Macropus giganteus

Further south down the coast of New South Wales, we detoured off into Murramarang National Park to make a pit stop at Pebbly Beach. It was there that I finally got to get a certain desire out of my system. Kangaroos.

The interesting thing is that they are a lot like deer in the United States. People in the States are fascinated by them and rather non-chalant about deer. Aussies are fascinated by deer and are totally bored by kangaroos. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side... They are also similar in that deer are rats on stilts and kangaroos are simply rats on springs.

Shortly after arriving at the beach several kangaroos came out to eat. They were extremely docile and were not disturbed at all by us. When they first came out I spent about 15 minutes sneaking up on one of them until I was about 10 feet away from it. I came at it from the downwind direction, stayed low to the ground, and only moved when it was not looking at me. As soon as I got as close as I did Jo stood up and walked right over. As she said: "What would have been the fun in telling you that you could just walk up to them to begin with?" Good point.

Anyway, on with the pictures...

By the way, for those who want to know, these were eastern gray kangaroos. Oh yeah, and a group of kangaroos is known as a mob.

Headin' South

Sunday the 26th Joanne and I headed out of Sydney in a zig-zagged path to see some of the best sights to the south. We started with Fitzroy Falls (it is the dry season down here), which is a place where the river plunges over the edge of the southern highlands into the Yarrunga Valley below.

From Fitzroy Falls we continued south to Kangaroo Valley, where I must report that there was a serious lack of the animal that gave the place its name. It was gorgeous though.

We returned to the coast and our next stop of the day was Jervis Bay National Park. The park was created to protect the unique and endangered plants and animals that live on land and in the water in the region. We completed a short 10 km hike and had lunch at the halfway point on a promontory that stuck out into the middle of the bay.

It was 4:30 in the afternoon by the time we returned to the car. We headed off south again and soon made a stop that turned out to be the highlight of the trip thus far...

More Sydney

At the end of my first full day in Sydney, Joanne Bell, a friend that I made in Vietnam in 2005, arrived home from New Zealand. Jo, who has been to visit me in California and came out to Hawaii for two weeks, has been gracious enough to take some time off from work and explore some of the southeastern corner of Australia with me.

She took me around to parts of Sydney that are not heavily frequented by tourists such as Newtown and Balmain. Both are fabulous neighborhoods and I highly recommend that you check them out if you make it down this way. She introduced me to her friends and we went out for drinks with several of them.

Here are a few more photographs of Sydney.

Sydney skyline

How many Aussies does it take to satisfy a great white?

Sydney skyline from the Harbor Bridge

Bondi Beach

Making sure that the tourists don't get squished.

Time to Vote

Before I left Hawaii my Dad told me that he really wants me to buy him a didgeridoo for Christmas. The problem is that I can't decide which one to get him, so I am putting a photo up for some help. I want everyone who reads this post to vote in the comments by saying which one I should buy for him.

Sydney

I set out from the hostel around 9:00 this morning and met Barit, a Danish woman who was headed out for a half day in the city to take a few last pictures before heading home. She and I set forth across the downtown financial district to the Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House is one of those things that you have seen pictures of for years, but where the pictures never do it justice. It truly is an amazing building and its iconic status is indisputable.

I of course took a whole bunch of pictures of the outside of the building from a variety of different angles. You can see them below.

I also took a guided tour of the inside of the building. We went through three of the main performance spaces, but I was not allowed to take any pictures. All told, you learn a lot about the building itself, but the tour is a little overpriced for what you get. I recommend skipping it. There are other, better things to spend the money on.

Arrived

I have arrived here in Sydney after a 10 hour flight and having lost pretty much an entire day due to the international date line. I have heard rumors that there is a famous opera house in this town that I have to see. I will head off tomorrow to investigate ...

; )

Too Much Stuff

Over my last several trips I have started getting very efficient about my packing. I only take what I am really going to need. This trip is putting me to the test. I have to bring attire for both nights out in big cities and camping. As a result I am bring my sleeping bag and thermarest along with a couple dress shirts and a nice pair of pants. I have drawn the line at dress shoes though. They just take up too much space. All told I have so much stuff that I am having to go with my expedition mountaineering backpack instead of my usual Eagle Creek bag.

If I am coming to visit you in Australia, a close inspection of the above photo should make you very happy.

Dustin' off the passport

Ok, so there probably isn't that much dust on the 'ole passport seeing as how I used it just this past May. But in light of my moving to a new job in January, I am going on a little adventure. To Australia!

Australia is a place that I have wanted to visit for a long time. I am looking forward to doing a few of the seriously tourisy things like taking way too many pictures of kangaroos, petting a koala, and enjoying a meat pie with a cold VB.

My last day of work is the 17th of November and I fly out of Honolulu the following Tuesday the 21st. I am going to be splitting the trip in half. I am going to spend half of my time on the east coast in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria. The second half of the trip is going to be spent on the other side of the continent/country in Western Australia. I am going to be visiting good friends who I have met on past travels, so keep a close eye out and you may see someone who has appeared on my blog before.

Next stop: Down Under!