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.