tufbuf
Disney Addict!
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
Hello! We got back from our amazing trip Down Under last Monday!! I'll just make an add-on trip report to Cousin Orville's and post some photos.
This was an awesome, active, hectic adventure. ABD took us up in the air, down in the water, we biked and hiked and viewed spectacular landscapes in one vast country! To get there and back, we rode 11 airplanes and stayed in 7 different hotels. All that trouble though was all worth it!
We flew Saturday night and arrived early Monday morning. It was a red eye flight so everyone had a good shuteye on the plane. The flight was uneventful and going through immigration and luggage claim were a breeze. Our shuttle though had some engine problem, and DH tried to help the driver out as to the cause. It was a weak battery and he got us going in no time. As expected, our room was not ready and won't be till about 2 that afternoon. We met with friends and headed on to take the HOHO bus around the city.
From the airport, I wondered why the streets were empty on a Monday morning. It turned out, it was a public holiday, the Queen's birthday and there was no work that day. It was great! That meant no traffic and we had a better view of the city on the way to the hotel and while on the bus.
Sydney is a beautiful, clean and safe city. We sat on the top part of the bus and it was cool and windy that day.
We first made a stop at the Sydney Opera House to check out and see if there were any shows we can fit in our schedule. It was surreal being there, having seen numerous photos and videos, it was great to be right at the opera house's steps!
This is the Harbor Bridge, viewed across the opera house
The opera house, viewed from different angles give you a different perspective.
The roof is actually made up of aggregate panels of pink granite
We walked along the Botanical Garden, created by the convicts. It was celebrating its 200th year.
I noted some funny signs all through out Australia. Here's one from the garden
Later that evening, we took the ferry to Taronga Zoo. Sydney was celebrating Vivid Sydney which is a 3 week long winter event held this time of the year. They light up the city with laser lights. I'll show some photos and I hope I can upload a video. Our friends went the night before and we were told that it was extremely crowded then. Monday night was sparse. The zoo controlled the number of people in and we got in (since we had pre-purchased tickets) about 10 minutes since we got in line.
The Sydney Opera House from the ferry boat.
These green lights were moving and made it look like tiny green insects fluttering along
I was hoping to see a platypus but since Vivid Sydney was ongoing, the animal displays were closed.
An echidna
These animal displays are not stagnant. These turtles were flapping their fins and there are different sounds everywhere, usually the one the animal makes
It's quite difficult to appreciate in a still photo though...
These were the only animals we saw that evening, giraffes feeding at night. People say the animals have a much better view than most Sydney residents.
The Sydney skyline
The light display on the opera house was most spectacular!
They even made a snake crawl on the roof and even made it appear the roof was undulating! I'll see if I can post a short clip!
This was an awesome, active, hectic adventure. ABD took us up in the air, down in the water, we biked and hiked and viewed spectacular landscapes in one vast country! To get there and back, we rode 11 airplanes and stayed in 7 different hotels. All that trouble though was all worth it!
We flew Saturday night and arrived early Monday morning. It was a red eye flight so everyone had a good shuteye on the plane. The flight was uneventful and going through immigration and luggage claim were a breeze. Our shuttle though had some engine problem, and DH tried to help the driver out as to the cause. It was a weak battery and he got us going in no time. As expected, our room was not ready and won't be till about 2 that afternoon. We met with friends and headed on to take the HOHO bus around the city.
From the airport, I wondered why the streets were empty on a Monday morning. It turned out, it was a public holiday, the Queen's birthday and there was no work that day. It was great! That meant no traffic and we had a better view of the city on the way to the hotel and while on the bus.
Sydney is a beautiful, clean and safe city. We sat on the top part of the bus and it was cool and windy that day.
We first made a stop at the Sydney Opera House to check out and see if there were any shows we can fit in our schedule. It was surreal being there, having seen numerous photos and videos, it was great to be right at the opera house's steps!
This is the Harbor Bridge, viewed across the opera house
The opera house, viewed from different angles give you a different perspective.
The roof is actually made up of aggregate panels of pink granite
We walked along the Botanical Garden, created by the convicts. It was celebrating its 200th year.
I noted some funny signs all through out Australia. Here's one from the garden
Later that evening, we took the ferry to Taronga Zoo. Sydney was celebrating Vivid Sydney which is a 3 week long winter event held this time of the year. They light up the city with laser lights. I'll show some photos and I hope I can upload a video. Our friends went the night before and we were told that it was extremely crowded then. Monday night was sparse. The zoo controlled the number of people in and we got in (since we had pre-purchased tickets) about 10 minutes since we got in line.
The Sydney Opera House from the ferry boat.
These green lights were moving and made it look like tiny green insects fluttering along
I was hoping to see a platypus but since Vivid Sydney was ongoing, the animal displays were closed.
An echidna
These animal displays are not stagnant. These turtles were flapping their fins and there are different sounds everywhere, usually the one the animal makes
It's quite difficult to appreciate in a still photo though...
These were the only animals we saw that evening, giraffes feeding at night. People say the animals have a much better view than most Sydney residents.
The Sydney skyline
The light display on the opera house was most spectacular!
They even made a snake crawl on the roof and even made it appear the roof was undulating! I'll see if I can post a short clip!