Furry--I'm really envious that you actually petted a wombat. I kept wanting to reach out and touch one--they look so gentle. But, then my husband kept reminding me that they are wild animals--and who knows what might happen. I missed my big chance!!!

SYDNEY—6 nights

HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 1:

Dinner at Ripples: This was a nice way to spend the late afternoon and evening. We walked across the Harbour Bridge (it takes about 20-30 minutes to walk from the Circular Quay area to Milson’s Point). We arrived at Milson’s Point just as Luna Park (the amusement park with the famous smiling face) was closing. We hung out, took some pictures, and then walked over to the North Sydney Olympic Pool next door, to take a peek at it. Ripples is right on the water, with wonderful views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We enjoyed the food—lots of nice fresh ingredients, and not "fussy" at all. Ripples is BYO, so we brought the bottle of Pinot Noir that we had picked up in Tasmania. I think this is also a good place to come for breakfast. Maybe you could tie it in with a swim at the pool next door!

HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 2:

We took a long walk—starting and ending at Circular Quay. Highlights included:

Listening to the funky digeridoo players at Circular Quay.

Seeing the Opera House up close and gleaming in the morning sun. The tiles are NOT all-white! They are tan in parts, and have a herringbone pattern!

Walking through the Botanic Garden and luxuriating in the beautiful views, vegetation, fountains and statues. We especially liked the bats—cute little faces. We got some amazing pictures of them flying high with the city’s skyscrapers in the background.

Wandering through Hyde Park. This is truly a lovely historic area.

Loved the Queen Victoria Building. It is very pretty inside. We especially liked the Australian-themed “glockenspiel-type” clock.

Darling Harbour. This area has a whole different energy and feel to it. The monorail looks like a good way to get a quick overview of both this harbour and of the city center. We stopped at the fish market and had a wonderful lunch of baby octopus with a plate of assorted fish and chips. The stalls were just bursting with every fish imaginable: oysters, crayfish, crabs of every hue. Beautiful. It would be interesting to come here at 5:30 a.m. when you can watch the actual auction. This is fish market is supposed to be second only to Tokyo!

A very quick and enjoyable ferry ride back to Circular Quay. We were so impressed with Sydney’s ferries. They are convenient, efficient, and a wonderful way to inexpensively sail the harbour.

Dinner at Lord Nelson Brewery. We ate in the pub (not the brasserie), and had a very relaxed and tasty meal. Nice meat pies. Believe it or not, I think my favorite thing was the mushy peas—bright green, very fresh and flavorful. I had been suspicious of these, due to the name. Glad I tried them!

Next: Blue Mountains

Tasmania is on my wish list for a home exchange.

So many places on the wish list and so little time.

Sigh. . . .

Great report, caligirl. I'm glad you enjoyed our country.

SYDNEY

HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 3 (BLUE MOUNTAINS):

We were again impressed with Sydney’s mass transit system: This time it was the Cityrail—which took us to the Valley Heights Station (where we picked up a rental car for our day in the Blue Mountains). The train ride was quiet, smooth and on time! And we didn’t have to worry about traffic!

The town of Leura--bedecked in fluffy pink cherry blossoms: We stopped here to pick up some take-away salads for lunch, and were enthralled by these beautiful trees!

Echo Point: Picture postcard views of the densely forested Jamison Valley.

Walking down the Grand Stairway: This is quite an experience! It is really really steep. Dramatic in fact! (It’s very safe, because there are railings everywhere). You go right past the Three Sisters—in fact you can actually touch the “first sister”! We could see the bright flash of white sulfur-crested cockatoos streaking over the green valley below. As our descent continued, their squawking became louder and louder. We watched one take off, and just dive into the valley below. We were envious!

Crimson Rosellas everywhere: along the trail, in backyards, and along the road.

We were very excited to see male and female Lyrebirds: The female had a very pretty lacy, plume-like tail. We kept hoping that the male would unfurl his long fan-like tail, but I guess he wasn’t in the mood. At any rate, we spent a long time watching these beautiful birds.

Huge ferns along the Federal Pass Track: This is where we stopped to eat our lunch. We could have stayed in this peaceful forest forever!

A ride up the hill, on the steepest railway in the world: This is so steep, that the car has a "cage" over it! Fun!

View of Katoomba Falls from the Skyway: This waterfall has a breathtaking drop. And the Skyway offers an especially striking view of it. After we disembarked, and started the walk back to Echo Point, a kangaroo unexpectedly hopped through our path! It doesn’t get any better than this for a couple of North Americans!

Loved the views from Govett’s Leap and Evan’s Lookout: These views are at least as spectacular as those from Echo Point, if not more! We saw a cockatoo here that made us laugh. These fellows are hilarious. First we heard lots of squawking. Finally, after about one minute, he finally came flying into view, and swooped past a nearby tree. Next, he dipped, quickly twirled, and did a barrel-roll into the valley below. After a moment he winged his way back and landed in the tree next to us. He quickly unfurled his yellow crest, ostentatiously cocked his head toward us and peered at us with one eye. What a character!

This was a bit of a disappointment: We had planned to go to Wentworth Falls after this, and do the first part of the National Pass walk (so that we would be in view of the upper part of the falls)—but, the parking area was closed for renovations. It turned out that we’d have to park several kilometers away, and we feared we’d get back too late if we did this. Oh well!

The Blue Mountains are truly beautiful. We could happily have spent much more time here. (Look for the trip report by FurryTiles—it gives ideas for a variety of activities which can be spread over a number of days--makes me want to go back and and spend some "real" time there!).

Next: Taronga Zoo and Watson’s Bay

SYDNEY
HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 4:

TARONGA ZOO:
Lovely ferry rides both ways: you can buy a zoo pass (includes ferry ticket, sky cable car ticket and zoo entry) when you buy your ferry ticket. Saves time and money!

The giraffes: We’d heard about these ahead of time, and they did not disappoint. These giraffes sit on a stellar piece of real estate—their pen overlooks the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Not only that, but they are such beautiful animals! We had fun snapping pictures as they moved around and “posed” in front of the city skyline.

Pelicans: We enjoyed watching these birds up close. The Australian Pelicans are very pretty—white with nice pink bills. (we are used to the Brown Pelicans that live around San Francisco). There was also a beautiful Jabiru in this enclosure (black-necked stork).

The descent to the “Great Southern Oceans” exhibit--penguins, etc.--is quite scenic with gorgeous views of the harbour. This area is new (I think)—and very nicely constructed. When we were there, all of the exhibits weren’t quite open yet, but when they are, this area will be great.

TRIP TO WATSON’S BAY:
Two more very enjoyable ferry rides: As you approach Watson’s Bay from the water, it looks so welcoming with the wharf, the restaurant right on the beach, and a huge Moreton Bay Fig off to the side!!! (Although be careful—it was midday, so we were o.k., but the ferry stops running in the evening—so check timetables before you go. I think you can take the bus back if the ferries stop running).

Lunch at Doyles on the Beach: This was absolutely idyllic. Perfect weather. Not too crowded. Our table was so close to the beach that we were almost in the sand. We had a lovely lunch of fish and chips. I had snapper—very light and tasty. We were able to watch the antics of the seagulls and children playing on the beach as we ate. Very relaxing.

A magnificent walk out to South Head and The Gap: This, by itself, is a reason to visit Watson's Bay. You can walk right out to the tip, and look directly across at North Head. On the seaward side, the cliffs are bashed by powerful white-capped waves. Historic lighthouses--the red and white Hornby Lighthouse and the gleaming white Macquarie Lighthouse are standouts. After watching the violence and power of the surf, it is easy to see why these lighthouses were needed. In the 1800’s, an historic ship, the Dunbar, was wrecked just off of South Head, and 121 people lost their lives. This entire walk was extremely picturesque. There are views in every direction—views of the skyline of Sydney, views of North Head, views to the open sea—and they are all gorgeous. The brilliant green vegetation and golden banksia plants look striking, up against the brilliant blue water and sky—all of this accented with foamy white waves and puffy white clouds. Stunning!

Next: Bridge Climb and Bondi-Coogee Beach Walk

SYDNEY
HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 5:

BRIDGE CLIMB:

We chose to do the Bridge Climb fairly early in the morning to avoid afternoon winds. The weather was perfect—clear and sunny. This was lots of fun. And very easy. Neither of us was ever scared--even for a moment (and my husband sometimes has an issue with heights). After hiking really steep trails all over Australia, this was actually one of the easier things we did! There is an ingenious contraption that keeps you attached to the bridge's cable the entire time. Beautiful views! And the guide was not only extremely informative, but very engaging at the save time. Everyone has their own set of headphones, so you can hear, even if you are in the very back. Actually, we found that part of the “experience” is how impressively organized the whole trek is—start to finish. It’s also a bit “science-fictiony”—we felt as though we were on the set of Star Trek, at times. Added bonus: they took some really good pictures of my husband and me up on the span (those overalls that they make you wear are actually rather flattering!).

BONDI-COOGEE BEACH WALK:

Visiting Bondi gave us the chance to try out still another facet of Sydney’s remarkable public transportation system. We caught the bus to Bondi Beach (and then back from Coogee Beach). You just go up behind Circular Quay, pay $4 and hop on the bus. It’s a lovely 25 minute ride. Very easy!

This was a must-see for us, because we felt that we couldn’t leave Sydney without visiting the iconic Bondi. And it was worth it. It is a remarkable crescent of yellow sand--full of daring surfers and happy sun worshipers. We should have brought our swimsuits—it turned out to be warmer than we’d thought!! Swimsuit or not, we couldn’t resist the waves, so we rolled up our pants legs and had a lovely walk through the water, watching the surfers careen on the swells up ahead of us. We were particularly interested in the Bondi Icebergs Pool--it is an oceanfront saltwater pool that is perched so that the incoming waves can break right onto it.

Next we embarked on a spectacular 3 hour walk along the South Coastal Trail (from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach, and then on to Coogee Beach). The terrain is ever-changing with the ice-blue sea below, and lots of really unique rocky outcroppings which have been sculpted by the weather. The path is fairly gentle, winding through dramatic cliffs and then down to visit some of Sydney’s charming beaches. We stopped at Bronte Beach and headed up across the lovely lawn to lunch at one of the open-air cafes nearby. Then, onto Coogee Beach where we enjoyed an ice cream before heading back to Circular Quay on the bus.

DINNER:
Dinner at Quay: This was our “big fancy dinner-splurge” in Sydney. Quay is in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, and we had a table that looked directly out onto the harbour. We could watch the ferries and party boats, all lit up, plying their way back and forth all evening. This may be THE best view, ever! The Opera House is to the side, the Harbour Bridge is right next to you, and the lights from Milson’s Point twinkle brightly. We enjoyed white asparagus with goat cheese “cigars”, beautiful octopus and squid, lamb that had been slow-cooked for 8 hours, and a dessert with 8 textures of chocolate. Mmmmm!

Next: Sailing in the Sydney Harbour and the Opera (Our last day!)

SYDNEY
SAILING AND THE OPERA—our last day!

SAILING IN THE SYDNEY HARBOUR:
My husband loves sailing, and requested that we try to go on a sailing cruise in the Sydney Harbour. I found an America’s Cup challenger yacht, called the Spirit, that would take a group out Saturday morning and again in the afternoon. We chose the afternoon, because we thought the winds might be better later in the day (they were).

This turned out to be tons of fun (even for a landlubber like me!). It seemed that all of Sydney was out sailing on this Saturday afternoon. The entire harbour was awash in color with a rainbow of spinnakers plying their way back and forth. Big boats. Little boats. Windsurfers. Luxury yachts. A pod of dolphins playing. And it was quiet--(there was no motor, of course)--with only the sound of the wind in the sails, the grinding of the winches, and the captains of various boats shouting greetings to one another. This wasn’t just about the sailing—it was about being part of the joyous extravaganza that IS the Sydney Harbour on a Saturday afternoon. This was a huge all-encompassing social event which appeared to include half the population of Sydney. Wonderful!

THE OPERA:
After snapping probably 100 pictures of the Opera House during the course of our stay, we were very excited to actually attend a performance there--The Pearlfishers by Bizet. First, we had a quick dinner at the Opera Bar—quite a “happening place”. We shared the Tasting Plate for Two, which was fabulous—it contained lots of really creative nibbles! And then the opera--the whole experience was perfect from start to finish! The Pearlfishers is an exotic love story with absolutely delightful music. And not surprisingly, the Opera House is a wonderful venue on the inside as well as the outside! It seems as though there is not a bad seat in the house. And at intermission, you can take a glass of champagne onto the outside deck and enjoy views of the entire harbour. This was a splendid evening, and an unforgettable way to finish off our five weeks in Oz.

Wonderful report Caligirl! Thank you for taking the time to share it all with us.

Kinda sad to see you've reached the last day of your five week trip, Caligirl - it was such fun 'travelling' with you!

Cool to read that you too thought Evan's Lookout and Govett's Leap were just as spectacular as Echo Point 'n The Three Sistahs, just as we did.

And on wombats, cubed poo and missed-out cuddle opportunity; in my case, the wombat cuddle was all I’d ever hoped it would be. Just going back to the pic caption in the Tassie album: “Visit to Mole Creek Wildlife Park – I was so thrilled at the chance of cuddling a wombat I just threw my handbag to the stranger standing beside me so I could enjoy the experience to the full, ‘without baggage’. And oh, they are absolutely delightful, I want one for Christmas!”

Wombats snuggle into your arms, a firm muscular solid barrel-like lump that’s amazingly soft as well, with an armour-plating on the rear end (also covered in fur) that’s a predator defence. This one was hand-reared orphan, (wombat babies are called ‘puggles’ – so perfect!) so was used to being handled by humans.

And yep, my handbag was returned post-cuddle by the hugely-smiling stranger saying ‘I could see you <i>really</i> enjoyed that!’.

Toucan--and thanks for reading! I remember very much enjoying your FNQ trip report!

Furry--I love your wombat story. Pretty funny that their "armour" is on the rear end--seems like it would be more valuable on a different part of the body!

Caligirl- Thanks for the report. We'll be in Cairns in 3 weeks, and based on your report I've contacted Jonathan Munro to do a tour with him. I'd been going back and forth on who to use and your report made him sound like a good choice. Thanks for helping me finally decide on something! Also enjoyed your Tasmania segment. It brought back very fond memories of our hikes in Cradle Mountain.

susncrg,
I think you'll really enjoy your time with Jonathan. He will find more wildlife to look at than you can possibly imagine. It was really great to have someone else navigate all of those back roads in the Tablelands--much more relaxing than trying to figure it out on your own!

Exactly! When one of us has to do the driving, one of us misses out a lot on the sightseeing.

caligirl: Wow! What a great trip and what a great report! I appreciate your appreciation of all the things that make Australia so special - the birds, wildlife, the scenery, and its history. Less emphasis on this or that hotel or restaurant, quality of service, etc which to me are only secondary to what makes for a great vacation.

Reading your report, I must get back to Tasmania...been just once and the 5 days we spent there were just not enough!

Ralph

Hello Caligirl,
I've so enjoyed your trip report - thanks very much for posting. As RalphR says, you've really absorbed a lot of the spirit, place & nature that make Australia. Glad you enjoyed our Opera House too. I saw "The Alchemist" there last night and it was, as always, a dream to experience our city as the sun set & the lights came up.
Happy travelling.

I was kind of sad when I finished writing this trip report--it seemed as though our wonderful holiday was ending all over again!

RalphR--I, too, wish we'd had more time in Tasmania. I would especially have liked to make it over to the west coast. But, we barely had time to scratch the surface in the east!

Bokhara2--I'll bet the Alchemist was great! Actually attending a performance in that beautiful venue was such a highlight for us. And as we ate dinner, beforehand, at the Opera Bar, we had a lovely conversation with two women from Sydney who were on their way to a reading in another part of the Opera House. We had fun just chatting with them about current events, etc. It was an evening to remember in every way!

Wonderful trip report. It helped me relive moments of our own Australia trip in 2006. In addition, you visited areas we did not get to see on our first trip, but hope to visit on a future vacation. We also went on a tour with Jonathan Munro and ran into evening rain. It was cold and wet, but we did manage to see several possums and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Jonathan is a great guide!

Sara

Caligirl -
This is truly serendipitous. My husband and I literally just started planning our 5-week trip to Australia as the first part of our round-the-world year long trip. First stop will be Australia from late September to the end of October for 5 weeks, and then off to New Zealand. I had almost completely put out of my mind going to Tasmania because I felt it was just too far and I thought it would make more sense to concentrate on the east and the north. But, after reading your trip report, I am so so tempted.

akila--We were really glad we went to Tassie. If you decide to go, I think you should try to make it as late in your trip as possible. You'll get slightly warmer weather. I envy you getting to go round the world. Happy planning!

sari80--Glad you enjoyed the report. Sorry you had to see all of the rare possums soaking wet, just as we did!! But, I agree with you--Jonathan was amazing. A highlight of our trip.