an abortive rice-farming project. Our first glimpses of some of the amazing bird life out here. More vast horizons - the terrain here is very flat, mostly flood plain, and the vistas just go on for ever. It's impossible to photograph.
After that, we went on the incredibly cheesy-sounding Jumping Crocodile Cruise. It was actually very good. Great commentary, and highly entertaining. Varying sized crocodiles appear out of the undergrowth as you cruise up the river, and then jump up to half their body length, and more in the case of one of the smaller ones, out of the water in a bid to get a lump of pork which is being dangled from the upper deck. We didn't see any of the larger male crocs as they are too busy breeding at the moment, but they sound like charming creatures: 6+ metres long, 1.5 tons, names like Aggro, Bogart & Stumpy. Aggro only has one leg, having lost all the others in fights. Nice.
More wetlands & bird life, followed by a Yellow Waters Cruise, with more crocodiles, pink water lilies (good tucker, apparently), white-bellied sea eagles, and some beautiful little kingfishers. Ended the day at the Crocodile Hotel, a Holiday Inn shaped like a crocodile, in the national park. After dinner we were regaled with a torrential storm, with incredible thunder & lightning. By far the most spectacular we've ever seen.

Woken by two huge claps of thunder in the night, but not for long. Checked in at the hotel, to find that the receptionist's sister lives in Banbury (she couldn't remember where). Walked down to local shops to forage for brekkie. Darwin looks much more frontier-ish than anywhere else we've seen so far - low-rise buildings, spread out, slightly tatty. Houses seem to squeeze into tropical gardens, lots of palms around. Disturbed a tree on the way back, and was rewarded with a screeching mob of rainbow lorikeets taking off. Packed for the next few days out on trips, and met Sab, our guide for the Kakadu & Arnhemland part of the trip. He's a proper (perhaps more stereotypical) Aussie, of which there are many more in Darwin than Sydney. He asked us if we'd mind him sending us with a different guide on the first day because he has a tourism award ceremony to go to (he's been nominated for one) and reckons he'll have too bad a hangover to be any use to us. Great bloke.
After lunch, went to see if Woolies in Darwin is anything like Sydney. It is, though the GF bread is frozen. Took a taxi down to Cullen Bay, where Erin & I went beachcombing. We had the beach completely to ourselves, thanks to the box jellyfish. Seems a shame to live in such a nice spot on the ocean, but not to be able to take advantage of it.
One of the taxi drivers was saying how much he likes the heat in Darwin. It's 30-34 degrees here all year round. He described 22 degrees as "freezing".
Erin was sick at bedtime, but only once. We reckon she had a dodgy chicken nugget (if you dare say I told you so, Jamie Oliver...) at teatime. Turns out it was fine this morning, though.

So today we've been to Litchfield National Park on a day trip with a different company. Bit of an early start (0650: what's the O stand for?...) but there were only 7 of us on the bus, so pickups weren't too arduous. In fact, we appear to have picked the perfect time of year to go, as the whole park was very quiet. Mind you, Interesting Fact #1 for the day is that there are only around 200,000 people in the whole of the Northern Territory, and around 170,000 of them live within a 50km radius of Darwin. I guess there's bound to be a bit of open space, then.
Had a couple of 1000-miles-to-the-horizon moments on the way to the park. Just green wilderness as far as the eye can see, and then some. Saw a couple of wedge-tailed eagles soaring high in the sky too. Failed to get a photo of a rock wallaby on the walk down to Florence Falls, but had a great swim in the pool at the bottom. Max & Erin were a bit reticent about getting in, which Erin overcame, but Max was still very wary.
The rocks around the pool were very slippery, and in fact, one of our coach party slipped and caught his forehead & bridge of his nose on a rock, giving himself some nasty cuts & bruises. He seemed OK, though, after a sit down and some patching up.
Saw some amazing cathedral and magnetic termite mounds on the way to lunch. The cathedral mounds are huge and buttressed - the ones we saw were about 10-12 feet high - and the magnetic ones are flatter, but all aligned north-south. When there are lots, they look like a huge number of headstones. It's all to do with different strategies for temperature control, apparently. More swimming at Wangi (pron. "one-guy") Falls after lunch, and then Max & Erin performed some spectacular bombs at Buley Rock Holes - a cascade of rock pools down a valley. They were both excellent, though in some respects (mainly the wash) slightly outdone by some 20+ stone members of another party.
Back for quick tea & bed.
A great day out - we've seen some lovely scenery today, and the low numbers of people around made it really relaxed. It's probably horrible in high season, judging by the size of the car parks at some of these places, but not this time of year. I think I prefer this part of Australia to Sydney.

Finished packing & went back to the Maritime Museum so that Max and Erin could see the more modern warships that they have: destroyer HMAS Vampire and submarine HMAS Onslow. Both were impressed by the anti-aircraft guns, and got to sit in the captains seat on the bridge and in the ops room. The sub was more interesting, simply because of the claustrophobia. The guide claimed it was built by Billy Connolly himself. Hmmm... Google doesn't show anything... A moochy sort of an afternoon in the sticky heat - Sydney must be trying to acclimatise us to Darwin - and then off to the airport.
Great noodle bar at Sydney airport, but ordered way too much and had to eat most of it myself. Flight a little delayed waiting for an inbound connection, but not too bad, and actually, for a four-hour flight it seemed incredibly short. M & E both managed some sleep. First impression of Darwin is that it's incredibly hot & humid, and smells of disinfectant, but I think the smell disappeared outside the airport. Our bags were loaded onto the transfer bus by a lad of about 10. On the way to the apartments, Max kept spotting flashes that he claimed were lightning, but I reckoned they were just reflections of car headlights. Very difficult to get any impression of Darwin apart from that it's hot & dark.
Got M & E into bed and then sat on the balcony watching the lightning flash in the sky (no thunder, so it must have been very distant). Max was right after all.

Been invited to lunch with Charlie McMahon (I know, I know), so decided to spend the morning mooching around the city centre. Took the monorail to the Queen Victoria Building. Never mind the shops, look at the architecture... Found Woolworths. Why is that so exciting, I hear you ask? Because it's a completely different shop in Australia. It's a supermarket, and a rather nice one at that. More importantly, it sells gluten free bread. In Sydney it even sells it in the fresh bread section, and in different varieties.
Then off to lunch with Charlie & family, who live in an unassuming and rather lovely little victorian house in Balmain. Regaled with a demo of the Didgeribone, wot he invented, and his seismic didge gadget. With a couple of delay pedals, you can produce some pretty stunning effects, and without the need for the rest of the band. Well, I liked it. Of course, I had to buy a didgeribone - it would have been rude not to, and anyway, it'll be useful for travelling. Erin quite likes it too. Caught bus back to the apartment and started packing.

Max & Erin's first morning in Sydney. We were standing at the top of a lighthouse outside the Maritime Museum. That's a replica of Captain Cook's Endeavour in the background, which we'd just been exploring.

Well, we're all slowly getting through the jet lag now, I think. We were at least able to sleep through most of last night. Indeed on Monday morning, it was hard to wake Max & Erin up. Which was a pity, because we had to get up early to board our coach to the Blue Mountains. Anyway, more of that later.
On Saturday, we just mooched around Sydney. We decided that we'd go to the Aboriginal Culture Centre just down in Darling Harbour, because they have a free Didgeridoo show a few times a day. Unfortunately, we were all up just too early, and it wasn't open. Not only that, but the shows weren't until the afternoon anyway. So, instead, we took a trip to Paddy's Market. Lots of tat, but the fruit & veg section was wonderful. Had a quick coffee on our way through Chinatown, and then walked up to the Australian Museum. They had a fascinating section on indigenous Australians, and an even better interactive exhibition on how animatronic monsters work. M & E were able to move a crocodile's tale, dinosaurs, play about with different lighting effects on Wolf Man, all sorts of things. Fantastic! After a quick lunch we made it to the Aboriginal Culture Centre in the end. The show was excellent, and with some good didgeridoo songs about crocodiles, kangaroos, dingos & the kookaburra. Erin decided she wanted her own didgeridoo, but they didn't have anything that was quite right.
Sunday was a brighter day, so we decided to make the most of it and take a cruise round the harbour. First stop was Circular Quay & The Rocks, and on the way we got our first views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The Rocks was lovely - interesting buildings, quaint, but not too much tourist tat. Mind you, we spent most of our time in Didjbeat. Erin came out with a great little didgeridoo, but Chris had to ship his home, as it was a bit big to carry round (how inevitable was that?)... Back on the ferry then, round to the Opera House for an ice cream, and then back to finish our trip round the harbour.
We had an early start on Monday because we had to sit on a coach for an hour and a half while we picked up people from other hotels on our way to the Blue Mountains. First stop was Featherdale Wildlife Park, a great little park where Max & Erin fed kangaroos, and we all got to cuddle a koala. They had all sorts of interesting creatures there, including a Tasmanian Devil and some Dingos, but the Koalas, Kangaroos & Wombats were toughing it out to see who was the cuddliest. My money's on the Koalas. Then it was back on the bus and up into the mountains. The Blue Mountains are so called because of the blue haze of eucalyptus oil from all the gum trees. Unfortunately, for us they were more the Grey Mountains, because all we could see for most of the time was drizzle :-( Still, when we made it to Echo Point to see The Three Sisters the weather had cleared a little. Fortunately it was still misty enough to disguise the sheer drops so that Sarah wasn't too scared to walk down to the viewing point on the first Sister. When she got there, the mist cleared enough to scare at least some of the living daylights out of her, though...
It was clear enough to see the potential for fantastic views. If I can, I'll post some of the photos here just so you can get an idea. Anyway, after that we went to Scenic World to catch a ride down into the valley on the world's steepest passenger railway. It was less than a couple of minutes long, but what a ride! 52 Degrees, feels more like 82 degrees. I got a feeling it was going to be steep when I realised that the seats were inclined backwards pretty steeply, but Sarah was unable to look as we went down. Like the Three Sisters walk, I think if she'd realised what it would be like, she wouldn't have done it. Needless to say, the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we split up, and Erin and I splashed through the mud to the base of Katoomba falls - in flood they're probably more spectacular, but they're pretty anyway. Meanwhile, Max & Sarah walked along the boardwalk through the forest to the base of the Sceniscender, a cable car ride back up to the top, which gives some pretty spectacular views, even with the amount of cloud there was around. Erin & I followed them about 10 minutes later.
Finally, it was back via the quaint little town of Leura, and its famous candy shop which sells just about every kind of imaginable sweet (sadly, we didn't have time to visit the equally famous man with 3,200 teapots) to Homebush Bay, the site of the 2000 Olympics. It was impressive, but somehow rather sterile without much going on there. From there, we were ferried back swiftly on the same catamaran that had taken us round the bay before. I think we all felt as though we'd had a Grand Day Out.
Today, we're just pottering around Sydney, probably to the Powerhouse museum later, and then we only have a couple more days here, before we're off to hot & sticky Darwin...

This is our apartment block. I think we're somewhere near the top, just right of centre. It's an old wool warehouse, and that's our Monorail stop in the foreground.

OK, OK, I was wrong, I should have listened to Sarah. Twenty two hours in economy really does suck. We arrived in Sydney in one piece yesterday, but a little jet-lagged. Erin slept early in the flight, but not later. Max slept late but not earlier. I slept in both parts, but not much, and I don't think Sarah slept at all. Still, it was bright, sunny and warm, when we got here, Max's guitar arrived in one piece, and there was no hassle getting his gluten-free food into the country. In fact, I don't think I've ever known such cheery customs officials. Makes you feel good about a country early on.
No problems getting to the hotel, which is in a huge old wool storehouse. Very imposing. Sarah crashed out for a couple of hours, while M & E & I went to have a scout round. We found the Maritime Museum, which provided an interesting diversion for an hour or so, and then took a quick tour round a replica of Captain Cook's Endeavour in the harbour. Not bad. Erin still remembered the Cat o' Nine Tails this morning :-) After a quick run up & down a little lighthouse on the quay (timber-framed, steel-skinned: is that normal?) we headed back to try and find some basic supplies. Found a supermarket very near the hotel with the help of a local minibus driver, and were back at the apartment in time to wake Sarah & go out for lunch.
Didn't do much in the afternoon, and I think all of us were in bed by 7. Max was falling asleep in the bath, bless him, and Erin while having her teeth cleaned - they were physically incapable of keeping their eyes open any longer.
Today, we were going to try a quick harbour cruise, but it dawned somewhat cloudy, and (shock, horror, give me my money back) started to spit with rain as we walked down to the quay. Instead, we ducked into the Sydney Aquarium. Result! It was excellent. Erin saw her first saltwater croc and stroked a starfish, and we all wandered through tunnels under the seal sanctuary while seals swam overhead, in that endearing way that they have. The Oceanarium was arguably more thrilling, because it was a similar structure, but full of sharks & rays. Fantastic! We walked in just as a HUGE ray (at least 6 ft span) swam over the top of the glass tunnel. Excellent.
Spent the afternoon travelling on the monorail and then a quick zip up the Sydney Tower. Perhaps not the best day for it, as it was a bit hazy and grey, but the views were still pretty spectacular.
Well, better go as it's late (crikey, almost 8pm) and I need to go & catch up on some sleep. I still can't quite believe that we're actually here. Will the novelty wear off?

Well, after what seems like for ever, we've arrived at November 1st. Suitcases are packed, guinea pigs have gone to their holiday residence, last-minute jobs are done. We packed twice, actually: we packed once, decided we had too much stuff, so unpacked, removed some, er, non-essential items & repacked everything. I want to believe it's better...
Max & Erin are a little bit excited, I think. Trouble is, with a night flight, you have all day beforehand to wait around to go. I think I'd rather do everything the day before, then go do bed, get up in the morning & go straight to the airport (after a hearty breakfast, of course). Poor Max & Erin are trying hard to find things to do to fill their day. But hey, it's only an hour or so before we set off to the airport, and then things will get really exciting.
One minor annoyance: my watch has chosen today to cease functioning as a watch. The battery's running down, so it tells a time, but not one that's useful to me. Time to buy something cheap and nasty at the airport, I guess.
Right, must go, got a plane to catch... next stop Sydney...