Saturday, June 20, 2009
Byron Bay
I made it to Byron Bay after another 12hour Greyhound bus ride up the coast. I barely got any sleep but oh well. I checked into my hostel and the sun was trying to come out so I put some shorts on (it is warmer here!) and headed on my way to go for a hike. I was gone for about 3 hours. I walked along the beach, up a giant hill, down hills, up hills, to lookout points and finally to the top where there was a lighthouse. Then back down another trail in the rainforest. Up hills, down hills, over puddles. I am exausted! But it was really pretty and totally worth it. I am going to sleep well tonight! For some reason the hostel computer won't let me load photos so you will have to wait to see pretty beach and such!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Last night in Sydney
After the zoo I joined up with Lockie and Kate at my new favorite place... The Bourbon. Can you say $10 steaks? Awesome. Check other post for details.
The guy behind me in line made fun of me for taking this picture. I just laughed and continued taking the picture. Then he wouldn't let the subject go so I turned to him and said "listen I am not from here, I feel like being a tourist and who wouldn't want to take a picture of $10 steak?" Then smiled and turned away. He shut up after that.
I made Kate a flower out of a napkin... well it was supposed to be a flower but it kind of failed. She humored me and put it in her hair. haha
I <3 Bundy. Bundy is the Captain Morgan of Australia. I didn't like it at first but then it grows on you.
This is kind of blurry but they needed someone to draw out of a hat for the raffle that didn't enter so the lady came over and asked if me or Kate would do it. I volunteered and had to go stand in front of the entire bar. The guy who was announcing then proceeded to tell everyone I was from Chicago, and asked me if it really was a Windy City. Then he got the whole bar to say I was beautiful. Coming from a bunch of drunk guys it was kind of funny. Then I had to draw three different times because the first two tickets weren't claimed by anyone. It was an interesting experience!
The guy behind me in line made fun of me for taking this picture. I just laughed and continued taking the picture. Then he wouldn't let the subject go so I turned to him and said "listen I am not from here, I feel like being a tourist and who wouldn't want to take a picture of $10 steak?" Then smiled and turned away. He shut up after that.
I made Kate a flower out of a napkin... well it was supposed to be a flower but it kind of failed. She humored me and put it in her hair. haha
I <3 Bundy. Bundy is the Captain Morgan of Australia. I didn't like it at first but then it grows on you.
This is kind of blurry but they needed someone to draw out of a hat for the raffle that didn't enter so the lady came over and asked if me or Kate would do it. I volunteered and had to go stand in front of the entire bar. The guy who was announcing then proceeded to tell everyone I was from Chicago, and asked me if it really was a Windy City. Then he got the whole bar to say I was beautiful. Coming from a bunch of drunk guys it was kind of funny. Then I had to draw three different times because the first two tickets weren't claimed by anyone. It was an interesting experience!
Sun + Zoo = a happy Sarah
It was sunny on Friday!!! So I walked through the botanic gardens, saw some bats and ate breakfast overlooking the bridge and the Opera House. Then I jumped on a ferry to the zoo. It was a good day!
Bats!!! (I thought they were giant tree seeds until they moved and I jumped)
Pretty fall colors...
Where I ate breakfast, who I ate breakfast with and what I looked at while eating breakfast...
Clouds and the bridge... taken off the ferry on the way to the zoo
I am still in awe that I got to see this so I have like 50 pictures of it.
See told you I was in awe... I had to take a picture of me and the Opera House.
Baby seal that would chase cars with stuffed seals on them from the gift shop. I think I spent a good 20minutes watching the people who worked in the gift shop play with him (his tank had a window into the gift shop)
They had Guiena Pigs at the zoo!! I was so freaking excited about this. It made me miss my Twitchy and Gus Gus. So I took a picture of one that reminded me of a baby Gus. Except this one wasn't petrified of the world.
The view from the zoo.
I want a dingo... how cute is it?
This zoo also had an open walk-thru exhibit but this time with Wallabees. This little guy was just chillin and eating grass next to the path. I watched him for awhile then decided he didn't care that I was there so I had a random person take my picture with him. It looks like I am clawing him in this picture, I swear I was just giving him a good scratch!!
The Giraffe exhibit looked over the city and the giraffe were so cool. I went back after this and watched one gallop around the pen. Boy they are awkward when they run!
No this isn't a picture of random people. Look for the owl over the lady in black. Right after this picture was taken he swooped over my head and touched my hair. This was at the free flight bird show. They had tons of different birds, all trained to do something. It was really cool.
This tiger was so cute! Though when do I not find an animals cute?
Lions! The female was playing with a rock for awhile before this and looked just like a blown up version of a house cat.
Bats!!! (I thought they were giant tree seeds until they moved and I jumped)
Pretty fall colors...
Where I ate breakfast, who I ate breakfast with and what I looked at while eating breakfast...
Clouds and the bridge... taken off the ferry on the way to the zoo
I am still in awe that I got to see this so I have like 50 pictures of it.
See told you I was in awe... I had to take a picture of me and the Opera House.
Baby seal that would chase cars with stuffed seals on them from the gift shop. I think I spent a good 20minutes watching the people who worked in the gift shop play with him (his tank had a window into the gift shop)
They had Guiena Pigs at the zoo!! I was so freaking excited about this. It made me miss my Twitchy and Gus Gus. So I took a picture of one that reminded me of a baby Gus. Except this one wasn't petrified of the world.
The view from the zoo.
I want a dingo... how cute is it?
This zoo also had an open walk-thru exhibit but this time with Wallabees. This little guy was just chillin and eating grass next to the path. I watched him for awhile then decided he didn't care that I was there so I had a random person take my picture with him. It looks like I am clawing him in this picture, I swear I was just giving him a good scratch!!
The Giraffe exhibit looked over the city and the giraffe were so cool. I went back after this and watched one gallop around the pen. Boy they are awkward when they run!
No this isn't a picture of random people. Look for the owl over the lady in black. Right after this picture was taken he swooped over my head and touched my hair. This was at the free flight bird show. They had tons of different birds, all trained to do something. It was really cool.
This tiger was so cute! Though when do I not find an animals cute?
Lions! The female was playing with a rock for awhile before this and looked just like a blown up version of a house cat.
Bondi Beach
It was raining the whole time but there were still people surfing! Crazy. Before we braved the beach we played around in random stores.
Kate found a random hat...
We can feel the love... can you?
Lockie and Kate went down under in a fishtank!
Me and Bondi Beach (and a surfer)
Kate found a random hat...
We can feel the love... can you?
Lockie and Kate went down under in a fishtank!
Me and Bondi Beach (and a surfer)
Mexican Food
I was so excited to have Mexican food that I had to take a picture of my quesedilla and margarita... yum yum yum!!
Kate and I with our wonderful drinks!
Kate and I with our wonderful drinks!
Access to internet = bad
I am still alive don't worry!! I just haven't had access to internet long enough to update this properly and most importantly add photos. So I figured I would do it all in one go and such. I am in a little store in King Cross. They have internet in these places! So cool. Any who a brief breakdown of my days before I do individual posts with pictures!
Wednesday-Aquarium and wildlife center in the morning (refer to earlier posts) then I went with Kate and Lockie to get Mexican food! Surprisingly it was almost as good as Chipotle or something similar at home. They also had great margaritas (though in my opinion anything with Patron is good). I was a happy camper and satisfied my craving for Mexican food.
Thursday- It was sunny in the morning so me, Kate and Lockie decided to go to Bondi Beach. Just has we planned to leave the sky opened up and it rained and rained and rained but we went anyway hoping the rain would pass. It was raining when we got there so we walked around the market and went into the big shopping center. Kate and I got a couple shirts from this really good store called Cotton On. By this time we decided the rain wasn't going to stop so we went to the beach anyway and walked around the shops on the beach front. Then we ran to the beach so I could say that I was on Bondi Beach.
Friday- The sun came out today! So I marched on over to the ferry place and hoped a ferry across the harbor to Toranga Zoo. This zoo rocked. It was kind of poorly laid out and I would get lost easily but it was on a cliff over looking the city and it had tons of animals and cool exhibits. Friday night I went out with Kate and Lockie for more $10 steaks and $3 Happy Hour. We hung out the place for awhile, talking, watching this really drunk girl and making friends with some random people.
Saturday- Today, woke up, checked out of my hostel, ate a muffin and drank coffee at a little coffee shop I frequented almost everyday. It has been raining like mad here and I am soaked but oh well. Later hopefully the rain stops and I am going to go check out a street that my friend's recommended that has a lot of cool shops and such. I have to waste time till about 8pm when I will make my way over to the Greyhound pickup and hop on a bus to Byron Bay. I am in Byron Bay till Wednesday morning. Then I get on another bus super early in the morning to meet Carly in Brisbane!!!!!! I don't know what internet will be like so cross fingers that I can update!
Wednesday-Aquarium and wildlife center in the morning (refer to earlier posts) then I went with Kate and Lockie to get Mexican food! Surprisingly it was almost as good as Chipotle or something similar at home. They also had great margaritas (though in my opinion anything with Patron is good). I was a happy camper and satisfied my craving for Mexican food.
Thursday- It was sunny in the morning so me, Kate and Lockie decided to go to Bondi Beach. Just has we planned to leave the sky opened up and it rained and rained and rained but we went anyway hoping the rain would pass. It was raining when we got there so we walked around the market and went into the big shopping center. Kate and I got a couple shirts from this really good store called Cotton On. By this time we decided the rain wasn't going to stop so we went to the beach anyway and walked around the shops on the beach front. Then we ran to the beach so I could say that I was on Bondi Beach.
Friday- The sun came out today! So I marched on over to the ferry place and hoped a ferry across the harbor to Toranga Zoo. This zoo rocked. It was kind of poorly laid out and I would get lost easily but it was on a cliff over looking the city and it had tons of animals and cool exhibits. Friday night I went out with Kate and Lockie for more $10 steaks and $3 Happy Hour. We hung out the place for awhile, talking, watching this really drunk girl and making friends with some random people.
Saturday- Today, woke up, checked out of my hostel, ate a muffin and drank coffee at a little coffee shop I frequented almost everyday. It has been raining like mad here and I am soaked but oh well. Later hopefully the rain stops and I am going to go check out a street that my friend's recommended that has a lot of cool shops and such. I have to waste time till about 8pm when I will make my way over to the Greyhound pickup and hop on a bus to Byron Bay. I am in Byron Bay till Wednesday morning. Then I get on another bus super early in the morning to meet Carly in Brisbane!!!!!! I don't know what internet will be like so cross fingers that I can update!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Kangaroos, koalas and fish oh my!
I went to the Sydney Aquarium today and had a super fun time. Plus my student ID worked there too so I got in for almost half off. Woo hoo! They had fish and sharks and dundgos (like a manatee but slightly different). It wasn't as new as the Melbourne Aquarium but there was more to see and I found it very interesting.
Give me some fin! Noggin... DUDE!
Me in a tunnel of fish.
Dundgo (I think I am spelling it wrong but oh well.)
Then I walked nextdoor to the Wildlife Center and saw all sorts of creatures native to Australia. This place rocked. They let me touch the koala and go in the pen with the kangaroos and touch one. Awesome. It was a good day!
Lizard statue.
Don't fall Mr. Koala!
He had an itch.
Roos just chillin
Petting the kangaroo. The little thing is a wallabee. Her name was Mary.
Give me some fin! Noggin... DUDE!
Me in a tunnel of fish.
Dundgo (I think I am spelling it wrong but oh well.)
Then I walked nextdoor to the Wildlife Center and saw all sorts of creatures native to Australia. This place rocked. They let me touch the koala and go in the pen with the kangaroos and touch one. Awesome. It was a good day!
Lizard statue.
Don't fall Mr. Koala!
He had an itch.
Roos just chillin
Petting the kangaroo. The little thing is a wallabee. Her name was Mary.
Yay pictures!!!
Here are some pictures that I didn't load before from the museum and such.
My $10 meal... oh so good!
They have stairs like this all over Sydney to get from one street to another. They just keep going and going and going...
Harbor Bridge during the rainstorm
Dinosaur at the museum!
My $10 meal... oh so good!
They have stairs like this all over Sydney to get from one street to another. They just keep going and going and going...
Harbor Bridge during the rainstorm
Dinosaur at the museum!
Rain rain rain go away
I am currently sitting in a starbucks in downtown Sydney waiting for a break in the rain so I can walk to the Sydney aquarium. I am on my iPod so I can't load photos and the computer at the hostel doesn't allow me to either :-(. Yesterday it was sunny then rainy then sunny and a combo of both so I went to the Australian museum. The only good thing about the museum is they gave me a student discount with my student ID. Other than that the museum was boring. They just had exhibits if dead stuffed animals or skeletons or how humans are destroying the earth. There wasn't really anything to read or to explore. They had an entire floor of rocks and minerals which was pretty to look at but after awhile it all looked the same. They needed to have more things to do other than this rock is found here and this animal is found there. Oh well it was cheap.
After the museum I walked back to the harbor and it started to downpour so I went to the movie theater and saw Sunshine Cleaning. It was pretty good. Then I went back to the hostel and got ready to meet my friend Kate and her boyfriend. We went to a place that has ten dollar steaks. Damn that was a fantastic steak!!! Afterwards we got icecream and walked around. It was a fun night!
It looks like the rain has stopped so I think I am going to try and make it to the aquarium. Peace love and all that crazy stuff.
After the museum I walked back to the harbor and it started to downpour so I went to the movie theater and saw Sunshine Cleaning. It was pretty good. Then I went back to the hostel and got ready to meet my friend Kate and her boyfriend. We went to a place that has ten dollar steaks. Damn that was a fantastic steak!!! Afterwards we got icecream and walked around. It was a fun night!
It looks like the rain has stopped so I think I am going to try and make it to the aquarium. Peace love and all that crazy stuff.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Hey look there's a cockatoo
and another and another and an entire flock of cockatoos. This is what I found while walking back from the harbor. Of course I stopped and started taking pictures.
Then a guy comes up with sunflower seeds and these little parrots (I forgot what they are called) came down from the trees and started eating out of his hands. Then the cockatoos started jumping all over him. So I go over there and watch and he gives me some seeds so then I get to play with the birds! YAY! I had so much fun. I had random combinations of cockatoos and little parrots on me for awhile then decided I should probably leave before people thought I was the crazy bird lady.
Whales!!
I took a walk through the Botanical Gardens and made it to Sydney Harbor, Opera House and Harbor Bridge. I was walking along and saw advertisment for Whale watching. At first I was like um yeah no then thought about it and went wait a minute once in lifetime thing. After talking to the guy I found out that the tour was led by biologists so at least I would learn something if I didn't see whales. We went on a 3 hour boatride through the harbor and into the open ocean. We found two whales in the 3 hours and proceeded to follow them. It was really cool and really interesting. I was disappointed that we only saw two because yesterday they saw a pod of 12 but hey I saw whales!!! Now onto pictures...
Botanic Gardens
Whales!
Bridge and city and Opera House
Opera House
Whale!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
12 hour bus ride later
I made it to Sydney! The bus wasn't all that bad except I didn't sleep a whole lot and the girl infront of me put her seat back as far as humanly possible but other than that the greyhound bus was surprisingly nice. I have checked into my hostel. It seems nice don't really know. They have free internet so that is where I am right now... it is slow but free so I can't complain. I think I am going to go check out the Botanical Gardens today since it is super nice out. Off I go!
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