Sydney Bound

On the 16^th, we had one more night on the road, and three options for returning to Sydney. The fastest route, the Hume Highway, was the way we had come to Melbourne initially, and it was now on the opposite side of Melbourne. So we decided to opt for the southerly Princes Highway. This heads through an area called Gippsland, which is known apparently for industry and dairy farming. The monumental winds of the day before hadn’t let up, so this wide open countryside made for some challenging driving.

The Princes Highway meets up with the ocean at a town called Lakes Entrance. There is a series of lakes separated from the Tasman Sea only by a narrow peninsula. It’s a popular holiday spot, and very pretty, but again, we couldn’t stop. Nor, unfortunately, could we afford a side trip to Wilson’s Promontory, the most southerly part of mainland Australia. Instead, we pushed on along the highway to the hamlet of Cann River, where the road forked again. It was getting dark by this point, and we chose to head north on the Monaro Highway, through the high plains to Canberra, instead of taking the Princes Highway all the way along the coast. Let me just say, it’s not a road we would recommend driving by night. I’m sure the scenery was great, because the road was very dark and serpentine—but we couldn’t see it. We had a close call with a couple of bovines crossing the road at dusk, and another close call with a wombat frozen on the center stripe. I sure hope he made it across the road, because a few minutes behind us was a very large truck. (Wombats, by the way, are not as big as kangaroos, but they’re not exactly small, either). We did see lots of kangaroos, too—but they were all on the side of the road, and very still.

The first town we passed through on our way north was completely black. Not a street light; not a porch light; not even a lighted sign for a closed business. Maybe they had a power outage? Turns out, it's much more difficult to drive through a dark town than along a dark road. The next town was all closed up, too, but at least they left some lights on, so it was easier to see the street as we drove through town. We finally reached Cooma, which is a jumping off point for the ski resorts in the Snowy Mountains. Since it was Sunday night, finding a room for the night was a cinch, and pretty reasonable to boot. At that point, we were so frazzled from the drive, we weren't too choosy, but the Cooma Motor Lodge was quite nice, very comfortable, and with a very welcoming reception--a wonderful haven for the night.

GOR part dieux (August 15)

We left our very friendly hostel bright and early...and headed backwards. A treetop walk in the rainforest beckoned, and it looked as though the shortest route meant driving back a few kilometers to Skenes Creek, then taking what might be an unsealed (i.e., dirt) road to the Otway Fly. As it turned out, the shortcut road was in fact paved--it was just very winding and twisting and narrow. It took us through a magnificent eucalyptus forest. California has plenty of eucalyptus trees, but it's quite amazing to see so many spectacularly tall trees all together. After the rainforest section, the road widened and straightened out a bit, and began heading through dairy country.

The Otway Fly takes you along a woodland path, through a rare stand of original temperate rainforest, before you head up an elevated walkway into the canopy. The map of the walkway warns that "it's meant to sway." As it turns out, that day dawned with gale force winds all through southern Australia, and the forest canopy swayed even more than usual, so being suspended 25 meters off the forest floor on a slightly swaying walkway was a bit of a thrill ride. For even more thrills, Adrian and Ian went to the top of a tower that took them right to the treetops (about 40 meters up, or around 10 stories). The funny thing is that Ian really loved all of this. Yes, the same kid who chickened out on the Dumbo ride at Disney World earlier this year bounced and skipped along the swaying walkway as if he were on terra firma.

By the time we emerged from the forest, it was just past noon, and we still had a lot of driving before the day was done. From there the Great Ocean Road doesn't actually meet the ocean again for some time, so we had a bit more mountain-style driving before catching up to the ocean again, right before the 12 Apostles. These rock stacks separated from the coast, surrounded by pounding surf are probably on of Australia's most photographed natural wonders, and the coast there is certainly spectacular. We saw more tourists there than anywhere else along the coast. We suspect most of the tours from Melbourne that do the GOR in one day make a beeline for the Apostles, and don't see much else.

We (i.e., Adrian) took loads of photos, and stopped at the gorge where the only two survivors from the infamous Loch Ard shipwreck washed up then grabbed a snack and hit the road back east. We didn't know where we were going to stop for the night, but with only two nights left before we had to return the car in Sydney, we wanted to get as close to Melbourne as possible. So, we powered through and made it back to Melbourne, where we found a room in a business hotel listed in the Lonely Planet guide.

The next question was, which way would we pick for our return trip to Sydney?

The Great Ocean Road

Once we figured out how to get to the freeway heading west from Melbourne, yesterday’s drive was pretty smooth sailing. Pretty farmland, lots of sheep, etc., until the road hit the ocean in Torquay. If that name rings any bells, you’re probably a surfer. This is where surfing in Australia really took off, and it’s home to some heavy hitters in the surfing world, like RipCurl and Quicksilver. We took in Surf World, a small but nice museum about Australian surfing, and poked around a couple of outlet shops, then headed for a look at Bells Beach. Australia has a few world famous beaches, but this one is known for really big waves, and some big-time surfing competitions. Unlike the beaches around Sydney, this one was really rocky. Nice sand, but where the waves break on the sand, there are big chunks of sandstone.

The Great Ocean Road (or Gor) began as a make-work project, employing Australian servicemen returned from WWI. It took years to complete, and today is a big draw in this part of the country. So much so, that it’s the only place we’ve seen signs reminding us to drive on the left! It is as winding and twisting as the Road to Hana in Maui, but with more little towns along the way. It’s not very long—plenty of tour companies do the whole thing in a day trip from Melbourne—but we were taking our leisurely time, and by the time we reached the Split Point Lighthouse in Airey’s Inlet, it was past 2:00. So we decided on take-away sandwiches for lunch, and kept pushing on…but had to stop in the little hamlet of Kennett River, to look at koalas. It took a while to spot them, but there’s a stand of eucalyptus trees where they like to hang out, so we got to see actual wild koalas. That’s 2 iconic Australian animals we’ve spotted in the wild.

With evening fast approaching, we decided to call it a night in Apollo Bay. With lots of restaurants and motels, it seemed like an easy choice, and most of the motels had vacancy signs when we arrived. However, I was intrigued by the guidebooks’ descriptions of the YHA Hostel here, so we decided to have a look. The Eco Beach YHA is a million-dollar facility, designed from the ground up to be as eco-friendly as possible. It’s made from materials that are thermally stable, and situated to catch ocean breezes in the summer, and make the most of the winter sun. They collect rainwater for their native planted, drought friendly gardens, and recycle and compost as much as possible. They had a family room, so we decided to give it a try (at $109 for the room, it helped the budget out, too!). Our room had a double bed and two bunk beds. The room was pretty Spartan (but the bed was comfortable). The public rooms, however, were really nice—wood burning fireplace in the living room, a beautifully equipped kitchen, and a sun deck on the roof which was perfect for stargazing. Ian fell in love with the place!

We had dinner at the Apollo Bay Hotel. One peculiarity in Australia is all the hotels which aren’t. Maybe they once were hotels, but almost every town has at least one establishment with “hotel” in its name, that seems to be just a bar. In this case, it was a bistro, as well, kid-friendly with quite fine food. It was probably our first real hot meal here, since most of the restaurants we’ve seen were intimidating to take Ian to. So, we had a budget sleep and splurged on dinner. Maybe we’ll get a look at Apollo Bay itself in the morning, before heading for the end of the Gor.

Melbourne for Free(ish)

Thursday, we took advantage of Melbourne’s free tourist bus—especially useful, since I had hurt my knee the day before, and walking for miles was not an attractive option. Unfortunately, it didn’t reach the pickup spot near our hotel until nearly 11 am, so we walked to the Arts Centre, at the beginning of the route. It’s a hop-on, hop-off service that goes all around central Melbourne in about 1-1/2 hours.

We saw the legendary MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), and got off for a look around Victoria Market. Then, it was non-stop to the Royal Botanic Garden, where we strolled until closing time.

On our way back to our hotel (walking, since the free transport had stopped running), we discovered the Southgate Complex—with loads of restaurants. One thing Melbourne has elevated is the food court. Not just fast food, but some really good food, was arrayed in a couple of food court type options in the complex, along with more upscale options. After dinner, we strolled along the riverbank toward our hotel. While we stopped to take in the sights (and for Adrian to take photos), we heard a whooshing sound, and a fountain of flame shot from a series of towers flanking the river. A completely unexpected, and very dramatic end to our Melbourne visit.

Melbourne!!

I'm sitting in Federation Square, on lovely but cold Kimberley stone, to write this, because there's free wi-fi here. Fed Square, as it's called (Australians shorten everything, with nicknames and acronyms), is home to several museums, cafes, etc., in buildings that absolutely do not blend in! It's very popular with school groups, and office workers lunching and taking elevenses.

We have less time here than in Sydney, really just two full days. When we arrived Tuesday night, we went to the observation deck on the Rialto Towers, just in time for sunset, and got a spectacular look at Melbourne all glittery at night. Like Sydney, it has lots of suburbs, and sprawls for quite a way. Unlike Sydney, though, Melbourne has a really bustling Central Business District, with lots more in the way of restaurants, musuems, and such. It's great to get around here, too, as there's a free tram that circles the CBD, and a free tourist shuttle bus (which we plan to try today) that takes in most of the biggie attractions. (To be fair, Sydney has a free bus that operates around its CBD, too; we just didn't use it.)

Did a walking tour from the Lonely Planet Melbourne & Victoria guide yesterday, which took in lots of the arcades and little lanes here. Among the highlights was a building called Curtin House, with shops and clubs on each floor, and a rooftop bar/cinema. Amazing views, beach-style deck chairs on astroturf, and some of the best-value drinks we've had on the trip! Ian got a kick out of sitting on top of a roof and drinking hot chocolate!

Yesterday was quite cloudy with a bit of rain, but today is sunny and clear, so we'll go see what we can see, and share later.

BTW, when it comes to coffee, Seattle has nothing on Melbourne. Coffee shops everywhere, and mostly not chains. Hard to find just a regular cuppa joe, as espresso drinks are the norm, and are excellent everywhere.

Down the Hume Highway

Just a quick post today. We're in the town of Wangaratta (in Victoria), in what may be the world's friendliest McDonalds! The manager just made the rounds with all the customers, just to make sure everything was alright. I think there just may be more McDonalds per capita here than at home...and it's all 100% Aussie Beef! Over the last couple of days, we've probably seen a few of those burgers in their mobile state, as the areas we've been driving through are definitely ranch country. In fact, our motel last night boasted a restaurant--Ewe 'n Me. No kidding.

We have a long drive today, because we changed our minds yesterday and took an impromptu detour to Canberra. The list of sights there calls to mind D.C. and the Smithsonian museums. With just a couple of hours to spare, we could only see one, and chose the Australian National Museum, a history museum devoted to Australia's people, cultures and land. It was a superb museum, and vast--we only had time to take in the section on the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Straits Islanders, which of course was well worth it.

Stopped overnight in the town of Yass. It was much like Lone Pine, without the mountains (California skiers will understand). We had a bit of rain this morning, but it's turned into another beautiful day, with puffy clouds scudding across the sky, and here in Wangaratta, it's quite mild. Ian's entertaining himself in the play area, and we'll head for Melbourne soon!

Zigs and Zags

We did it all! Or at least, the two things we had planned. First up, the Zig Zag Railway, a restored narrow gauge track that uses switchbacks to travel from the top of the Blue Mountains to the valley floor. We arrived just in time for the 11:00 trip behind a steam locomotive. It was quite a treat, especially for Ian, to ride a train pulled by a real, coal-fired "steamie."

After our 1-1/2 hour train ride, next up was a trip to the Jenolan Caves. Discovered by Europeans in 1838, Jenolan is Australia's premier cave system, with loads of show caverns you can visit. Ian was a bit nervous about going into a cave, but we had a wonderful guide, Michael, who engaged him really well. He even led the way, as our small group of 7 people "explored" the Chifley Cave. I have to say, the tour was really informative. We learned a lot about what early cave exploration was like, as well as the geology of the caves' formation, and how they're continuing to evolve. And Ian had a really good time! The only drawback was the road to the caves, which is among the most winding and twisting I've been on. Poor Ian was carsick on the way there, but had a nap and perked up once we arrived.

On the way there, we had seen several kangaroos...unfortunately, all roadkill. On the way back, though, it was dusk, and we saw some kangaroos hopping around in fields. Our first, but hopefully not last, sighting of kangaroos in the wild!

Our last stop of the day was a lookout point near our hotel. We stopped there hoping to see some stars, and we weren't disappointed. It's been a long time since Adrian or I have seen so many stars so clearly--and Ian, a big city kid, probably never has. It was a great nightcap, and a lovely way to end our trip to the Blue Mountains.

Into the Blue Mountains

We bid farewell to Sydney yesterday, and headed west for the Blue Mountains. It's a popular weekend getaway--a bit Solvang and a bit Big Bear, and less than an hour from Sydney. How popular? When I asked for directions out of Sydney to the Great Western Highway, the helpful guy at Hertz handed me a card, printed with step-by-step directions from the Hertz office to the Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains aren't truly mountains. It's actually a huge limestone plateau, with deep gorges and valleys carved out over the millennia. They're filled with an incredible variety of eucalyptus trees, whose leaves ooze oils into the air, giving it a blue tinge--hence the name. There are lots of townships up here. We chose to stay in Katoomba, which is one of the largest, because we figured it would have more choices of restaurants, etc. It probably does, but last night, Ian spotted a Domino's pizza, and that settled our choices for dinner. It was just as well, because it was really cold. In Sydney, it was easy to forget it's winter. Not so here, where we're several hundred feet higher.

Since it's just a short drive, we arrived at our B&B to check in just before 1, then headed to nearby Scenic World. Touristy? Yes, but with Ian in tow, a better choice than a full-on bushwalk. Basically, Scenic World is in a spot that used to be a coal mine. There's a steep incline railway from the cliff top to the valley floor, as well as a cable car. There's also a cable car suspended across the valley floor, so that you can go from one side to the other, past Katoomba Falls. In the middle, glass panels in the floor let you look straight down. From the top on either side of the gorge, there are stupendous views down the Jamison Valley, with canyons and plateaus as far as you can see. We splashed out for the ticket that included all the rides. Unfortunately, we followed the ticket seller's advice, and did the Skyway first. Just as we got in line for the incline railway, we heard a big clunk. This was followed by frantic radio calls for an electrician. The railway was out of commission for the rest of the day, so it was the cable car to the bottom and back up.

The valley floor is a temperate rainforest, with a huge number of tree varieties. Ian was most impressed with the big vines trailing everywhere. To protect the forest, they've put in a suspended wooden walkway, so that you can enjoy the forest without ever setting foot in it! Storm shelters at frequent intervals attest that rain is common. So far, though, our weather luck is holding. It was chilly and shady at the bottom of the gorge, but overall, another beautiful, sunny day.

Toward the end of the walk, we came across the remnants of the coal mine. It's actually pretty well curated, with a couple of sections of the mine shafts visible, and plaques and an audio-visual commentary explaining what the mines were like. Ian liked the actual mine train cars, complete with real coal, and the replica of the original scenic train. It seems tourism started here even while the coal mine was in operation; bush walkers would come here on weekends, and use the miners' buckets to get to the bottom and back to the top. Eventually, this evolved into an incline railway, which is now (I believe) the steepest in the southern hemisphere. Such a shame it broke.

Today, we have an ambitious itinerary, with railways and caves, and who knows what else. I only hope we can fit it all in!

Ian's Favorite Moments: The cable car ride and the hike in the forest

Today, we actually had a plan. Get up really early, take a ferry to Watsons Bay, have breakfast. Bus to Bondi, and walk the coastal path to Coogee Beach, then return to Sydney and take in a museum or a new neighborhood.

Best laid plans and all. Turns out the first ferry to Watsons Bay is at 10:10 a.m. So, having gotten ourselves to Circular Quay before 8:00, we improvised Plan B, bought some muffins, and took a bus to the famous Bondi Beach. Compared to the "epic" Manly Scenic Walkway, this was a relatively short and easy walk. It's paved the whole way, except for a couple of shortcuts walking across beaches, and only about 5 km (we even skipped the first kilometer or so). Whereas the MSW follows the coastline along Sydney Harbour, today's path is all along the actual Pacific Ocean, lined with craggy sandstone cliffs and beautiful coves with sandy crescent beaches. We have been so fortunate, with unseasonably warm and sunny weather, and our luck continued today. Since we didn't bring towels, we didn't have our swimsuits with us today (it's winter, so we didn't expect to be able to swim outdoors!). That was a shame, because the water looked incredibly inviting. Many of the beaches here have swimming pools right on or next to the beach, which are filled with sea water. That way, if the surf is too strong or there are riptides, people have a sheltered place to swim. We thought it looked brilliant. The most famous of these pools is part of the Bondi Icebergs, which is a private club (you can pay to use their pool), but most of them are free and open to the public.

So we strolled our way along the coast, going from one amazing view to the next. Each little beach town had a slightly different character, but I'm sure they're all fairly expensive real estate. Frankly, for every stunning house, there were about twenty that were humdrum to ugly, but with views like that, I'm sure the exterior of your house is not that big a concern! We had lunch at Tamarama Beach (aka Glamarama Beach; during the summer it has a reputation as a hangout for the beautiful people). I will say the other little kids there were nattily attired, so it's probably true. However, it also has a terrific little cafe, with sandwiches and such that are a notch or two above typical beach cafe fare, and not really more expensive than the usual meat pie and chips. Ian hardly touched his sandwich; he was too busy playing with the pile of cars and toys they have for kids to play with.

The walk goes through Waverley Cemetery, as well. It's on a cliff overlooking the Pacific, and filled with old-fashioned statuary and mausoleums. A glance at the headstones shows lots of "residents" who were born in far-flung places, and who ended their days in Sydney. For example, there was a priest born in St. Malo, France; ordained in Dundalk, Ireland; and died in Sydney.

By the time we reached Coogee, we were all a bit tired and thirsty--and not quite sure how to get back to Sydney! Black clouds were gathering overhead at this point, so we decided not to try to get to Watsons Bay for the ferry. I will say that the transport system in Sydney has been really easy to figure out, even the buses. We had no problem finding a bus back to Circular Quay. The trip took us past the Sydney Cricket Ground and Aussie Stadium--the first very old-fashioned looking, and the second very modern. Our visit to Sydney has been a bit odd, as we've spent no time at all in most of the city's neighborhoods. At least today, we had a tour of some of the Eastern suburbs and neighborhoods on the bus, so we have some idea of the Sydney landscape away from high rises and tourist meccas.

And tomorrow we pick up a car, and head for the Blue Mountains, where it should definitely be wintry. We'll be staying in Katoomba, in the Rough Guide-recommended La Maison Boutique Hotel. With only about 1-1/2 days there, we won't get a chance to see everything, but we're hoping to take in a railway, a nature walk or two, and possible some caves!

Ian's Favorite Thing of the Day: Playing at the beaches!

It's a Zoo

Did I mention last time that Adrian's hood for his really big zoom lens fell into Sydney Harbour last night? Yep. He was photographing the Bridge, and apparently the hood wasn't completely screwed on to the lens. It banged against the concrete wall near the Opera House, and simply--and slowly--slid into the Harbour. So this morning's projects included posting a blog, eating some breakfast, and trying to track down a new hood before we set out for our actual destination, Taronga Zoo.

This led us further into Sydney's CBD, or Central Business District, than we'd ventured yet. We were headed for Ted's Camera Superstore ("superstore") on Pitt Street. We're not big shoppers, so we didn't know that Pitt is Sydney's main shopping thoroughfare. It's a mix of modern-ish office buildings and a few historic buildings that sort of look as though they're from a Wild West movie set. Throw in the monorail track (reminiscent of Chicago's El), and the overall effect is sort of a movie backlot, trying to be all things to all people. In Thirty Days in Sydney, Peter Carey loathes the CBD and its mishmash of architecture...and especially the monorail. Not being a local, and thus not emotionally invested in Sydney's aesthetics, I found it a bit fascinating, if aesthetically confused.

So Ted's let us down. No hood at all that would fit Adrian's lens, although they did offer to special order it. So, having dragged Ian quite a ways in a fruitless search for the hood, we took a ride on the monorail to make up for it. And since the monorail doesn't go near Circular Quay, we ended up at Darling Harbour, from where we could catch a ferry to the zoo. Darling Harbour used to be a working freight harbor, with warehouses, etc. Now, it's essentially a tourist attraction, with an aquarium, Wildlife World, a maritime museum, an IMAX theater, etc. Adrian was at Darling Harbour 21 years ago, on the day the Darling Harbour extravaganza first opened. It's one of those planned entertainment areas that works in some ways, and not in others. But it was a handy place to buy a combo ticket, with a roundtrip catamaran ride to the zoo, admission and the Sky Safari cable car ride.

By the time we got to the zoo, it was just after 1 pm. Like so many zoos, Taronga Zoo is situated on a steep hillside, so it's quite nice to take the gondola to the top of the hill and make your way down to the ferry wharf at the bottom. On our ride up to the top, we spotted the elephant area, with one of the zoo's newest residents--a baby elephant born just a week ago. Cute doesn't begin to describe it, and of course, Ian was really excited to see that. With just a short amount of time, we focused on the Australian animals. We got to see koalas, and kangaroos, and an emu and a wombat. There's an enclosure with red kangaroos, wallabies and an emu, through which zoo visitors walk, with no fences between the people and the animals, which is great. Instead of staring at them in a pen, you're in their space. Ian really wanted to look at the reptiles, so we spent a creepy 15 minutes or so looking at some really deadly creatures (and some interesting lizards and turtles, too). If you like poisonous snakes, their collection includes a Fierce Snake, an Egyptian cobra, a Western diamondback rattlesnake, and other venomous critters I can't remember, as well as various constrictors. Adrian and I aren't really fans of legless land creatures, but Ian seemed to enjoy it.

We also had a pretty close-up encounter with a native--the lorikeet. About halfway down the hill, the Treetops Cafe has glass walls and a stunning view of Sydney, including the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. (Adrian thought the lady who worked the counter was quite lucky to look at that view all day!). As we chose an outside table to enjoy the view, we noticed there were lots of technicolor birds licking grains of sugar off the tables. When the lady brought our lunch to us, Ian said they were really pretty. She told us they were lorikeets, and that they really like sugar. Before we knew it, one had taken a peck at Ian's blueberry muffin! They were lovely, but quite pesky, and not at all intimidated by waving hands and such. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our lunch, and wound up our trip to the zoo with a peek at the new baby elephant, and at animals from the Great Southern Seas exhibit. There was a leopard seal and a fur seal, as well as Australia's native Little Penguins, and a Macaroni penguin who had been stranded off course in Australia.

To cap off the trip, we approached Sydney Harbour on the catamaran, just as the sunset turned really spectacular. We found a nice little Italian restaurant in The Rocks (for a change from Ian's favorite "Scottish" restaurant), got a pizza with all of Ian's favorite toppings (ham, olives, cheese), and called it a night. So, although our day got off to an odd start, it turned out pretty well, all the same.

Ian's Favorite Thing of the Day: The ferry ride and seeing the cobra

I think we’re all still recovering from yesterday.

I’m usually just fine with trips that are a bit open, flexible, spontaneous. I usually operate fairly well without a plan. I’m finding, though, that it’s a bit harder with a 4-year-old along. Ian is old enough to have—and express—opinions, but he’s still a bit fuzzy on things like time and distance. Let’s just say yesterday got off to a rocky start.

In the end, we took a ferry to Manly. It has an incredible beach, and a really charming seaside town kind of feel. But we weren’t equipped for swimming, so we made a couple of sandcastles and watched the surf lesson for a while. Then we set off for the Manly Scenic Walkway. It’s a 9 km trail, from the Manly Wharf, right along the coast through Sydney Harbour National Park, and ending at a place called The Spit. Since it was a weekday, and winter, the trail was practically empty. Stunning doesn’t begin to describe the scenery. Whether you’re practically at the water’s edge or high up on the cliffs (and yes, I finally saw the real sandstone cliffs of Sydney Harbour), the views were amazing. I always feel comparing one place to another is a bit of a cheat—like saying something tastes like chicken—but it’s inevitable sometimes. We were reminded quite a bit of Seattle, sometimes of Monterey, and walking past some of the houses, a bit of Malibu. In the end, of course, it was only really like Sydney, and it was beautiful. In the National Park bit, there are some Aboriginal rock carvings, lots of exotic looking native plants, and lots of birds. There are native lizards, as well, but it is winter, so they were nowhere in sight. Even Ian enjoyed it, although toward the end of the hike, he was really tired. In fact, we all slept very well last night.

Ian’s favorite part of the day: the ferry ride, and picking up seashells.

Sydney...on The Rocks

Actually, we're not quite in The Rocks. We "settled" for a room at the Intercontinental, just a very short walk from Circular Quay. Posh, you say? I have to admit, we used Priceline.

This is actually our second day in Australia. After an eerily silent train ride from the airport to the city (no one spoke on the train...except Ian, of course), we arrived at our hotel at 8 in the morning, fully expecting to be "homeless" for a few hours until our room was ready. Our travel guardian angel was looking out for us though, since a room was ready!

We know, of course, that "taking a nap" is the absolute worst thing to do for jet lag, so we spent the day strolling around Circular Quay and The Rocks, taking in the Opera House from all different angles, and enjoying the sunshine along with other tourists and lots of Sydneysiders, as well. Ian, for some reason, is fascinated by the Opera House, and desperately wanted to take a tour of the inside. Since following directions and listening weren't his best skills yesterday, we passed. Instead, we took a little tram ride around the Royal Botanic Gardens. Since we can see them from our hotel room, I'm sure we'll stroll around there again.

Now, I've never been to Australia before, and I haven't had time to read as much as I would have liked about Australia and Sydney. However, what I have read about Sydney led me to imagine a city founded on towering sandstone cliffs. Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, carved into the sandstone cliffs so that she could keep a lookout for ships sailing into the harbor. Dawes Point, with its observatory high above the camps of the English marines and convicts. Turns out the cliffs and such are much lower than I had imagined. Funny how what we imagine isn't always quite the way things are. Nevertheless, Sydney Harbor is beautiful, and we enjoyed a spectacular afternoon watching ferries and catamarans go by, lunching on meat pies, and staving off jet lag. And it worked! We called it an early night, and got up this morning ready to go.

The only problem is that we don't know where we're going to go...so stay tuned!

T minus 3 days or so

Once again, a trip is approaching and there's way too much to get done and far too little time. I'm sure that when 10:30 Sunday night rolls around, we'll be on a 747 heading for the Pacific. Sane? Not so sure.

Since we didn't take our son anywhere really fun last year, we decided we would absolutely, positively go overseas somewhere this year. With airfares to Australia ridiculously low this summer, our minds were practically made up for us, so on Sunday we're off to Oz. And no, I've never been before, although my husband was there 21 years ago. I'm sure not much has changed. After wracking our brains for many weeks, reading all our different guidebooks, and so forth, we still couldn't decide where exactly we wanted to spend our 14 nights. Australia, you see, is vast, like the U.S., so without flying (which gets expensive and stressful), you can only see so much. We didn't initially consider Melbourne, as we thought we "must see" the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock. However, our son is a nervous flyer, can't swim, and probably wouldn't think all that much of a large rock, however unique and spiritually charged it may be. So we decided to go on a car trip. Leaving Sydney, we'll make our way to Melbourne via the Blue Mountains, take in the Great Ocean Road, and find a different route back to Sydney. It's still a lot for two weeks, and I'm sure there's much we'll miss. But our trip has become a holiday, instead of an ordeal. Sometimes it's better to downsize one's trip ambitions, if you're looking for a vacation!

We plan to post an update every day, but we're not sure about internet access in all the little towns we hope to stop in. And there may be days when family time trumps computer time. But we'll do our best to make it a daily affair, and take you along on our adventure Down Under.