Sydney, Australia

Day 1: We arrived early in the morning.  After the long plane ride, we were tired, so we checked in to our hotel and napped for a bit.  We stayed in the city, pretty safe and clean area.  

We found a place nearby to eat fish and chips (Paddy's Market) - a giant open air market.  

Then we headed for the Sydney opera house, which AB was most excited to see.  From nearby, it's tough to picture the grandeur of the building.  Going inside requires a tour, which we did not do.

The area around the opera house has a large Botanical garden.  We saw many unique trees and plants there.

In the garden, the Mrs. Mackerie chair was used by an early woman settler to overlook the harbor.  

In the afternoon, we took a ferry across the harbor to the north part of the city.   We saw Manly beach, and walked along an old army encampment (memorial walk) to Fairfax lookout.  This walk was recommended by AB's college friend.  The sights on this walk weren't as incredible as what we saw on the rest of the trip.  But it was nice to get away from the crowds on the Harbour area.   

We ate dinner at a restaurant in Sydney's large Chinatown/Koreatown area, which was hard to find.

Day 2: Instead of going to the larger and more popular Sydney Zoo, we chose Featherdale Wildlife.  It was a great decision!  Featherdale had only native Australian animals, so we could focus on seeing creatures we had never seen before, instead of all the familiar animals at a typical zoo.  Also, it was not  as crowded, so we got up close looks and personal encounters with these animals!

Southern cassowary: heaviest of Australian birds, killer claws. 

Wombat: keeps young in pouch for 6mo

Crocodile: 1k lb, can be up to 7m 1 ton. Nuka. Kill 4-5 times a year...sustain for several months. Brumation April, stay in warmed water. 2 beats per minute. 10-12 hours hold breath under water. 60 mph water. Tear apart and swallow whole. Control pest species that get out of control (kangaroo, foxes, ferrel pigs).  Big Crocks have good navigation even if moved 1k mile away. Nuka breeding facility: killed 2 females. Babies: less than 30 cm, 1% chance survival. 

We paid extra for this Koala encounter.  They bellow: deep voice to indicate territory. If they hear response, will continue bellowing. Live 6-10 yrs. Marsupials not bears. 18-20hr sleep/day. Eat half kilo eucalyptus per day.  

Kangaroo

Tasmanian devil: look fierce but can't kill anything. Eat carrion (decaying meat of dead animal). Disease that's killing them: start pimple, spread until can't eat, die, no cure. Marsupials.

Quokka: southwestern corner, explorers thought they were large rats. Named island rottnest

Echidna: eat 100k termites, half foot sticky tongue. Hibernate in winter. Pheromone: echidna train...who is behind get to breed. Produce Eggs. Temporary pouch, 10 day, jelly Bean sized baby. Mammary pad sweat out milk. Nursery burrow when baby develops spikes. Babies named puggle. Ball and dig feet into ground: impossible to get out. Predator: dingoes, cars. Can move wrist 360 degrees, dig and flip them. Can't identify if male or female from outside. 

Speckled flying fox: fruitarian, largest bat, only mammal that can take flight. They help spread seeds. No rabies in Australia. Lisa virus. Can't fly directly from ground, have to climb up tree and glide. Give birth upside down, have to catch baby with wings. Sometimes fall and get eaten. 

Barking owl, Red neck pademelon, Little penguin, Wallaby, Bilby, Grilled neck lizard,  Shingle back lizard (or two headed), Potoroo, Sulpher crested cockatoo, Rainbow lorikeet.

Goana: return months later to termite mound where lay eggs. 

Tree kangaroo: 50 ft jump.

Black neck stork: clap beak together to communicate. 

Ghost bats: carnivorous. Smallest bat

Red tailed black cockatoo, Australian bustrard 

Common death adder: most venomous snake in Australia

Inland Taipan: world's most venomous snake

Laughing kookaburra had an unusual voice

Great pelican: 13 L beak volume

Crimson Rosella: monotonous, destroy other female nest. 

In the afternoon, we visited Coogee beach in south Sydney, and walked past Gordan's Bay.  The Bronte to Bondi beach coastal walk was highly recommended, and it was as beautiful as described.  It was incredible to have this natural scenery so accessible to the city.

Surprisingly, there were cemeteries along this walk.  Bondi beach means "tumbling water".  

For dinner, near the Harbour area at Pony on the Rock. We ate seared kangaroo, beetroot tartare, pepperberry dressing, raspberries.  We also tried Spatchcock (chicken), crocodile tail, ginger and shallot yoghurt, chilli Bean oil. It was interesting to try these new foods, but they were not especially tasty.

Day 3: We were not familiar with the Harbour bridge before visiting.  But it was so beautiful spanning the blue water.  

We visited a bridge pylon, which contained a small museum.  The bridge took 60+ years to decide to build and 7 years to build. 134m high (about 40 stories), cable tie backs held 2 halves of bridge up while being built. Locked together with a pin. Cats lived up in pylons for a time. 10 mill GBP to build. 16 people died during construction. Considered greatest steel bridge in the world (load capacity, width, span combo), 3rd longest. 

From the pylon, we got our best view of the Sydney Opera House.  There was a very expensive option to climb the actual bridge to the top, but we heard the views were the same from there.

We ate at Dove and olive in Surry hills: Chicken schnitzel with bacon and cheese add on (like chicken parmigian).  Meat pie: chicken, leek, mushrooms

AB had heard that Sydney was one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and he was not disappointed!