Kangaroo dinner!

If you love kangaroos, this post is not for you...

That right there is some pure Australian kangaroo.  Found some kangaroo meat at the supermarket and couldn't help myself so I bought it.  It tastes similar to a steak but not quite the same.  It is a very lean and healthy meat to eat apparently, but being able to say I ate kangaroo was enough for me to get it at the grocery store.

Pictures of Alice Springs/Uluru will be up next week.

Cheers!

Sunny Sydney!

After the Blue Mountains we returned to Sydney, Australia's largest city in terms of population.  We got lucky and made it to Vivid Festival, which was an event down by the harbor that celebrated art through the use of light.  As you can see, some major buildings were lit up and the Quay was buzzing.  Monday we walked from Bondi to Coogee Beach on the Coastal Walk.  It was very nice, but my camera had died! So only one photo from the beach.  Compared to Katoomba, it was a scorcher down in Sydney.  Monday afternoon was spent walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge and checking out the north shore.  Found a cruise ship leaving the harbor so we hung out by the dock as it went by.  Tuesday was when John and I parted ways.  I had the whole day in Sydney by myself so I took a morning walk through the Botanical Gardens near the harbor.  A nice, cool, quiet morning and really nice gardens.  This led to Macquarie's Point, the end of the gardens and where a perfect view of the opera house and the bridge comes out.  After the gardens, I went to The Rocks, the area near the bridge where the English first settled in Sydney and had some of the first encounters with the indigenous tribes.  Finally, capped off the Sydney trip with some pizza and ice cream to treat myself.  Back to Melbourne to study for finals.

Next up is the Australian outback! (after these stupid exams)

Cheers!

Sunday night dinner.  

ANZAC memorial in Hyde Park

Try and pronounce that!

Gardens with the harbor as a backdrop

The Rocks

Blue Mountains

An early Friday flight and a train to Katoomba had us at the doorstep to the Blue Mountains.  Blue Moutnains NP is located about two hours west of Sydney and are considered the "Grand Canyon of Australia".  There are countless hikes to do in the park.  We did three big hikes, one each day, and found some great scenery and trails.  After spending the weekend in Katoomba it was back to Sydney.

Three Sisters

This leads to....

this! A 180 meter drop

Port Douglas and Daintree NP

The week after Grampians we flew up to Cairns in North Queensland to visit Daintree National Park and the famous Great Barrier Reef.  We made our way up the coast Friday night to Port Douglas, a small, seaside resort town full of beach bums and tourists.  The first actual day we had in Port Douglas was spent up at Mossman Gorge, which is part of the Daintree National Park.  It was a neat environment to experience.  A tropical rain forest.  I haven't been to anything like it so a new experience is always welcome!  We then went back to Port Douglas for a quiet night before going to the reef on Sunday.

We headed out early Sunday morning from Port Douglas in search of Nemo in the Great Barrier Reef.  About a 90 minute jog out to Opal Reef, which was the reef picked out for the day.  Luckily it was a quiet day on board, only eight paying customers on a boat that holds up to 100!  I did two snorkels and one dive to 12 meters.  It was another experience that was new and I loved it.  It was as if I was in an aquarium, but was actually in the open water.  Very neat.

Monday was spent up in Cape Tribulation in the northern section of Daintree National Park.  More hiking through rain forest and along tropical coasts.  The waters in the national park are notorious for crocs, so no swimming was had up there, unfortunately.  Instead of swimming with crocs I had a crocodile burger for lunch.  After some more walking we ended with homemade ice cream on a tropical fruit farm.  Two thumbs up!

Tuesday was our return to Cairns and flight back to chilly Melbourne.  It is winter here in Melbourne so a few days in the tropical north was nice.  North Queensland was very good.  Look for photos coming in about a week from Sydney!

Big spider! Size of my hand!

Croc Burger

Hairy Red Pittosporum

Only way across the river