LAST DAY IN AUSTRALIA

Has it been a month already??? We are all packed and ready to catch our plane and fly home. In reflecting back on this last month, all I can say is - It was INCREDIBLE !!! All the things one thinks about as a child, I have done. I saw my first platupus, rode a camel, camped in the outback (and did not need the services of the flying doctor) and slept under the stars in a swag, saw the Southern Cross in the sky; watched both the sunset and sunrise on Uluru, walked around Uluru, hiked into the Olgas, about 40 minutes from Uluru, saw Kings Canyon and took a hike through it; snorkled on the Great Barrier Reef; held a koala bear (who is actually related to the wombat, not the bear), fed kangaroo, made some great friends on the camping trip; toured backstage in the Sydney Opera House.....

This has been the most awesome adventure I have every done. I am simply amazed that so much has been accomplished.

here we are on our camel. Lucy is a lead camel and she is so gentle and easy to ride. All we had to do was talk gently to her and give her a few pats on the neck every now and again.

Stay tuned for more pictures in a few days.

Happy trails..............

Thursday - SYDNEY TOWER

Our day began quite slow.

We ate breakfast in the hotel room and then headed out and just started walking. This was the first day we really had to do just exactly what we wanted with no schedule or driver or tour guide rushing us along.

We discovered the Queen Victoria Building. This ornate Romanesque building has been described as the most beautiful shopping centre in the world yet it began life as the Sydney produce market. Completed in 1898, the dominate features are the central copper dome and the glass roof that lets in a flood of natural light. Refurbished, the QVB reopened in 1986 as a shopping gallery. The wishing well in the centre, incorporates a stone from Blarney Castle, a sculpture of Islay - Queen Victoria`s dog and a statue of the Queen herself.

When we left the QVB, we walked in a different direction, turning south and discovered we were exactly where we wanted to be...at the base of the Sydney Tower. The tower gives a bird`s eye view of all of Sydney. It rises 305 m (1000 ft) above the ground and has over 1500 stairs, if one is so inclined to walk instead of ride.

We bought our tickets and went up the elevator and took the 360 degree walk around the top. No, we did not don space suits to do the Skywalk outside on a tiny little platform...that is another $40.00 AUS each. Not worth it. Took lots of pictures and then, suddenly, my batteries died. Damn.... right in the middle of my playing. I was getting angry but decided to just buy some more and continue along taking pictures. Works for me.

We stopped at the little cafe in the tower and the server really got April`s order screwed up. She did not enjoy the vegetarian pie because she had ordered beef pie. Just a bit of difference there.

After lunch we decided to head back to the hotel via Darling Habour. It is a pedestrian park with beautiful fountains, lots of playground area for children, paths so your do not have to cross a street. You go under or over them instead. This is truly a beautiful area to stay. Close to everything. The aquarium is just up a block, the Chinese Gardens of Friendship are at our window, showing us the changing season. All the trees are getting their green fuzz announcing that Spring is just around the corner. The azaleas are all in bloom and a lot of the flowers are in bud. We missed summer in Canada but we are experiencing spring all over again. It is amazing just how fast Mother Nature creates the seasons. We were here about a month ago and it was totally winter. No leaves or green, cold and miserable, and now it is warming up and the signs of spring are showing through...Looks good.

Happy everything...

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE tour

What an awesome day. We were up at 5:30 am so we could be at the Sydney Opera House for 6:45 am for a backstage tour. We were briefed about what we could do and not do, what we would be seeing etc. And we were warned that there would be at least 300 stairs on our tour!

We started at the scenery department and good luck shone upon us because they were moving some scenery from the previous preformance and using the vertical elevator. Quite a sight to see. From there we went up a spiral staircase to reach the stage portion to see what they were doing. Our tour took us to the Opera stage and the Drama stage and to one dressing room of the principal conductor. We were rushed in and out of various places because the concert was going to begin at 11 am for a lot of school children and as the staff were organizing the stage etc, we were moving on to the next portion of the tour. All in all it was a wonderful way to start our day. Included in this tour was breakfast in the Green Room. Kinda fun and the food was delicious. After 2 hours of touring the rabbit warren, it was good to sit down and have some food.

We took lots of pictures, just a few inside and a lot outside. I am sure I will be deleting some of them. I am hoping the close ups I took of patterns, turn out. I have an idea for these pictures....

We finally left the Sydney Opera House area about 11:30 am and walked back through The Rocks. This is the area we toured the very first day we arrived and at that time, had found some shops we wanted to return to and just look around. I feel like I have lived in this city for years - it is just so familiar to me. April, on the other hand, loses direction very easily.

We had lunch at our favourite restaurant - D.A.R.E. restaurant - Delicious And Responsible Eating. They just won the best take away and catering category for all of Sydney so the staff were pretty happy when we arrived. This place has gluten-free, sugar-free foods and most are vegetarian but no tofu.

April wanted to head back to the hotel but decided we should walk. This proved to be a challenge because everyone in Sydney seemed to out on the same sidewalks we wanted to use. It was a slow go at some points because people were hussling and bussling and darting in from of us or actually pushing us to move on. April put on her stubborn hat and just kept walking with her cane and we finally made it out the other end relatively unscathed. Not too sure of some of the ruder people who shoved just a bit too hard.....

We finally reached our hotel - about 7 kms from where we started out - and our bodies were letting know we were abusing them. After a brief sit down, we went to Paddy`s market. We needed a new suitcase and that is the cheapest place in town. For $30 AUS I picked up a medium suitcase with several pockets. If it lasts to get our stuff home and maybe another trip or two, I will be happy.

Dinner: We tried a Malaysian restaurant just about half a block away. The last time we tried to eat there, the line ups were around the corner. Tonight, we were first in line and got right in when the doors opened at 5:30 pm. Food is HOT....roti with sauce or chicken and rice with fried anchovies, hot chilli sauce, hard boiled egg and a glass of ice diet coke... After the first couple of bites, it seemed to tame down and was actually enjoyable. Dessert was a roti with pandam jam in the middle and ice cream on the side. This really cooled our mouths !!

After that, we came right back to the hotel because we are just tired. A long and exciting day. In the next blog, I will tell about yesterday. A bit backwards but then, whoever said I did things as they are supposed to be done.....Til next time

HUGS

Cairns to Sydney

Well, here we are back in Sydney and on our last 4 days....We will be doing some exploring of places we have seen from a distance but not been to personally. This evening we just walked a few blocks from the hotel for dinner and found a whole new world. It is just amazing how this city is a mix of the very old buildings and the very new, modern buildings. Just fabulous.

As Australia's largest city, Sydney embraces its harbour, taking the sea and natural waterways to its heart. The grand style of the Sydney Opera House has made the city the landmark of the South Pacific. Everywhere we go, each city, town, village or hamlet is ranked per population within Australia.

Yesterday in Cairns, we walked the 2+ km from the hotel to the city centre and explored and did some photography of the buildings there. On our way across a street, we bumped into two of the 'kids' who were on our camping trip. They had been all the way up to Darwin and flew into Cairns earlier yesterday morning and were so tired.

Cairns is the heart of the Tropical North. It is a delightful blend of colonial architecture, with grand publis and commercial buildings. Cairns is the focal point for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is surrounded by World Heritage listed rainforests.

The weather in Cairns is strange. One minute it is sunny and hot and the next it will be raining so hard you could not see across the street and muggy and sticky. Our hotel room was nothing to write home about and smelled like someone had overflowed the bathtub but did not dry out the walls. Musty. So we slept with the balcony window open and let the wind blow through. It seemed to do the job, at least while we were there.

We went to the TJAPUKAI CULTURAL PARK for dinner and a show. It was a powerful and personal performance that left us with a deep and lasting memory of the ancient indigenous culture. At the lakeside, we became part of an ancient corroboree ritual which climaxed in the ceremonial making of a fire. This created a pathway from the darkness up to the restaurant for our buffet dinner.

Dinner was a buffet of many dishes and wonderful desserts, soups and breads. One could eat here one night and be full for the week there was so much food. Delicious..

After dinner there was another show by the Aboringinal players. They depicted their life of hunting and gathering. An example of this - one player was a kangaroo and the others were the hunters. Another dance was of snakes, which play a huge part of the ancient Aboriginal beliefs. There was about an hour of the dance all the while one of the players did the digeredoo and the rest clapped their 2 boomerangs together for sound. We all participated by clapping or banging on the tables. Very energizing and interesting.

Afterward we had time to wander the shop and maybe purchase some Aboriginal art work. When an original piece of artwork is displayed, there is usually a picture of the artist and a signature of the artist. Every piece of artwork has a story from dreamtime. We had already purchased an original piece from an artist in Alice Springs but the store is still very interesting.

And today we packed and flew to Sydney....

NOTE: I want to thank everyone who sent birthday wishes. I could not personally reply to you because I do not have email addys with me. We will be back in Canada on aug 31st, hopefully with no jetlag and ready to go and I will email you.

PS I turned my computer on last evening in Cairns and it worked.......So one less tribulation..

Hugs to everyone...

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS of our travels

We started out with big smiles on our faces and just expecting everything to be perfect. Well, not exactly how it happened......

First, at the YVR I thought I had forgotten the tickets.....I panicked and finally April dumped my bag and found the tickets and itinerary. That was easy....

Sydney is a wonderful city full of history and beautiful buildings and places to walk, gardens, tours etc. Our hotel, on the other hand, needs some help. Our room was dirty. April had a shower when we first got in and her towel had been used and still had make up and mascara on it. Yeck. The carpet looked like someone had blooped and it was not cleaned up properly. Behind the night table, more of something spilled. Not pleasant. The location is perfect but that is where it ended. Breakfast is $24 AUS per person and there is not a lot of choice. Learned our lesson.

On the morning we were taking the train to Canberra, we were up at 4 am at the railstation at 5:45 am and froze waiting an hour and a few minutes for the train to arrive. Ok, we survived that.

While in Canberra, we needed some cash so I went to the bank and guess what,,,, my bank cardS had expired and I could not access any $$$$ .... We have been improvising but the dollars are currently getting thin...

On leaving Canberra 6 days later, we were all packed and on our way to the airport and someone asked if we had our tickets and passports......NO !!! I could not find my passport. We returned to the house and Sarah and April double and triple checked all my bags. NO PASSPORT. We could still travel to Adelaide and continue our trip but I would not be able to leave the country without getting a new travel document from the Canadian High Commission. DAMN!!! I chose to ignore this little glitch and continue on. The next morning Sarah (April's brother's wife) called to say she had contacted the Canadian High Commission and gave us instructions on how to obtain the needed documents and told us to report it to the police. Well, the police in Adelaide took the report but filed it under completed. Nothing went to the Canadian government. To hell with worrying. I will do something later, when, I am not sure but not right now. So our journey continues.

We went to Kangaroo Island for 2 days then back to Adelaide and were picked up by our guide/driver for our outdoor adventure and camping in the Outback. Good.....

Our trip from Adelaide to Alice Springs was different. Our driver/guide was a bit of a control freak and some mornings he would take the kettle with boiling water and use it to put out the fire. On the last morning he took it right out of my hand and said there was no time. I was in the middle of pouring boiling water into my cup! He nearly wore the rest...but I let him survive.

The take a camel to dinner was a lot of fun in Alice Springs but the dinner left a bit to be desired. April ordered steak and it was hard as shoe leather. Matter of fact, we repaired her soles with it. My fish was raw in the middle so I did not finish it. Our dessert was scrumptious but we were rushed through it because the chef's little boy had his 1st birthday party so we had to finish in a hurry and leave.... Not nice.

Getting to Cairns and the events here have been fun. The weather, on the other hand, is not cooperating. Yesterday and today it has been cloudy, rain on occasion, very rough seas going out to the Great Barrier Reef and in the rainforest today, it was muggy, hot and damp.

But other than all that, we are really having the time of our lives......

Oh, I forgot. While at Uluru, after taking lots of sunset pictures, I picked up my camera and erased the whole 1 gig of pictures. I am told there is a recovery program available so I really hope so. The other thing that happened after Uluru at Kings Canyon, my computer quite working. I think we hit one too many bumps. Glad it is still under warranty. So, no more computer to download my pics etc until we get home.

Chat to you all soon. Hope all is well with you and sending big hugs.

Nancy Q & April too

Several days into our trip, I accidently found my passport!!!!! It was right in front of our eyes the whole time. It just blended into the lining of the back pack !!!

CAIRNS

We arrived in Cairns via Qantas three nights ago and have been go go go ever since. We were up and at em on Sunday to go to the Outer Great Barrier Reef and do some snorkling etc. It was fun but very windy and cloudy with rain at times. The reef just looked dull greeny gray but we got to do it and had several pics taken and so I bought 5 different ones. It was an all day event and a good portion of our time at the reef we spent in the water. Both of us enjoyed our time exploring and looking and touching the huge fishes that were around the platform where we jumped into the water. Feeding time and we swam and snorkled around the fish.

Several people were seasick but we were fine. Took ginger tablets and they work - no nausea!!!

Today we spent in a rainforest. Quite an experience. We went up the mountain into one of the World Heritage rainforests, took a "DUCK" tour on land and water, had a barbeque lunch, went to the zoo, had our picture taken holding a koala bear - which is really related to the wombat. Then we tried to throw a boomerang - no luck for me. Watched a spear throwing demo. Wow, can those things go a far distance to nail a kangaroo!!! Really interesting demo.

We went up the mountain on a narrow gauge rail coach and came down on a skytram. The Skytram is awesome. You are so high above the rainforest that you see things you would miss on the ground. It is so dense that you could not see the floor. Very interesting what it is like up there.....Felt like Medicine Man....

Well, we are off to an Aboriginal dance tomorrow evening complete with dinner (Wednesday). Thursday we are off to Sydney and shopping, touring and going into the opera house. Then we are home August 31, later in the evening. I will write a lot more then and lots of details with pictures. This trip has been wonderful but not without its problems, some serious.

More soon.......

Nancy Q & April too

ALICE SPRINGS

Here we are in Alice Springs and it is cold.....only uyp to 14 C today. Walked around Uluru and through one of the gorges at Kara Tjunta. Yesterday we walked into Kings Canyon - beautiful area and very spiritual. I am running out of computer time here so I will be brief. The camping up the centre of Australia in the outback was an awesome experience. We ate bushtucker every evening and it was just the best meat ever.... We have put on a lot of miles and probably seen every sunrise and sunset in 1350 kms. Early mornings but well worth the struggle to get up and get going. By 8:30 am every morning we would have walked at least 5 kms.

Spent my birthday with 15 of the younger ones we camped with - all under 25 yrs old. It was a blast. All day on the bus and walks they kept wishing me happy birthday and last evening I treated everyone to dinner - it was $5.00 A per person and the meals were quite large - at a place called Annies. Everyone except us, is staying in a hostel here and further on their trip. I am so glad we are in hotels.

As I said, very cold here. Every time someone opens the door, I freeze. Not anywhere near summer here. We are almost of the tropic of capricorn and it is so bloody cold......Enough about that.

Today laundry and sightseeing. Take a camel to dinner and then pack to leave tomorrow evening for Cairns.....hopefully to warmth.

Love to all and big hugs

Great fun in the OUTBACK

Just a quick check in to let you all know how much fun we are having... Our tour is full of young people under the age of 25 and then there is us!!! The old farts of the bunch. One of the hikes we have chosen not to take - like the 3 km climb up Mt. something or other at wilpena Pound. We opted for the same distance but on a flatter trail. So far one of our hikes took us to the Aboriginal cave pictures. to an abandoned homestead in Wilpena Pound, through an opal mine in Coober Pedy, to a salt lake in the middle of our drive today. We have been busy. To night we are staying in an underground hotel. For some reason our accomodations were upgraded for the first 3 nights so no dormatories for us.. This is a good thing. Tomorrow night we are at Uluru (Ayers Rock) and we will be sleeping either in a tent or under the stars in swagbags. Sounds like fun to us.

Well my time is almost done so I will write more probably from Alice Springs on Aug 21 or 22. Stay tuned...and thanks Lorenzo, for the tip on the photos problem. I will try that later...

Tomorrow we are supposed to see wild horses - Missy B will be happy, wild herds of camels, and lots of other wild animals, not counting the ones on our tour.

More about Kangaroo Island Australia

Friday morning our KI tour started with a trip to Clifford's Honey Farm. We were treated to a wonderful fuzzy drink made with honey. Just delicious....we got a very informative talk by the beekeeper about the bee hives, the extraction of the honey from the hives. This farm has over 400 hives so there is plenty of work. The extraction of honey and the honey comb is all done by machinery. Quite surprising how simple this is but also it is very complicated. The machinery gently cuts the honeycomb to allow the honey to be extracted by centrifugal force.

The tour company just wanted to give us some energy to climb up to enter Kelly Hill Caves. A National Parks Ranger took us deep into the cave to see the unique limestone formations created over thousands of years.. It was a 200 metre hike up to the entrance then 30 steep stairs down to the floor and then more sloping downward paths to explore the cave. Of course, we were very much herded and an eagle eye was kept on hands trying to touch the limestone. And all that up and down we did to get here, well we reversed this to get back to the bus. 30 steep stairs going up was really not that difficult. April was marvelous keeping up with the group....

Lunch was at a campsite called Beckwith's. A few salads were offered with the best homemade chicken vegetable soup with bun and then out came the barbecued hamburger, sausage and curry chicken. The chicken stayed on my plate, I just did not enjoy it and sausage was greasy so it did not get eaten either. The salad was good and the cup of tea was just what we both needed. Onward.....

to Flinders Chase national Park. Remarkable Rocks are certainly remarkable. Looks just like marbles that have weather away and are sitting on top of a huge monolith right at the edge of the ocean. We got to walk over and under these remarkable quirks of nature. On to a place called Admiral's Arch. A colony of New Zealand Fur Seals is a permanent resident of this area . They look like logs until they move and start to bark. A brisk walk on the boardwalk down the rugged cliff face revealed the spectacular arch, a natural nursery and safe haven for the playful fur seals which can be seen playing or just lounging around the rocks.

From here we had about 1 1/2 hours to nap while we drove to the Pelican Feeding stop. The pelicans here are black and white and are quite beautiful. It was funny to see these birds getting ready for the man to feed them and the fighting for a spot was just hilarious to watch. It was all over in about 15 minutes and then the bus driver took us to the air port.

This is a tiny airport but efficient. Our plane could only transport about 30 people maximum to the mainland and Adelaide. We had a driver waiting for us at the Adelaide airport and were whisked away to our hotel. As soon as we were signed in, I left April to arrange getting the bags to our room and I jogged off to buy a new pair of hiking boots. I had seen a pair two days before but the store was closed. Timing was perfect, I tried on several pairs of boots and bought a pair that felt so comfortable. These will find a home on my feet for the next 6 days.

I will report further at the next stop with a connection to the Internet.

Friday August 15th, 2008

Wow! We just had a whirlwind two-day tour of a wonderful place called Kangaroo Island the Galapgos of Australia. We went over by ferry ... and for all of us who complain about the cost of our ferry travel, time to look around. The cost for one car and one passenger round trip is $256.00. A walkon passenger is around $80.00. This, apparently is the most expensive ferry in the world for the time and distance. Only 45 minutes from the mainland to KI !

We started this leg of our big adventure at 6:00 AM on Thursday with the bus picking us up at the hotel - Majestic Roof Garden Hotel - lovely hotel....driving us to the bus station, we got on another bus to take us to the ferry. The bus travel part took us two and one half hours. The ferry ride over was on a small ferry with not nearly enough seats for all the passengers. Cute but very rocky ride on the way over to KI. At the ferry terminal, we were picked up by a big bus - 31 passengers - and this was our daytime home for the next two days. Our bus driver, Rod, was fabulous. He is retired but the company keeps giving him a few tours when they need a driver.

The first stop was an eucalyptus distillery. Very interesting how this is done and a very simple operation. Everything on this farm is powered by solar or fueled by wood left over from other projects. This farmer is very clever about energy, all of Canada (mainly the governments) could take a lesson from his book. Nothing is wasted.

Next stop was Birds of Prey. Here are rescued owls, eagles, kookaburras, and hawks. I got to have a little hawk fly to me and take a treat before flying back to her master. A great experience. See picture above.

From there we went to Seal Bay. It was very cold, on the south side of KI, next stop Antarctica... wind coming right off the ice and blowing our way. We went for a beach walk with the National Parks Ranger amongst a breeding colony of Australian Sea Lions. Seal Bay is one of only two places in the world where visitors can walk on the beach with the seal lions in their natural wild state.

These creatures will go out to sea for three days at a time to gather food for their young and then come back to land and the pups for three days. As the pups get older, they are taken into the water gradually and finally, when they are old enough, they too go hunting for three days in the Ocean and start their own cycle.

We went to the Parndana Wildlife Park. This was a thrilling experience. We toured the wildlife and bird park seeing many native Australian animals and birds. Patted a sleeping koala and fed a lot of Kangaroo Island kangaroos. They are both soft. The koala could care less as long as you just pat him and let him sleep. The roos, on the other hand, want the food in your hand and will use their paws and sometimes claws, to hold your hand where they can eat the food. While in the kangaroo compound, we saw a variety of fowl but I really do not know what they were. Mystery birds...

And both April and I got to cuddle a baby wallabee..... too cute for words.

We were soon on our way to visit Island Pure Sheep Dairy, a unique and enterprising farm. There we had the opportunity to observe sheep being milked like cows with the milking machines, and sampled delicious cheeses - including Haloumi - grilled with a squeeze of lemon juice - delicious!!!! This company makes wonderful yogurt but we resisted buying any because we just do not have anywhere to store it...

Off to find the Kangaroo Island Lodge and have dinner . Our room was sparse but livable. We were only there for a few hours. For dinner we both tried a fish called Whitting fish. Very nice, mild tasting, firm but not hard. Cooked to perfection. With lots of chips and a salad. Of course, we tried a glass of wine from a local winery - Two Wheelers. Nice white.

Dinner was a bit rushed because this Lodge provides a nocturnal tour of a Little Penguin colony. These are the smallest penguins in the world. They make the oddest noises and burrow to lay eggs and raise their young. I did get some good pictures but was only allowed to use a red light to see the penguins.

Finally we got to go to bed around 11 pm....zzzzzzzz

Market day and house exploring

Sunday is craft market day around here. We went to the Kingston market and looked at all the artisans handcrafted work. Bought a few items but because our suitcases are full, we have to purchase just little things like a postcard or something flat like that.

It was bitterly cold inside the building but we managed to stay a bit warm by walking and walking. The organizer of the Sunday market had a dance floor and played jive tunes. People were up there dancing and keeping warm. Some were very good. A thrill to watch because it seems to be only the old farts who can jive.

Some of the same crafts as we see in Canada were on display - with some polymer clay jewelry, some silver - sterling and I think some PMC. (polymer metalic clay). Of course there were lots of wool booths with a wide variety of colours. I did buy some dyed wool and some felt. These will squash down to nothing!

In the afternoon we toured one of the first houses built in Canberra. Most of these types of homes you tour have had period furniture purchased and presented in the home. Not this house. One of the daughters is still alive and very involved in the care and upkeep of the Calthorpe's House. All the furnishings are the orginal purchased in 1927. Not much has been changed since then. It is very interesting to me to take a tour like this. Fortunately, we were treated to a private guided tour and got to ask lots of questions and see parts that are usually blocked off to tourists.

Found out that most houses are sold by auction rather than by sitting on the market and hoping someone will come along who loves it. A date is set, people show up and bidding begins. Quite civilized way to do business. Of course, there is a reserve bid price so if no one bids over that amount, then the house goes up for auction another day.

One final note... We are in winter down here and ther was snow in parts of Canberra Sunday morning. - C O L D ! ! ! !

Stay tuned for more on our adventures. Today, Monday and Tuesday we are still here, flying to Adelaide later on Tuesday evening. Whenever I can get an internet connection, I will keep you all updated.

Have a great day and see you in September..

Nancy Q & April too

Awesome day

We are still here in Canberra for another day but I really want to tell you about the wonderful day we had on Saturday. Sarah, our lovely hostess, suggested we register and take a quick course at the Glassworks Gallery. She registered us for a glass fusion class! Off we trotted to the class and we made a postcard size fused glass decoration. I was so excited to do this but we cannot pick up our masterpieces until Wednesday but by then we will be in Adelaide. Sarah will pick them up and send them off to us.

Now, I have to apologize, I cannot seem to get any pictures uploaded at this time so I will post later. AND we have been without internet for a few days, hence the delay in getting this online.

On Saturday we also went to a Craft and Quilt show. All of the Quilts were spectacular but no photos permitted. One of the women who made a beautiful copper-coloured quilt first bleached the pattern and then added various stitches to make the design stand out. She has been invited to take her quilt for showing in Houston Quilt in November. What an honour!!

A display from the Canberra Doll group was interesting. Seems they have been using polymer clay for dolls but nothing as wonderful as some of our dolls in the Coast Character Doll Artists!! Canberra's display does not compare to the fabulous display our Guild presented.

It was home and dinner and off to bed. Another great day coming up..

Thank you for following our great big adventure.....

Nancy Q & April too

Canberra

Today was a bit slow starting but it was worth it. We went shopping for some of the final bits and pieces for our camping trip and found them all. Yea! Next stop was the National Gallery of Australia. WOW!! a beautiful building and beautiful exhibits.
We prowled through the Asian galleries and learned so much. Very interesting some of the pieces that are here. Then we wandered slowly through "Picture Paradise: Asia-Pacific photography 1840's - 1940's". This is the exhibition of the history of photography in the Asia-Pacific region. Early photography in the Asia-Pacific region reveals the beauty and cultural diversity of the region.

The next gallery we wandered through was the "Richard Larter: a retrospective. Richard Larter is widely considered to be one of Australia's most distinguished artists. Born in 1929 in England, he arrived in Australia in 1962. Over the next 4 decades, he created an impressive, provocative, lively body of work. His ability to combine politics, history and sexuality mixd with a feeling for colour makes his works unique, energetic and challenging."

After four hours of walking through this beautiful gallery, we were pooped so we all came home, had dinner and watched the very beginning of the opening ceremonies of the Bejing Olympics.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. Stay tuned........

Nancy Q

Sydney to Canberra.....

On our last day in Sydney we took the ferry tour from Darling Harbour, where we were staying, all around the harbour. We passed under the magnificent Harbour Bridge, viewed the Sydney Opera House on three sides and then decided to get off the ferry at the Taronga Zoo. Wise choice. It is an amazing zoo with a huge section devoted to Wild Australia. I had my thrill of a lifetime - I finally have seen a real, live PLATAPUS.. They are such funny creatures. It looks like someone was playing a joke on the animal world and forgot to remove the masks. Webbed feet, a long, slender body with the softest fur, a duck bill. He lives both out of water and in the water, using his duck bill to scavenge in the creek beds for grubs and cray fish. And they are lightening fast. I tried to get a picture of him but he was just too fast for my camera to pick up. In the pictures, all you see is one big blur where this little animal darts around. You cannot use a flash because you could blind him. Very sensitive eyes because they are nocturnal.

After this thrill, we were watching a koala in a tree and it looked like the belly area was moving. Yup, it was and momma was holding the cutest little baby who was a bit rambuctous and wanted to see the world. One minute you would see this little ball of grey fluff peeking out from under the momma's leg, she would grab him and put him in his place then the next time you see him, he is peeking out from under her arm. This went on for several minutes until Momma got tired of the fooling around and decided to change trees. Baby hung on for dear life to Momma's belly area. Ok, now I want a pet koala!!!!

By time we finished o0hing and awing over all the Australian animals, we made our way back to the wharf and got on the ferry to continue our trip around the Harbour. It is huge. We stayed with the ferry until we were back almost to our hotel and decided to get off and find some dinner. It gets dark here around 5:30 - 6pm. and it gets cold. We are in the middle of winter! We discovered a beautiful park all along both sides of the Cockle Bay area of the Harbour so we just walked. We found a wonderful mall and took a cruise through there. Some stores were worthwhile and others we did not even look in. We did find a cafe and sat down to have some dinner. Did I mention that the meals here in Australia are outrageously priced? Our meal of one piece of lasagne, one order of veal which was smothered in mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes. All of this was totally tasteless and cost over $50.00 Aus and that is just for fast food. A decent meal would be over the moon! Back to the hotel to pack up and be ready for the alarm to go off at 4:21 AM so we can be ready to get our taxi to the railway station to get on the train at 6:58 am. The train station is a brief 5 minutes away and we sat in there, freezing our butts off, until the train rolled into the station at 6:45 am.

Canberra is the seat of government in Australia. It is a planned city with lots of wide road space and there do not seem to be traffic jams.

We arrived on Aug 6th via train. This is a wonderful experience. We saw the countryside and lots of kangaroo mobs! Yes, that is what a herd of kangaroos is called. They blend in with the landscape and if they did not move, you would be challenged to see them. A very powerful animal. April's brother Paul and his lovely wife, Sarah, have been our tour guides and we have had the tour circumventing Canberra. That was a long journey, perhaps 45 minutes!!!! Today we went to the natural museum. What a treat. First of all, it is free and secondly, the architecture is amazing. The exhibits are fun and easy to follow with lots of pictures, actual objects and some hands-on.

I am off to bed. A long day coming up. And I think, if it stops raining, that we are to be treated to a bar be que of kangaroo burgers. I will let you know how this tastes.

Till the next catch up of our great big adventure, take care. Nancy & April

and we are back

My time ran out on the other piece. This am we took a walking tour of the Rocks in Sydney and now we are off on a coach tour to Bondi Beach and other well known tourist areas. Looking forward to it all. Next post will be this evening when I hope to be able to get some pics up on this site also.

To Kristian - Yes we are enjoying our great big adventure!!!!
To Danica - we have not seen any horses or camels
to Lexie - Not one person in a karate gi.
To RayAnne - We are going to zoo tomorrow and I know you would love all the animals.

Gran and Gramma are now on their way out the door.

And to everyone else. Will share more later. Keep tuned for more Quipay adventures........

WE ARE HERE!!!!! in Sydney Australia

We arrived with0ut too much trouble. The flight from San Fransisco was very long and I did not sleep well but April was like a log. Our arrival here was 7 AM and our hotel room was not ready so we wandered around the market place where everything looks like a dollar store market. Fun, cheap and we bought nothing.

Our hotel, Novotel Rockford Hotel on Darling Harbour, is not first rate but it is a clean bed and flush toilets. The food is exhorbitant. For two continential brunches it was $33 Aus and nothing to write home about .