Ayers Rock

We left Cairns and flew to Ayers Rock, which was a 3 hour flight and we lost another ½ hour in our time zone change.  Ayers Rock is located in the central part of the country and is called the Red Centre and is a very arid area, and very uninhabited other than the Aboriginines.   The natives, called Anangu (part of the Aborigines), believe the rock is a sacred place.  Our first night there we took a camel ride to see the sunset, which is something everyone flocks to see.  The ride was fun and we learned a lot about camels and the local fauna.  The sunset was pretty and we had a fun time.    Afterwards we had drinks and “nibbles” as they call them.

The next day we awoke at 4:00 for a sunrise viewing of Uluru (Ayers Rock) .  It was amazing to me that it was Greg’s idea!   Unfortunately the sunrise wasn’t anything spectacular, but still fun to see.   We then took a guided tour around the rock learning the traditional stories followed by the Aboriginines.    The Rock is over 200MM years old, but has only been open to the public since the 1970’s.  The stories were interesting and the markings in the rock followed the stories.    There were areas where people had lived and actually writings on the wall.  The Rock is enormous and red and getting bigger as time goes on as sediment gathers on it and is making it bigger.  It is easy to geologically understand canyons, but to see something of this size up on top of the earth is amazing.

There is an area for climbers (pictures shows the chain you can follow), although the Anangu don’t like you to do this as it is a sacred area for them.  Unfortunately for them, when the Aussies re-signed the land back to them, the contract insisted that climbers be able to climb.  It is often closed due to severe weather conditions at the top.  It takes 2 hours to climb all the way, and the railing was designed by a guy who was 5’2”, so for those taller it is harder as they have to bend over. 


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rock formation that looked like an elephant



We did a sunset walk to one of the sand dunes the second night, but it turned out to be a cloudless day, so the sunset wasn’t pretty.  Both mornings we were able to see the Southern Cross constellation and the planet Jupiter.  The skies out here are amazing and looking at a different set of stars than we see at home was the best.

The next day we did another sunrise viewing (amazing!) but this time of Kata TJuta, a neighboring rock formation meaning “many heads”.  Again, it is a sacred area, but only to the men of the Anangu and Tjukurpa tribes.  We walked through the gorge area around the base of one of the “heads” and were lucky enough to see 2 rock kangaroos.  This area was almost as pretty as Uluru, although the locals have not shared any of the traditional stories for this rock.  We had breakfast provided by the guide nearby the rock and then headed back for our plane trip to Perth, our next stop in this trip.

We feel like we’ve been gone forever and have been keeping in touch with family through texts, although we found out we doubled the amount our plan allows us so we will be in for a shock of a bill when we get home.

Final Day in Cairns

Our last day in the Great Barrier Reef area was in Cairns.  We found a great rainforest and I’ve attached a few pictures, but we’ve decided the rainforests are so dark that you just can’t photograph them really well.  They are beautiful, lush and green and host a variety of plants.  This one actually had waterfalls and a stream.  There were dangerous stinger plants that you shouldn’t touch or they could cause major problems.  I had to get close enough just to push that button.

Cairns also boasts a long esplanade which is located around their wharf area.  People walk up and down and there is a huge public swimming pool right along its edge.  There are loads of shops and restaurant and we tried our luck at their casino, but didn’t win.   We stayed at a bed and breakfast there for one night as it was close to the airport and was our only disappointing accommodations thus far.  We felt like we were in our great grandmother’s house.  Ugh!

Townsville, Cairns, Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef Area)

We flew from Sydney to Cairns and lost another hour, but gained a totally different area of Australia.  It has rained in the area lately so everything is lush and green.  We rented a car and it's very different at first driving on the opposite side of the road, but we've finally mastered it and have had no problems.  The drive to Townsville was about 4 hours and just beautiful mountains and forests.  Stopped in a little town called Tully and they are called the Green Town, thus the frog.

Spent a day on Magnetic Island, where we relaxed at the beach and wandered on hiking trails.  It is jelly fish season so they have to partition off swimming spots.  Townsville is fairly small, but has nice beaches and a great little center town area with nice restaurants. 

After a few days in Townsville, we headed to Port Douglas for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  We had made reservations for a tour, but when we arrived, the waters were so rough that their little boat couldn't take us so we scheduled on a bigger boat.  The waves were rough and we had to ride out 1 1/2 hours before we could start snorkeling.  Not a pleasant ride for me as I have a weak stomach.  We stopped at 3 different sites to snorkel, each one having a different kind of reef and fish.  We had divers on board our ship as well and one of the reefs had a really friendly enormous fish that went up to the divers.  I took an underwater camera and hope that I got it on film.    Since the jellies are out, we had to wear lycra suits to avoid being stung.




Greg having fun



Greg ready to dive in

This was one of the more shallow reefs and you can see the coral splotches as well as the blueness of the water.  This was on a somewhat cloudy day and it was still really blue.  We managed to get sunburned even after lathering up and wearing the suits.

A day in the Daintree Rainforest was next and really beautful although it rained off and on and I didn't take pictures for fear of ruining the camera.  We're here for a few more days and then off to Ayers Rock.

Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach

We spent our last day in Sydney touring the Opera House which is amazing.  There are 2 large theaters, one used for ballet/opera and the other for symphony.  The symphony stage is absolutely amazing.  Huge pipe organ and wood everywhere.  You weren't allowed to take pictures in the theatres, but we had one taken of us so that we would remember what it looked like.  Once home we will be able to post it from the CD we bought.

We then took a bus to Bondi Beach, and had a great day of sunshine.   The beach was beautiful and obviously well liked by everyone.

Sydney, Australia

After too many flying hours to count, which included watching 7 movies, finishing 2 books, attempting 5 meals (chicken porridge shouldn't really be served to Americans), countless Sudoko and Nintendo games and a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Sydney during morning rush hour.  The views flying in were great as there are purple trees called jackerandas that are everywhere and are beautiful.

The apartment we rented is on the 29th floor and has great views of Darling Harbor, which is one of the main travel harbors in/out of the area and only a 10 minute walk for us.  The Harbor is full of restaurants, pubs and cafes, so it has been a great place to hang out at night.  We even got to enjoy fireworks from our balcony one evening.

We spent the first day wandering around getting acquainted with the area and then crashed for 12 hours of much needed sleep.

There are coffee shops in every block, as well as pubs/bars.  Business people, always dressed in blue suits, conduct their meetings in coffee shops all day and then promptly at 4:30 head to the pubs and are there for hours.  It's amazing!  Coffee is served much like in Europe, espresso or cappuccino, no bottomless black coffee as we're used to.  There are 4.4M people in Sydney so you can imagine the crowds in the bars.  For those of you that like to shop (Nancy) the stores and selections are amazing.  Fortunately I wasn't born with the shopping gene.

We spent a morning at the aquarium which houses some of the largest captive sharks in the world and it was pretty awesome.  There is an area called "The Rocks", because it  is built on sandstone, and houses an enormous number of pubs so we want on a pub tour, where they provided history of The Rocks, as well as indulging in the local beers.  Lots of fun.  The pictures shows the jackeranda trees I mentioned earlier.

Next stop is the Opera House which is truly amazing.  My first reaction is that it wasn't as pretty as when you see it on TV, but it looks different during diffent kinds of lighting.  There are a few pictures here to give you a perspective of the size, as it is monstrous.  We had bought tickets to see a Shakespere comedy, but only lasted through the first intermission as it wasn't any fun.  The Opera House is more beautiful at night and the number of people around is amazing.  There are bars and restaurants everywhere and people are indulging.  The harbor is large enough to house a cruise ship, which we encountered on one of our days through the area. 



View of City from boat



Sydney Harbor Bridge

The Sydney Harbor Bridge offers a $300 tour where you actually can walk along the top of the bridge, but you are not allowed to take pictures.  I of course am captivated by the idea, but looks like we will be passing on this adventure.

Very near the Opera House are the Botannical Gardens, which are full of beautiful flowers, trees, birds and statues.  The not so good side is what the Aussies call "flying foxes".  We call them fruit bats and there was one section where they were everywhere. 

Randy - this picture is for you.  He's turning into a tree hugger and for that he was banished to the gazebo prison!

The Taronga Zoo, which is a must see if you are in Sydney was one of the best zoos we have ever seen.  You take a ferry boat from Sydney Harbor, which is great because you get to see more city views,  and some beautiful homes.  There is a fort in the middle of the water, much like Alcatraz, where they housed prisoners.  You can stop and have lunch along the way if you like and take in more of the views.  The zoo housed some really cool animals, but one of the neat things is that you can watch the giraffes while you take in the view of the city as well.  I don't think the picture I have here has the opera house in the background, but you can see it as well from certain spots.  In the event you've never seen a Tasmanian Devil, which are native to Australia, I've attached that picture.

We next headed for an all day trip to the Blue Mountains.  They're named this because the eucalyptus trees emit a gas, which when mixed with cool air, form a blue haze which settles over the mountains.  It's noticeable, but not distracting from the beauty of the mountains.   There is also a 3 rock formation called 3 Sisters, which is said to have been formed by a father who turned his 3 daughters into rocks to avoid male suitors, but hadn't anticipated the suitors would kill him and he wouldn't be able to change them back to human form.  We took a cable car from the top of the mountains down into the rainforest below, which was beautiful.  You then took a specially designed "train" that brought you straight up the side of the mountain.  It was really cool, but pictures didn't work well as you were caged in.  There was an aboriginine man playing a didgeridoo at the top of the mountain which I captured as well.



3 Sisters Rock formation top left



Blue Mountains

On the way to the Blue Mountains we stopped at a Wildlife Preserve where we got to pet koala bears and feed kangaroos.  Definitely a highlight for me being an animal lover and now wondering if my cats ever found their way back to my aunts barn.

 in my glory



a little apprehensive maybe??



Today we're off to the Opera House for an inside tour  and then on to Bondi Beach for some sun and fun.  Tomorrow we fly to the Great Barrier Reef for another week of adventure.  

G'day Mates and no worries, we're having a blast.

Las Vegas

We stayed at Aria which was a new adventure for us.  Nice, new hotel right in the middle of it all.  Greg managed to win a poker tournament after many hours of playing, which was a nice plus for the trip.  I managed to lose a little, so all in all we're starting off in the right direction.  Saw 2 shows, the Cirque de Soleil Elvis show which was pretty good and Frank Caliendo who is an impressionist and not all that special.  We're now heading to Sydney via Seoul where we will arrive in 25 hours.  It's amazing how work just has vanished from our minds.

Day One

The first true day of retirement has finally arrived after months of anxiously waiting.  One of us is already up as usual, while the other is still sleeping and will probably do so for many more hours.  Hmmm..some things never change.