Day 101, Sydney Tower, Sydney Aquarium, Bar hopping

I was especially excited for today because this was the trademark city that defines Australia and Ally would get to experience Sydney.

We emerged from the train station to a pink monorail train.  I thought that was pretty cool.

At the very center of Sydney there is a tower that is part of the main skyline that you can walk around and get a 360 vision of the city.  This is on the way up. Before going up to the top they play a short video about five minutes long showcasing all Sydney has to offer.  and it was IN 4-D...sweet.

A view of Darling Harbor from top the Westfield Tower.

 signs for sale

A view of the city, King's Cross,  Wollowoona Bay, the stadiums, etc.

After the tower we spent the majority of the afternoon at Darling Harbor.

We went to the aquarium, Ally really wanted to see an Australian animal so what better way than to go to an aquarium where there is a platypus.

Some cool jellyfish

This is by far the biggest crab I have ever seen in person.  That thing was huge.  I think it was a Japanese Spider Crab, not sure but I know it's nickname...the Japanese call it Crabzilla.

Some sharks!

After the aquarium we walked around the harbor and it was happy hour!! So we got some cheap drinks and looked out over the harbor and the best part was they were handing out free finger food.  Ally and I then went to the Hard Rock Cafe where we got to eat some chicken tenders. 

The Hard Rock Cafe is connected to a small mini mall so Ally and I walked through there looking at stuff but I was mostly attracted to the food hahaha.  We walked through the mini mall and on the other side was a cool looking bar with cheap drinks so we went inside there.

Well, my stomach got the better side of me. 

It was justified, limited time only I had to try it.  It had pineapple, slice of beet, bacon, barbaque sauce, onions, and of course deliciousness.  Plus I had to honor the Olympics.

At the third bar we went to, everybody was buying these drinks called scary jars and they looked cool.  But when I asked how much they were the price was too high, 10 bucks a pop.  So I went up there with my 2 for 1 coupon thinking I was getting just two beers for 4 dollars which is pretty sweet.  I looked over at Ally and winked at her, but I think the guy standing next to me thought I winked at him.  So he put a hand on my shoulder and said, "bartender, make sure this guy has a good night," and he turned to me and said, "whadda you want?"  Well, Uncle Scott, your advice to wink at guys actually works.  So to dispell any misconceptions or perhaps an advance, I said, " noooooo you don't have to do that and I would rather you buy my girlfriend a drink over there," hahaha.  He looked at me and said, "Then I'll buy two drinks, one for you and your girl. You don't understand I'm the general manager of the bar, I can buy as many drinks as I want,  mate."  So...that is how we got those 10 dollar drinks for free!

This picture was taken for the Moskal's. Ally took a picture of the Uggs and the prices. Surprisingly they are more expensive in Aussie

Stick around for part 2!

Day 100, Stanwell Park

Thursday...the weather did not cooperate but that did not stop Ally and I from going on an adventure to Stanwell Park.  It was about a half hour train ride from Fairy Meadow. 

These birds were plentiful in the area.  I mean I couldn't go anywhere without bumping into one.  They were really bold looking for food from us, however we didn't bring any.

It really is unfortunate that it was a cloudy day and rainy because every other time we have gone by this area the water is clear and gorgeous, you'll have to take my word for it.

Ally strolling along the beach.  I got the feeling this town is a summer town only where people can rent a house for a week or something like that.  Built right along the coast, it was really pretty.

I am not sure if this is a river that runs down from the mountain to the ocean or what  but when we got there it was blocked up by sand.  After twenty minutes of consistant rainfall, it made it carved a path through the sand to the ocean.

This is the underside of some cliffs.  I thought the rock formations were really interesting.

We found a baby cave along the way.  It sheltered us from the rain for a bit.

Further up the way there was this giant crevice that Ally and I explored.  The only thing we saw were these bugs that were transparent when you took a picture of them.  Really interesting little creatures.

Here we are waiting for the train.  We had my farewell CIEE dinner to attend, which was my study abroad group.  It was a lovely dinner that was free!  The people which run the program: Tonia and Wayne are wonderful and gracious.  They organized some wonderful events here in Australia that included Absesailing, learning how to surf, hiking mount Gulalaga,  among other things.  I owe them a great deal of gratitude!

oooooooooooooo yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

Day 98, Royal National Park

The adventure that Ally and I pursued with a few other people today was through the Royal National Park. 

Self-explanatory sign

The trees at the top of the hike where we started were much different from at the bottom. 

At the start of the hike, the trees were not very tall and the branches had small amounts of leafs.  There were more shrubs and bushes at the higher altitudes.  You could tell these trees were adapted for bush fires.

A fallen gum tree!

We hiked through the thick stuff for about half an hour before reaching a creek we would follow all the way down on our descent.

This is another view of the creek.  When it rains this area beccomes a series of mini waterfalls and rapids.

Sometimes things look like fun, even if they are dangerous you still go for them! Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail.

Unlike the top which had thick bush, this lower area of the gully was much more easy to navigate.  The trees were taller and there were many more ferns and grasses.  There was also a definite change in moisture too.  The lower we got on the side of the mountain the more moisture had accumulated.

Here is Ally walking through some fern/palm trees??? I don't know what they were but they were one of the more interesting plants.

I just liked the way the sun shone through on the plants in this shot.

This was the final destination of the hike.  A pond that was the result of three creeks converging into one.  We ate lunch here before hiking back.

A spiderweb overtop of the water, thinking he was trying to catch dragonflies or something.

This is the view of a different creek that runs into the river, when it rains I bet this is a sight to see.

Ally and I =)

Instead of hiking back the way we came we went out to the road and followed it out of the park back to the train station.  It was really easy to find.

And that was our day trip to Royal National Park, unfortunately we didn't see any animals but we had a fun time nonetheless.

Day 96, Hike from Gryygong to Kiama train stations via the coast

After hanging out at Chris's for the first part of the day. Chris, Emily, Ally and I decided to go for a walk along the coast for some exercise and sightseeing.  The hike was supposedly 4-5 miles in length along the coast.

We got off the train at a town called Gryygong or something like that.  We had to walk from the train station to where the hike actually began.  That in itself was probably 1 1/2 miles.

This was the start of the coastal walk to Kiama as the sign indicates.  The views were awesome and this beach was nice looking!

This was looking back from the ocean where a river connects with the beach at high tide.  Look at those mountains behind Ally.  Some beautiful scenery.

As we climbed, we found out that the meadows were kept short by cows grazing in the area. 

Ally and I doing our best imitation of explorers that had come long before us and made the trail.

Everytime I look at the coast, I am amazed at the diversity of how the land and water meet.  Sometimes it is sand, sometimes it is gravel, and sometimes it is just cliffs.

At some parts the grass was rather high, but that aside, can you imagine what it would be like if there were no civilization here?  Look at that view!  Green rolling hills leading up to a mountain in the background, so epic!

A view of the path we followed.

That is a patch of rainforest that has survived throughout the years of deforestation and clearing of the land by farmers.  There is also an underwater cave to the bottom right of the mound.

I don't know what else to say other than: this coastline is amazing.

When the sun would come out from behind the clouds it really made the colors of nature come out in full force.

This is an albatross bird.  The wingspan on this thing was huge! Check out some facts if you're interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross 

Anyway, at the end of our walk, it was another four mile walk to the train station of Kiama.  It was well worth it though as we got ice cream to reward our hike!  It was loads of fun.