Sydney - Final Leg

We were back in Sydney.  All the hiking in the outback got us thinking beach and beer for our second last day in Australia.  We met up with a friend who offered to show us around.  We went back to Circular Quay to catch the ferry to Manly Beach.  The ferry ticket was $9 AUD per person and took about 30 minutes to get to Manly.  The ferry was well worth the time and money to do since it passed the Opera House and Harbour Bridge on the way out.  We got some great pictures.

When we arrived we saw a little beach next to the deck with a bunch of kids playing around.  I thought to myself "What is the big deal with Manly Beach? It is so tiny!".

I was mistaken obviously.  We walked about 10 minutes and the real Manly beach revealed itself.  We got some fish and chips by the beach and fully took in the beautiful sights.  To burn off all the fried goodness, we took strolled down the beach.  

We got caught in a shower that lasted about half hour, then a rainbow came out over the horizon.  I can really get use to this!

We walked all the way to Shelley Beach.  It had quite of a few snorkelers and divers in the water.  I guess this is the spot for that.  We even found these two little divers on shore.  They were no more than 3 inches tall.  There were a bunch of these sculptures along the beach walk, but if you weren't paying attention you would've missed these little gems.

Our friend Victor gave us a tour of the not so touristy parts of Sydney including a quick stop over at the Palm Beach.  This red sand beach was different from Manly.  It was quiet with no tourists (other than us).

It was a great and relaxing way to end our 3.5 week Australian adventure.  Drake was such an easy traveling baby that we can't wait to do another trip with him very soon.

Here is a picture of Drake pretending to be a koala bear.

Sydney Part I

Drake was great on the flight from Brisbane to Sydney flight.  He was really getting use to flying, but I spoke too soon since he freaked out in the car and putting him to bed was a bit of nightmare.  Even the most mellow baby have bad days.  All the beach combing must've really tired him out.

Day 1 in Sydney, we were in a car again headed for Blue Mountain and its most famous rock formation, the Three Sisters.  We hit a bit of traffic so by the time we got there, it was lunch time.  We had lunch at Paragon Cafe in Katoomba.

Paragon was a throw back to the 30's and served the most mouth watering warm scones with butter cream and jam.  Writing this last bit is making my mouth water.

Three Sisters was another 5 minute drive away from Katooma.  The aboriginal people had different versions of the folktales of these rock formations.  Much like the 12 Apostles, there was a viewing point we could drive up to.  It provided a panorama view of the rock formation and valley.

We also hiked a short trail (it looked really far from the view point) right up to the Three Sisters. The little wooden bridge that connect to the Three Sisters was really scary for me to cross.  I wouldn't dare to look down the steep drop.  There were quite a few interesting trails that would've kept us occupied for days.

We fought the traffic going back to Sydney and had a late dinner at Moo Gourmet Burger at Bondi Beach.

Day 2 in Sydney, we finally made it to one of the most iconic sights in Australia.  The Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (they were closer to each other than I thought) are both located in the bustling Circular Quay.  There were many tourists just like us strolling around the waterfront and taking pictures, having a beverage at one of the many patio cafes, listening to dijurido music and loving the sunshine.

I wasn't expecting to see them, but we could see very clear the groups and groups of people climbing the Harbour Bridge.  Because we had Drake with us, we didn't consider doing this 3.5 hour climb.

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