Day 18: Sydney Part 1

G’day mates, from Sydney – I’ve waited a long time to say that!!  To sum it up in one word… BRRRRRR!!  How can a city have palm trees and be so freakin’ cold???  We arrived with a sharp cold wind.  Last night we sailed through an awful storm and had the worst pitching about that we’ve had all trip.  Every time I think it can’t get any rougher, it does. 

This crazy cold has settled into my chest (probably bronchitis) and I woke up not feeling so hot.  We waited until the last second to exit the boat, bundled up with layers of clothes, and headed straight for the Sydney Wildlife Park.  The most important thing is that I got to pet a koala – a lifelong dream.  Their fur is very dense and coarse.  They really aren’t that cuddly, but they sure are cute.  They sleep 17 hours a day, so they were all asleep.  We had pix taken, of course, but I have to upload them to some other website before I can share them. I'll have to do that when we get home.  So for now, here's my favorite picture...

My second lifelong dream was to also pet a kangaroo.  Didn’t get to do that, but we did see them and were pretty close to them.  They’re quite entertaining and silly.  I love this shot – he looks like a redneck, scratching his belly.

Here’s a cassowary… kinda looks like Kevin in the move Up.  Really gorgeous birds.  They're deemed the most dangerous bird because they use that topknot and their claws to cut you.  The topknot is like our fingernails.

And for all you Brownies and Girl Scouts, here’s the Cuccaberra…

What a beautiful city.  They’ve very elegantly blended the old with the new.  The architecture is definitely old British influence and they have lots of statues built into the sides of the old buildings.  They have all the modes of public transportation which makes it quite easy to get around.  The people are so friendly, and it’s a good thing, because we were lost for most of the morning.  We zigged when we shoulda zagged.  Here’s the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  The sailing into the harbor was as beautiful as the captain had promised.  We’re docked right next to the Opera House.

And an example of the way they have integrated their historical and modern buildings…

I’ll end with this one…

A tidbit… Australia has no penny, their lowest denomination is a 2-cent coin, so they round all prices up.  Their pricing also includes sales tax.  So an item priced at $4.99 is $5.00 even.   

Tonight we sail away at 6:30 and head north up the east coast of Australia to New Castle.  The pier is accessible to the general public, so the captain promises it will be a Titanic-type sail away with waving and all.  Hopefully it will get warmer and smoother as we sail up the coast.  I hope we don't hit any ice burgs!