Australia - May and June 2024

After our time in Cambodia, we spent three weeks in Australia. We first went to Melbourne to spend time with Jan, then went to Darwin with Jan to spend time up there and to visit her daughter Lucy and lastly went to Sydney to spend time with Liz.  Before we left Australia, we had a few nights to ourselves in the Blue Mountains outside of Melbourne to celebrate our birthdays.

Melbourne Area

Accommodation

We stayed at Jan's house in Lara which is about an hour south of Melbourne.  She has a huge home with a large yard and swimming pool.  We had the 'guest' wing all to ourselves.

Jan's House in Lara

We also stayed one night at a rental house in Healesville (in Yara Valley) that Wendy had booked for us.  It was a very nicely decorated three bedroom house with one bathroom.  The host left us a nice bottle of wine and some wonderful eggs, bread and jam that we had for breakfast.  

Activities

We flew into Melbourne via Singapore on Singapore Airlines on an overnight flight, arriving mid-morning.  We flew coach but since we had exit row, the seats were fairly comfortable. We then took the bus to Geelong where we were picked up by Meg (Jan's oldest daughter) who showed us around Geelong and then drove us to Jan's house in Lara. 

While in Laura, we went for a few long walks - one through the Serendip Sanctuary which has a nice undulating trail along the river and another in the You Yangs Regional Park where we were promised to see wildlife but only saw an ant and a bird! We had dinner one night with two of the kids (Meg and Al as well as with Al's girlfriend Lana) and another night we went to see The Fall Guy at a movie theater in Geelong.

Walk in You Yangs Regional Park

We also did the following side trips to catch up with people:

• Went into Melbourne to meet up with Sue (another Kandersteg friend) for an early dinner - before meeting up with her, we walked along the river. The city has grown quite a bit since we last were there.  

Dinner with Jan and Sue at Chloe's Dining Room in Melbourne

• Drove down to Anglesea to see Rex, Jan's father. He gave us a tour of the house and then we drove to Lorne to have lunch together, first driving by their old house which we had been to on our prior trip to Australia.  The drive was really nice along the ocean rode and we had lunch on a bench right by the beach.

Visit with Rex in Anglesea

• Drove up to Yara Valley (wine country) to spend one night with Dave and Wendy who rented a lovely AirBnB in Healesville.  While there, we had lunch at a winery, where we were joined by Jan's brother Steve and his wife Lindy.  We also checked out Wendy's pottery which was on display at the Tarrawarra Museum of Art and then had a drink at a gin distillery.  That evening, we ordered some pizzas to go and had a relaxing evening at the rental house.  The next day, we had a yummy breakfast that Dave cooked for us - bacon, eggs and bread and then went for a walk at the Maroondah Reservoir Park followed by a few drinks in town before we headed to the airport to fly to Darwin. 

Lunch at Steel's Gate Winery with Jan, Dave, Wendy, Steve and Lindy

Tarrawarra Museum of Art

Restaurants

Cartel Roasters - Nice coffee place located in Geelong. We had a coffee and bagel sandwich here with Meg after she picked us up at the bus station.

Chloe's Dining Room at Young and Jackson's - Located in Melbourne, we had drinks and an early dinner with Sue and Jan.  We shared a yummy fish and chips and pasta dish.  

Captain Hooked - Cute seafood cafe in Lorne along the Great Ocean Road.  We had lunch from here with Rex and Jan - tasty fish and chips which we then ate on the beach. 

The Bottle of Milk - Cafe in Lorne, we had a coffee take-a-way.  

Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery - Located outside of Anglesea, we stopped here on our way back to Lara to peruse all of the yummy chocolates and to get an ice cream which we enjoyed while walking in the gardens. 

Meet Me at Mary's - Located in Geelong, a cute restaurant where we had dinner with Jan, Meg, Al and Lana (Al's girlfriend).  We chose the "Feed Me" option which is where the chef sends out a bunch of dishes to the table.  We had several yummy starters and then lamb with potatoes, broccolini and salad for our main course.  The food was very tasty.

Dinner at Meet Me at Mary's with Jan, Al, Meg and Lana

Steel's Gate Winery - Located in Yara Valley near Healesville, we met Jan, Wendy, Dave, Steve (Jan's brother) and Lindy (Steve's wife) for lunch.  The place was really nice with great views of the vineyards.  We had a fixed price menu with  a few choices of appetizers, entrees and dessert.  We also each got a wine flight to try a few different wines before we landed on which glass we wanted with our meal.  All of the food was really nice and fresh and the service was great.

Four Pillars Gin Distillery - Located in Healesville, we stopped here with Jan, Wendy, Dave, Steve, and Lindy for a drink.  Great gin!

Four Pillars Gin Distillery

Smoking Joe's Pizza - Located in Healesville, we got pizza to go that we ate for dinner at our house rental.  Really tasty.  

Healesville Hotel - Located in Healesville, we stopped here with Jan, Wendy and Dave for a couple of beers and some chips.  We sat outside in their garden at the back at the hotel. 

Darwin Area

Accommodation

Ramada Suites - We stayed for two nights in Darwin for free using Shawna's credit card points.  We got a two bedroom, two bath suite.  Definitely not a fancy place but it was clean and had a nice rooftop bar.

Aurora Kakadu Lodge - We got a two bedroom, one bath cabin in the town of Jabiru on the northern side of Kakadu Park and stayed here three nights. It was a rustic place but comfortable.  There was a nice pool on the grounds which Keith and Jan tried out one afternoon. We had all of our breakfasts and dinners in the cabin.  For dinner, we each took turns each night - Shawna made a pasta, Jan made soft tacos and Keith grilled steaks with corn and asparagus. 

Salty Anchor Airbnb - We stayed in Darwin in this two bedroom, two bath apartment.  It was very nice - clean and nicely appointed with great views of the water. 

Activities

We arrived very late in the evening (a bit past midnight) - Lucy (Jan's daughter who lives in Darwin) picked us up from the airport and drove us to our hotel.  The next day, we slept in and then walked along the waterfront.  We also went into Darwin Museum Underground WWII Oil Storage Tunnels where we learned about the oil tunnels and how WWII impacted Darwin.  That evening, we had dinner at Lucy's apartment with her roommates - Lucy made a yummy bangers and mash!

Walking around Darwin

Dinner at Lucy's

The next morning, we packed up, got the car from Lucy (she let us borrow her car for a few days), stocked up on groceries and then drove up to Jabiru where we stayed for three nights to explore Kakadu National Park.  Jabiru is a small town with limited facilities but served as a good base for the park.  While here, we explored the following:

• Nanguluwurr Art Site - A 3.4km walk to Aboriginal rock art with beautiful views of the surrounding rocks. 

Nanguluwurr Art Walk

• Anbangbang Billabong - Most of the walk was closed so we walked around for a few minutes to see the marsh and the birds.

• Nawurlandja Lookout Walk - This is a short 300 meter climb to the top of a rock with nice views of the valley. 

• Marrawuddi Arts Center - We looked around this art gallery in Jabiru with art from local people.  There is a nice coffee shop attached.

• Cahills Crossing - We went to the lookout platform that overlooks the river to see if we could spot any crocs - we didn't see any here.

• Ubirr - This is a short 1km walk that goes by some Aboriginal rock art and goes up the rocks to have beautiful sunset views of the rocks and the valley.  We did this walk with a park ranger and heard the stories about the art and the local people.  As we watched the sunset, we had a small picnic of crackers and cheese.  Definitely the highlight site of the trip!

Ubirr

• Yellow Water River Cruise - We did this cruise in the early morning (started at 6:45) on the South Alligator River.  It was fantastic.  We saw so many varieties of birds and about 10 different crocodiles.  The guide was both informative and humorous! The views of the marsh and the river were beautiful at this hour.  Another highlight of the trip!

Yellow Water River Cruise

• Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center - We stopped here to check out the artifacts and to learn more about the local culture.  Pretty interesting museum.

After we checked out of the lodge, we drove back to Darwin, stopping along the way to do the Mamukala Wetlands walk and walk around the Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve.  We got back to Darwin late afternoon and got settled into our AirBnB.  Meg and Lana flew into Darwin late Friday evening and joined us with Lucy for the weekend activities - they stayed with Lucy while we stayed in the AirBnB with Jan.  While back in Darwin, we did the following activities:

• Walked along the waterfront - there are lots of nice walking paths and beaches.

• Had lunch at the Parap Village Market and dinner at the Mindil Beach Sunset Market.  At the latter market, we stayed there and had dinner while listening to live music and sat on the beach to watch the sunset which was beautiful.

Sunset on Mindil Beach

• Hung out at Lucy's apartment and chatted with the girls - it was fun to hear about their work and escapades!

• Went on a sunset cruise - we opted for the Daze and Graze which was nice so that we could sit on the rooftop and watch the sunset.  The food however was not the best!

Sunset Cruise

• Danced at the local bar "Shags" - we ended up staying longer than we thought. The DJ played all songs we knew and so we danced a ton.  But then the live band came on and it became very crowded as the crowd also got quite sloppy drunk - this was our queue for the old people to leave - ha!

Dancing at Shags

• Hung out on the beach - sat on the beach for a bit with Lucy and Lana. 

Beach in Darwin

• Saw the beautiful waterfalls and waded in the pools at Litchfield National Park and Berry Springs Nature Preserve.  The parks were beautiful and the pools were very refreshing!

Litchfield National Park

Restaurants

The 1995 - Located in Darwin, this is a cute coffee shop.  We had coffee and a great avocado toast.

Ben's Bakehouse - Located in Darwin, we had coffee and avocado toast for breakfast - it was OK. 

Darwin Trailer Boat Club - Located in Darwin on the water, we had dinner here with Lucy.  We sat outside with a great view of the sunset.  We all had yummy seafood dishes.

Dinner at Darwin Trailer Boat Club

Parap Village Market - Large market that operates during the day on Saturdays.  We went here and got several food items that we ate back at Lucy's apartment.  Lots of Asian food options - all were tasty!

Shenanigan's - Located in Darwin, this is the Irish pub that the girls frequent so we went there for a few drinks and dancing - fun place but gets very crowded!!

Mindil Beach Sunset Market - Large market that operates in the evenings on Thursdays and Sundays.  We had dinner here - lots of options to choose from - we had paella and pad see ew - all tasty!

Oyster Bar - Located in Darwin on the waterfront near our AirBnB.  We sat outside and had dinner with Jan, Lucy, Meg and Lana.  We ordered several starters to share and then we split the grilled barramundi - all the food was pretty tasty but the service was slow.

Dinner at Oyster Bar

Trampoline Ice Cream - Located in Darwin on the waterfront.  We stopped here after dinner for some ice cream - we had our usual salted caramel which was quite good!

Sydney Area

Accommodation

We stayed six nights at Liz (friend of Keith's) and Neil's house.  They have a beautiful two story home in Balgowlah, which is near Manly Beach and about 20-30 minutes north of Sydney.  We stayed in the guest bedroom which has an ensuite bathroom.  

Spicers Sangoma Retreat - We stayed here for three nights.  It's a beautiful, small boutique hotel located in the Blue Mountains.  We had our own large villa with an amazing bed, bathroom and views of the valley.  The hotel is all inclusive so we also had all our meals here.  Only downside is that it's a bit away from the main attractions - it's located on the North side of the park where all of the main attractions are on the South side.

Our room at Spicers Sangoma

Activities

We flew into Sydney from Darwin, landing in the evening.  Liz picked us up at the airport and after we got settled into our room at their house, we had a nice dinner of salad and lasagna with some wine.  The girls had already gone to bed so we met them in the morning.  

Playing Uno with Cerys and Zoe

While we visited with them, we did the following:

• Met up with some friends for lunch and dinner: 
• Lunch with Nick (scouting friend of Keith's) who then drove us around Manly a bit
• Dinner with Hanno (grad school friend of ours) - he had also come to reunion but we missed him
• Lunch with Lou (EYC board member) and her husband Barry 
• Hot chocolate and cookies with Synoeun (EYC alumni) and her daughter at Macquarie University where she is getting her master's degree

Snacks with Synoeun and her daughter

• Played cards (Uno and Go Fish) with the girls - it was quite the competitive sport! 

• Dropped off Cerys at preschool and walked Zoe to her school.

• Did several walks:
• Across Manly Dam and around a part of the Manly Reservoir (park near Liz's house) - the trail is rocky and hilly but it was also muddy since it had just rained.
• Around Manly, including Sydney Harbor National Park with Neil where we saw views of Sydney Harbor and a few whales in the ocean; coastal walk from Shelly Beach to Manly Beach; Fairlight Walk from Manly Harbor to the end of the North Harbor Walk; and Manly Wormhole with Neil.  All really pretty with nice views.
• Up and around the Barrenjoey Lighthouse in Palm Beach and West Head in Ku-ring-gai National Park with Neil and Liz. 
• Around Narrabeen Lagoon while Neil and Zoe biked - nice flat path.
• Around Balmoral Beach to Rocky Point Island while having an ice cream with Liz and the girls.

Manly Wormhole

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

• Saw the Vivid Light Show around Sydney Harbor with Liz and Neil - really cool light displays on the buildings.

Vivid Light Show - Sydney Opera

• Went to the Sydney Zoo with Liz and the girls - was later in the day so some of the animals were not out but we saw a gorilla, some lions and zebra, a tiger, a few monkeys and our favorite, the red panda.

Acting like lions at the zoo!

• Hung out in the hot tub at Liz's house with Liz and the girls. 

• Went to an AFL game with Liz, Neil and the girls - Sydney Swans vs Geelong.  Before the game, we walked around Centennial Park and then grabbed a quick meal at one of the food trucks near the stadium.  The game was very interesting to watch - sort of a cross between soccer, football and rugby.  The Sydney Swans won!

Sydney Swans AFL Game

• One night, Neil made us two yummy curries - one chicken and one lamb.  And another night, Liz made us a great salad with a veggie pot pie.  And of course, Liz had a great carrot cake for Shawna's birthday!

We said our farewells to Liz and the family on Monday morning and got an Uber to the rental car place near the airport (Shawna found a cheap rental with Simba) and picked up our rental car to drive to the Blue Mountains, a park about 1.5 hours from Sydney.  We stayed there for three nights, enjoying the beautiful scenery and celebrating both of our birthdays, including Keith's 55th birthday! Unfortunately, Keith was under the weather so we didn't see as much as we would have liked but then we also enjoyed the downtime.  While in the area, we drove around the park, stopping to see some of the sights including Govetts Leap Lookout, Katoomba Falls and The Three Sisters Lookout.  We will definitely be back to see more and to do some of the hikes.  We also treated ourselves to a massage at the hotel - we were in the same room and Keith got a regular massage while Shawna got a hot stone massage - both great!

Govetts Leap

Three Sisters

Restaurants

Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club - We had lunch here with Nick, located on the harbor in Manly.  We had a yummy fish dish with a few beers. 

Lunch with Nick at Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club

Hugo's - We had dinner here with Hanno, located on the harbor in Manly.  This is a great restaurant - we had some nice cocktails and then shared a few dishes, all of which were tasty. 

Dinner at Hugo's with Hanno

Manly Pavilion - Great restaurant located on the harbor in Manly.  We had lunch here with Lou and her husband, Barry. We shared a great fish dish. 

Cottage Point Cafe - We had lunch here with Liz and Neil - cute little place.  We shared the fish and chips which were tasty. 

The Glenmore - Located at the foot of the Sydney Harbor bridge, we stopped here for a beer with Liz and Neil and drank it on the rooftop with views of the bridge and opera house.  

Lord Nelson - One of the oldest pubs in Sydney, we had dinner here with Liz and Neil.  We shared a few appetizers for the table and had a curry dish which was very tasty.  

Dinner at Lord Nelson with Liz and Neil

Hotel Palisade - We had a drink here with Liz and Neil, sitting in one of the lounges. 

Kazzi Beach Greek - Located in Balmoral Beach - we got an ice cream from here. 

Amara - The restaurant in our hotel at Spicers Retreat.  We had all of our meals here since it was included.  Really great food. For breakfast, we had a choice of six dishes - the breakfast bowl was really tasty.  For lunch, they served one course with bread and for dinner, they served five courses with a wine pairing.  Everything was delicious!

Amara

Australia - Dec 2012

Sydney Opera House

We decided to spend Christmas and New Years in a warmer climate this year by spending two weeks in Australia. We went with John and JoAnna, visiting Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns, and we met up with several of Keith's Kandersteg friends.  While the weather in most places was not as warm as we expected, we had a great time.  Keith had spent six months in Australia 22 years ago (Jan-June of 1991) but the two of us had only passed through Sydney once after our New Zealand trip. 

Accommodation:
Chez Bullock - While in Melbourne, we stayed with Steve and Jan and their three kids Meg, Al, and Lucy, who live in Lara, about an hour south of Melbourne. They have an awesome home with a pool and a beautiful garden. The hospitality was great!

Chez Bullock

Chez Bills - We spent a few nights at Jan's parents house (Liz and Rex) in Anglesea on Melba Parade. Their house is located within walking distance to the beach and it has a great view of the ocean.  Liz and Rex are planning on selling the house soon so it was great to be there.

Chez Bills

Best Western Olde Maritime - Located in Warrnambool, we stayed here one night when we drove the Great Ocean Road.  The hotel is within walking distance of the town center and the rooms are clean.

Travelodge - Located in Sydney in the central business district about 2 miles from the sites.  John booked it with his points so it was free!  Clean place.

Harbour Lights - Located in Cairns on the waterfront.  We got a two bedroom apartment - very nice place.

Swissotel Sydney - In Sydney close to Darling Harbour.  Shawna booked on her points so also free.  Very nice hotel.

Activities:
We flew into LAX where we met up with John and JoAnna. Our flight to Melbourne was delayed so we passed the time having a few beers before we boarded the plane at 2 am. The flight was rather long (16 hours) - we slept intermittently while also watching movies to pass the time.

Melbourne
We arrived after noon and were greeted at the airport by Steve who then drove us to his house in Lara. After eating lunch, we went for a swim (or more aptly described as a soak) in their swimming pool while drinking a few beers. This was our one and only truly warm day in the area as the rest of the time was quite windy. After our soak in the pool, we drove into Geelong where we walked along the promenade, had a couple of beers in a pub and then grabbed some yummy fish and chips and ate dinner picnic style along the water. By this point, the jet lag kicked in so we returned to their home to sleep.

Fish and Chips in Geelong

Surprisingly, we all slept through the night. The following morning Shawna, John and JoAnna went for a walk where they saw kangaroo (or at least what looked like kangaroo from afar), parrots, rabbits and magpies. While we were walking, Keith went horse riding (bare back) with Lucy. Keith had been horseback riding when he was a kid but was obviously not prepared for this - Lucy's prowess on the horse smoked Keith's ability!  We grabbed a quick brekky (Australian for breakfast) and then took the train into Melbourne to do a day of sight seeing. We first rode the free City Circle tram to get our bearings and see where most of the sights are located and walked around St Patricks Cathedral, a large, gothic style church.

Keith and Lucy

After lunch, we went up Eureka Tower to the 88th floor observation deck where we saw sweeping views of the city. We opted not to do the Edge (which is where you walk out on glass with nothing beneath you) as the wait was 45 minutes. However, we did mail a postcard to Phoebe from the highest mailbox in Australia! Steve's office is immediate next to the tower so we were able to see where he actually goes every day.  Following this, we walked around The Royal Botanic Garden and saw the corpse flower (amorphophallus titanum) which is a very large flower that only blooms for a few days - unfortunately, we did not see it in bloom in person but we did see it on the news a few days later.

Mebourne

We took the bus down to St Kilda to see penguins but they were not out so we watched the kite surfers and walked around the area. We then went back into the city center to buy pressies for the Bullock family and then tried to get into a few places for dinner before we found one that didn't have a wait - we ended up at Red Spice Road which had yummy Asian food.  After dinner, we took the train back to Lara where Steve picked us up. We stayed up talking with everyone for a few minutes before we crashed after a long day.

Christmas with Bills Clan in Anglesea

Beach in Anglesea

On Christmas morning, we had breakfast and exchanged gifts. Steve and Jan got us some goodies and water guns which then prompted a water fight amongst the boys. Steve and Keith were so soaked, they looked like they had fallen into the pool. After breakfast we drove down to Anglesea to Jan's parents house where we spent a few nights. Steve had to make two trips to bring everyone so while he drove the family, we went for a walk and then packed up. Meg drove us there so that she could build up her hours to get her permanent license - she was a great driver and we all made it in one piece. When we arrived in Anglesea, we met Liz and Rex (Jan's parents) and her brother Steve and his wife Lindy and their two kids. We ate Christmas lunch and opened a few more pressies and then walked down to the beach for a game of beach cricket. Jan, JoAnna and Shawna went for a walk along the beach while the boys went for a swim. Later that evening, we went to see the kangaroos that have taken over the golf course in town. There were so many of them. That night, we had leftovers and a few beers while chatting with the family.  It was quite entertaining watching Rex and Jan's brother Steve complain about the rubbish on TV. 

Kangaroo on Golf Course in Anglesea

On Wednesday, we took off with Steve and Jan to drive the beautiful Great Ocean Road. We stopped along the way to see the sights, including Johanna Beach, the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge, and the Bay of Martyres. We also took a short walk in Mait's Rest, a rain forest, and saw tons of koala near the Otway Lighthouse. At first, we only saw a few koala and went off road to see a couple of them.  We distressed one as Keith and Steve shook the tree - the poor koala climbed as high as it could go before it started to cry! Just a few kilometers down the road is where we then saw a ton of koalas, some of which were rather low to the point you could reach out and touch them if you tried.  Along the way, we stopped to eat, including having a coffee in Lorne, a savory pie in Apollo Bay, lunch in Princeton and ice cream in Port Campbell. We did not go hungry! We stayed the night in Warrnambool and had a few drinks at a pub in town followed by dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Emperor's Palace.

Great Ocean Road

After breakfast, we drove back to Anglesea, stopping to do beer tasting at Otway Estate Winery and Brewery where we tried 5 different styles of Prickly Moses beer. There was a wheat beer that Shawna liked and we all liked the ale. We then went to Lake Elizabeth and walked about 2km to try to see the elusive platypus, but we were not lucky. We then stopped at the Forrest Brewing Company to taste 4 beers and to have lunch (yummy sandwiches). When we returned to Anglesea, Shawna and JoAnna went for a walk while Keith and Steve went for a run/swim. We then had a few beers at the house before heading out to dinner at the Aireys Pub - we treated the whole family to dinner. After dinner, we chatted for a while back at the house before going to bed.  Rex gave John and JoAnna a hard time about not being married and declared that they were to marry in Australia.  John indicated that they would get married if Rex got on a plane to come to the wedding (Rex does not fly)!

Beer Tasting at Otway Estate Winery and Brewery

On Friday, we first stopped at Bells Beach to see the famous surfing area where the final scene of Point Break was set (though not actually filmed there). We then took the Ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento to do some cheese and wine tasting on Mornington Peninsula. Our first stop was at Red Hill Cheese - we tried a few sheep, cow and goat cheeses. Our favorite was Prom Picnic, a nutty sheep cheese and Poppet, an herb sheep cheese so we bought these for lunch. Our next stop was Main Ridge Estate for wine tasting - our favorite was the 2008 Chardonnay. The woman who poured the wine did not find us humorous - she was a bit crabby! Since we needed a few more cheeses for lunch, we stopped at the Main Ridge Dairy which has goat cheese - we liked the pecorino and marinated goat cheeses. This place had cute goats in the field but there were too many kids so it was noisy. Now that we had the cheese, we needed a wine for lunch so we stopped at the Eldridge Estate and liked the 2012 Fume Blanc and the 2010 Chardonnay - we bought a bottle of the Chardonnay. We stopped in town to buy some bread and then we headed to Point Leo beach to have our picnic lunch. After lunch, we made one more stop for wine tasting at Paringa Estate which has a nice tasting room and a beautiful view of the valley - we liked the 2009 Estate Viognier and the 2009 Paringa Chardonnay. Deciding that we should get some exercise, we walked along the beach for over an hour and watched the kite surfers - Keith was quite motivated to try kite surfing some day. That evening, we met up for dinner in Brighton for dinner at the Brighton Baths Cafe and Bar with Wendy & Dave and Sue who Keith, Steve and Jan knew from Kandersteg.  We followed this with a final round of drinks before heading back to Lara.

Keith, Sue, Wendy, Dave, Jan, Steve, Shawna, John and JoAnna

On Saturday, we relaxed back at Steve and Jan's house before heading to the airport to fly to Sydney. We did laundry and caught up on email and went for a walk up the You Yangs, which are the hills close to their house.  We said our goodbyes and then Steve dropped us off at the airport (which was only a 5 minute drive from the house).

Koala

Sydney
After checking into our hotel in Sydney, we walked around the city for dinner - a couple of the places we wanted to try were closed.  We ended up at the Rocks where we had dinner and went to a few pubs for drinks.  We got to see the Opera House lit up at night as well as the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

On Sunday, we got up early and walked around the Royal Botanic Garden - not as nice as the one in Melbourne.  We walked over to the Opera House which up close is not as attractive as from afar - you can definitely tell it was built in the 70s.  We then took a bus over to Bondi Beach where we met up with Mia, Byron and their two kids.  We had not seen Mia and Byron for 7 years - since we said goodbye to them our last night in Nepal in '05.  We hung out at the beach, swam a little and had lunch and then walked the Bondi to Bronte foot path which is along the water - great views of the ocean.  We returned to the city and after a quick shower at the hotel, we went on a free tour of The Rocks with I'm Free (tour company that does free tours and you tip based on what you thought the tour was worth).  We learned about the criminals that were sent to the Rocks to live out their sentence.  The tour was great - we ended up with the owner of the company who is a young girl in her 20s.  Following the tour, we went to dinner and had a few drinks in some of the pubs that were pointed out on the tour.

Bondi Beach

Mia, Keith and Shawna

On Monday, we took the ferry to Manly Beach and walked along the promenade.  The beach is quite nice and is much bigger than Bondi Beach.  After a late brekky, we took the ferry back and then walked along Darling Harbour.  We had to take a nap to rest up for the New Year's Eve celebration which we celebrated at the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel rooftop bar.  It was a great evening.  We saw the 9pm and midnight fireworks which were spectacular.

Fireworks in Sydney on New Year's Eve

Cairns

Sexy Stinger Suits

We flew to Cairns and spent 4 nights there.  This part of the trip was more relaxing.  We spent one day snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef with Seastar, stopping at Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Reef.  It was a bit cloudy that day but we still saw lots of colorful fish.  JoAnna even saw a sea turtle and a reef shark.  Because it is heavy jellyfish season, we had to wear 'stinger' suits which covers you head to toe - not sexy at all but it did the trick - we were never stung!  We spent another day relaxing and walking around the town - got to see where all of the flying foxes (aka bats) live during the day in the trees in town (and also watched them flying around at night) - there are thousands of them - quite surreal and freaky!  Keith and Shawna opted one afternoon to see a movie so we saw Les Miserables - very well done.  Our last day in Cairns was spent on a day trip via boat to Green Island (went with Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises).  The island has all sorts of activities - snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc and is a rain forest that you can walk around in.  Keith and Shawna chose to sit at the beach and read while John and JoAnna (sporting the sexy stinger suits) took another go at snorkeling and saw a sea turtle, sting ray and reef shark.

Great Barrier Reef

Sydney (again)
We spent our last day and night in Sydney before we had to fly back to the States.  We walked around a festival in the Rocks area and then accomplished the feat of the trip - doing the Bridge Climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Shawna was a little (ok, a lot) freaked out at times but it was totally awesome.  We got to see the inner workings of the bridge and then breathtaking views of the harbour and downtown from atop the bridge.  This is definitely worth it and we would do it again - next time, maybe at night!  After this, we met up for drinks with Keith's friend Liz who lives in Sydney and is a friend of the family - the last time Keith had seen her was in 1993 at his parent's 25th anniversary/ grandfather's 80th birthday celebration at Tilmouth Park Hotel.  We had a few drinks with her at the Opera Bar (cool spot) and then went to a music festival for a short while (the band was just finishing up the last few songs when we arrived).  We then capped off the evening with a few more drinks closer to our hotel.

Keith, Shawna, John, JoAnna - Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Our flight home was long - none of us slept very well so we watched lots of movies/shows on the screens at our seats and took advantage of every meal/snack that they served.  We arrived back in the States, we were quite sad that the fun had to end and that we had to no only return to work but also start dieting again as we all knew we had gained a few on this trip!

Shawna, Keith and Liz

Restaurants and Bars:
Melbourne / Great Ocean Road Area
Pony Fish Island - Located under a foot bridge on the Yara River in Melbourne, an outdoor restaurant where we had toasties and fish quesadillas with beer for lunch.  Great place!

Red Spice Road - In Melbourne, an Asian place where you sit on long tables with others. We ate prawns, lamb shoulder, and pork belly. Very tasty.

Apollo Bay Bakery - In Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road, we had the award winning pies - we tried the lamb and rosemary pie and the beef, bacon and cheese pie.

Emperor's Palace - Chinese restaurant in Warrnambool. We had a prefix meal with beef, chicken, pork and shrimp stir fry. The food was not that good.

Pavilion Cafe and Bar - Breakfast in Warrnambool overlooking the water. We had the muesli and brekky bomba which is poached fruit with yogurt.

Aireys Pub - Near Anglesea, we took the Bullock and Bills families to dinner here to thank them for their hospitality. We split the prawn salad and the barramundi with rossotto and we all shared the sticky fig pudding for dessert.

The Baths - In Brighton on the water with a great view of Melbourne. We had the prawn gyoza and pesto linguine followed by the sticky fig pudding - food was good.

Sydney
Wolfies - On the waterfront in Sydney in the Rocks area.  Quite good.  We all shared the bruschetta and shrimp to start and the barramundi, mixed grill (where we tried kangaroo which tastes like steak), and pasta with veal ragu for dinner and of course sticky date pudding for dessert.

Fortune of War - The oldest pub in Sydney located in the Rocks. Not as quaint as we thought.  We had one beer here.

Harts Pub - Advertised as one of the best craft beer pubs in Sydney.  They had a selection of 10 microbrews.  The pub was nice with cushy seats and big screen TVs where we watched a bit of cricket.

Sailors Thai - In the Rocks area, a Thai restaurant where you sit at communal tables. Yumminess!!! We all shared beef, pork belly, crispy salmon, barramundi dishes.

Lord Nelson Brewery - Another "oldest" pub in the Rocks area. Very quaint inside.  Had a selection of 8 beers.

In Situ - In Manly, we had brekky here.  We shared the corn fritter and muesli which were both tasty.

Helm Bar - In Darling Harbour, we had a couple of beers and lunch - we shared the prawns, wedges and lamb salad.

Pyrmont Bridge Hotel - In Darling Harbour.  We spent New Years Eve here which was a great deal.  We got lots of food, including shrimp, fish and chips, dumplings, egg rolls, meat on stick, sweet potato fries.  The roof top is small but perfect size - it was not too crowded.  Bar and bathrooms were only steps away and they also had a dance floor with a DJ - we danced some to work off some calories!

Australian Hotel - Due to a bet that Branson had with the owner, the pub had to change to British decorations for 6 weeks when Australia lost to England in a soccer match.  We had lunch here - shared tandoori chicken pizza and wedges.

Opera Bar - At the Opera House, this is an open-air bar overlooking Circular Quay and the harbor.  We had a few drinks here. Great views.

Toros Tapas and Bar - In Darling Harbor, we had our last brekky here.  We shared the breakfast bruschetta and fruit salad.   

Cairns
Salt - Along the promenade, we stopped here for lunch but waited too long to be seated so we only had one beer and left.

Waterbar and Grill - Along the promenade, we had lunch - shared the lamb salad and Thai beef salad.

Gillian's Backpacker - Big complex for backpackers located about 4 blocks from the water.  We went here for a few beers and also had our first night sighting of the bats flying.  Beer was pretty cheap.

Ala Turka - Turkish food on Esplanade.  We had dinner and all shared hummus and feta to start and mixed grill and lamb dish with tomato butter sauce for main course followed by baklava for dessert. Very yummy!

Raw Prawn - Awesome seafood on Esplanade.  We shared a prawn salad and tempura prawns followed by a mixed seafood in coconut curry with rice and bok choy.

Rattle-n-Hum - Great bar on Esplanade.  We had lunch - shared nachos and lamb pizza.

The Courthouse - Outside beer garden a few blocks from the water.  It's a great place to see the bats flying at night.  We went here twice to drink a few beers before dinner.

Marinades - Indian restaurant.  We had dinner and all shared mixed grill, butter chicken, lamb vindaloo, lamb saag dishes. Food was OK.

Bushfire Flame Grill - Brazilian style restaurant with meat skewers.  The boys opted to go here our last night to get the "meat sweats".  Food was decent but service was not speedy!

Australian Words We Learned:
Y-front - tighty whiteys
Lolly - sweets
Pressies - presents
Trackies - sweat pants
Singlet - wife beater
Brekky - breakfast
Sunnies - sunglasses
Boardies - swim trunks
Walkies - hiking shorts
Wipper snipper - weed eater