Blue Mountains

Today was our last full day in Australia. Anne and Warren picked us up early this morning and drove us to the Blue Mountains. We stopped by to see the famous Three Sisters rock formation, but it was covered in mist. It cleared up by the time we came back in the afternoon so we could get some pictures. We drove along stopping at several scenic lookouts and had a grilled lamb and chicken lunch at a rest stop. It was a really great trip and very generous of Anne and Warren to devote another whole day to us. I've uploaded a bunch of pictures to the photo site in the album 'Blue Mountains'.

Manly

Yesterday we took the ferry across the harbor to Manly beach. It's a very popular tourist area just north of the harbor mouth. The view from the ferry on the way there was a treat in itself. Pictures taken from the ferry are on the photo site under the folder 'View from Ferry'. Once we got to Manly we walked across from the harbor side to the open ocean side and had lunch on the beach. We walked out onto some rocks that were exposed due to the low tide and saw lots of creatures in the mini tide pools that form in the pits and crevices. Pictures from the beach are on the photo site in the album 'Manly'.

Sydney Tower

Myra got two tickets for a skywalk on the Sydney Tower for her birthday. We used them this past Friday. We stood on a glass platform 260 meters above the city. Myra hit me for jumping up and down on it. Sometimes the visibility changed from 20 miles to 20 yards all of a sudden as a cloud passed around us. The tickets also included a trip to the observation deck, so we went back there with the camera and took several pictures of the city below. I posted those in the photo site in a new album.

Royal Botanic Gardens

This weekend Myra and I took a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. We walked around the old government house where this year's APEC conference was held, but we were too late to go on the tour. There's a new album on the photo site that has a lot of pictures in it. I thought it was amazing to see trees full of bats during the day. I've only seen them at night before. I finished my last exam today :) Myra finished hers last Wednesday, so the only thing left to do now is pack everything up and enjoy our last week in Oz.

Central Coast

This weekend Anne and Warren took us up to the Central Coast to visit Warren's brother Wayne. We had a great afternoon of good food and good company, and the view from Wayne's house is amazing. Several of the pictures, including the one beside this post, were shot from his yard. There's a new album on the photo site called 'Central Coast' that's worth taking a look at.

Hunter Valley Gardens

While we were in the Hunter Valley we stopped by the Hunter Valley Gardens and walked around for a few hours. It's an amazing place, and we got lots of pictures. They're on the photo site in the 'Hunter Valley Gardens' album.

Critters

I've been here for four months and I haven't seen a wild kangaroo ... until now! Saw little bunches of them all around the Hunter Valley. There are pictures of them in the 'Hunter Valley' album.

Whale Watching

We went whale-watching out of Sydney Harbor this past Friday. As you can see, the day could have been better for Myra, but we saw lots of humpback whales, including one mother-calf pair that hung around for over an hour. It was a really windy, rainy day and the water was really choppy most of the time, but I still managed to get a few good pictures of the whales. I'm posting those on the photo site under a new album called "Whale Watching." Click the link near the top left.

Skydiving

While we were in Cairns I got the chance to do skydiving. We flew up to 14,000 ft in a single-engine airplane and jumped out. The experience was amazing. It only feels like you're falling for the first few seconds. After that you're going as fast as you're going to go and you feel like you're floating. The air really blows on your face hard, leading to some really funny pictures. Some of them are embarrassing. I would post them, but my ego's not letting me. For now I'll keep them on my computer. The rest are posted on the photo site. Go have a look.

Bushwalk

Yesterday I went with Greg and his kids on a bushwalk from Cowan to Brooklyn. It was about 11 km and had several really steep rocky climbs. There were some really nice views from the tops of the hills. There are new pictures from the hike on the photo page. Click the link at the top left of the page.

Lots of new pictures

I'm uploading a whole bunch of new pictures from spring break. Go to the photo link and check out all of the new albums.

Ayers Rock

I spent the first three days of spring break in Ayers Rock. That's in the middle of the outback and close to Uluru, the big monolith you see in all of the postcards. There were a lot of fun tours to take out there. I walked 10 km around the base of Uluru, hiked through a canyon in the Olgas (the other big rock formation in the area), and rode camels through the bush on a sunrise tour. The only thing I didn't get to do was climb Uluru. They had the climb closed down because the temperature was above 35 degrees C. There are lots of pictures, and I hope to have them posted sometime tomorrow. The one beside this post can be a preview.

Just off the dive boat

I just got back to our hotel in Cairns after five days of liveaboard diving on the great barrier reef. I'm typing this post from a public computer at the hotel, so I can't post the pictures yet, but I will in a few days when we're back in sydney. I got to do 20 dives at three different sites, from 20-100 feet of depth, and saw just about every sort of ocean creature you can think off. The night dives were especially great for seeing things moving over the reef surface. I saw hundreds of different types of fish including Nemo, lots of sea turtles, a bunch of sharks (one of which came right up in my face), giant clams, sea fans, hard and soft corals, lobsters, and a black and white speckled moray eel. I actually ended up staying for an extra night because I liked it so much, and completed my advanced diver course. There are so many stories to tell when I get back home.

On Vacation

There haven't been any recent posts because I'm currently on spring break in Ayers Rock and Cairns. Once I get back (Sept. 28) I'll post all of the pictures from the trip. Just hang in there.

Rainbow Lorikeets

On my way to class this morning I saw a Rainbow Lorikeet nest inside a hollow tree. I brought my camera the next time I walked past and got some interesting pictures of them. At first the male was sitting on the edge of the hole standing guard while the female sat on the nest inside, but while I was standing there the female came out and took the male's place and he went back to take a turn on the eggs. All of it is caught on film. Click the photo link and look for the new pictures in the 'Wildlife' album.

Kangaroo Meat

I had a kangaroo stir fry for dinner tonight. The look and taste was kind of like beef, but it wasn't quite as flavorful. Very lean too, not a scrap of fat in it. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've eaten rodent. For everyone at home: don't worry, cows are much better :)

Taronga Zoo

Yesterday we went to the Taronga Zoo. It's a really amazing place right on the Sydney Harbor. There are all sorts of critters in there, from Australia and several places all over the world. We took a ferry and then a gondola to get to it. When you're looking at the pictures (click the link at the top left of the page), look for the Red Panda, which looks like a bushy red fox sleeping on a tree branch and is one of the rarest animals in the world. The chimps are really funny too. The city can be seen across the harbor from a lot of places in the zoo.

Powerhouse Museum

Yesterday I took a bus over to Darling Harbour and visited the Powerhouse Museum. It's a huge museum dedicated to advances in technology and design that have occurred over Australia's history. For a huge and impeccably maintained museum, the Powerhouse didn't really have many interesting exhibits. Most of them were about the design of clothing and furniture, but there were two exhibits that were worth walking though. One was about the daily lives of Australians of all classes during the 19th century, and the other detailed the history of the Australian wool industry, which is now the world's largest and most successful. None of that stuff would have been interesting if it had been about America, but I enjoyed it because it was all new to me. I've added an album of pictures from the museum. There are also a couple of new pictures in the albums 'Random Places in Sydney' and 'Wildlife'.

Pictures added

I took my camera with me to one of my classes today and took a few pictures of birds I passed on the way there. They're all over the place and aren't scarred of people. I also took two pictures in the middle of campus, but those are much more boring. The new folders on the photo website are 'Wildlife' and 'Macquarie University'. Later I'll add more pictures of campus.

Textbooks

Now that I've been to all of my classes at least once, I know which textbooks I have to get. All books here are really expensive. An average paperback novel can easily cost over 20 bucks, and most textbooks are between 130 and 200. I found out something really neat though. The university library has a couple of copies of most of the textbooks, and I can check them out for a month at a time. By just renewing every month I can keep them all semester. I've only had to buy two books so far. The library has already saved me hundreds of dollars. I like saving money. At the end of tomorrow I'll have finished my first week of classes. Everything's going well so far.

First Day of Classes

Today was my first day of classes. I had Animal Structure and Function and Analytical Chemistry. Neither professor got very far beyond introductory stuff today, but I think I'll enjoy both of them once things pick up a bit. Tomorrow I get to go to Anthropology. This will be a short post because it's dinner time.

Orientation

Orientation lasted all day today. Half the time was spent listening to travel company representatives who wanted to sell all sorts of expensive trips to the international students. I did get to register for classes though, and they turned out just how I was hoping they would. I never have a class before 10 am, and no classes on Friday. Everything starts on Monday.

Koala Park

I went to the Koala Park today and was able to hold one of them while it ate gum leaves. They're really laid back and funny critters. Besides koalas, the park had lots of kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, emus, sheep, cockatoos, parrots, penguins, and dingoes. All of those are native to the Sydney area. It was a great day, and I took well over a hundred pictures. Lots of them are posted on my photo site. These are probably some of the best pictures I'll get on this trip, so be sure to have a look.

Sydney Aquarium

Yesterday afternoon I took a train to Sydney Town Hall and walked over the the Aquarium. They had a bunch of really neat things to see, most of which were completely new to me. I took lots of pictures and posted them on my pictures site, so click the link and take a look. The glass on the tanks was scratched up in some places though, so just ignore the annoying glares in the photos. Of everything in the aquarium, the seals loved attention the most. They swam all over the place and did all sorts of neat tricks whenever someone was watching. My favorite exhibit was the platypus habitat. They're a lot smaller than I thought they'd be, and they have a funny way of swimming around.
When you're looking at the pictures from the aquarium, make sure to take a look at the ones of the Queen Victoria Building too. That's an old and famous four-story shopping mall right in the middle of Sydney. I think it was built back in the 1800's. Now it has some of the nicest and most expensive shoppes in the city. I've also included one picture of town hall. It's the one with the big tower with clocks on it.

Moving In

I moved into my apartment yesterday evening. My room is small, but there's a big living/dining room and kitchen. Plenty of space for four people. I'm right across the road from campus, and there's a huge 4-story mall only about a third of a mile down the street. Bus stops right out front allow me to get pretty much anywhere in the north part of the city within half an hour. I've posted a few pictures of the apartment on my album website (follow the link at the top left of the page).

Stuff Here's Expensive

Myra and I spent the weekend with Julie at her boyfriend's house on the north beaches. They took us for a full day tour all around the area. The waves at the beaches here are a lot bigger than they are at home, and the water is so blue it looks like that fake blue dye that some people put in their ponds at home. The camera's batteries weren't charged yet when we saw all that stuff, but we'll be back to all of those places at some point and I'll get plenty of pictures.
Stuff here is at least twice at expensive as it is back home. The price is in Australian dollars, but the American dollar is so weak that we got a really bad exchange rate. I gave the bank $500 US and only got back $550 Aus. A few years ago when you came to Australia you almost doubled your money when you exchanged. I bought a medium sized bottle of contact solution today for $20. I'm always handing over a couple of 50's at the store and only getting back a few coins.

Camera's Here!

My digital camera came in the mail yesterday, and I've been playing around with it to learn how it works. It looks like I'll be able to get some really good pictures in Australia. I look forward to posting them. Here's one of the close-up pictures I took today.

Packing for Australia

I've spent today packing for Australia. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be because I used those plastic bags that you put all of your clothes in and then vacuum the air out. Those things work great! If only they worked on SCUBA gear...

I'm also waiting for my new digital camera to come in the mail. Then I can start to add some pictures to the blog.

First Post

This is my first posting to this blog. Looks like it's working just fine.