Australia Trip Nov - Dec 2006

My Aussie Friends...

I miss you guys...Thanksgiving is a new experience for my Aussie friends and we had one of the best Thanksgiving meals EVER!!!

Seaplane Ride

View of the Barrenjoey Head and Palm Beach just outside of the Sydney area...GORGEOUS!

Sydney Harbour

Cloudy day view of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (locally known as the Coathanger because of the center coathanger shape design...not seen here because of the opera house view)

Parrot Feeding
Parrots would come everyday to the balcony of the flat I stayed at in Sydney. Parrots are free birds in Australia and they travel in pairs as they mate for life. These amazingly creatures are very affectionate and and truly look after each other even kiss after a meal.

Baby Koala
(How squeezably adorable is that!)

Koala's are little alcoholics as they get wasted off of the Eucalyptus Leaves and they are a bit abusive during mating season. Not the cuddly picture we have of them is it???

Hot Air Balloon Ride over a natural preserve. Flew from Penrith, Australia to Windsor, Australia. In the distance I viewed the Blue Mountains and in the preserve I saw mobs of wild kangaroo.

Camel Ride in Australia's Uluru
The ride started at 4am. Things I experienced:
- 800 Year Old Tree
- Baby Camel being bottle fed
- Camels are VERY playful
- Grass Rings (very strange site)
- Beautiful desert sunrise
- Deep brick colored dirt

Swimming with the dolphins in Forster, Australia

There are only FIFTEEN places in the world where you can swim with wild dolphins. Five of these are in Australia.





Sydney Cityscape from the Botanic Gardens

Bat (aka Flying Fox) at Sydney's Botanic Garden...Every evening somewhere around sunset all of these bats take off from the trees at the same time and fly inland for the night...it is quite a site
Aborigini playing the Didgeridoo

The Didgeridoo is a wind instrument of the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia. There are no reliable sources stating the didgeridoo's exact age, though it is commonly claimed to be the world's oldest wind instrument. For Aboriginal groups of northern Australia, the didgeridoo is an integral part of ceremonial life, as it accompanies singers and dancers in religious rituals.

Ayers Rock, Uluru, Australia from Helicopter

The Uluru is considered one of the great wonders of the world and is one of Australia's most recognizable natural icon. Ayers Rock is a large magnetic mound. To the Aborigini's this area is conisdered a sacred and spiritual place. I took the GHAN train from Alice Springs to get into the Uluru region.