I've been, I've been to the Land Down Under...
 

(and I really had a great time!) My three nieces and I had our first trip to Australia from 26 July to 11 August, seventeen straight days of sunshine wherever we were. :) This is going to be my somewhat wandering trip report; I got in at 2AM yesterday and worked today, so please excuse any minor incoherency.

Qantas's 16 hour flight from Dallas to Brisbane did just what it says on the tin, got us from Dallas to Brisbane, so comfortably that I slept for about 14 of those sixteen hours. Of course, staying up the whole night before helped with that.

The first thing we noticed, of course, was the language difference. To quote from my email home,
"The letter r is highly overrated anyway, right?
Let me start that again...
Cheehs, mates! The lettah "ah" is highly oveh-ated anyway, innit?
We're loving the Australian accent, but it is amazing how closely you have to listen to make sure you're going the right way and such."
Of course, I realize that it isn't an accent when you're living there, but it was to us. (And I'm sure there are tons of regional varieties, and we enjoyed them all. We're not picky.)

A station wagon taxi took the four of us to our first place, <b>Tribeca Apartments</b> on Boundary Street. The lovely young man at reception let us in early--at 9AM, in fact--which predisposed me to like the place anyway, but there was nothing to dislike anyway: a two BR, 2 Bath apartment with a full kitchen, terrace, and washer/dryer is a great way to spend some time in Brisbane. (Oh, and here I'm going to make a big ol' stereotypical generalization and say that a. there are a lot of Aussies who could talk the hind leg off a donkey and b. most of those people either have been to or want to go to the US, which is funny, because most of the people I know in the US want to go to Australia. Kinda nice, really.)

We walked out into clean brisk Brisbane and found our way over to the River Walk, where tons of people were out playing in the Saturday sun. There were also fair numbers of ibis; I can see where they could get annoying, but they provided a nice change from pigeons. Later in the day we walked to Woolworths (supermarket, not the 5&10 Americans would be familiar with) and got supplies. I was in awe at the dairy case: cream, heavy cream, slightly thickened heavy cream, thicker yet heavy cream...All my dairy dreams come true, and I have to say in all due modesty that I made the best chicken fettucine alfredo ever with the leftovers of a Woolworths roast chicken and some of that cream and parmesan. I also loved the selection of eggs, although it was a bit bewildering to have to decide just how happy you wanted your chickens to have been.

Next day we went to the train station (with some directions assistance from a guy on one of the ubiquitous rental bikes; great plan, that one is) to catch the early train out to Beerwah for the Australia Zoo. For anyone who wants to do this, it's quick and painless, but I will give you a bit of warning about the announcements: they announce in segments and it sounds like you're going to be ending the line somewhere far short of Beerwah, which can be a little disconcerting. But just stay on and the train goes to Beerwah station where the Australia Zoo bus is waiting to take you to the Steve Irwin assemblage.

Part Disney, part zoo, and wholly money-making, the Australia zoo was nevertheless a fun time. My nieces were brought up on the Wiggles and Steve Irwin, and their Australia zoo visit was equivalent to my visit to the Inca terraces in Peru. (I was brought up a geek. But regardless of your opinion of Steve or the Wiggles, my nieces have grown up into lovely young ladies.) For those of you whose lives have remained Wiggles-less, here's a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AFwiezJvOg

There's a fair amount of interaction available, with feeding elephants (huge lines for that one), holding koalas, and feeding kangaroos special 'roo food, plus the shows. (Okay, the Crocoseum show was kinda lacking in the crocs area, but the bird part of it was cool.) You can also pay for animal "encounters", which are nicely conducted with passionate and sincere animal handlers. It's a private enterprise and heavily involved in conservation, so the $59 ticket and added costs seem to be going to good causes. We did pack our lunch, though, which is allowed and which I recommend. A bottle of water alone will cost you about five bucks.

The next morning before our flight out to Cairns we walked about the city some more, admiring Cathedral Square and the Anzac Memorial (including a visit to the underground crypt) and the big City Hall, where the Olympics were playing to the almost empty big square on a large-screen television. I would like to have had more time in Brisbane, in fact, but Cairns was calling, so off we went.

<b>Cairns and the Daintree</b>

Shaggy, tropical Cairns strikes me as a fairly normal seaside city, with shop arcades and big hotels and lots of souvenirs, but we stayed in the historic <b>Lilybank Bed and Breakfast</b> in Stratford, a peaceful suburb with its own small shops and sleepy charm. Lilybank is an old Queenslander home with its own historic marker, and we enjoyed having the whole upstairs to ourselves. Pat was very helpful in our reef passage, plus made us breakfast in the morning. There's a frig and microwave there, and we got some things from the deli a short walk away for our dinner. The gardens are lovely, as is the pool, but we weren't quite warm enough to swim as it was getting to be evening when we came in.

Our Great Barrier Reef Tour was with Passions of Paradise, http://www.passions.com.au/ We had a lovely ride out, seeing dolphins on the way, and went first to the Outer Reef. There was quite a mix of people on the boat, including an Australian bachelor party group, lots of French people, and some Japanese, but the crew managed fairly efficiently. It was a beautifully sunny day and the water was warm, but it was extremely windy; I didn't manage the Outer Reef swim. After a buffet lunch (and yay, I didn't get seasick! {albeit I rode on the front of the catamaran outside all the way back and froze my tuchas}) we went to Michelmas Cay, which is a lovely little beach from which I snorkeled and really got into the zone, so much so that I started swallowing salt water. Not a good idea. I did love swimming along with my new, and waterproof--at least, it's still working--Kodak Playsport Zx3 movie camera. (I don't have stills of this part of the trip, and haven't loaded my videos yet, but I may have some links later.) It is winter, of course, so we were blessed with the sun, but the beach was pretty cold with the wind! Passions is supposed to sail part of the way back but wasn't able to; not sure how high their sailing percentage is, as a few reviews mentioned the same thing. Regardless, it was a good day's excursion and decently priced at $149.

Next morning we were being picked up to go to Daintree, so I wandered further into sleepy Stratford to get some laundry done. (We did, um, a lot of laundry.) The laundromat was open but completely empty, with a note to get coins from Stratford store. As that's pretty general, I asked the be-earringed gardener next door which Stratford store it might be, and got directed to Stratford General, a mini grocery/whatever else type, and got my laundry coins. (Runs about $3 to wash, $3 to dry in most places, for those who, like us, want to travel all the different weathers with not too much luggage.)

It's a beautiful ride going to Daintree, going past Mossman and up into the rainforest. It takes about two hours, and there we were at <b>Daintree Wild Bed and Breakfast.</b>

Daintree Wild is a private zoo, with wallabies (sooo cute!), kangaroos, and emus* wandering freely, an aviary, various local species, and a lovely bridge walk over two types of crocodiles. The accommodations were spacious, clean, and comfortable; we were in the Rosella room by the pool. It's a shared bath, but as we only had one family as neighbors and there are two separate baths/showers, it worked out fine. (The girls were a bit overwhelmed by the big, nippy, toothless emus, who like to get very up-close and personal and perhaps nip your sleeves. We took a nocturnal walk one night that really should have been on candid camera, as the emus, who were supposed to be sleeping...weren't.) www.daintreewild.com.au

We visited the zoo for evening feeding with volunteer Luke, a chandelier repairer by trade (there has to be a name for that, but I don't know it) who is working his way around the world doing jobs for room and board. He was certainly enthusiastic about the animals he was tending, and we got to see the brand-new dingo puppy that they are bottle-feeding. The zoo is run with a lot of loving care, and the accommodations are very nice. It would be helpful to have a car as there's literally no place to go for food, but they serve a decent dinner from a limited but good menu, and we enjoyed the evenings in the candle lit restaurant as well as our sunny days in the zoo.

In the morning we took a two hour horse ride, beach into rainforest, with Wonga Beach Equestrian Center. http://www.beachhorserides.com.au/ The scenery is lovely; my horse was an ambler, but that's probably good as I haven't ridden in a loooong time and actually didn't feel too bad the next day. We went onto Wonga Beach (surprise) and then rode in the rainforest for a while; there was a fairly long time of nose-to-tail riding in order to get there, but that's to be expected. A afternoon dip in Daintree Wild's very cold pool helped keep the muscles loosened up after the riding. :)

Next morning it was back to Cairns for the airport, and out of Queensland to Alice Springs, Northern Territory, a whole world of difference away.

First, though, here are some pictures of the Queensland portion of the trip: http://travel.webshots.com/album/583246212ELNGSg

Nice start to your report! If we can get over how long the flight will be, my husband and I really want to see Australia.

What a great start to a report. I hope you chose happy eggs! We are lucky here in Australia to have a wide choice of caged (:(), barn laid or free range eggs and chicken. We have the same choice, more or less with pork/bacon products.

I've just had a quick read but will read it properly tonight when I'm home. I think I helped with a couple of your questions when you were planning the trip, so I'm glad you had a great time!

Did you eat a vegiemite sandwich?

Few visitors do - it takes a sophisticated palate to appreciate vegemite.

Glad you enjoyed your trip, Amy & am looking forward to the rest of your JBR.

In this case 'sophisticated palate' means complete lack of tastebuds:)

<although it was a bit bewildering to have to decide just how happy you wanted your chickens to have been>

That would be 'chooks' Amy, and you made me laugh out loud with that one.

Write on, I'm loving this report.

Hi, Amy. I have enjoyed your report so far, thanks. It is always interesting to learn what others think of places you have been to.
I too chuckled over the happy hens / chooks. In Dunedin there is a place that makes and sells Happy Hens. (At least I hope it is still there.) These are cute decorative little pottery hens painted in all sorts of cool colours. I have one sitting on my kitchen windowsill, and have a couple of little square tiles with paintings of happy hens. I bought them because they reminded me of the chooks we used to have when I was growing up on our orchard in Hawke's Bay hundreds of years ago.

Looking forward to your report on Alice Springs, a place I have a lot of time for - although we have only managed 12 days there in two trips.

Rubbish! You just need to exercise a little restraint - it's not peanut butter jelly or whatever that sweet stuff you Yanks slather on with a trowel is ;)

If I had a nickel for everytime I've heard that one...:)

I can't speak for all 312 million of us, but I've never managed to get past the smallest dab on my tongue.

Maltesers though, oh my!

Enjoyed the report Amy. I'd say welcome back, but you kind of went the wrong way... and without so much as a howdoyado on the visit for us even further down underer. ;)

Glad you had such a nice trip. There's stuff here I can

<i> it takes a sophisticated palate to appreciate vegemite.</i>

Of course. That's why our pre-schooler adores the stuff. (and I'm the applier of said... uh, stuff)

Oh, oh. Didn't mean to post a smiley face about caged eggs, that was supposed to be a grumpy face!!

Hey Clifton, she came to Sydney, no need to go further south! ;)

LOL, yeah I suppose not. Well, I'd not want to rain on her lovely report with all the stuff she missed anyway. ;)

I went for "reasonably contented" on the eggs, couldn't afford the vegemite, and I KNOOOOWWWWW how much I missed by not getting further. (sigh. darn economics/US vacation time.)

So, on to...

<b>Alice Springs and the Outback</b>

So, right, I know Alice Springs is IN the Outback. But it's hard to otherwise express those vast amounts of semi-arid land that lies between settlements. (It's a rather gorgeous vast amount of nothingness, to be sure.)

As usual, I would have loved to have had time to explore some of Alice Springs' attractions, such as the Desert Park, but instead I got the nighttime winter image of a somewhat down at the elbows town with drive-through drinks shops and a rowdy gathering of desert bike riders in the middle of the pedestrian mall. It's not a fair image, really, walking into town over the dry Todd River and past the bars; it felt...sad.

Our lodging for the night was Alice Lodge Backpackers: http://www.alicelodge.com.au/ They have a free airport transfer (and free internet) and were perfectly fine for our night before/night after the three day Outback trip. Our room was tiny, with two yellow and two purple walls trying valiantly to cheer up the deep green linens. The girls handled it all bravely, but their first hostel experience was definitely an eye-opener. And the bathrooms are mighty cold in the morning! That said, it's cheap and cheerful, with a nice guy at reception and very vivid signage about what to do and not do.

Our three-day, two-night Outback safari began early the next morning with our pickup by guide Dave in the 4WD Wayoutback vehicle. Now, before I start, I have to explain that Wayoutback currently has a tour that seems identical except for it being a 24 person minibus rather than max 16 truck...for $300 less. I've queried about the difference between the two (we had booked the $600+ one as that was what was on offer back in January when we booked) but, pending an answer, I'd say go for the cheap one as the itinerary seems identical and the accommodation is a swag either way. www.wayoutback.com.au

That out of the way, it was indeed an amazing adventure (interspersed with, of course, hours of bum-numbing riding in the rather noisy 4WD.)

Jet lag appears to be hitting, so to be continued...

After a road stop at a rather uninspiring camel farm and an off the road excursion to gather firewood, we got to Yulara and the Ayers Rock Resort campground, which would be our site that night. Our group, consisting of a family of four from Belgium, two Swiss young ladies, a Netherlands couple, a grandmother with daughter and grandson from Australia, and the four of us, worked together to get lunch on and cleaned up. (Part of the deal is cooperative meals, although the guide does most of the cooking.) Then we went to Uluru.

Up close, the rock is, to me, more interesting than from a distance. The markings and indentations and caves provide rich ground for the stories of the Anangu, and our partial base walk provided many interesting perspectives and a glimpse into the lives of these native people. The cultural center at the beginning is interesting, as well, but I found Uluru itself to be much more resonant. As most people know, there's an interesting quirk in that the Anangu really don't want the rock to be climbed, but there is a path with very visible (albeit, from my understanding, not easy) access, and there were indeed people climbing that day. One thing that surprised me about Uluru was the vegetation surrounding it; I love the variety in texture and subtle color palette of the silvery-green shrubs, trees, and plants.

After our base walk, we went to a sunset viewing site. Of course, it's a rather celebratory mood there, and there are lots and lots of people to watch the spectacular play of light and color on the rock while sipping wine and eating munchies. It's gorgeous, even if it has become cliche by this point, and I'd think you could see it often without it ever becoming old.

It gets cold quickly after sundown, of course, and we went back to our campfire, dinner, and first night in the swags, a kind of canvas bedroll with a thin mattress. Sleeping bags were helpful for the cold and the ground, and I slept reasonably well, although I got a little claustrophobic with both sides of the swag zipped. It really wasn't terribly cold that night, about 5 (40F) compared to the previous week's -5 (23F). Still, I was glad of my scarf!

A sunrise view and feral camel sighting in the morning, then on to our first major hike, the Kata Tjuta (Olga Mountains) Valley of the Winds walk. It started out cold (it ain't called Valley of the Winds for nothing) and continued to be a bit unsteady underfoot, with lots of loose rock, but quickly warmed up and gave us beautiful views of the Olgas and the vegetation. It's about a 4.5 mile (7.4km) walk, which took us 3-3.5 hours; there are some ups and downs, but nothing terribly steep.

After a stop at Lake Amadeus/Mt. Connor viewing (Mt. Connor is the one that is the Uluru ringer, 100km closer to Alice) we got to Kings Creek Station, a cattle/camel ranch that is now more tourist accommodation than anything. There's a food counter, helicopter service, camel safaris, and tents available, but our site was another open one. (It actually had tents, but, well, who wants to wimp out?) We were supposed to be up at a bush camp, but (to the girls' relief, actually) we were near the regular camp showers and toilets, as our 4WD's gearbox had broken.

We limped in 2nd gear the next day to Watkarra, Kings Canyon, where steep is, in fact, a factor.

Pictures of the Outback region before finishing up this bit:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/583251714FqhYdh All of that ferrous oxide is pretty excitingly photogenic.

Our final Outback day was spent hiking the rim of Kings Canyon in Watkarra National Park. That's a simple sentence to write, but I have to admit that the ascent was not entirely simple. The views are breath-taking, though, and the prehistoric palms and various other plants add even more interest to the rugged outlines of the canyon.

Descending a long steep staircase, you come to the "Garden of Eden" pool, a/k/a the toilet of Kings Canyon. (Everything that happens on the rim eventually washes down to here, and it's a long walk with no restrooms, so...) You're allowed to swim, but the water is mighty cold this time of year; maybe 60 degrees at most. We prudently refrained, but one brave yobbo from another little group did try it. Let's just say that he did not contribute to the atmosphere of still serenity that had encompassed the still pool surrounded by greenery.

On the way back, we came across a rock wallaby, predictably enough, on the rocks. Just soooo cute. Even the name is cute. Wallaby wallaby wallaby.

Descent is more gradual than ascent, fortunately for one's knees, but I was pretty tired by the end. The rest of the day didn't require too much energy, though, as it consisted of waiting at King's Creek Station for our lift back to Alice Springs. We were supposed to have been doing some off-road riding, but the truck had broken completely, so our expected arrival back to Alice of 5:30 ended up being 10PM. Most of the remainder of the group were doing a five day trip, so a great lady in a truck picked us up and took us back to Alice, including a stretch of dirt road that took her about an hour, bowling for bunnies the whole way. I'd reckon the road would have taken some people two hours, but we were air-borne part of the time. It was actually kinda fun, and, near the end, we saw a 'roo bouncing slowly across the road. I'd been able to contact Alice Lodge (whose reception closes at seven) with my amazing bargain Telstar Card (I swear you could phone forever for five bucks; I've still got $1.50 on it after multiple calls.) So they had our room keys at reception and the luggage we'd left with them back in our tiny yellowviolet room. ('cause, hey, we follow directions, she said, glancing across at the huge suitcases brought by the EU.)

Next morning in Alice we had time for some muffin and fruit shopping at Woolworths and going to the Post Office, which doubles as an office supply store and was quite busy. Here I came upon another big bargain for those of us who are inveterate post card senders. (Only me,then? Okay...) Anyway, it costs $1.60 to mail a postcard, but you can get lovely ones of animals and scenes and such with the postage printed on for the same $1.60, which saves you at least 60 cents per card. Not a big deal if you send five, but there are those of us who send, um, a hundred and seven. (Teacher: it's who I am, not just what I do. Osmosis is a valuable tool for the educator.) I did get charged for 40 extra Kookaburra cards, though, which made me use my Telstar card in Sydney; huge props to the customer service rep on the phone at Australia post who straightened everything out and got me an express refund sent to the GPO! She was amazing and actually sounded personally interested.

Back to Alice Springs airport via $12pp shuttle. I like the cut-out aboriginal art pattern canopy that creates great shadows on the ground as you go in. A small thing, I know, but it adds character to the airport.

On to Sydney!

Oh, just needed to add:

TIM TAMS!

(especially caramel ones)

Freddo frogs. Caramelo Koalas.

Maltesers!

Crunchy bars.

And double coated Tim Tams, thank you.

Violet crumble

Methinks this crowd is getting peckish.

Poached eggs on Vegemite toast, Mel ;)

Hmmm...suddenly I lost my appetite.

Clifton - I vote with Bokhara that violet crumble bars are just that little bit better.mmmm I make violet crumble ice cream bars every Christmas - they are delicious!

Freddo Frogs and Caramello Koalas are what I brought back with me to share at work and with my family. Everybody's kinda addicted to the Caramello Koals now.

Caramello koalas are total awesomeness!

I've never had a Caramello koala. I must rectify that, and soon.

So should I market it as the latest " super secret weight control supplement", Mel?

Absolutely. Gagging does wonders for one's waistline.

Loving the report Amy, great turn of phrase you have, did you pick this up down under?? You haven't mentioned the great greeting "hair yu ghannn"?

I am so pleased you had a fabulous time, lived down under for 35 years and have only flown over The Rock, so you are one up on me.

Can't wait to hear about Sydney - (and you didn't come and visit me)

With you on the Caramello Koalas...

Schnauzer

I'm pretty good with Violet Crumbles but I got hooked on the honeycomb, which we didn't have in the US, which is why I like the Crunchies.

My sweetheart's a Cherry Ripe girl.

And she has a choice of dark or milk chocolate cherry ripe.

Old Gold Rum & Raisin
Peanut Brittle

Choc mint biscuits

Schnauzer! Hair YOUUUU gahrnn? (I did notice the "how you going?", as I kept mentally changing it to "how you doin'?"

On to <b>Sydney and the Blue (because they're ice cold) Mountains</b>

Swooping, swaying, sexy Sydney. Oh, my, what a city. I have to confess, however, that we really didn't see nearly as much of it as we could/should have, as by this point we were, um, taking things a bit more leisurely. (I think I wore my nieces out a bit.) But the parts we did see were delightful.

Our home for our final four nights was the astounding Sydney Harbour YHA in the Rocks, over top an (open air) archaeological dig. Whilst it never forgets that it's a hostel, it's got the most extraordinary location for $48pp per night that I've ever seen, and you get a bathmat delivered daily. (Towels are extra. The bathmat thing actually was kinda amusing.) Rooms are large, with high ceilings (yay!), individual bed lights, individual power outlets in the lockers, a table and chairs, ensuite...and the communal kitchen. Oh, yes, the kitchen. Huge, clean, with commercial see-through refrigerators and just about anything you'd want in cookware AND a humongous roll of plastic wrap. Which just goes to show that whoever designed this? Has stayed in hostels. And it's got views from the terrace of the Opera House and Bridge. So, yeah, pretty much all the raves on TripAdvisor are true. It is still a hostel, let me stress, and there was an incredibly noisy group of kids there the final night, but worth it? Oh, yes. Plus really great people at reception all the time, including one that looks like the tall version of Mr. Bean.

Our $70 (ouch) taxi from the airport swooped us through tunnels at sunset, and it was fully dark when we went out exploring, so we didn't get too far the first night; just down to a red brick pizza place down the hill. (Zia Pina, on George Street. Quite good, actually; thin crust pizza and garlic bread.) After another bout of laundry, we crashed in our bunks, happily deciding not to get up until we got up the next day, after our days of sunrise wakings.

So we got off to a bit of a late start next day, and compounded our sins by having breakfast/lunch at...McDonald's. Here I have to explain a bit: the McD's was actually my choice. I don't eat at them here, but, in a nod to irony and in a quest for fried apple pies, I visit one in just about every country I've been. (Usually on the 4th of July, but I didn't have a suitably appropriate date on this trip.) They have the fried apple pies in Sydney, just like they do EVERYPLACE BUT THE UNITED STATES. Harrumph. (Terribly bad for you, of course, but they're really, really tasty.)

Having done our Woolworths' run (helloooo, Caramello Koalas on special offer!) and some souvenir shopping, we spent our afternoon getting the amazingly picturesque ferry to Manly Beach.

Now, let me just say here that Sydney Harbour is ridiculously, over-the-top beautiful, especially in the sparkling sunlight and 70 degrees that we had that day. It just dances. My first glimpse of the Opera House was less than overwhelming, but the way it dominates and focuses the harbour area made me appreciate it more and more. (There are some buildings that have an immediate resonance with me, but this wasn't one; it's the context that made me connect, I think.) The stately green ferry pulled out past it and into the sun-sparkled waters that were dotted with sailboats. Who is out on all those sailboats on a Wednesday afternoon in the winter, anyway? Does somebody pay them just to be picturesque? (Because they do a mighty fine job of it.) We chugged across to Manly in about half an hour, then followed the "Corso" with its lovely pastel facades and varied/tacky souvenir etc. shops to the beach.

It was a bit cold for swimming--we dunked our toes in a bit--but we and kids in school uniform and others stayed on the beach for a while, then did some more shopping and >>TAH-DAH<< the best fish and chips EVER from Manly Fish Market on Steyne Street. (Take-out counter) I don't even really know how the chips were, to be honest, because I was having a holy experience of revelation with that fish.

Clifton I also have a Cherry Ripe version of the ice cream bar! That was the original recipe but my kids don't like cherry ripes so I thought I'd see how the violet crumbles might work mmmmmm they are good. I love cherry ripes as well.

Come to sunny Queensland for a visit and I'll make a batch!!!

Wonderful yarn, Amy.

Like the others, I giggled at the happy chickens idea - I'd never thought of it that way.

And when are you back here?

Not sure when I'll be back, margo, as the to-go list is so long and the vacation time is so short, but I do want to return and visit the West. (And revisit Sydney for some of the historic bits that I missed.) At the moment (seriously) I am looking into Cuba or Armenia for the next trip, but that won't be for a year or so.

Back to the Sydney story:

Next day we walked to and across (half-way) the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I understand that the climb over the top is marvelous, but frankly, $250pp was a bit much to contemplate, and, considering the wind on the day it would have been, I'm rather glad we didn't. Nice views just from the walkway, actually. Some of the afternoon was spent on straightening out the refund from the Postal Service referenced above, and then going to the GPO building on Martin Place. It's a great building with its clock tower, but the Post Office is now just one small bit of it. Worked for me, though! We went back down to Circular Quay for walking/shopping/Opera House stop; nice restrooms in the Opera House, by the way, all undulating lines and such.

Royal Copenhagen ice cream, whilst not, shall we say, entirely indigenous, is mighty good, particularly with the gratis hot fudge sauce.

Our final day was an excursion to the Blue Mountains. We bundled up and got our train at Central Station, paying for the Blue Mountains Explorer Hop-on, Hop-off bus ($48 for combo train tix/bus) and went on our way; lovely two hour train ride through some of the more, um, colourful bits of Sydney and on to the suburbs and mountains, blue from the effects of sunlight dispersed in eucalyptus oil or something. Quite lovely, really.

It was cold, really cold, as in snowing a few villages up, but our stop at Scenic World was quite interesting: the Skyway, which has a glass floor, takes you over the tops of the trees and past the Three Sisters formation; then the "world's steepest railway" is a claustrophobic fun ride down a former mine chute; and finally, after a walk around the rainforest with its lacy tree ferns and entwining vines, you get to the rather boring cable car ride back to the bus stop. (After a stop for hot chocolate, oh yes.)

Our next stop was in the lovely little town of Leura, not blooming yet but giving a lot of promise for the spring. Bygone Beauties, an OTT tea shop with the world's largest private collection of teapots, was our first stop there, and we walked up and down the quaint shops of the main street and into the art galleries. Quite lovely, really.

Back to the YHA at night for packing, as we left early the next morning. The shuttle picked us up and gave us a gut-wrenching ride to the airport, and we were off! No glitches except missing the connection in Dallas, but fortunately Expedia came through with a connection sooner than the first one offered, which would have been 12 hours away. We came back to Philadelphia and Baby E waiting for us in the airport: nothing like a loud happy baby at 1:30 in the morning to make you forget 25 hours of flying time. :)

Here are the Sydney/Blue Mountain pictures, heavy on harbour, of course: http://travel.webshots.com/album/583259028ppfSAF

Hi, Amy,

<Up close, the rock is, to me, more interesting than from a distance. The markings and indentations and caves provide rich ground for the stories of the Anangu>

Exactly my thoughts about Uluru. My DH and I have some amazing photos that are close-ups. I think Uluru and Kata Tjuta have intriguing surfaces. From a distance (I hear a song coming on!) I expected both U and KT to be smooth as driftwood and rocks exposed to the wind and rain are, but in fact close up they appear quite porous.

Kings Canyon (Watarrka National Park) is quite breath-taking, isn't it. My DH did the rim walk while I did the shorter but interesting walk to the creek bed. I got the impression you had a more leisurely stroll around the rim. We had three-and-a-half hours to complete the 'walk' which is why I didn't attempt it. The ascent looked pretty tortuous, and seemed to take most of our party quite some time to get to the top.

Thank you for sharing your photos and experiences / thoughts. You certainly managed to see and do quite a range of places and activities in your 17 days. Hopefully, at some later date, you will be able to explore the parts of Australia not included in this trip.

What a lovely report. I'm glad you wrote it. It sounds like a lovely holiday and the YHA was a great decision. I think I recommended it after my daughter who worked for YHA stayed there a few times.