Wondrous Sydney

Arrived safely and easily from New Zealand, just a 3.5 hour ride away. Sydney is a world class city with the Opera House as an iconic emblem of everything that Sydney has to offer -- beautiful views, expansive harbors, bays and beach and a very cosmopolitan, bustling downtown.

My friend Shaul and I spent two days walking every which way with stops at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Botanic Gardens which, unfortunately, is infested with flying foxes (very large bats). The groundskeeper promised they were harmless but they weren't very appealing.

One surprise in Sydney is that we had the pleasure of standing near the very distinguished Governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir, as she was leaving a ceremony commemorating the 68th invasion of Singapore by Japan. As part of the British commonwealth, the governors of Australian territories (or states) are appointed by the Queen. I'm definitely game for offering my services to assist the Queen in staying close to her subjects.

In search of a real challenge, we picked up our rental car and headed to Canberra via the Coast and then the mountains, driving almost always on the left :) The coast is as stunning as you've seen on television. But the surprise -- and this is not to be missed -- is the drive across the mountains via the Royal National Park. We both remarked that the drive inland reminded us of the road to Hana (on Maui) with numerous hairpin curves and spectacular views, both of which could take your breath away. Don't skip this jaunt on your trips to Australia! Unfortunately, there were no kangaroo sightings. Just a sign warning us not to hit them.

By the way, for those of you who have seen Invictus and got a sense for what Rugby players look like (at least the movie star version), I had the pleasure of having the Sydney Roosters on board my flight from Auckland to Sydney. Well, what can I say. These rugby players were as big and athletic in person as the South African team looked in the movies. It was hard not to take notice. :)

Back to the real world. Today we head out from our very spartan B & B in Canberra to see the capital city. Stay tuned....