Australia, Part 6: Sydney

Wombats, penguins, kangaroos, peacocks, oh my!

  I am finally posting about the last big thing we did in Sydney! I'm pretty sure I've said this multiple times over the course of my posts, but if you ever have the chance to go to Australia, GO! Do it! And pack me in your bag, thanks!!
  Patrick and I signed up for an all day trip that took us outside the city up into the mountains. We went to the wildlife park first and saw my favorites, the little penguins. It was a little surprising to see some full fledged mating rituals going on with them, but don't worry, I'll spare you that video that Patrick took (you only hear stuff, but still awkward!!). All the other penguins not involved looked scared as well as they were all huddling together (I felt the same way, little guys!!).

Koala, wombats, kangaroos, and peacocks

 My other new favorite creature is the wombat. They have massive claws which prevented me from touching them, but oh my goodness, they are freaking adorable!! Perhaps because they reminded me of my little fat corgi at home, but I am in love! One of the little guys walked all the way around the pen with us before waddling back to his spot where we found him. The other guy kept pacing back and forth next to the wall (above on the left). He was huge and I loved him! Too bad Pat wouldn't let me bring one home; I'm sure he would fit in perfectly with my corgis!!

Cool creatures

  Our guide also took us to a large open field where he tried to teach us how to throw boomerangs. Haha, yes, there is probably a reason the tour is taking this little idea off as Patrick almost nailed someone with one of his throws. It was pretty fun though and you could buy authentic boomerangs from him and they were absolutely beautiful pieces! I didn't feel like we needed to bring a weapon into the house, so we passed on that one.

My favorite!!

  We ate lunch at a "country club" which was a little rundown, but it had some nice views and the chips were good as well as the desserts! After lunch, we drove up further into the Blue mountains into Katoomba where we danced with some Aboriginal men and got to see some amazing art they have created. From there, we drove down to the Katoomba scenic railway. We took the cable car down to the rainforest and it was pretty amazing as at one point, you are pointed straight down!! It was a little crazy! We took the railway train back up and I'm glad that we didn't take that down because that sucker goes down at a 90 degree angle like a freaking roller coaster and it was scary enough having to go back up the mountain in it as you were not strapped in and it was only covered by a mesh fence on two of the three sides!

Coal mine in the forest and cherry blossoms

   We saw some amazing trees and ferns that grew into trees (see below). Other trees slough off their bark every year, like the one below on the far right. After we walked around the rainforest, we drove over to another little town where cherry blossoms were blooming and we got to walk into all the different little stores which were adorable!

Pretty trees (actually the first is a fern!!)

Olympic torch (now a fountain) and stadiums

Condos in Olympic Village

   The final stop on our day trip was the Olympic Village right outside of Sydney. Our tour guide said before the Olympics came to Sydney, the grounds of the village was basically landfill sites. Thankfully, they completely transformed it for the Olympics and were able to auction off the athlete's quarters off at a nice price in an area where nobody had wanted to live prior to the Olympics. I loved the old torch cauldron that is now a water feature. We took the ferry back to Sydney at the end of the day and we got to see the city in a different light as we came back into the harbour!

Map of Olympic Village

Coming back by ferry into Sydney (through a really dirty window)