Day 14: Goodbye, Australia

It started raining today! Not bad timing for my last day in Australia! I picked up a few last Australian goodies to bring home, said my goodbyes, and hopped in a cab for the airport. And yes, this time, they checked my I.D. 

A million thanks go to Jesse and Michelle for being such fabulous hosts! And another million thanks go to Brooke and Joanna for accompanying me on this adventure. Hopefully those of you keeping up with this blog enjoyed the pictures and stories. Thanks for tuning in. :) -Mack

Day 13: If Feels Like a Bee Sting

This morning, we said goodbye to another travel buddy. Jo boarded her plane back to Park City, Utah. And then there were three....

Jesse, Michelle and I went to spend another low-key day on the beach. We went to Bondi Beach this time. Jesse and Michelle came back from swimming in the ocean, but not unscathed! It seems Jesse was stung by a Blue-Bottle Jellyfish, AKA the Portuguese Man-of-War. He said it felt "fine," just a little like a bee sting. Then I read him an excerpt from the book I was reading, about the kind of permanent scarring you can get from these kind of stings. He promptly took a walk down the beach, to try and 'walk it off.' Soon after, the lifeguards made an announcement that the water seemed to be infested with the little guys, and if we decided to swim, we would get stung. I stayed on the beach.

For my last night in Sydney, or all of Australia for that matter, we went to dinner at Circular Quay. This is the part of Sydney on the water, a couple steps from the Opera House. You can't beat the views! Our Thai food, apparently an Australian favorite, was delicious. We headed home and I started packing my bags....

 

Day 12: So Manly

After such a late night out, we took a while to get out of the house! Jo and I went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which was amazing. We saw a great section of Aboriginal art, which was my main priority once at the museum. The exhibits were great, definitely worth a couple trips to take it all in.

Then we caught a ferry across the bay, over to Manly Beach. The ferry rides was about 30 minutes of incredible views! The beach was another sight to see. Once getting of the ferry, we had to walk down a promenade of shops and restaurants and eventually ended at the beach. I spent a little time on the beach, and a little time in the shops. I'd realized that I'd hardly spent any time looking for some special odds and ends to bring home!

That night for dinner we picked up a little something special for dinner - kangaroo! Can you believe you can just buy kangaroo in the supermarket?! Jesse grilled some up for us, and I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. Read this interesting article about eating kangaroos.

 

Day 11: I got Shore Dumped

We rode the bus back to Coogee beach, and spent the day on the sand and in the water. I hopped into the water to do some bodysurfing, but the waves were pretty intense and I caught big one...or it caught me. I'm not sure how it exactly it happened, I was basically folded in half, slammed on my head, heard a few things crack, and stood up with a head packed with sand. I later learned the term for this is "shore dumped." I was just thankful I was able to stand up, after I heard my back and neck crack the way it did! I spent the rest of the time, safe, on my towel.

At night, Jesse and Michelle took us out on the town. We at dinner in Surry Hills, on the "trendy" Crown Street. Then, we went to a piano bar in King's Cross. King's Cross was full of bars and dressed up Australians. Somehow we managed to get home at 4am! 

 

Day 10: Return to Sydney

We flew from Brisbane back to Sydney, and no one ever checked my ID at the airport - not at check-in, not at security, not anywhere! Very strange, and unlike the US. Back in Sydney, we rested and stretched our legs after a week of sightseeing (from inside a car). 

We made a quick trip to the Australia Museum. 

That night, we went to a Rugby game at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Wests Tigers were playing the Sydney Roosters. The halves were 45 minutes long, and they never stop time during the game, so they're always the same length. It was the perfect length to be at a sporting event! 

 

Day 9: View From the Top

Early wake up call to start our hike to the summit of Mt. Warning! It was a 3.5 hour hike up and back down. Jesse, Jo and I traveled along a trail that led us through rainforest and vegetation. You could hear the birds squawking and crowing, but in an 'exotic' way - not like the birds you hear chirping out the window. It sounded fake, almost! The view from the top was gorgeous. It was a great hike.

We piled back in the car, and drove to Brisbane. We were staying in Brisbane for the night, since we had an early flight to catch in the morning. We had just enough time to find a nice patio to order a drink and grab some dinner.

Day 8: Where are the Koalas?

More great Muesli for brekky!

We drove to Noosa National Park in search of Koalas. No such luck. But, we saw a couple goannas and had great views of the ocean.

We sad goodbye to Brooke and dropped her off at the Brisbane airport. Suddenly our group of 5 was down to 3. We then spent another few hours in the car, en route to Mt. Warning.