final full day

Despite our efforts, it was hard to forget that yesterday was our last full day in Sydney and of our holiday overall (excluding our travel days). We wandered around the city aimlessly, sat in the park watching the world go by and had a couple of quiet drinks. Very relaxing. Just a shame that it was a bit windy and drizzly at times, coincidentally just when we were sitting in the pub....

As far as the sport of people-watching goes we noticed that there was a very high percentage of Asians (live here or on holiday? just that area of town or representative of the immigration trends?). We also enjoyed the cross-section of people walking by, from young & trendy to older & with big hats, perhaps on the way to the races?

We also finally managed to catch up with Viivi (the bride) at a house party full of Finns.

zoo (& imax)

There's nothing like the zoo to keep a 3-year old (and Harri) entertained for almost a full day on Easter Friday. Considering the number of families at the zoo, I think other people also had the same idea....

While the adults (Paivi, Harri and myself) were doing our best at pointing out all the animals, Aslak was usually more interested in running downhill as far away from us as possible. So we took it in turns to chase after him, glancing at the displays as we whizzed by. They did have a very young baby elephant which was adorable, but very hard to capture on camera because it was hiding under its mum.

There were also plenty of birds like kukaburras, lorikeets and turkeys, and not only in their enclosures. In fact we saw the most birds when having lunch; there was a kukaburra eyeing up our lunch from the tree nearby, a bunch of colourful lorikeets perched on the neighbour table's intent on stealing what tidbits they could and a turkey walking around the premises - what a spectacle :-)

and then there was the leopard. The zoo people (obviously with a sense of humour) had placed a relatively realistic looking plastic leopard up a tree in full access of children. The mothers were horrified...

In the evening we treated ourselves to the imax cinema - not only the largest existing imax, but also the largest movie screen in the world. I got vertigo just walking to my seat! The screen was huge and the auditorium was really steep! Obviously it was the best place to watch Avatar. Harri is completely addicted!

zoo

Sydney skyline with giraffe

Evolution at its best...

Big hug!

Sightseeing comedy

Yesterday we played tourists in Sydney and went on a city sightseeing tour. I quite like these because you sit in a bus, get a good overview of the main sights, see some interesting areas of town, listen to some historical tidbits and hopefully catch some sun :-) (or in Harri's case, try not to burn). One of the things I noticed is how much money has gone into regenerating some areas of town, including for example the wharves and harbour area. Without this it wouldn't be the fantastic city it is now.

I also couldn't help observe some similarities Sydney to New York (or specifically Manhattan). I'm not going to even mention the huge skyscrapers, the density of banks and other financial services within the business district or the cost of living which are characteristic of any major city. Actually what I was referring to was the are pockets of areas, which each had its own local character. This also happens in London but at a larger scale. Here the pockets are each about 5 blocks in radius and have distinctly different inhabitants, shops and atmosphere. Makes for a very dynamic and interesting tourist viewing. And a wish that we had more time to cover each area separately. My favourite area of town was Woolloomooloo, purely on the basis of its fantastic name! Apparently it means baby kangaroo in the aboriginal language.

We also went to a stand-up comedy show and laughed our heads off! Quite appropriate I guess for April Fools Day.

Happy Easter long weekend everyone!

Blue Mountains

Turkish steam sauna. Hot, sweaty, steamy, humid and a faint smell of eucalyptus in the air. That's what it felt like the first time we stepped out of the car in the Blue Mountains National Park. At least wet due to the drizzle and surrounded by a lovely smell of fresh eucalyptus. But we were rewarded by breathtaking views over the valley of rolling hills of eucalyptus trees and steep rock faces. When looking at the vertical cliffs there was no doubt why it took the early settlers years to cross over the mountains to colonize the plains on the other side! It was just a shame that some of the lookouts provided a nice view of the surrounding cloud, and not much else. So we missed the Three Sisters.

However, we did spot two new species of parrots flying around. The first one had a bright red body and head and violet/purple wings. The other was greyish with a bright pink chest (galah).

Blue Mountains

Some spectacular views over the eucalyptus-lined valleys of the Blue Mountains

More animals (and dancing!)

Today it was raining. So we spent most of the days inside at the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Center. The aquarium had a couple of interesting spaces in which you walked into a tube with water surrounding you on 3 sides. So basically you had various species and sizes of shark and stinger ray just floating above you giving a wonderful view of their 4 rows of teeth (sharks) and faces on their belly (rays). From that angle it seems like the rays were constantly smiling (despite being in the same tank as the sharks?!). From another angle, but looking down into the pool from above, it looked like they were flying, with their side 'fins' acting as 'wings'.

We also saw the duck-billed platypus, another animal unique to Australia. What a bizarre invention of nature! No wonder people originally thought that the platypus was a hoax. It has a duck's beak, an otters tail, fishes webbed 'feet'. Its such a strange combination of mammal and reptile: it can regulate its own body temperature (like mammals) but lays eggs (like reptiles). Weird!

Another completely unexpected animal we saw today was the dugong. In case you're wondering what that is, its also known as a sea cow. If that doesn't help, think of a cross between a seal, sea lion and a whale and then add a flat large nose like a pig. Apparently this thing eats 120 kg of lettuce a day! How does it get so big on just lettuce?

and then there was a giant aquarium, imitating the Great Barrier Reef, which was completely hypnotizing. Me & Harri just sat there for 20 minutes just watching the fish. The conversation went like this: "oooh look at that blue fish. Hey, there goes another yellow fish. And over there on the left is a black & white fish. And there are two pink fish chasing each other." Not a particularly riveting conversation, but give us a break - we are on holiday after all!

(ps we also saw the worlds most venomous snake and most dangerous spider. Behind a glass. Phew!)

I also dragged poor Harri to a ceroc event. Ceroc is a style of dancing related to rock'n'roll which I used to dance in the UK, doesn't exist in the Netherlands, but luckily for me is also really popular in Australia. I found a venue with beginners and intermediate classes, and plenty of freestyling (where everyone dances with everyone). It was FANTASTIC! Especially when I had 3 consecutive dances with the teacher. FABULOUS! I even got compliments for the fact that I was dancing in flip flops rather than proper dance shoes (they didn't fit in my suitcase...)