Ku-Ring-Gai (M&D: Day 13)

A day out at Ku-Ring-Gai National Park. Overlooking Pittwater and on the other side - south of Barrenjoey Head is Palm Beach (where Home & Away is filmed).




A bush turkey


A very decent sized goanna.



Aboriginal rock drawings

North Head & Northern Beachs (M&D: Day6)

Although Mom & Dad wanted to get organize for their trip to Queensland tomorrow, we decided to do a tour of the northern beaches starting with our local - Balmoral Beach







Mom likes the Australian signs



At North Head (near Manly), they have a lot of signs about the endangered Bandicoots.



North Head




We drove north of Manly and stopped and did a cliffside walk to Curl Curl

Blue Mountains (M&D: Day 5)

Today we planned a big hiking day out in the Blue Mountains, but when we arrived, there were forest fires raging out of control in the National Park so we couldn't go into the park at all. Instead we went to Scenic World where you can take the world's steepest railyway (52 degreen incline!) down into the Blue Mountains, walk around the rainforest and come out via a cablecar. Its a neat walk with ferns, eucalypts and cockatoos.


Very steep rails










The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle. As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.








Then we did a walk down to Laura Falls.

Darling Harbour, Paddys Market & Fish Markets (M&D: Day 4)

The view from our apartment out onto Berrys Bay


We're set back farther than the other apartments, but up higher so can see more of the harbour


We can walk down the stairs to the harbour and walk through the park to the ferry wharf to head to Circular Quay or Darling Harbour



Darling Harbour - Aquarium side


Darling Harbour - Pyrmont side w/ the Maritime Museum


Outside the Sydney Wildlife World


Darling Harbour




There are Ibis everywhere! And they are big and they can fly!


Hey Isabel - this is where the Wiggles are from.


We met Mike for lunch at the Fish Markets - lots of fresh fish and seafood.