Clovelly & Coogee Beach

Today was beach day! After walking 20,000 steps each of the last two days we needed a break. After doing some research we decided to head to Clovelly Beach as it was listed as a good snorkeling beach. It was a perfect family beach as it was secluded from the ocean and had lots of beautiful sand.

It also had easy access to the ocean via ladders. However, the snorkeling was not ideal today. 

After some exploring we decided to head to nearby Coogee Beach. This was the perfect decision. After a great lunch of fish & chips we headed to the beach to play in the sand, swim in the ocean and ocean pools and relax.

On each end of Coogee Beach were ocean baths or pools. One was man made where the ocean spilled in as the tide rose. The other was a natural bath. They were fun to swim in and watch the waves crash as the tide rose.

Coogee Ocean Pool

Giles Bath

Parramatta River Ferry and Cockatoo Island

Thursday morning we took the Parramatta River Ferry from Parramatta to Circular Quay. On the way we had the opportunity to see many outlaying areas of Sydney along with a stop on Cockatoo Island. We highly recommend spending half a day exploring on the Parramatta River Ferry as you can get off and on along the way.

Cockatoo Island is now a World Heritage site and is free to visit once you arrive on the island. Cockatoo Island  began in 1839 as penal colony. For 30 years prisoners from Sydney were sent to Cockatoo Island.  In 1871 Australia opened the Industrial School for orphaned girls and a Reformatory for girls convicted of crimes. Eventually a boys orphanage was added. Eventually it was turned back into a prison for petty criminals and was used as that until the navy needed it for a shipyard during WWI. It was used as a shipyard until 1991. It is now a protected site by UNESCO and a campground.

Everywhere we have been so far has had numerous school children on field trips. Cockatoo Island was no exception. There were numerous high school groups touring the island, including a group of art students drawing the old machinery.

Sydney Opera House & Harbour Bridge

Today was the day we ventured down to Circular Quay (pronounced key) to see one of the world's most iconic landmarks, the Sydney Opera House. After a leisurely ferry ride down the Parramatta River and a stop at Cockatoo Island (I will post pics in another post) we arrived in Circular Quay to this fabulous view.

After docking we walked over to the Opera House for a closer view and a good picture in front of the Harbour Bridge. 

After walking around the outside and inside of the Opera House we spent about an hour walking across the Harbour Bridge. It is 1.5 miles across the Harbour Bridge and you get amazing views of the Opera House and harbour. Today was windy and there were a dozen or more sailboats sailing in the harbour. It was a beautiful sight.  

I have 100s of pictures from today but these are my favorite. By the way, with the Australian wine and Tim-Tam cookies I may never leave! I will be bringing Tim-Tam's to work with me after Thanksgiving to share (maybe)!

Darling Harbour and Australian National Maritime Museum

Wednesday we spent the afternoon exploring Darling Harbour and the Australian National Maritime Museum. We ate lunch at the iconic Harry's and had the most amazing pies with mashed potatoes, mashed peas and gravy on top!

We gave the Australian National Maritime Museum a 5 star rating. Getting on board a submarine, a destroyer, a patrol boat and the HMS Endeavor (a Navy vessel where James Cook charted Australia).

Harry's iconic Tiger house special!

Darling Harbour was beautiful as we walked around. 

Hiking at Lake Parramatta Reserve

We spent Tuesday afternoon exploring this the beautiful Lake Parramatta Reserve which is about 15 minutes from where we are staying. This is a 73 hectare (180 acres) of pristine parkland right in the  middle of a large suburb.

We decided to do the Lake Circuit hike which took us around the entire lake. It took us about 90 minutes to do the 4.2 km hike. You could hear numerous different species of birds. We spotted a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (think mean white bird in the movie Rio), Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian Wood Duck, Australasian Darter and heard so many more bids. We were surrounding by Eucalyptus and Banksias trees, ferns and low brush.

At one end of the reserve is a damn that was completed in 1856 and was the first damn build in Australia. The damn was used to provide water to the nearby residence and used until 1909.

If you are visiting Sydney I would highly recommend this hike to fill in a half a day. It is recommended that you do not do the Lake Circuit hike after heavy rain. This is because there are a few areas that would be impassable with higher water.

We Made it to Sydney

25 hours after leaving the Spokane International Airport we landed in Sydney Australia. I will do a separate blog post when we return to Spokane on Qantas airlines. However, they exceeded our expectations.  Seth and I are exhausted since we have slept a total of maybe 5 hours in the last 36+ hours, but we are counting down 2 more hours until bedtime. Simon slept over 7 hours on the plane so is doing great considering the lack of sleep! We are staying awake today we can hit the ground running tomorrow exploring Sydney.

When we arrived in Sydney it was raining but still warm. The only hiccup was when we were waiting for the rental car and had Simon standing on the sidewalk with all of our suitcases and a torrential downpour burst from the sky. In those 10 minutes both he and the luggage became soaked. He tried to hunker down with his backpack flap over his head kneeling next to a car! I gave him an A for effort.

Driving in Sydney is quite an experience so far. My husband is an amazing man for his driving today. Everything is opposite of what we are accustomed to. It is also weird for me sitting in what is usually the drivers seat back home.

After checking in to the house we are renting we headed to Costco and Woolworths, the grocery store. Costco was very similar to home except that it cost you $1 to use a cart (which you got back when you returned it) and they had beachwear and Christmas stuff out in the same aisle! The biggest difference though is they do not have the large frozen food section that we have. We were hoping for some quick and easy freezer meals!

Woolworth's is your typical grocery store in any town. The only struggle I encountered was trying to purchase cheese. They don't color any cheese so it is all white and they also do not label any of them cheddar. I stared quite a while trying to decide which one was closest to cheddar. I guess we will see tomorrow morning for breakfast how close I got.

We are waiting to see what the weather does for tomorrow before we make any plans, but I will post pictures tomorrow night (our time) of our first day adventures. 

T-6 Days to Australia

When the tickets were booked in May, November seemed so far away. Even when school started in September, it felt like November would never come! However, in just 6 days we head to Sydney Australia for the trip of a lifetime. I have been researching, making lists and searching Groupon for months. I feel prepared once we arrive, but it is the preparation to leave that makes me nervous. It has been 20 years since I have flown internationally and I was 22 and single! Now with 3 of us, including an 11-year-old, my stress level is a little higher.

After having a plan in my head the last month we discovered last week that the carry-on luggage rules are different than what we are used to. On domestic US flights, you can have a backpack plus a small suitcase. Internationally in the "economy" class, you can have 1 carry on and a "small laptop bag or a small amount of reading material." My families usual carry on routine is being revamped this weekend!

We are staying almost 3 weeks in Australia and we did not purchase new suitcases. So we only have our small travel carry-on size suitcases. However, we were fortunate to find a place to rent with a washer/dryer. That being said, I have packed only 5-6 outfits per person plus one "cool weather" outfit. This will allow us to get all of our belongings into 3 suitcases. We also have 1 extra suitcase with shoes, snorkeling gear and a life jacket for Simon. We also packed 2 extra duffle bags to bring back souvenirs!

Speaking of souvenirs, our 11-year-old has been saving his money and doing odd jobs in the neighborhood so he can buy Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, the first Harry Potter book to be published. He has also researched and there are a few other Harry Potter books that were only published in the U.K. and were not distributed to the US. We will see in the next few weeks what type of souvenirs he buys!

I cannot wait to begin to share our adventures with you next week. 5 more days of work and off we go!