On another glorious day (Jan. 23) on the Emski (Pat and Emma's boat) we were cruising along the Sydney Harbour when we spotted this fairy penguin drifting rather lacksidaisily (is this a word?).
The good samaritan and nature lover that he is - Pat hailed the harbour police down and reported the distressed fairy penguin who was right in the pathway of many boats.
Last time I saw a fairy penguin was on Kangaroo Island... they're most commonly found in South Australia so this little penguin was far from home!
When we arrived there were no Blue Mountains or Three Sisters to be seen due to the thick fog so we headed instead to the Jenolan Caves.
The drive there was incredibly scary because not only were the roads narrow and windy but on the side of a cliff and sometimes only room for one car.
We did the easy tour to the Imperial Caves - but as "easy" as it was promoted to be I managed to stumble on a rocky edge of the path (imagine that, in a cave) and tripped and cut my knee. Michelle was not without her own "incident" as she banged her head on what of the cliff overhangs. It's hard to believe that we survived our previous week of snorkeling/diving with sharks, bone crushing river snorkeling and ziplining through the oldest rainforest!
After the guided tour, we did a self-guided tour of Nettle Caves.
Our guide Barney described it the best when he said it's about the serenity and the immersive experience in nature in one of the oldest rainforests on earth. On top of that the Mossman River is the most pure and refreshing water I've ever swum in - you could literally drink the water!
We learned a new phrase too - bone crushing - which means drifting through shallow water and bashing your bones against the rocks. Michelle demonstrated this by banging her leg into one of these bone crushing rocks but while in pain for a few days she too had a great time.
The most beautiful part was the last segment when we drifted through "The Cathedral" which is the beautiful stream of river that's covered with a canopy of trees that arches upward and to the sky and curves inward with its light green leaves and think trunks.
We spontaneously signed up for this adventure with Back Country River Drift Snorkeling on the Mossman River (Fri. Jan. 7) and are very, very glad we did as it was a fantastic experience and a ton of fun!
Well, we weren't quite swinging through the trees on vines but it was a lot of fun! We got harnessed up and given helmet's for our protection as we jungle surfed across five platforms through the Daintree Rainforest which is over 135 million years old. My helmet said "Tinkerbell" (which when our guide Gordon said it in his Jamaican accent sounded very cute) and Shell's said "Catwoman".
Here's Michelle ziplining in the Daintree - there's one part where she's dangling upside down for a while. The aim was for Shell to swing her arms as if she was swimming (or at least that's what one of the guides was trying to instruct her to do) so that she could turn herself around for a photo but after a few attempts Shell exlaims "just let me go" and so they did and she completed her zipline to the end.
After ziplining (Jan. 6) we had some time to kill as we'd signed up for a Nightwalk in the Daintree. We checked out a beach on Cape Tribulation (a deserted one) as well as Myle Beach where we walked around on a boardwalk in the pouring rain.
Here we are totally drenched:
Everywhere we'd go whether the opera house or the beach we'd see other tourists taking photos of people jumping. We couldn't quite understand why, but after giving it a go and seeing the resulting photos we think it's pretty funny!
We don't have any photos or video from this Nightwalk excursion but it was one of the highlights of the trip. Particularly when we shut all of our torches off and just watched the flickering lightning bug or some of the glow in the dark fungi. And in an incredible stroke of good luck - we saw not one Boyd's Forest Dragon (or as I mistakenly initially thought I heard our guide say - Boyd's Fire Dragon) but a whole family. We saw the young dragon, the Mom and then finally the Father all hanging around on these branches in the same vicinity.
The nightwalk ended at around 9:30 p.m. and then there was this winding drive back to the 5 minute ferry (the most expensive ferry ride - it cost $21 for the roundtrip) in the complete dark!
Here are photos of the 5-minute ferry from earlier in the day as well as the "beware of the cassowary" we saw all along the way:
After a bit of shopping, Shell and I visited 4-mile beach in Port Douglas (Jan. 5)...
Here Shell is in the protected swim area safe from the box jellyfish:
Ana and Scott, what's making these little balls of sand in the sand? Little white sand crabs?
We miss you Ana and Scott!
Shell and I then headed up to the oldest rainforest - The Daintree - where we checked into a 5-star resort called The Daintree Eco-Lodge. We stayed in cabin #3 which overlooked the pond and the restaurant we had breakfast at each morning and dinner the first night. I enjoyed breakfast - especially the new fruit of the rainforest that I was introduced to - called the abiu which has the texture of jelly but a nice soft sweet taste that is very refreshing.
The Daintree Eco-Lodge's rooms are beautiful, the setting is serene and since the patio is screened in we could sleep with the doors wide open and truly experience the sounds of the rainforest all night (the cicadas are very loud).
As we walked to the waterfall on the lodge's property along this pathway twisted with tree roots, I was caught off guard by I swear a dinosaur like out of Jurassic Park. It scampered across on two legs and looked like one of those little dragons in the movie. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a lizard or as we'd learn a few days later on a nightwalk at Cape Tribulation that it was a Boyd's Forest Dragon.
While we visited Kuranda on the day we arrived, on Jan. 4 we travelled to Kuranda in two very different and more luxurious and scenic means of transportation.
We enjoyed Gold Class VIP tickets on the Kuranda Scenic Railway which traversed along postcard picture perfect bridges alongside waterfalls and the view of the Barren Gorge with pastries, champagne and appetizers in hand and consumed along the way.
Once we reached Kuranda we wandered through the shops, including the Kuranda Candy Kitchen where we watched them make these hard candies with a little strawberry in the middle. How they created the perfectly shaped strawberry with black seeds and stems was true art and very impressive! And it was yummy too - definitely something to keep in mind for a special event in the future.
For the trip back down to the bottom of the mountain, we took the Skyrail which had us cruising over the trees of the rainforest. Along the way we stopped off twice to see the Barren Falls as well as an interactive visitor's centre that had humongous spiders along the walkway.
While we were in Port Douglas, we stayed at Villa San Michele which were these great self-contained apartments that had the best location right in the centre of Port Douglas' main street. Shell wasn't feeling well that evening, so I went out on my own for dinner that night and on the way stopped off at the Iron Bar where I'd noticed that each evening they held Cane Toad Races. It was the strangest and most bizarre thing I've ever seen.
As you'll see in the FlipVideo, each of the cane toads raced had a "jockey" who "kissed" the toad for good luck- yuck! I wouldn't even want to hold the toad.
On Jan. 3, Shell snorkeled and I scuba dived with Quicksilver in the Great Barrier Reef. As I was on my third dive, I thought to myself that with Cairns only a 2.5 hour flight away, I should be taking advantage of my proximity to great diving more often. So this year, I'll definitely be doing more diving Down Under!
Later that evening we went to dinner with two Californian gals we met on the Quicksilver tour at a restaurant called Salsa in Port Douglas. At the end of the evening, we noticed that there was a signed autograph on the wall with Bill Clinton's signature and it was dated Sept. 11, 2001. With the time difference, it was clear he'd had dinner before 9/11 but it was eerie and troubling reminder of the tragic and horrific attacks.
On Jan. 2 Shell and I flew up to Cairns because no trip to Australia is complete without a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. As Queensland is the only place you can cuddle a koala, I took Michelle to the Kuranda Koala Garden where we visited koala, wallabies, snakes and crocodiles.
Then we headed to the Australian Butterfly Conservatory where we were pleasantly surprised to experience that rather than see butterflies behind glass they were flittering all around this huge glass conservatory out in the open!
If you've never seen a Where's Waldo book they are like word searches except they are a page full of 100s of cartoon people at a particular place and you need to find Waldo who's dressed in a red and white search. Here's an example:
So you'll understand what I mean when you look at this FlipVideo that it reminded me of a Where's Waldo because Bondi Beach was just so crowded!
After dipping our toes in the water at Bondi, Shell and I walked to Tamarama Beach and then to Coogee Beach.
Even now as I reflect back on my first New Year's Eve here in Sydney, I know it could not have been more perfect! I was so fortunate to have so many dear friends, a beautiful sunny day with calm winds on the bay and a truly spectacular fireworks celebration like I've never seen before!
We departed from Rose Bay at 6 p.m. and immediately headed towards the area right in front of Taronga Zoo where we had a very clear view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and in fact the whole bay! And it was a parking lot of other boats who were all positioning themselves for a spot on the harbour.
As we are in Australia, almost immediately we opened up the bubbles and started to check out the boat - being a 34' Seawind Woorabinda Sailing Catamaran - we were allowed to climb up on top and in front and all around.
For about a week or so prior I'd been religiously checking the weather forecast hoping for a beautiful weather day and I was so thrilled with the bright sun, clear blue skies and especially the calm wind on the bay on New Year's Eve.
We were tremendously lucky to have Captain Joe at the helm as he found us the perfect spot! And he's a great BBQ-er! Thanks to Captain Pat, who took his boat out 60 kilometres the day before, we had the most scrumptious salmon on the BBQ - it was beautiful!
What I didn't learn until recently is that in addition to the midnight fireworks, Sydney also has a 9 p.m. fireworks show for families with children so they can be put to sleep while the adults continue partying on! Here's the warmup fireworks that are a prelude to the midnight show:
After the first fireworks, the Harbour of Light Parade began with about 50 vessels circling around the Sydney Harbour.
My friend Venecia gave me flashing color-technic bunny ears to wear on my birthday that everyone could see - even if they couldn't see me in the dark - which made me look a little disembodied :)
And as Michelled was FlipVideo-ing me in my bunny ears, she coincidentally recorded the funniest moment of the evening! Since I was standing on the stairs to the main seating area, Sandy mistakenly took a "shortcut" through an opening on the side of the boat and made a not-so graceful landing in the bin.
In this FlipVideo you'll hear the "swoosh" of Sandy falling into the bin and then the catchphrase of the evening "You're in the bin" from Dori who happened to be standing nearby and told a bewildered Sandy very matter-of-factly that she's just landed in the bin. Thank goodness she was not injured (there were lots of empty wine bottles in the bin by this time of the evening so this was a big worry) and after we made sure she was ok we helped her out - still holding her wine glass and all.
Then just before the midnight fireworks, we had birthday cake. I'd like to thank all my friends again for the gift of their presence on what is the best New Year's Eve and happiest birthday ever!
Each year it seems there's a theme to the New Year's Eve fireworks and this year it was "Make Your Mark" with the aim of having us reflect on the decade that has just finished and how we can make our mark by contributing to a better future. On the bridge we saw an "X" in lights in the middle of the bridge as in "X marks the spot". There was also a "hand" in lights to symbolise how a hand is a unique identifier for "making your mark".
As you watch these FlipVideos, you'll see that the fireworks are not just on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, they are all along the harbour! From where our boat was we were right in the middle of fireworks behind us, next to us, above the city, on the bridge and even beyond the bridge. It was literally like we had a front row, center point of view of the most spectacular fireworks I've ever seen!
And take a listen to the music that was played over the radio - it was perfectly coordinated. They played "What a Wonderful Life" by Louis Armstrong who when he sang "I see trees of green, red roses too" you saw green and red fireworks and then (yes you guessed it) when he sang "The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky" we saw a rainbow of colors in the fireworks.
While my parents have been to Taronga Zoo twice, I have never been until this day (Dec. 30). What I found so amazing is that they'd give animals the most magnificent view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House!
After an indulgent BBQ dinner and much red wine at my place...
...we headed to the Sydney Opera House to enjoy "The Year that Was" which was a retrospective of 2010 by Australia's top comedians.
On Wed. Dec. 29 my friends Venecia and her husband Sam arrived in Sydney from their home in Taiwan (via Phuket and Bangkok). This was Sam's second visit to Australia and Venecia's third visit (in fact Venecia has the honor of being my very first visitor back in May 2009 before I'd even moved into my Surry Hills place).
I'd heard about "The Pancake House on the Rocks" and was keen to check it out so that's where we went for breakfast - it's a very popular place with a line out the door and up the stairs!
After breakfast we took a ferry to Manly and were amazed at how packed the beach was!
Then we walked to Shelly Beach, had a bottle of wine and some snacks before walking around the cliffs.
Here I am in a "crevice" on the cliffs. Did you know there's also a "crevice" in the Sydney Opera House (I learned this on the Opera House tour?
Michelle, my best friend since 3rd grade, arrived here in Sydney on Tues., Dec. 28 for a 2-week vacation and to help me celebrate my first New Year's in Sydney (last year I travelled back to NY to meet my nephew Tyler Hiroshi and neice Keilani).
The funny thing is that throughout her visit here, she heard more about Oprah here in Australia than she does in Chicago where Oprah tapes her shows!
After her arrival at 6:30 a.m. we stopped off at my place and then headed to Bill's for breakfast. Then to help her through the jet lag, I walked her around town. We started at the Sydney Opera House then headed to the Royal Botanic Garden.
SATURDAY, DEC. 25 Since everything is shut down on Christmas day, I took my friend from North Sydney Masters Christina's advice to head to Wineglass Bay. So, after a 2.5 hour drive I arrived in the Freycinet National Park's Coles Bay and did the 6k roundtrip bushwalk to Wineglass Bay.
Yes, hard to believe but on Christmas Day I went bushwalking! And in my backpack I brought a picnic lunch and my painting gear so I could really enjoy the view and the experience.
It does look like a wineglass and it's very pristine and beautiful so was well worth the very, very steep hike. Not as steep and difficult as the Giant Staircase Hike down to the base of the Blue Mountains, but it is a close second!
SUNDAY, DEC. 26 I was very lucky that on Boxing Day they still held the Salamanca Markets! I had great fun checking out all the vendors and did what I could for the Tasmanian economy with my purchases.
And only in Tasmania can you purchase an echidna toothpick holder - how cool is this! :)
After a morning of shopping I went to check out the wineries in the Hobart area. Again, from a friend's recommendations I visited Moorilla Winery (this one was my favorite) and after doing my own research checked out Meadow Bank Winery and Coal Creek Winery. Tasmania is mostly known for pinot and riesling and grapes that do best in a cool weather region.
Shout out to Tomu: You have to check out this FlipVideo - I actually tasted beer for you!
Then I headed to the Royal Botanic Garden in Hobart and learned about the trees and ferns indigenous to Tasmania - my fave is the Huon Pine.
And while it was already a busy day - I fit one more thing in - a drive to the top of Mount Wellington. For anyone that's driven to John Muir Woods north of San Francisco, you'll understand when I say this is a very, scary drive. Basically, it's along the lines of the opening scenes of a James Bond movie whereby you have this windy road on the side of a cliff with a very, very steep drop. I got to nearly the top when I started to really get freaked out because although I was focusing on the road in my peripheral vision I could see this huge drop. I found a rest area and actually turned around and headed back down to the bottom. Then feeling like a total wimp, turned around again, gritted my teeth and drove all the way to the top.
The top is 1,270 meters above sea level and absolutely freezing (the next day I heard there was snow) and had a great panoramic view that really showed just how much of Hobart I was able to cover in my short stay there.
And here's the cute light blue car that I zipped around in over my Tasmanian Christmas holiday!
For all those that thought Warner Brothers made up the Tasmanian Devil along with Bugs Bunny and the Roadrunner, I can confidently state that Tasmania is indeed home to the Tasmanian Devil. In fact, the Tasmanian Devil has been wiped out on the mainland of Australia and now is primarily only on the southernmost state of Australia - Tasmania.
And considering that Australia has a population of 22 million (compared to the US population which is 311 million yet has a similar land mass), Tasmania's one of the smaller Australian states. Tasmania has a population of 500,000 and is comparable in size to Ireland (which has a population of 4 million). It's capital is Hobart.
I'm on this mission to visit all 6 states and 2 territories in Australia and now that I've been to Tasmania - only West Australia remains!
In a funny coincidence, it also occurred to me that this past Easter was spent on Kangaroo Island and this past Christmas was spent in Tasmania the home of the Tasmanian Devil.
THURSDAY, DEC. 23 On Thursday, Dec. 23 I arrived in Hobart, Tasmania and on advice from my work colleague Kirsty went to Jackman and Ross Cafe which is widely regarded as an "institution" (the good kind, restaurant) in Battery Point. Then, this date being my nephew Kenichi's birthday and knowing he loves to visit the zoo, I decided to visit Bonorong Wildlife Centre to say "G'day" from Kenichi to the Tasmanian Devils.
Happy birthday Kenichi! Make sure you watch the video to the end...
I also fed the kangaroos - a cute joey as well as a medium-sized kangaroo that gobbled up all the roo food I had!
Shout out to Ryu - There was this great t-shirt that I thought about getting for you, it said "Who let the roos out?" but didn't think you'd wear it (it was a funky colored orange with cheesy sketch drawing of kangaroos). It was a funny play on that song lyric so I thought I'd share :)
And ever since first learning about echidnas on Kangaroo Island, I've been fascinated with these spiny anteaters. I saw them again in Hobart and these two echidnas reminded me of that Walden Pond story about how he always took the same beaten path to the pond thus missing out on all the different approaches to the pond that could bring new, fresh perspectives. As you'll see in this Flip, these two echidna follow a figure eight beaten path. I love their little snout and how the wobble around their beaten path.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24 On Dec. 24 I was signed up to go on this Bruny Island cruise with Peppermint Bay. Although I enjoyed the cruise, I was disappointed to learn that while we boated past Bruny Island we never actually stopped there. We stopped instead in Peppermint Bay which was a tiny, tiny town with a large commercial building bar and gift shop managed by Peppermint Bay so felt rather inauthentic.
On the positive side, I did get upgraded to the Captain's Deck on the cruise (which meant free drinks, access to the upper deck and captain's deck) and it was very roomy with comfortable seats. Along the way, we visited an Atlantic salmon fish farm just as they were being fed. What surprised me was how the salmon actually leap out of the water to catch the food - you see dolphins at Sea World leaping through the air through hoops but not fish! Who knew?
After to boat cruise, I rushed over to the Henry Jones Art Hotel which is part of this trend of fusing art, hotels and museums. My friend Matt highly recommended staying here but because I planned this trip relatively last minute there were booked and I ended up staying at the Grand Chancellor Hotel across the street.
Anyway, on my first day I checked out the bar at the Henry Jones Art Hotel and learned about this tour they offer for free. Since I missed out staying here, I thought at least I'll get to scope it out on the tour and next time I'll definitely plan in advance to book a room here. Henry Jones years ago made jam and it's branded IXL Jam because Henry Jones' motto is "I excel (in everything I do)" (IXL) which I thought was very clever.
