Sydney from the water

Catching the ferries around Sydney Harbour has to be one of the best activities to do in Sydney, especially when you have a nice sunny day to enjoy. I like the different perspective you get on the sights.

That would be the Sydney Opera House.

Here's Luna Park.  I'd have liked a ride on the ferris wheel, but we just didn't have the time.

And of course the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I'd never sailed under it before so that was great.

We could see people doing a Bridge Climb. Have any of you ever done it? It looks like a lot of fun.

Well, the Sydney mini-break is almost over...

xx

Taronga Zoo visit

No mini-break to Sydney is complete without a trip to Taronga Zoo.

After the miserable weather the evening before, we were delighted to see clear, sunny skies for our trip to the zoo.

Here's Lyndon, the man of mystery in the chairlift.

What a stunning view.

Look, there's an elephant below!

The giraffes are one of my favourites.

But I think the elephants are my absolute favourites.

They had just been fed and were close to where we stood. There were three youngsters at varying ages. The smallest, Tukta was born in November 2010. I honestly believe that the zoo keepers who get to work with these animals have the best job EVER.

Look in the water, there's little Pathi Harn. He was playing with a toy in the water. That little guy is adorable beyond all belief. I could have watched him (and the others) for a long, long time.

Dodgy pic, but there's the lions.

And a stunning snow leopard. These are under threat of extinction due to hunters poaching them for their incredibly soft, spotty tail. I have to say, the tail was impressive, but much nicer attached to an alive animal me thinks. Why do humans do these things?

We watched the bird flight show which was amazing - birds swooping low over the crowd's heads. It was so fascinating.

Then, back on the ferry to do some more exploring!

xx

Sydney Maritime Museum

Just recently Lyndon and I spent a night in Sydney. That first afternoon we visited the Maritime Museum.

We visited a naval ship and a submarine. Those submariners really earn their wage. I couldn't live like that.

It was all very interesting. So was the weather when we emerged. It was starting to cloud up but we decided to walk into the Rocks for a look anyway. By the time we got there we were both drenched to our skin and freezing! We managed to get a taxi home, dried off and then had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant on King's Pier. A nice day.

xx

Dinosaur Designs Extinct store visit

Last Friday I flew into Sydney and before I caught the train up to Newcastle I visited the Dinosaur Designs samples and seconds store called Extinct.

It was exciting. The colour was overwhelming. Look at all those bangles!

Shelves upon shelves of resiny goodness.

Necklaces galore...

It is a small store but when I was there it was filled with enthusiastic shoppers.

I was one of them :)

The prices were great, starting at $35 for rings. I found the prices of the homewares to be about half of what they are in the retail stores. Exciting!!

I treated myself to a few little pieces in the blue/green range thanks to my lovely Great Auntie Ila who gave me some spending money. I haven't taken a piccy of them yet as the light has been so crappy here due to the hideous weather. Sorry :) I will do it soon though.

So, I would highly recommend a visit here.

Up next, more Newcastle sights...

ps A couple of you mentioned catching up when I was in Sydney next. I would have absolutely loved to have caught up with my Sydney bloggy friends but knew I only had a really limited time. Hopefully next time I get back up there.

pps. a few of you also asked about my IKEA shopping. They didn't have the frames I wanted so I had to treat myself to a couple of little inexpensive trinkets. Nothing too exciting. A post coming though ...

xx

Planes, trains and automobiles...

I've been AWOL again :)

Any guesses where I might have been?

Pretty easy to tell, but I went to Newcastle and Sydney over the weekend.

In fact it was a bit of a wild tour as I flew from Hobart to Sydney, took the train to Newcastle, drove back to Sydney (with Lyn), drove back up to Newcastle, took the plane to Melbourne with a couple of hours stopover to catch the bus and tram into IKEA and then fly back to Hobart. All in five days!

I'm pooped.

So, this is just a warning, many MANY pics to come!

Oh my, isn't it wet in Hobart today? I hope our ancient, holey, rusty roof holds out!!

xx

ps was pouring in Sydney when I took that pic. Thankfully the next day it was sunny and beautiful.