Welcome back to the blog! February was slow for the blog but high on travel, good New Zealand weather and adventure. We’ll chronicle our time with the Hines family in Australia and Matt Reinaker in New Zealand over the next couple of weeks, starting with our visit to Sydney, Australia.
Sydney is a big city. It ranks up with New York, Chicago and San Francisco in terms of size and energy. Sydney is well known for food. Our hotel was in the central part of the city bordering on Chinatown, and provided us with plenty of amazing Asian food choices close by. The harbour creates a charming setting for the big city, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera house add to its charm. The city has a mix of historic architecture mixed with the same type of modern office and apartment buildings you see in all large cities.
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Central Station circa 1906 |
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| Front entrance to Central Station |
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| Darling Harbour |
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House |
A trip to Australia wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a wildlife park. Heather had eagerly anticipated seeing Kangaroos for months ahead of her visit. The Featherdale Wildlife Park outside of Sydney did not disappoint.
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Dana bonded with the Koala
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Blue Penguins love attention
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The crowd pleasing croc
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| A Brush with the Tasmanian Devil |
Outside the city, Sydney has more of a Southern California vibe along the coast. We got to take in a little of the surf culture at Bondi Beach. Even on a workday afternoon, the water was filled with surfers and the beach covered with sunbathers.
Being in Sydney reminded me how exciting it is to be in a big city (Auckland is great and has it’s own charm, but it’s not nearly the size of Sydney). It’s just got an infectious energy that is special.
I went to that wildlife park and have pics by that stuffed koala. They smell pretty bad don't they? Love your shot of the Opera House. When we were there we were too close to it to capture it with the bridge. We were only there over night then had to move out near the ocean for Jim's business then on to Adelaide, that was a pretty but small city.
ReplyDeleteThat was a real koala actually, and yes they do smell horrible. Have to give Dana credit for the Opera House picture, it turned out to be an awesome shot. Didn't think Adelaide was all that exciting after being in Sydney.
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