Coming to an End - Sydney

After spending 2 more days at sea we made it back to Sydney. The ship docked and we were one of the first groups off! The hotel we were staying at was only about 2 blocks away so we just grabbed all of our luggage and walked. It seemed a lot further with Dustin having 2 big suitcases and the car seat and I had the stroller, a medium sized suitcase and the big diaper bag. Once we got to the hotel we arranged for the airport shuttle to pick us up so we could go get our rental car. It would have been better to just use a taxi but we had booked a round trip ticket when arrived in Sydney 2 weeks earlier. But we finally made it to the rental car place and after a little shuffling got the car (they told us to wait for the silver Camry but it turned out there was ANOTHER person behind us that had a silver Camry too and we were almost ready to pull out when they figured out they gave us the wrong car). We had decided that we would spend that day at the Blue Mountains which was about a 2 hour drive from Sydney. Well, we picked a HORRIBLE day to go to the Blue Mountains. There wasn't much we could do since we had reservations at the zoo the next day and we were flying out the next so we just made the best of it. There are not many pictures from the day because the ones we did take (maybe 5!) all look something like this:

{A Beautiful Waterfall disguised by the fog and mist}

It was WAY too foggy to see the Three Sisters. We walked down to another waterfall but we didn't take the camera because of the rain. Then we decided to at least take the cable car and the gondola ride which ended up being funny since we were just running from one place to another trying to stay as dry as possible. It is a good thing Grace likes the water because she was pretty soaked! The cable car was REALLY, REALLY steep. When we got on it we were almost laying down and once we started going down we were almost leaning forward. I noticed a sign that said no small children allowed. Oops! I guess they don't enforce it because they saw Dustin holding Grace on his lap and they told us the best way to sit on the way down.

It took an extra long time to get back to the hotel because 4 mudslides had shut down the highway we were on. We were stuck in traffic for quite a while and it was dinner time. Grace was a good trooper... but she had Elmo to keep her entertained!

The next day was our zoo tour! The couple who were with us on our tour in Dunedin had done this before the cruise and told us all about it. It sounded pretty neat so we said we would look into it. That night they brought everything we needed to book the tour and get there! We were really glad we were able to do this because I think it was the highlight of our time in Sydney.

{At the entrance}

From our hotel we walked to the ferry and took it over to the zoo. From there we rode in a gondola up to the main entrance. It was really cool looking down at the zoo! We had a little time to kill so we looked around in a gift shop while we were waiting on our tour to begin.

Once out tour guide met us he led us to the Australia section of the zoo. He told us a lot about some of the animals and gave us the chance to get up close to some of them.

{We got to feed this emu!}

{Grace got to pet the Wallaby}

Dustin, the wallaby, and our guide}

After seeing the kangaroos (which are HUGE) we were off to the Koala bears! Since koalas can become stressed very easily and a stressed koala loses a third of his life we were not able to touch it. They have 7 bays of koalas at the zoo so none of them have to "work" more than 1/2 day every 2 1/2 days.

{This is Darwin}

Then we got to go and see how the food is prepared. Afterwards they gave us some of the glider food to try which was really sweet. It was made from mostly honey!

After we left the kitchen we went into a small room to see a feather tail glider which was really little. They had some funny stories to tell about the little gliders!

{behind the scenes}

I am not sure what this animal is but the guide brought him out to the hallway so we could see him. Then we got to go INSIDE on of the marsupial exhibits to see a big glider. There was a little animal called a pottaroo, which is the smallest type of kangaroo. It was about the size of the animal in the picture below. His name was Eddie and he had a foot fetish. But Grace thought he was the funniest thing ever and I think he liked Grace too!

Then it was time for lunch. Our tour ended at the cafe where we had "tea" but we went ahead and ordered some fish and chips for Grace. I think the birds like fish and chips too!

{Laughing at the bird}

Then we decided to take Grace to the kids zoo area. They had this really neat play area with water tables! I had brought Grace an extra shirt (since the day before we tried to find one at the gift shop because she was so wet but had no luck) so we took off her socks, shoes, and jeans and let her play. She was actually wearing more than any of the other kids at the play area.

After she played for quite a while we decided we would finish up our day with a seal show. The seals were very well trained! After seeing the seals we walked by some more exhibits on our way to the exit. It was a great day!!

{seal show}

{Great view from the zoo}

{our ship and the Opera House}

That afternoon we took Grace swimming at the hotel and then after a bath we put on PJ's and had pizza from Pizza Hut. The pizza definitely tasted a little different and the size was WAY different. We ended up getting large pizza because the medium was about the size of a small and the large was like our medium.

The next day we had a late flight so we had lots of time to kill. We had pretty much seen everything we wanted to in Sydney so after we checked out of the hotel we headed to a mall. Then we went to another mall because after asking a few people where we could find an indoor play area (we wanted to take Grace to a park but it was raining again) a lady suggested another mall on the way to the airport. I got to shop in Target and KMart and as we were leaving we saw the Australian Wal-Mart - the Big W. I wish I could have looked around in there but we needed to get to the airport because we had heard they were very strict about check-in times. Oh, well... we didn't have enough room to take anything else back! Again, Grace did very well on the flights. We had overnight flights which were nice because she would normally sleep during that time. The lady next to me was a bit concerned that I had not woken Grace up to eat when they brought by food. I wanted to ask her if she normally has a meal at 2am!

When we made it back to Okinawa, Kelly and Maggie were there to take us home. Grace was SO excited to see her friend again! And I think Maggie was pretty excited that she got to go in "Heather and Dustin's" and play with Gracie's toys before going home. Now we have been back home for 2 weeks and I am starting to get ready for our next big trip. Grace and I will be leaving sometime soon for the states!

Sydney: Part 1

Since we spent a few days in Sydney both before and after the cruise I am going to break it up into 2 parts. I will wait until after I write about New Zealand to do part 2 that way everything is in order.

So we got into Sydney around lunch time on Wednesday, the 20th. We bought shuttle tickets and then went to eat lunch at McDonald's. Grace learned the goodness of french fries! Now if she even sees them she will not eat anything else (unless, of course, it is ice cream!). It was also Grace's very first taste of fast food. We ate quite a bit of fast food when we were in port and while travelling just because it is fast and cheap. Plus, we were eating fancy dinners every single night on the ship.

After lunch we took the shuttle to our hotel and checked in. Grace took a nap while we showered and got ready to go our for dinner. We walked around Hyde Park which was right across from our hotel then went on to explore the shopping district.

{Grace loves to SHOP!}

This next picture is of the Queen Victoria Building. It was a huge mall and then went underground and into another mall. Once you got to the lower floors it was a huge maze since it was so big. The stores were all very fancy and way expensive which is totally not my type of place!

After a bit of shopping we were hungry. We asked about some restaurants since nothing in the food court of the mall looked any good to us and ended up walking to Darling Harbor. We wanted pizza but couldn't find any where we could actually sit and eat it and we did not want to carry our food around looking for a place to eat. So we ended up eating at a pancake restaurant which was very good. I think if it was closer to where we stayed after the cruise we would have gone back. Then we went back to the hotel and let Grace go swimming for a little while. The pool was a little too cold for her but she enjoyed the hot tub which was just a little warmer than her bath.

The next day we packed up our bags again so we could head to the ship. We ended up putting our 2 small suitcases inside the bigger suitcases so it would actually all fit in a taxi. The taxi driver pulled up right outside the ship and there were guys who took our luggage so all we were left with has the stroller, diaper bag, camera, and computer. We decided we would just explore the Rocks area of Sydney before we got on the ship.

{in front of our ship and the Opera House}

We were walking around when I spotted a convenience store with internet. I decided I would check into it since I knew that our family would be thrilled to know we made it to Sydney alright. While I was calling family Dustin was going to walk around with Grace since she was so tired and could sleep in her stroller.

This is what I saw when I came out to find them!

{Grace loves playing in water and they found a little fountain}

It was about lunch time so we were off to find something to eat. We decided on Hungry Jacks.
Take a look and see what you think this place is!

{Burger King}

They even have a whopper on the menu! Grace ended up falling asleep so we walked back to the ship where there were some shade trees and park benches to eat our lunch then Dustin went back to find something for Grace to eat when she woke up.

{crowds of people waiting to board the ship}

{Aboriginal that played loud, spooky music}

We still had lots of time left in the day so while Dustin was looking for Grace lunch and she was sleeping I pulled out all of the tourist books we had picked up. We decided to go to Observatory Hill and the Observatory Museum. The view from the top of the hill was spectacular!

{Grace was still sleeping so she got left out}

Grace woke up while we were still on the hill so we decided to have a picnic!

{she was enjoying all of the grass}

And then she got to run around some which is one of her favorite things to do.

{Dustin did quite a bit of chasing after Grace the entire time we were gone}

{still running around}


Then we went into the museum, which was free! It was all about stars and planets and telescopes. We were too late for all of the shows so we just looked around a bit. It was pretty fascinating but very small so we didn't spend a lot of time inside.

{in front of the museum}

Then we walked to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We had to walk down several flights of stairs to cross under it to get to the side where we were allowed to walk. Then back up even more flights of stairs. All while carrying the stroller. We walked to the lookout point on the bridge which had an amazing view of the harbor!

{Opera House from bridge lookout point}

Then we headed back to the ship and this time we checked in! We got on the ship and found our room and all of our luggage was inside waiting for us. So we unpacked as much as we could and then headed to dinner.

The next day was a port day in Sydney so we decided to stay on the ship until after the Fisher Price playgroup was over and then we went to the Opera House. We had already done quite a bit of exploring by this time so we took it easy that day since we had 3 days in Sydney still after the cruise.

{ Here is a picture of our ship from outside the Opera House}

{The pillar on the left of this picture is where we walked to the day before. Now I can see that we didn't even go over the water!}

{this was taken from our ship}

Whew! That was a lot. I think next will be life on the ship (since we had 2 sea days before we made it to NZ).

In Syndey!

We are in Sydney and having a great time!! We just checked our bags onto the ship and now we are walking around exploring. Pictures will have to wait until we get back home. I think tomorrow we will check out the Sydney Zoo!!! We ate at a delicious pancake restaraunt last night and enjoyed a little souviner shopping.

And We're Off!!

We are headed to the Outback!

We board our plane today and will arrive in Sydney tomorrow around noon-time. We have a very, very long layover in Taipei so we are hoping we are able to get out of the airport and explore the city a bit.

Wednesday after we arrive in Sydney we will check into our hotel. And on Thursday we board the ship! We will, of course, throw in some exploring on both of those days as well.

Friday is a port day in Sydney. I think we may visit the Opera House or even the Zoo. Then it is back onto the ship for two days at sea before arriving at our first port in New Zealand.

We have 7 stops in New Zealand where we will be able to get off the ship:

Bay of Islands - we are doing a Dolphin Cruise to Hole in the Rock tour

Auckland - Going to see Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World and maybe the sky tower. We also just want to walk around and do a bit of shopping and maybe check out a Mexican restaurant we read about in a travel guide.

Tauranga - Rotorua Geothermal Outing and Blue Bath Tea tour

Napier - we are just going to walk around here and we plan to check out the Silky Oak Chocolate Factory!!

Wellington - we are walking around here too. Probably going to go to the Te Papa Museum. There is also a burger place nearby the museum that we want to try.

Christchurch - Tranz Alpine Train tour

Dunedin - we are going on a private tour and making a stop at Cadbury World and the Yellow Eyed Penguin reserve.

After our port days we will be cruising Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound, and Milford Sound. From what we have heard we want to make sure our cameras are ready! It is supposed to be beautiful scenery. We also bought a pair of binoculars so they may just come in handy here.

Then we have two final days at sea before we disembark back in Sydney. We are staying two nights after the cruise in Sydney so we can do a little more site seeing. We have booked a rental car too so our plans are to drive out to the Blue Mountains and to a wildlife park. It will also be a nice place to store our luggage on the last day since our flight doesn't leave until around 10pm.

And we get home just in time to watch the Super Bowl!