Blue Planet Journey

We had about 28 hours in Sydney before heading to the airport.  After lugging our bags up numerous stairs, we made it to the bed and breakfast in The Rocks , where we found we were on the third floor (more stairs).  We dumped the luggage, and took advantage of our location, right next to another set of stairs that leads to the walkway along and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge . So we've ridden bicycles across the bridge, and took a bus that drove across.  We've been under it on numerous walks, and the ferries and tour boats give you a good perspective from underneath.  But we had never walked across.  There's a good breeze, so a warm day shouldn't keep you from making this trip.  And it is free.  If you have the time and money, you can walk over the inner (about $160 AUD) or outer rim (about $300 AUD) of the bridge, or climb one of the pylons ($15 AUD).  Jeez... or you can rent a bike for about $25 AUD and ride across, or walk for...

Holding a model of the skull of an adult saltwater croc . I’ve spent over 2 weeks in Sydney, and I’ve seen exactly zero cats.  This includes Sydney Harbour around Circular Quay, a couple of miles of both Bondi and Manly beachfront, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Darling Harbour, central Sydney, and a side trip to the Blue Mountains.  I’ve chatted with police, security guards, and somebody with the word “ranger” stitched on his shirt.  I’ve also talked with people on the Solstice who live in Sydney.  What do they all say?  There are very few cats in the city, but many cats in the rural areas.  I’ve talked to no one who can say why there are few city cats.  I’m convinced there are cats being released or escaping in Sydney, so where are they?  I suspect they are being controlled or managed, but by whom and how I don’t know.  I’ve been looking for a vet clinic, but they are scarce in the high-rent business neighborhoods.  Everyone - eve...

Sign next to golf course in Yorkeys  Knob . Over the past few days, we have been on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, just outside of Airlie Beach and Cairns. It has been warm, but not as blisteringly hot as in Sydney, where the temperature a couple of days ago was an astounding 117 degrees F !  Caroline and I are always being warned not to snorkel from shore, given that this is box jellyfish season and there are saltwater and freshwater crocs present.  There are signs everywhere, warning people to be careful. On a walk at Yorkeys Knob (our marina and a suburb of Cairns), we chatted with a lifeguard about stingers (and feral cats).  The lifeguard was adjusting a net surrounding a swimming beach that keeps the jellyfish out.  The high tide and full moon were making constant adjustment of the cables holding the net’s anchors in place a necessity.  While we were talking, we noticed a large log had either washed over or under the net, and Carolin...

About 2 hours by train from Sydney lies Blue Mountains National Park .  We walked downtown, got on the city light rail, then took a train to Katoomba .  Luckily (and with the careful planning of Katelin), we sandwiched our visit in between rainy days.  There were still puddles of water on many of the trails, and it could have been a cold and wet visit.  But no worries!  The weather was perfect, bordering on hot (when you are climbing up and down trails).  We got tickets to a “hop on, hop off” bus, and took 3 hikes through eucalypt  forests. There were loads of people, but the crowds decreased dramatically the further you walked from the easily accessible sites.  We found the bus drivers particularly helpful... they would get out of their seats to point you to the trailhead and remind you where to be picked up. You could spend a lot of time here.  I think it would be a blast to explore Blue Mountains National Park for 2-3 ...