Urban beach life

Those who live downtown Sydney have the amazing gift of the urban beach.  The ability to go surfing on your lunch break from the office blows my mind.  Yesterday I checked out the famous Bondi beach which is an impressive white sandy spralling beach with buildings in either side.  Skaters and dog walkers patrol the paved pathway up top and joggers,  sun bathers and surfers own the beach.  Its  dominated by hipsters at coffee shops with the odd old time local wandering the streets in his speedo.  Both here and in Byron Bay I love the fact that it is acceptable to wander around barefoot.  In Byron folks even grocery shopped barefoot!

A beach more along my style is Manly Beach.  A half hour horgeous ferry ride from the Opera house lands you in a California like atmosphere with great take out seafood joints and its much more relaxed... folks arent as concerned about appearances as at Bondi.  Both are quite touristy but I forgive Manly more because of the absence of the hipster population.

We had a family outing on Sunday with Andrew, Caroline and the kids, Ethan and Vivica to the blue mountains just outside of Sydney.  The temperature cooled down a bit as we drove up to the beauty of the mountains.  The landscape is covered in Eucalyptus trees which is where the name is derived from cause of their color.  After looking at the view we were treated to a 52 degree drop via train down to the forest canopy.  Exploring trails down on the forest floor was a delight with all the Eucalyptus and Sassafras trees with giant vines and tree ferns growing among them.  Old remnants of the mining industry still live in the forest which is how the railway down to the bottom originally came into being.  After a gondola ride and tram we enjoyed the thrill of the steep train ride once more before heading home completely exhausted.  Good day.

Today is my last day and Im just cruisin around downtown... trying to find this elusive didgeridoo muscian that I encountered on my first day.  Its pretty rainy today so I may not find him, its too cold for the locals.  Everyone is all rugged up (translation wearing coats).  Peace kids.

Ps. First collage is Manly beach, second blue mountains and third back to the beauty of Byron Bay.

Chillin in Byron Bay

Hopped on a plane for a short flight from Sydney to Byron Bay,  a quiet chilled out surfing town.  Australia's most easterly point.  It's absolutely gorgeous here, the people are wonderful and super friendly and the scenery is amazing. 

We seem to be communicating quite well these Aussie folk and I... only once have I not understood someone.  Concentration is key and keeping in mind how the conversation would flow is the trick.  Ive learned a few new words.  A schooner is a beer inbetween a sleeve and a pint.  A sleeve is a midi.  A hoodie is a jumpa.  A toque is a beanie and they think toque is a ridiculous word.  Sometimes I am misunderstood lol.  I've been mistook for an American twice and an honest mate told me I didn't have a predictable Canadian accent.

I got into the water for the first time today in a kayak for a beautiful cruise around the bay with dolphins and humpback whales in the distance.  Unfortunately there was a shark attack the day after I got here which I was just too close to.  Ever since I've been land bound hiking from beach to beach.  Crazy how much one moment can make you reevaluate your priorities.   I never worked up the courage to surf after that moment plus the beaches were closed for three days. The kayaking today was exelurating and I did get in the water and play around in the surf.  It was wonderful.

I'm gonna enjoy a few schooners as a reward for all my hard paddling today.  I will keep you informed as to what tomorrow holds.

Australian first impressions

I am so sorry I haven't blogged yet from Australia but one of the first things I learned was the county needs to sort out their wifi situation.  Seriously, Vietnam was golden compared to here!

My first event in Sydney, Australia was attending an Aussie Rules Football game.  Kim's uncle Andrew quietly suggested it for my first day and was quite pleased when I agreed enthusiastically.   So awesome.  We went to see the semi final Sydney Swans vs. Freemantle and the whole stadium was a sea of red and white Swans supporters.  Impressive showing of colors and support vocally.  Andrew explained the rules to me in less the 30 seconds and I was ready.   For a game most think have no rules the crowd certainly think there are many and they get broken quite frequently to which the supporters respond to very loudly.  The refs are even sponsered by an optometry clinic lol.  Absolute fun, beer and hot dogs and a solid win by the Swans.  A free bus system was in place for the mass that spilled ou and safely delivered people away.  I liked it a lot, I'm definitely taking Kim to experience that.

Exploring the Sydney harbour the next day I quickly learned how beautiful it is here.  A short ferry ride showed me how big and gorgeous Sydney harbour is.  Oh, gotta go, wifis gonna kick me off... talk to you soon kids!