(OK so what if it is Sept 16, and I am just now posting about our trip back in Feb??)
We grabbed some coffee, juice and yes, Egg Mc Muffins and hit the road for Sarah's family's farm - about a 2 hour drive north of Sydney. We would call this a pretty large working ranch - hundreds of heads of cattle and I don't even know how many acres. We were set to stay on the farm for several nights, and they were nice enough not to even put us to work! Instead we relaxed and enjoyed the fresh air, swam in the river, rode around on the quad bikes (4-wheelers), and had some great fresh meals with Sarah, her mom and dad - Kent even tried his hand at the "barbie". Sarah's father gave us a guided tour of all of the paddocks in the "ute" (we spotted our first kangaroo)and we checked out the neat old chapel on their land as well (where we spotted a giant monitor lizard!). Sarah took us over to the nearby and famous Hunter Valley wine region for a few vineyard visits and a fantastic fancy lunch. Overall great time at the farm - just the thing we needed after the big city of Hong Kong! I think I have blocked the 110 degree heat wave we had the entire time out of my mind. It was bloody hot......I just remember that cool river.... :)
Next up on the tour of the Sydney area and reconnecting with Oxford friends....Sarah "handed us off" to Sharif and Agi in Newcastle. Great lunch, nice walk on a beautiful beach, and even saw where Sarah went to school. We spent Friday night with Sharif & Agi at their awesome house overlooking Lake Macquarie. Sharif barbecued ever conceivable type of protein for dinner and Kent discovered Crown Lager. Saturday we met back up with Sarah at the Australian Reptile Park and saw more of the native animals - kangroos, wallabies, emus, echidna, super cute but lazt koala bears - and all sorts of lizards, snakes and bugs. We saw them feed a chicken to the largest croc I have ever seen! Although, the monitor lizard we saw at Sarah's farm was bigger than the one in the zoo!
On to Sydney for the hand-off to our next set of gracious hosts: Graham and Ingrid. All of us met up for lunch at the Howe's cute house in Woolahra, a swanky neighborhood in Sydney. We then had a week to explore Sydney - Kent and I really just took it easy and saw some of the major sites: The Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Botanical gardens. Some great dinners - both at home and out - with Graham and Ingrid. A Chinese New Year parade. Watching the Super Bowl (at 11am on Monday). Swimming in the famous Bondi Beach and Bondi Icebergs pool (I got a souvenier swim cap). Throw in a few phone interviews for Kent also...
The highlight of our week in Sydney was definitely our yacht race on Sydney Harbour! Graham has the connection at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and got Kent and I on board a million dollar yacht (to act at ballast - no sailing skills required). It was such an amazing way to tour the harbour! We were even moving at a pretty fast clip until the wind completely died! The captain ended up calling it a day and motoring back to the yacht club (and the bar). Such an awesome experience!
The last part of our trip, Kent and I took a driving trip down the coast. Such a gorgeous drive from Sydney down to Bateman's Bay. We started our driving picnic tradition, which we continued through New Zealand.... We were hoping for some lazy beach time, but alas the weather got cooler and rainier as we went South (being down under and all).
Great trip to Oz - can't wait to go back and explore the rest of the country and visit with our gracious hosts again!!
Round the World Trip - Part II - Australia! As always the story is best told with photos (see Kodak Gallery Album)....but here is a recap:
We departed Hong Kong on an overnight flight (Monday Jan. 31). Virgin Atlanta Premium Economy was again a great experience and we actually got some sleep on the flight. We arrived in Sydney in a new month & a new hemisphere bright and early the next morning, and were greeted with a smile by our friend Sarah. We told her she didn't have to pick us up at 7am - but she insisted and so began the Sivyer family's amazing hospitality!
We departed Hong Kong on an overnight flight (Monday Jan. 31). Virgin Atlanta Premium Economy was again a great experience and we actually got some sleep on the flight. We arrived in Sydney in a new month & a new hemisphere bright and early the next morning, and were greeted with a smile by our friend Sarah. We told her she didn't have to pick us up at 7am - but she insisted and so began the Sivyer family's amazing hospitality!
On to Sydney for the hand-off to our next set of gracious hosts: Graham and Ingrid. All of us met up for lunch at the Howe's cute house in Woolahra, a swanky neighborhood in Sydney. We then had a week to explore Sydney - Kent and I really just took it easy and saw some of the major sites: The Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Botanical gardens. Some great dinners - both at home and out - with Graham and Ingrid. A Chinese New Year parade. Watching the Super Bowl (at 11am on Monday). Swimming in the famous Bondi Beach and Bondi Icebergs pool (I got a souvenier swim cap). Throw in a few phone interviews for Kent also... |
| Bondi Beach |
The highlight of our week in Sydney was definitely our yacht race on Sydney Harbour! Graham has the connection at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and got Kent and I on board a million dollar yacht (to act at ballast - no sailing skills required). It was such an amazing way to tour the harbour! We were even moving at a pretty fast clip until the wind completely died! The captain ended up calling it a day and motoring back to the yacht club (and the bar). Such an awesome experience!
The last part of our trip, Kent and I took a driving trip down the coast. Such a gorgeous drive from Sydney down to Bateman's Bay. We started our driving picnic tradition, which we continued through New Zealand.... We were hoping for some lazy beach time, but alas the weather got cooler and rainier as we went South (being down under and all).Great trip to Oz - can't wait to go back and explore the rest of the country and visit with our gracious hosts again!!
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