Part Two: Aussie Adventures

Hi everyone!

A lot has happened since the last time I posted…free wifi is tough to find here! I promised that I would make a Part 2 and I finally can! Our first day in Australia was very chaotic, but we managed to have a really nice day. After we figured out the airport and hotel we decided to take the train to go see the Sydney Opera House.  By the time we left Sydney we were train-riding pros!

The first thing we did when we did when we got to the world famous harbor was…. stopping by McDonalds of course! We desperately wanted to contact our families, so we bought a drink and used the free McDonalds wifi. We did learn some things from our McDonalds trip…

1.     There are no free refills

2.     There is no dollar menu… actually the food is quite pricey for the McDonalds we know in the US

3.     Their drink sizes are definitely smaller… our small size is roughly the size of the large drink here (large is still a little bigger)

Once we got to text/email our families we actually went to see the Harbour. Seeing the Opera House and bridge for the first time was amazing! It was like a scene from a movie except we were actually living it.  We also went to the Royal Botanical Gardens, which was probably my favorite part of the day. It was so peaceful and had some of the coolest looking trees! It was definitely an escape from the craziness of our morning and the rest of the hectic city.

The train station by our hotel in Sydney.

We were greeted when we got to the Harbour by musicians and a didgeridoo!

After our first Australian adventure we hung out at the hotel and then proceeded to sleep for the next 12 hours!

I started my second morning in Sydney by watching the Australian Today Show. I learned Tanner is a hipster because he has a beard! Then we went back on the train to explore the city again! We started by walking around Darling Harbour and then we saw St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Then we went back by the Opera House to go to the Government House! We couldn’t actually go inside but the gardens were incredible and we took soooo many pictures of flowers. We also got to see a bunch of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets. AMAZING! J It’s so weird seeing birds that are pets or only in zoos in the US just naturally flying around. Next we hopped on a ferry and rode it to Manly Beach. It had a bunch of places to eat and shop and of course a beach. The waves were huge (the biggest ones I’ve ever seen) and there were tons of surfers! When I pictured the Australian coast this is definitely what I thought it would look like. Tanner and I loved it there and wished we could have spent more time hanging around Manly Beach. When went back to the hotel we found our luggage!!! I would say it was an awesome day!

Day three was pretty eventful too! We picked up the car we are going to rent for the next week and then started our journey up the coast to Brisbane. Tanner has officially driven on the wrong side of the road and he is a pro!!! Sometimes he turns the windshield wipers when means to signals, but that’s really his only driving issue. We checked into our hostel in Katatoomba (which actually had free wifi) and I got to skype my family!!! I almost cried when I saw their faces! Then we went to Echo Point and the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains. It was absolutely beautiful! I can’t even describe how breathtaking it was and pictures don’t do it justice.  We hiked in the Aussie bush for about three and a half hours and went down about 1,000 stairs.  When you go down you have to go back up… so we walked up A LOT of stairs. I don’t think it was anywhere near 1,000 but it’s more then I’ve ever climbed before. We saw beautiful waterfalls all the way up though. We also saw lyrebirds right in front of us on the path and wallabies really far in the distance with Tanner’s binoculars! They’re adorable even really far away. We came back to the hostel exhausted, but it was definitely worth it!

Can’t wait for more adventures today! We are leaving Katatoomba and continuing our journey. I will  post again as soon as I can. Sorry this one was so long… a lot happened I guess! Miss you all!

Love Always,

Bobbi