Our trip to Sydney

It has been a couple weeks since I've posted . . . sorry!! We decided to take a family trek down to Sydney a couple of weekends ago as there was a national holiday on Friday (Anzac Day) and Bryan had a three day weekend. Well, we no sooner got back from Sydney and did laundry then headed out on another two week Australia adventure trek (more about that trip in another post though!)

Anyway, we arrived in Sydney on Wednesday evening, April 23rd, and hit the sack to prepare for 3 1/2 days of sightseeing. We started our vacation with a Sydney sights highlights bus tour. This tour took us all around the city for great stops and photo shots. We stopped at Macquarie's Chair in the Sydney Botanical Gardens with great views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. This was a specially designed chair for the governor's wife to look out over the harbour. Other great sights/areas that we visited included The Rocks, Circular Quay, Chinatown, Darling Harbour, and Kings Cross. We also stopped at The Gap, the heads of the harbour and had our "morning tea" at the world famous Bondi Beach. It then rained for much of the afternoon so our options were limited but we did ride the Monorail tram around Darling Harbour and managed to remain somewhat dry.

On Friday we took a tour of the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney. Our friends from the US, another John Deere family, were also in Sydney and went on the tour with us. We did a short bushwalk to Wentworth Falls but it was foggy out (or as Evan says - there is "foggy-fog everywhere") so it was difficult to see. We stopped in a small garden town for lunch, Leura, before heading to Katoomba and Scenic World right in the heart of the Blue Mountains. At Scenic World we rode three great rides so that we could see the rainforest from many different viewpoints. We first rode the Scenic Skyway over the rainforest and Jamison Valley. It gave us a 360 degree view of the rainforest and also had a glass floor so that we could watch the rainforest below us. We were easily able to view Katoomba Falls and the Three Sisters rock formation from the Skyway. We then took the Scenic Cableway down a 545 meter drop into the rainforest - quite an exciting and breathtaking drop! And finally, we rode the Scenic Railway . . . backwards . . . up a steep incline out of the rainforest. This railway is the steepest railway in the world with a 415 meter accent/decent. Evan (and the rest of us) found this very exhilarating . . . even Kaden got to ride! We then made a quick riding tour through the Olympic Park in Sydney before taking a river cruise back home. It was a long but FUN day!

On our final full day in Sydney we rode the ferry through Sydney Harbour and got off at the Circular Quay so that we could go on a tour of the Sydney Opera House. We learned alot about the opera house and enjoyed the tour, even though Evan was quite bored throughout! As we were exiting the Opera House a performance was starting outside so we were able to watch a live show from the steps of the Opera House. We then took a ferry ride back through the harbour so that Evan could claim his reward (for putting up with so many adult activities) . . . a trip to the IMAX theatre. We watched an African Safari show for 45 minutes - a perfect length for Evan's very first "movie" trip. After the IMAX movie we walked the busy streets of downtown Sydney to the Sydney tower so that we could travel to the top and take in the 360 degree view of the entire city. After all of the walking and activities we were beat and the boys were longing for home so we called it a night.

It was a great family vacation filled with lots of adventures and great sights!

We did have several celebrity sightings while in Sydney as well that some of you may find interesting. We have been watching The Biggest Loser Australia while here and while in line at the IMAX we recognized Cosi, one of the contestants on this season's The Biggest Loser, that had just recently been voted off the show. He lost an amazing 75+ lbs. so it was great to recognize him and note that he still looked slim! Then, while waiting for our flight the next morning, while in the Qantas Club Airline Lounge, we had another celebrity sighting. The MTV music awards for Australia had just taken place the night before in Sydney and 50Cent (the American Rapper) was one of the lead guest performances. Well, 50Cent and his posse were hanging out right by us in the club lounge. Believe me, they REALLY stick out in Australia so it's hard not to miss them!

Well, tune in soon for more blogging about our most recent Australia trek - we have some exciting pictures and stories to tell!

Australian Education: DONUTS ARE EXPENSIVE IN AUSTRALIA! (Like many other things . . . ) We thought Krispy Kreme were expensive because of the American name but we have found that donuts are often $2 - $2.50 each everywhere you look! Needless to say we don't get donuts often!


While in Sydney Bryan also found a store that sold Dr. Pepper by the can . . . my favorite . . . that you can't find anywhere in Australia. Well, one can cost $2.80! Which seems like alot but all pop is expensive in Australia as well . . . a small bottle of pop from the gas station usually costs around $3-$3.50.

Hervey Bay & The Great Sandy Straits

We just returned from spending the weekend with friends at their beach house located about 3-4 hours north of Brisbane at Tuan, QLD. This area is called The Great Sandy Straits. We also traveled to Hervey Bay while in the area. We were able to do some fishing and learn about the different fish in the area, as well as the different techniques used to get bait, etc. Rather than paying for bait, they pump yabbie's from the sand and use yabbie's as fish bait (see pictures in slide show.)

We went up to Hervey Bay for lunch and to see the area. Hervey Bay is where alot of whale watching tours take place during whale season (June - October.) During our stay we were also able to see across to Fraser Island (the largest sand island in the world.) We weren't able to travel to Fraser this weekend but are hoping to get there in the next few months.

On Sunday morning we went onto the beach when the tide was out to visit the soldier crabs (see slide show.) The sight of the thousands and thousands of soldier crabs running away from you as you walked was phenomenal! There were all different sizes and they were a beautiful blue color. When they sensed you were close they would burrow themselves down into the sand and disappear. I was totally in awe of the sight!

A couple of weekends ago we went to Brisbane Forest Park to visit yet another beautiful area of Brisbane that was right at our doorstep. We enjoyed several different lookouts along the drive and a lunch up on Mount Nebo. Before heading home we went through the wildlife zoo with the boys and got to see pademelons and wallabys (smaller kangaroos) and I finally was able to see my very first duck-billed platypus!! I had wanted to see one before leaving Australia so I've now seen most of the unique animals that I had on my list! Here are some pictures:

Wivenhoe Lake/Dam: This is where Brisbane gets most of its water from, and as you can tell the lake is somewhat low, thus resulting in the water restrictions we are under.


Jolly's Lookout from Brisbane Forest Park - you can see Moreton Bay in the distance


Australian Education:
Local elections were held recently and here is a picture of a church that housed voting booths. They have TONS of signs up outside of the voting booths and people continue to hand you ads, etc. as you enter to vote, I guess hoping you'll change your mind on your way in to vote. I recently heard on the radio that almost 5,000 individuals did not vote in the QLD elections like they were supposed to (they are required to vote here) and would be fined $75 each for not showing up. They also said that the QLD Government might override the fines this election. Interesting.


Also, here are some pictures of a popular sport here in Australia . . . lawn bowling. I haven't seen alot of younger people doing it but it seems like a popular retirement sport. They don their matching uniforms and hats and seem to have alot of fun.

Our Activities Continued

Now to sum up the rest of our time while Steph and Justin were here visiting . . .

We returned back to Brisbane and on the way home from the coast stopped at Springbrook National Park for a day of hiking. We had wanted to hike down to Purling Brook Falls again so that they could experience the sight but it turned out to be a dreary, rainy day so everyone except for Kaden and I ended up only hiking down to Twin Falls (another circuit at Springbrook) that day. When they reached Twin Falls Stephanie spotted a unique creature . . . a Lamington Blue Crayfish. These are quite rare and only emerge when it rains - so they were pretty lucky to spot one!

That evening Steph, Justin, and Bryan went river kayaking on the Brisbane river. They were able to enjoy the night skyline of the city from the Brisbane river and kayaked for about 1.5 hours before returning to the Adventure Centre for beer and prawns following the trip.

On Friday, we all headed down to Mt. Tamborine to Thunderbird Park so we could complete the ropes course at Adventure Parc. Bryan and Justin went first while Steph took Evan digging for Thundereggs at the Thunderegg mine and I fed Kaden. The ropes course has three different courses - green, red, and black. Bryan and Justin made it through all three courses while Steph and I only made it through 2 1/2 courses (had to cut the black one short due to time.) It was very challenging but a fun time by all!

In the evening we headed into the city and Steph, Justin, and I completed the Story Bridge Adventure Climb. This climb is one of only three bridge climbs in the world. (Bryan did the Harbour Climb in Sydney and there is another one in Auckland, New Zealand.) It was a beautiful night as we did the twilight climb. We started up the bridge while it was still light outside and by the time we reached the top it was dark and we were able to see the city lights and get a great 360 degree view of Brisbane and the surrounds.

Here are some facts about the Story Bridge:
- The Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated, and constructed in Australia by Australians.
- The summit is 74 metres (242 feet), similar to a 22-story building.
- The bridge is repainted every 7 years using 17,500 litres of paint.
- Approximately 70,000 cars cross teh bridge daily.

Over the weekend we took a quick trip to Lone Pine so Steph and Justin could have their turn at feeding the emus and kangaroos, and could cuddle a koala. We all also went abseiling (repelling) off of the Kangaroo Cliffs by the Brisbane River. Bryan and I had never been repelling before and going off the edge was scary at first but got easier. We celebrated Easter by going to downtown Brisbane to visit the cathedral, completed some souvenir shopping, and dyed Easter eggs with some Australian friends in the evening.

The last day of their trip we spent out at Tangalooma. We were able to snorkel "The Wrecks", old ship wrecks along the coast of Moreton Bay, and Bryan and Justin went sea kayaking. The snorkeling wasn't as good as Byron Bay earlier in the week but was still fun.

Australian Education: Here are some interesting foods and food items we have encountered lately . . .

Hot Cross Buns - all the grocery stores have these around Easter time. They come with fruit and fruitless.


The lychee - we discoverd this fruit at the Chinese New Year Party and Evan loved it. You had to peel away the outside and then eat the sweet part around the pit.




Some items used to make a cake . . . the Golden Buttercake is the closest I can find to a yellow cake mix and the icing mixture is . . . powdered sugar . . . took me awhile to find that one!


Here is a picture of a common fruit that Bryan likes to put on ice cream . . . passion fruit. Interesting color, texture, and "look" to go on food!