we've been in australia
we've left america for the month.
Sydney:
chase slept great on the airplane, getting him his own seat has proven to be the best money i have ever spent and we arrived cramped but rested. christmas day lasted all of 5 1/2 hours somewhere over the south Pacific, the we crossed the int'l date line and it was into boxing day.
we were pretty fresh off the plane, but couldn't check into our hotel until later in the day so we hit the streets, had a coffee, and walked around a good bit. had a city tour and signed up for a day long blue mountains tour the next day.
the blue mountains are actually short hills, no bigger then the coastal range in the bay area, but it's a big as it gets in Aus which is exceedingly flat on the other side, evidently. great rain forests, cool views, we took this old mine rail car down into a valley for a mature walk on a boardwalk, the train averages 44 degrees incline! it's like taking an elevator. also we had a good tour guide that was pointing out all the different plants which goldi liked.
the day after that we walked bigtime, all through the botanical gardens around to the opera house, and then took a ferry out to Manly beach which was nice. paris Hilton was also in town which was the biggest story of the year, evidently. sydneysiders love their shopping and probably watch a bit too much TV and everyone had their ipod which is the cool fashion accessory along with big shades and a huge handbag. and pink shirts for the men are BIG here.
and now we're out on the farm. it's much quieter here, the closest (tiny) town is 12k away, and Grafton is 30k away. it reminds me of the south, cicadas in the trees and heavy mugginess which turns to cool rain every so often. it's actually been pretty wet, i have ridden 5 days in a row in the rain, but it's not sheets of ice water like in the winter at home, its warm and sweet, and keeps you just cool enough to be able to work hard. the property is huge here: 1326 acres! we went for a ride on the quad out to one of the property lines, and it took a while. they own to the top of the hills behind them plus 400 more acres over the top, and a K or more in either direction of their house. it's all regrowing rain forest, it was grazed 30 years ago but they've cleared to invasives and let it go back wild in many places. they also built a mill and cut and milled all the wood for their house. there's horses out your window every morning, and kookaburries in the trees. here's something cool: all the monkey sounds you hear in old tarzan movies are actually recordings of these birds, so at first i thought there were monkeys everywhere.
anyway, more later as internet connections allow.
Sydney:
chase slept great on the airplane, getting him his own seat has proven to be the best money i have ever spent and we arrived cramped but rested. christmas day lasted all of 5 1/2 hours somewhere over the south Pacific, the we crossed the int'l date line and it was into boxing day.
we were pretty fresh off the plane, but couldn't check into our hotel until later in the day so we hit the streets, had a coffee, and walked around a good bit. had a city tour and signed up for a day long blue mountains tour the next day.
the blue mountains are actually short hills, no bigger then the coastal range in the bay area, but it's a big as it gets in Aus which is exceedingly flat on the other side, evidently. great rain forests, cool views, we took this old mine rail car down into a valley for a mature walk on a boardwalk, the train averages 44 degrees incline! it's like taking an elevator. also we had a good tour guide that was pointing out all the different plants which goldi liked.
the day after that we walked bigtime, all through the botanical gardens around to the opera house, and then took a ferry out to Manly beach which was nice. paris Hilton was also in town which was the biggest story of the year, evidently. sydneysiders love their shopping and probably watch a bit too much TV and everyone had their ipod which is the cool fashion accessory along with big shades and a huge handbag. and pink shirts for the men are BIG here.
and now we're out on the farm. it's much quieter here, the closest (tiny) town is 12k away, and Grafton is 30k away. it reminds me of the south, cicadas in the trees and heavy mugginess which turns to cool rain every so often. it's actually been pretty wet, i have ridden 5 days in a row in the rain, but it's not sheets of ice water like in the winter at home, its warm and sweet, and keeps you just cool enough to be able to work hard. the property is huge here: 1326 acres! we went for a ride on the quad out to one of the property lines, and it took a while. they own to the top of the hills behind them plus 400 more acres over the top, and a K or more in either direction of their house. it's all regrowing rain forest, it was grazed 30 years ago but they've cleared to invasives and let it go back wild in many places. they also built a mill and cut and milled all the wood for their house. there's horses out your window every morning, and kookaburries in the trees. here's something cool: all the monkey sounds you hear in old tarzan movies are actually recordings of these birds, so at first i thought there were monkeys everywhere.
anyway, more later as internet connections allow.
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