As the saying goes all good things must come to an end, and so is the case with our amazing adventure. We left Sydney on Tuesday 12/17 at 6:30PM and arrived in Honolulu at 6:00AM on the same day – now that’s a trick.

We journeyed on, stopping in Kansas City to visit family and friends. While there, we reconnected with some high school friends we hadn’t seen in 40 years  – that was very fun.

Thank you, Facebook.

Now, as we wing our way home to spend Christmas with family and friends,

I end this journal with a heartfelt thank you for sharing our adventure and our wish to you for a very merry Christmas and all that is wonderful in the year ahead.

Charli and Tom

(Click on the arrow to play the video)

PS

Another journey is in the works for May/June. We hope you will join us in Russia and the Baltic States.

Our last full day in Sydney (heavy sigh), we spent at the Toranga Zoo. We have been to a lot of zoos some great and others not so much, however, this one takes the prize. It was well planned and beautifully presented with rolling hills, tree lined paths, and large clean habitats for the animals.

We went intending to spend a few hours and ended up leaving when they closed the park seven hours later.

Although we had seen several Australian animals in our travels, there were many that we’d missed, so we headed to the Australian section first. Because of the intensity of the sun and heat in much of Australia, a great many of their animals are nocturnal. Most of these were displayed in night settings which made it very difficult to photograph them since flash photography was prohibited. I lucked out on some, and others I took pictures of the lighted displays, but we really did see them. We found out that for $3 each we could get a guide for the Australian section – money very well spent. Wendy spent an hour and a half walking us around and relaying each animals’ story. She was great! So here are the photos of the day. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

As per our usual routine, we did a lot of walking and hiking in Sydney and the surrounding areas. One of the top places on the most recommended list was Bondi Beach, so our second full day in Sydney we headed to Bondi Beach. The town derives its name from the Aboriginal word – bondi which means, “Tumbling Water.” I think the large number of surfers we saw riding the waves would think the name apropos.

The weather was not conducive to lying on the beach, so we decided on just hiking. The trail along the coast stretched for miles with lots of stairs, of which Sydney has a plethora.

As is the standard in Australia, it was beautifully constructed and maintained and was a wonderful blend of human and nature’s art.

We hiked along the walkways, admiring nature’s wild and incredible architecture. Eventually we stopped at a little picnic area for lunch and then headed back (almost six miles altogether).

Tired yet energized by the uninhibited and imposing scenery,

we headed for the bus/train ride home.

A few days later we tackled Australia’s Blue Mountains.

A two hour train ride took us through scenic hills, quaint little towns and frequently past very close trains. We ended up in the lovely hamlet of Katoomba nestled in the heart of the regal Blue Mountains 60 miles west of Sydney.

We bought a combination pass for the Hop on – Hop off buses and Scenic World and we were good to go. Hop on –  Hop off buses are terrific. As the name would indicate, you can hop on or off at any time, plus the drivers give a guided tour commentary of the what you’re seeing, what is at the stops, about how long the hikes will take and how hard they are, when the next bus will be by – in other words they are a wealth of information and friendly to boot. Allan was our first driver and he gave us a bit of area history as we meandered toward our first stop – Scenic World.

Scenic World is a visitor’s center/gift shop/restaurant with multiple ways to traverse the mountains and the Jamison Valley at the center. They have the Skyway which takes you across the valley, a Railway that takes you down/up the mountain rapidly and at a 52° incline – that is very steep! And last but not least, a Cableway that also drops off at the same incline but at a more leisurely pace. We did all three at one time or other during the day.

We first rode the Skyway across the gorge and the views were breathtaking! It’s easy to see where their name comes from. The smoky blue peaks stretched out across the horizon in stunning, panoramas. Once we reached the far side, we boarded the railway and zipped to the station near the bottom of the valley. There were several trails carved into the sandstone walls of the cliffs so we chose one of the longer ones and set out for our first Blue Mountain hike. This wooded area is what is known as a mixed forest – a combination of evergreen, deciduous and some tropical flora including tall Norfolk pines, huge eucalyptus trees, mosses and fiddlehead ferns to name a few. We hiked along soaking in the ambiance created by the dense variety of plants, sheer striated cliffs, and tumbling waterfalls. This is heaven.

After a railway zip back to the top for lunch, we took the skyway back to the other side to hike a different trail. This one was a bit more rigorous but every bit as beautiful. Worn to a nub, we headed home tired but happy and with plans to return another day.

And we did. A few days later we returned early and took the hike to the bottom. I mentioned that the last hike was rigorous; well this one had it totally beat.

Steep switchbacks wind their way down stairways and paths to the floor of the valley. Lovely and quiet, except for the occasional squawking parrots, this was another great hike!

The problem was that we were down with no railway or cable to pull us out this time. We continued to follow the Federal Trail and signs that said, “This way to The Giant Stairs.” By this time having been is Sydney for several days, we were very used to doing stairs, so no worries.

We continued on up and down across the floor of the valley – some huffing and puffing but hey, it’s good exercise.

Then we started meeting reply and they just somberly shook their heads. I began to worry, but we continued to hike. Then we hit it! The Giant Stairway. Just before we reached the sign denoting the details, we met two couples who had just come down. One of the men stood looking back and his wife informed us that five years before, he had fallen down those stairs and broken his leg. It took twelve men four hours to get him back to the top for help. We chatted for a moment or two and with warnings from them to “take care”, we moved on to read the sign which informed us that Giant Stairway consisted of 900 stairs that rose 1,300ft in elevation – okay, just shoot me now.

They were very steep stairs with no breaks, just straight up. Tom stated, “It’s just one step at a time.” Is that supposed to be helpful? None the less, we started up, and up, and up… stopping often to gasp for air and wait for the burning of the thighs to ease.

Eventually we made it to the lookout point at the base of the Three Sisters. We sat on the bench and gazed out over the valley at the amazing views, breathing in the eucalyptus scented air, and listening to the melodious chirping song of the thousands of tree frogs as it rose from the canopy below.

One with nature, at peace with the world, we headed home but this time we took the train only as far as Parramatta where we hopped off the train and onto the Parramatta Ferry for the one and a half hour ride down the Parramatta River to Circular Quay a great way to end a glorious venture in the Blue Mountains and our hiking in Sydney.

G’day Mates and welcome to Sydney,

Today we took up residence in the capital of Australia, Sydney, – okay, only for 9 days, but we found the grocery store and bought supplies, found the central train and bus station and bought passes (good for buses, trains, subways, and ferries), bought wine and settled in – no worries.

 

We quickly became adept at navigating the massive and complex public transportation system which is a good thing because Sydney is about the size of Chicago and, like Chicago, it sprawls over miles and miles some densely populated sections and other suburban or rural areas, and there is lots and lots to see.

It is definitely a large thriving modern city but there is an old English feel to much of the architecture. I loved the eclectic mix as we walked around the city.

We stayed at the Central Railway Hotel which was conveniently close to the Central Station,

But the hub of activity – the happenin place – is Circular Quay (pronounced Key). This is the heart of Sydney and is a fun and exciting place to be.  The area includes downtown Sydney, the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbor, (where our cruise ship docked four weeks earlier) and of course the Sydney Harbor Bridge – a busy, busy place.  Each day started with a jaunt to Central Station, a quick train ride to Circular Quay and then off to the adventure of the day (All roads/tracks/ferries lead to Central Quay).

In case you didn’t get the message, Tom and I both think that Sydney’s Circular Quay is awesome! And we had some amazing adventures here.

Let me tell you about some of our very cool escapades in the Quay:

On Wednesday Tom and I had tickets to a concert at the Sydney Opera House (another bucket list check). We headed to the Quay for an early dinner in one of the dozens of restaurants overlooking the harbor. After dinner we made our way through the throngs of people waiting in line to see Jack Johnson who was performing that night in the outdoor venue of the Opera House plaza. We also encountered many families who were attending a performance of Cinderella at one of the indoor venues.  We were headed for the main concert hall. All-in-all The Sydney Opera House can simultaneously host up to six events at the same time.  We attended a concert – “Variations of an English Theme” which was lovely. Okay, I have to admit, I snuck out during intermission to listen to Jack Johnson. I was able to see and hear him from the outdoor balcony – way cool!!! The evening was very memorable and we came away knowing that the Sydney Opera House is one of the icons that helps make Sydney a world class city.

Our Thursday adventure was a huge one on our bucket list. As Tom says, “We got high – literally!!!!!! Wait for it, okay; TOM AND I CLIMBED THE SYDNEY HARBOR BRIDGE!!! I’m not talking about walking from one side of the bridge to the other. We’d already done that several times and while the walk was great, it’s not really an adventure. I’m talking about the climb to the top of the arch which was beyond awesome! We headed down to the Quay early so we would be there on time and ended up being over an hour early – eager? We walked around downtown for a bit and then headed into the Bridge Climb Museum which was a very interesting about the building of the bridge.

Watching a video of the guys walking around on narrow beams with no safety measures during the building of the bridge didn’t do anything to settle my nerves…

Anyway, we went out to check in early and were told that we could join an earlier climb group – “starting now” – Yikes! There ended up being only six in our group which was great because there are usually 14. We got a lot more personal attention from Maria, our great guide.

Moving right along, we all signed the form releasing the Bridge Climb Company from any responsibility due to untimely death or bodily injury that might occur on the climb and another swearing that we were of sound mind (?). Next we each took a Breathalyzer test – no, I’m not making this up – “You don’t pass, you don’t go.” Luckily Tom and I both passed as did the others. We were then issued the lovely gray and blue suits that you see in the picture. They are to help you blend in with the bridge so that you don’t distract the drivers, honest. Next came the radio, headset, pouches containing jackets in case it got cold or rainy and a ball cap which we got to keep. After donning our gray apparel, we headed for the practice area where we each received a harness with a safety line that hooked us to a cable and slid with us as we moved. We practiced climbing up and down ladders in all our paraphernalia and repeated the mantra, “at least 3 points of contact at all times!” Finally we were ready to go. Maria cheerfully said, “No worries”, but I had serious doubts about that. How high is this climb? (To be exact, it is 159ft wide, spans 3,734ft, 435ft above sea level at the top of the arch – I think I’m going to be sick…)

Despite the heart palpitations, sweaty palms, and trembly knees, I stepped in line with the others, and we headed up. We started in the museum and then moved out a small door and onto the catwalk (see the diagram).

As we walked past the piling, Maria told us that legend says that rubbing the solid granite rock would calm you and give you strength. We all chuckled but every one of us rubbed that granite as we passed. The first ladder took us from a catwalk beneath the bridge to the roadway between the sixth and seventh traffic lanes of the bridge with cars whizzing by on either side – eeaow!

On up we climbed until we reached the bottom left side of the upper arch. After emerging through the opening onto the arch itself, we posed for pictures – let me reiterate “On the Upper Arch!!!” Holy Cow!

 

 While pictures were being taken, we stood staring down at Sydney whirring below, wow. Pictures done we started the climb to the summit of the arch. Then more pictures and time just to soak-in the amazing panorama below.

We then took the walkway across the top and headed down the other side, back through the opening, down the ladder this time between the two railroad tracks with trains rumbling by at top speeds, to the catwalk and back to reality. Wow! How cool was that!!!? The whole adventure took about three hours but seemed like minutes, yet, the memories will last forever.