Downtown Sydney/Culberra (aka longest post ever, be prepared!)

This post kind of took on a life of its own...it's long...bear with me!

Yesterday, Thursday, we went downtown with Simon's Uncle in the morning and while he was at work Simon and I wandered around town, with the intention of meeting up at noon to begin our journey to the coast 3 hours-ish south of Sydney. It was suggested that we head into the Botanical Gardens, then through them to the sea wall, and then to walk towards and around the Opera House, so that's what we did.

The Gardens were incredible. There were some unusual looking trees, and really neat bushes. When we looked up, that was the most astounding part, because there were bats. TONS of bats. All over the place, not more than 100m up the tree from us. It was incredible!

A closeup of the bats (sleeping??) in the tree.

An idea of just how many bats there were. 3 or 4 trees were covered like this!

We spent quite a bit of time watching them, listening to the sounds they were making and trying to figure out if, given how much they were moving around, they actually were sleeping. It was definitely one of those experiences that stops you in your tracks. And how close this was all happening to downtown was striking too. I have a feeling people might think that about the life in Stanley Park too, but it was still pretty awesome.

The park with the city in the background.

We wandered further to a small pond where we learned that eels keep crossing in from the ocean to live in the pond. Apparently they'd drain the thing and when it would fill up again baby eels would make the trek across the lawn back to the pond. So neat! We didn't see any of the eels though, which was slightly disappointing, but given they can come up on land, which I didn't know, maybe it's a good thing :-)

The pond with the eels lurking somewhere beneath the surface.

Once we hit the sea wall, the Opera House came into view. Though I am 100% sure that this is far from the most exciting part about Sydney, to me it's always symbolized the city, and so for it to come into view and for us to be seeing it with our own eyes, well it was a little overwhelming, and really exciting all at once. I sort of did they 'holy crap we're actually here' thing again, which I've been doing a lot lately!

Sitting on the sea wall prior to seeing the Opera House.

Simon and I in front of the Opera House.

We walked around the Opera House, and also saw the Harbour Bridge which was still home to the contraption that held the giant "O" when Oprah was in town, for anyone who actually watches Oprah :-)

The Harbour Bridge and that square wiring in the middle held Oprah's "O".

The port where Simon's parents will be arriving in the fall!

Then we headed into the city because Simon and I both wanted to find some new shoes. I wanted another pair of flip flops, and Simon wanted something other than high tops, which were pretty much all he brought. So we wandered around not really knowing where we were going. We did both manage to find shoes though. I went all materialistic and got a pair of Havaianas based purely on the fact that there were peacocks on the soles, and Simon got a pair of black Vans, only to be given a wicked pair of green loafers by his Uncle a few hours later. (FYI, the new flip flops haven't helped with the whole long-distance walking at all.)

The new flip flops. See, Peacocks!

We met back up with Simon's Uncle at noon, then headed for lunch at another delicious Thai restaurant. If the Thai food is this good here I can't wait to go to Thailand and experience the real thing.

From there we headed back home to gather our stuff and make the trek to Culberra, where we are now. I faded and slept for most of the first half of the trip, but woke up right as we were about to see the most amazing view I've seen in a while. We were on a terrace overlooking a few different seaside towns, at a little cafe. It was mind blowing, and I've never seen anything like it before in my life. Definitely one of those mental images that will stick with me for a while!

Simon and his Uncle at the cafe overlooking the seaside towns.

Simon and I with the seaside view in the background.

We headed back into the car after having a drink at the cafe, and our next sightseeing stop was the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. It was really gorgeous, with many different suggestions for ways of improving your style of living posted around the grounds. Buddhism is one religion I'd really like to get to know more about - from the Burma aspect but also just because of how non-violent it really is. The only thing that I am uncomfortable with is how much of it centers on how we are innately suffering and that's just part of the way it works.

The temple.

From the temple we continued to another viewpoint, of a 7 mile long beach. Another gorgeous view (I'm beginning to realize these are commonplace here, and should maybe start accepting that!!).

The view of the beach.

Then we headed to the house after picking up some prawns for dinner. We went to the beach right by the house where Simon's Uncle explained that while there are the occasional sharks (which was my concern), the thing to be more wary of was the rip tides pulling you out to sea. Needless to say we haven't been swimming there yet, but that's not to say it won't happen. I just know now what to do, and to not go out father than I'm comfortable (which for me is probably to my waist at the most!).

This morning I woke up honestly thinking I was at my mom's house because of the bird sounds. If you've been to mom's you'll know she has these two lovebirds that make the most irritating screeching sounds when they want to, and often that's first thing in the morning when they're fighting over something.

Anyway, once I realized where I was and went outside I was met by another crazy view - this time of birds. There were two types that were arguing over food that was put out by Simon's Uncle, one was a cockatoo, which we had seen also in the Botanical Gardens, and the other was a rainbow lorikeat, which was the one making the sounds like Mom's birds. Again another one of those 'whoa, this happens in nature here' type of moments.

The cockatoos on the perch outside the front door.

The rainbow birds. This shot doesn't do them justice. They're incredibly vibrant!

Cockatoo and rainbow bird showdown.

Bird watching was the highlight of my day, though I did get to swim in the pacific too which should be mentioned! We didn't swim by the house, we went instead to Jarvis Bay, to a beach that was absolutely deserted, all 10k of it! The waves were large and rolling though not ominous, reminded me of Hawaii. We made it out just as our first thunderstorm hit. I didn't get pictures of the swim though, didn't want to risk bringing the camera to the beach and with the storm it was a really smart choice.

That about catches us up, as it brings me to tonight where I've basically been writing this for the last half hour! Tomorrow we are going to explore around here more and visit some of the opportunity (thirft) shops around for anything we can think of that we need but don't have. Simon and his Uncle have been playing with some of the cool retro stuff kicking around the beach house, including a wicked stereo system that they resurrected which we'll be taking with us to Canberra, and a couple of old school fans.

I want to take a second to thank my parentals for the camera without which I couldn't take these pictures, and of course the assistance in helping me pursue this dream! I read The Alchemist again before leaving Vancouver, and I can't get this quote out of my head. I feel it's so timely, and constantly reassures me that I'm on the right path. I'll leave you with it for now -

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
- Paulo Coelho