The bus picked us up in front of the McDonalds pretty close to our hotel. Todd and I got there a bit early so I got myself a Diet Coke for the caffeine boost and we sat on a bench close to the “restaurant” to wait for our bus. I automatically realized what a people watcher I am. It was Monday morning in Sydney and everyone was on the go. Such a different atmosphere than the previous two days. No street performers on the way to the meeting place. Everyone walking briskly by us in suits and dresses. Very stylish, I may add. I started finding myself wondering what lives these people led. I am sure the same as ours in so many ways! It was definitely a Monday for them. Men with their suits, newspapers and coffees. Women with their nice bags, stylish suits and hair done just right. Most of the people who work in the city seem to take the ferry over from the suburbs. Or the trains. It was fascinating to see the ferry line change from tourists the last two days to suits today.
Anyway, we sat out on our bench and I studied everyone one by one. Finally our bus pulled up a bit past the McD’s. The couple that had parked themselves next to us was on our bus. As was an older couple waiting by the street. We all walked over to the bus with the header “Blue Mountain Tours”. As we approached, the driver – Michael – informed us that the bus was pretty full. At first I thought he was kidding but then I looked at the bus and noticed it was full. Yikes. We (or at least I) thought it wouldn’t be that crowded. Even Michael asked us if we wanted to sit together. Of course we said yeah. He said, well, what if you can’t but I can give you a gift of some sort, would that be ok. We were like, umm, ok. Well, I am sure we can make due but we would really like to sit together. Something I thought about later…we really haven’t played the honeymoon card. Although it is our delayed honeymoon, we really see it as a trip and adventure that is the beginning of more to come. I guess that’s why we haven’t played it as of yet.
When we got on the bus, Michael followed us and actually asked someone to switch seats. The first girl was hesitant but the second wasn’t so we were able to sit together. And she was told that she would get a gift before the end of the trip for being accommodating. We were the third row back on the left side of the bus which is NOT behind the driver. Remember that, everywhere else in the world but America, the driver is on the right side. And, although I thought these tours were for the older of the world (sorry again), there were all ages and nationalities.
We headed out and, immediately, Michael started his tour. He told us a lot about the city of Sydney, the suburbs, and so much more. He was very knowledgeable which was so fun! We learned more than I thought we would.
Our first stop was Featherdale, which is a wildlife reserve. I was super excited because you are able to feed roos and get your picture taken with a koala. As we entered we saw some beautiful birds and other awesome wildlife indigenous to Australia. As you make your way further in the park you find a bunch of sweet, soft koalas. There is an area where you are able to walk up to a koala perked on a branch. It doesn’t bother them. They rotate them depending on their sleep patterns, I’m sure. According to Michael, koalas have very slow digestive systems because it takes so much work digesting Eucalyptus leaves, they sleep most of the day – 17 hours to be exact.
Todd and I were both able to both pet and take our pics with a koala. They are so soft! I was so excited to be so close to one and to actually be able to pet its back. It was amazing. We also saw a couple of koalas cuddling together, which was sweet. They are so awesome and it was great to see so many in a safe environment.
Outside of the koala exhibit there was a place to get an “ice cream cone” shaped thing that you can put kangaroo food in. They can eat both. So, for AUD $1 we were able to get a cone of roo food! I was so excited. Then we went through a gate where all the roos are able to run free! I tell you, I was in heaven. It was so awesome! What was funny was that there were some lying around that you could tell were completely full – their legs all spread out and their bellies huge.
I tried to feed a couple that wanted nothing to do with me or my cone full of weeds. They were obviously dealing with more indigestion than hunger. But I did find one that was very efficient – eating the cone I was handing him while pottying at the same time. But it was awesome to be so close to actual roos from Australia. Totally my dream come true! We also saw many roo mommy’s with their kids in their pouch. So incredibly cool.
Look close - she has a baby in her pouch!
Very full roos
A dream come true - feeding a roo
So awesome!
They are so soft!!
Cuddle snuggle
Awesome peacock!
Another...in white!
The next stop was a small park down the road where Michael demonstrated how to throw a boomerang. It was pretty fun to watch and he let some passengers try it too. Todd and I stayed on the bus during the demonstration but it was really fun to watch. I guess we will try it when we get home since Todd bought one the other day.
After the demonstration, we made our way to Blue Mountain. Next stop lunch which was going to be around noon (we left at 8:30 AM). After more Australia tidbits and humor from our driver, we arrived at the Rest Easy Hotel. And, umm, I don’t know if you would really rest easy at this hotel but I can tell you they had a decent buffet. At least for those traveling on a bus and starving. We had salad, fresh fruit and pasta with some sort of enchilada tasting tomato sauce. The other options were rice, chicken and some sort of veggie. At the end of lunch, we all received a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in a plastic cup with a plastic spoon. I actually ate it.
We all loaded the bus and headed to a couple of great look outs on Blue Mountain. Absolutely beautiful. We learned that they are called the Blue Mountains because of the blue haze that lingers. We also learned that the haze is from the oils of the Eucalyptus concentrating in the air. The smell is unlike anything I have smelled before. I felt that the whole area was similar to the Smoky Mountains other than the smell. There was definitely the “leafy” smell but heavily combined (or outweighed) by the sweet Eucalyptus smell.
After the Three Sisters Lookout (which there are a few Aboriginal stories about those stones), we headed to Blue Mountain Scenic Park. I decided over lunch that I would be brave and do the three rides offered at the park. Two of which were those skyway rides – tramways, or, my definition, huge cars hanging from thin wires over thousands of feet to death. But I did it. The first one was the hardest – hanging over a valley approximately 1000 feet below us. I made it though – obviously.
The ride of my life...or death
The view...still makes my hands sweat!!
The second ride was a rail train accompanied by a wire to go down a steep slope to the heart of the rainforest hidden within the Blue Mountains. To me that was more of a “rollercoaster” but, according to Todd, it was probably the most dangerous of the three rides we did. I guess, the closer to the ground I am, the better.
Once we got off of the train, we took a nice hike through the rainforest. It was awesome and had some references to coal mining which was a huge use of this area in the 1800s. We had a nice hike and a fun time. To get us back to the bus, we had to take another skyway up a huge mountain. Other than the fact that we were at death level inside a car with way too many people (my clausterphobia kicked in), I think I did ok. As long as they are short rides, I can breathe when we get out and back on land.
Our next stop after the park was Lerau. It is a small city in the Black Mountains that reminds me a little of Gatlinburg or Brown County. For my Arizona friends, unless you have been to either of those places, it is hard to explain. Small shops in old, charismatic buildings. Very quaint and “homey”. We ended up going to the candy shop as well as the Christmas shop where we bought Tay’s 2008 Christmas ornament.
Getting Tay's 2008 Xmas Ornament
We filed back on the bus and headed to Olympic park. Sydney held the Olympics in 2000 and their park has put the state government in financial turmoil. It is a beautiful park but not well used. The main arena is used primarily for concerts and the pool is now for public use.
The main stadium for the 2000 Olympics
After our quick glance of the park, we headed to the marina to catch the ferry back to Circular Quay – where our hotel is located. We caught a private ferry that stopped at Darling Harbor first then to our home for the next couple of days, Circular Quay. We were pretty hungry by the time we reached the harbor so we decided to skip the hotel and go straight to a pizzeria that was located under our hotel.
We ended up getting a couple of beers along with a trio dip appetizer that was really good. The pizzas were very fru-fru so we ended up with the Margarite pizza. And I wasn’t real impressed. I asked for crushed red peppers and you would have thought I had grown 2 extra heads. So it was pretty favorless…well, very favorless.
After dinner, we went to a bar next door to our hotel for another beer. It is called Minus Five Degrees and it looks as if they have an ice bar. More about that after we go maybe tomorrow or something. Supposedly the whole bar is made of ice. We just stayed in the lobby bar, had one beer and headed back to our chic room.
And here we are now…we are both getting pretty tired after the long, fun, adventurous day we had…tomorrow morning we are planning on taking a tour of the opera house and then the day is wide open. Who knows what we will do…
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