Australia's Most Deadly

Before coming here, I saw many pictures and heard many stories about deadly creatures in Oz. In fact, its one of the most venomous places, if not THE most venomous place in the world. I'm not just talking snakes here...there are all kinds of creatures here that could kill you with one drop of their toxic venom. These things terrify me so much that since I got here I have been saying stuff like: "Don't touch it...it will probably kill you" about everything from plants and flowers to bugs and reptiles of all kinds. I'm not the only one taking this lightly either! After a "Game of Thrones" exhibit came to Sydney I knew I had to see it...But upon getting into the massive line up this morning, I learned that the line was so long that the point where I was in line (only 10 minutes after the exhibit opened for the day) would not only be waiting upwards of 6 hours, but probably not make it in before the exhibit closed for the day. With a heavy heart I got out of line and after grabbing a coffee with Andrew decided to wander around the Australia Museum instead. One of the exhibits there was called "Surviving Australia" and featured all of the things that could maim, mutilate, and kill you, hence what inspired this blog and reminded me why some people will probably never journey to Oz...

First, let's start with the water. The beautiful white sand beaches, crystal waters, and colorful coral reefs are some of the most numerous and beautiful in the world. But, I know what you're thinking...the thing that Oz oceans are most famous for...Sharks. There are over 160 species of sharks in Oz and the greatest number of Great White sharks in the world! In fact, back in the olden days places like Coogee had "shark nets" included in the beaches where you would pay a fee to swim sure that no shark would take your leg. If that's not enough to scare you out of the oceans, if you're swimming in Northern Oz waters (especially between November and March) there is another ocean killer...Jellyfish. Oz is home to the Box Jellyfish, the most venomous in the world. A sting from this fella can kill a human in about 4 minutes! There is an antidote, however, it needs to be administered immediately.

Blue Ring Octopus

Cone Shells

If you make it past the sharks and jellyfish there are still more deadly things in the turquoise oceans...Pretty Cone Shells line the ocean floor around reefs with beautiful colors on glossy, perfectly shaped shells. If you're thinking about picking one of these up to take home, you'll probably not make it home because they shoot a "harpoon" of venom at their prey (or attacker) which is powerful enough to immobilize humans and cause excruciating pain to which there is no anti-venom. As if there wasn't enough to be scared about the oceans here, there is one more silent (and usually small) ocean killer which is found dominantly in New South Wales (i.e. Sydney!)...the Blue-Ringed Octopus. This little guy is the most venomous marine life out there, and each little guy (they rarely grow bigger than your hand) has enough venom to kill 26 humans in minutes. If you look at the average picture of this little guy you may wonder why they call the brown, grey, tan, and white guy "blue"...But if you find one that is agitated, you will see blue electric rings light up the little guy before he injects you with his toxin which is 1200 times more powerful than Cyanide! Immediately there is no effect and most people don't even realized they've been injected. But within minutes, paralysis begins which eventually reaches the heart and lungs. There is no anti-venom and the only way for someone to be kept alive is by CPR for 24 hours.

So, you decide you're going to stay out of the ocean and just stick to swimming in freshwater lakes and river here? Well, they are home to another one of Oz's finest killer, crocodiles. They didn't call Steve Irwin (an Aussie) the croc hunter for nothing! Oz is home to some of the biggest crocs in the world, some reaching up to 7 meters (22 feet) in length and weighing as much as a small car. You may be thinking, how do I avoid these? Well, the museum suggests you ask locals where the crocs are and do not swim there...quite reliable eh? Also, you know those cute little Duck-Billed Platypuses? The males have a talon on their back legs which inject venom. It doesn't kill you but it does cause a lot of pain.

Alright, so now that you're not going near the Oz waters, what about a nice hike in the Bushland? You may run into something even more unpleasant...Oz is home to 190 species of snake, 25 of which are toxic to humans. Of those 25, 20 are in the "Top 25 Most Deadly Snakes" in the world and wraps up the top 10.
There are a reported 1600-2000 snake bites per year in Oz, although not all are by deadly snakes. The most deadly is the Eastern Brown Snake, which is fast and aggressive. Others topping out the list include the Tiger Snake, which inhabits metropolitan areas around the coast, the Inland Taipan, the most venomous snake in the world with toxic venom that can kill a human in less than 45 minutes, and the Death Adder, and with a name that says "death" you can only imagine what this one's capable of!

Funnel Wed Spider

Maybe you decide to just sit tight in your hotel and maybe wander around the city a bit instead of hiking or swimming...if this is the case, you may meet another one of Oz's infamous inhabitants...spiders. Before reading on, just take a glance at this website...They're big. They're hairy. They're everywhere. Generally the spiders you see out and about (or in your house) aren't deadly. The Huntsman spider (which greeted me on my first night in Oz) is pretty big and common in houses, but not poisonous. They eat bugs and cockroaches so some households graciously accept them. There are also many big spiders out in big webs in bushes all over the city (and Botanic Gardens especially) that spin beautiful golden webs. Also, not poisonous and their webs are used to spin silk garments in places in Asia! However, there are (once again) some of the most venomous spiders in the world residing commonly in Oz. There is the Sydney Funnel-Web, guess where you find that one? They spin a web that looks like a funnel (commonly in trees) and catch prey with fangs that are longer than a Brown Snake's and strong enough to pierce fingernails. Their venom is strong enough to kill humans but there was an anti-venom developed in the 1980s. There are also Redbacks, which resemble Black Widows. They hide under toilet seats and in other dry, sheltered places. They also have toxic venom and there is a reported 250 bites per year. Finally, there are Trap-Door spiders that dig holes in the ground for prey to fall into leading them to an easy meal. Although not deadly for humans, their toxins cause nausea and pain. These ones are special because they can live to be up to 20 years old (Harry Potter stuff here!).

Magpie Danger sign from a zoo

Also, remember those cute little Magpies I mentioned that I had been feeding on my balcony? The pretty black and white birds are very common throughout Oz and usually don't cause a nuisance to people. But, during nesting time, September-November, they are very protective of their nests and have been known to "swoop" people passing by. Although these airborne attacks rarely involve contact,  emergency departments record that most attacks are aimed at the face and eyes.

Do these Oz inhabitants make you second-guess every notion you've ever had about travelling to Oz? Well...fear not loyal readers! There are on average about 120,000 deaths per year in Oz and you can count the number of deaths related to snakes, sharks, and crocs all on one hand. There haven't been deaths from spiders (even the most deadly!) since the 80s! Typically, only 2-4 snake bites are fatal, 1 person is killed by a croc, and 1 by sharks. Oz is home to such beautiful and exotic creatures, not to mention beautiful views, that it would be a shame to let a few venomous animals scare you away! And for the ladies, in a recent poll, Australian men were voted the most attractive men on the planet! Sorry guys, Aussie women came 7th, but still pretty dang good! So don't be afraid of the little things (or big things in the case of sharks/crocs), don't provoke them and they won't poke you (says the final sign in the museum exhibit!).

Until next time, unless a spider/snake/shark/croc/magpie/octopus/shell/jellyfish/platypus gets me!

Fun and Games

It has been awhile since my last update and there has been a lot going on!

For starters, I began a new job. It's a pretty casual job nannying for two girls, ages 6 and 11 over the school holidays (winter holidays here for a couple weeks...still hard to believe its winter in June, but more on that later). I have only done it a couple days so far but they are super easy to watch and I can't complain about being paid almost 3 times the Wisconsin minimum wage in cash to hang out with girls all day and take them to the park and do arts and crafts!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to do the job long since (after quite a turn of events) we are moving in about 3 weeks! On July 15th we will have to be out of our apartment here and will be moving to Raymond Terrace and living with Andrew's parents for a brief time while looking for houses in Newcastle, a city quite a bit smaller than Sydney (about 600,000 people), and quite a bit cheaper, but still with plenty of beach access and entertainment. We were thinking about for a while but hadn't planned on anything until August 15th at the earliest. But, one of our flatmates finding somewhere else to move has sped up the process. It's a welcome change in all honesty and I'm sure our wallets will thank us!

Rabbitohs...Very intimidating bunny with Xmas colors!

A couple weekends ago I also checked another item of my Oz bucketlist and went to a live professional rugby game! This story goes all the way back to December when Muzz, Andrew's brother in law, sent my parents and me hats for a Sydney rugby team called the Rabbitohs. The team has a rocky history with some championship wins ages ago followed by such a bad streak that they were almost eliminated from the league. However, Russel Crowe bought the team, pumped lots of money into the players and coaches and VOILA suddenly they are so bad. They finished strong last year but had a rocky start this year. Previously we had only watched one game on TV of the Rabbitohs vs. Tigers and the Tigers, a team that was ranked very low, absolutely creamed the Rabbitohs. So when Muzz asked Andrew and I to attend the Rabbitohs vs Tiger game live with him, his dad, and his brother in law, we of course obliged! We had pretty great seats in the huge Olympic Stadium and tickets were real cheap at around $30 per person (makes me wonder why we charge so much for NFL games in the States?) and after a difficult time getting there, which included 4km of walking, we arrived just in time for the game (and some Krispy Kreme doughnuts from a vendor!)

Stadium in Olympic days

The stadium itself was amazing. It was used for the 2000 Olympics and then later converted into a rugby stadium but removing a big portion of the higher up seats and the running track and adding seats where the track was. For your sake, I will try to simplify rugby just so you get a taste of the Aussie equivalent to the NFL... First, the field is 100 meters long (roughly looks the same as a football field) and has a goal post (similar, but smaller than field goal posts) on each end. Basic game play begins with a kickoff and the receiving team attempting to run the ball the length of the field in 6 attempts. Hand passes may only be backward although there are some other rules about kicking it forward (usually used as 6th attempt in order to get the ball further from their own goal line before the other team gets it) but these kicks may also be caught by the kicking team and then play is continued from there. In order to score a "try" (aka touchdown) the played much actually touch the ball on the ground in the goal area. This is worth 4 points. Then the team gets to attempt a field goal (20 meters back from where the ball was touched on the ground, which could make the kicker kick from the far left/right) worth 2 points. After a try the scoring team receives again and the game continues. In this way, the games are often "runaway" scoring since one team is constantly receiving the ball. Two of the biggest differences to NFL is the clock, which rarely actually stops (only for bad injuries-there isn't even timeouts!) and the gear worn by the players, which is just (short) shorts, a polo, shoes, knee-high socks, and the optional (but WAY uncool) lightly padded head gear. This makes the impact hits so much harder and much more dangerous (one guy this season broke his back and will probably never be able to walk again). The game is simple enough to follow and you can't beat the environment, which was great for us because the Rabbitohs won! We celebrated quite late into the night with the boys and actually ended up at a karaoke bar which was a blast (of course).

Recently there was also a big rugby match called the State of Origin which is when the players are either on the red or blue team depending on whether they are from the North (Queensland) or South (New South Wales). NSW was blue this year and although they hadn't won the 3 game tournament in years they came out strong. Andrew and I missed the first game, which was won by Blue (NSW!), but we did see the second one which was more fighting than playing and ended up with another Blue win, giving us the title for the year!

Vivid lights on the Opera House

Since I haven't updated in quite some time I missed telling everyone about Vivid and my first visitors here from the States. Vivid is a week-long light festival in the city and harbor which basically lights up buildings and includes cool and interaction art pieces featuring lights. There was a real neat light show ON the Opera House (watch it here ) but my favorite part was the random lighted kangaroos/clouds/shapes that went across the skyline of buildings! Very neat festival that rang in the beginning of winter. Also during this time the Rotary International Convention was in Sydney. This brought two Rotarians that I know here, my friends Justin and Ann. We got dinner one night and another night went out for a crazy night on the town (which involved dinner, drinks, pickle backs, a drag show, and late night Chinese). I loved playing "tour guide" and I'm happy to say that it won't be my last time as my best friend Litzy just booked a trip here and my parents are also looking to come out, both trips in November...Couldn't ask for a better birthday present!

The Green & Lean Country

Outlets

Toilet flushers

I have been quite busy here as of late but I realized while telling people about it that I never touched on how much this country is "going green". I mean, not only are they extremely healthy but they are also concerned with the environment! For example, all of the outlets have little switches on them so that you can turn off the outlet when you're not using the thing plugged into it! This makes it a little frustrating when you try to put toast in the toaster about 3 times before realizing that the outlet isn't on...But overall, a great concept! In addition to saving electricity, Aussies like to conserve water! This can be seen by the toilets. Many people have asked me which way the toilet flushes here since we're "upside down" but in all reality, the toilets don't have swirling water like America has. They have little water in the bowl and after going you can decide to flush using minimal water or more water. Simplified less for #1 and more for #2. Pretty clever little water saver there! Finally, in my time being here I have yet to see one dryer. We meticulously hang up wet washing on racks or clothesline to air dry. This is a bit more time consuming, both in the actual hanging, and in the time waiting for it to dry (can take days!) but overall, clothes don't stretch as much and it uses less energy, which is a win in my book! 

Although next week officially kicks off winter here, it has been absolutely gorgeous weather as of late. This makes the weather perfect for walking. It cools off a bit at night (from mid 70s in the day to 50s at night!) which is refreshing and lovely. Apparently it does get colder (I'm wondering what colder even means here!) so I have been taking advantage of the nice weather by doing lots of walking (and some running) around Coogee and occasionally the city. Since I have been out utilizing the walkways along the coast more often I have been noticing what a fit culture this is. Numerous walkers, runners, joggers, and bikers can be seen out at any time of day. There are fitness classes held in parks, yoga at beach-side baths, and special bike lanes with their own stop and go lights and turn signals! There is just an aura of "fit" and "healthy" around here and I can't help getting sucked in a bit, especially during the week with plenty of exercise and healthy meals. The weekends are a bit of a different story, but we all have our vices ;)

The only African Elephant in Oz, all the rest are Asian!

An Echidna, another Oz native

Black Rhinos coming for hay

Other than that, life here has been great. Time is flying by, can't believe I've been here almost 3 months already and my year is a quarter of the way finished! Last weekend we traveled 6 hours to Dubbo, a smaller Western city, where we went to the zoo and met up with Andrew's youngest brother Dave at night for a few beverages. The zoo was amazing and holds 20% of the world's population of Black Rhinos! We took a behind-the-scenes tour and saw the 2/3 of the zoo not open to the public and got to get up close to rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, and the like. Was a great weekend there for sure! It couldn't hurt that the weather was near 80s and the zoo was an open-range zoo so we walked around the 8 miles of walking trails to see everything while enjoying the beautiful sunshine. 

Still looking for jobs here, although I did have one "interview" which was basically being thrown in a 3 hour busy lunch shift with no training. It was definitely different than interviews in the States! Still waiting to hear back from that one, but in the meantime applying for more! Some changes may be coming soon but it's too early to say anything yet! Keep reading! xx

Just call me Dundee, Kangaroo Dundee...

The last couple weekend have been jam packed with my favorite things....ANIMALS! A couple of cool animal encounters were had...The Sydney fish market, Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and Oakvale Farm near Newcastle and Andrew's parent's house. 

Seafood Lunch

Monster...I mean, lobster

We went to the fish market the day after Anzac day with Andrew's boss, Gene, whom had invited us over for a seafood lunch and also to the markets. The markets were bustling with people, as it was Saturday morning, and there were even tour buses there! The market opens daily at 7 am after the fishermen bring in their catches around 4 am and auction them at the dock. Then the fish, crustaceans, and shelled creatures are put in huge displays cases, filleted, shucked, washed, etc. The market had a faint smell of fish but it wasn't over powering, as most of the fish is kept on ice. The crabs and lobsters were kept alive and some were gigantic (we saw as a worker put one on the floor and it was bigger than her foot!) and there were also regular sized ones in bins. Gene bought us quite a seafood feast and his wife (from Vanuatu) showed us how to correctly cut sashimi (aka raw delicious fish). We feasted on sashimi chunks, thin sashimi with cilantro, mussels baked in a white wine & tomato sauce, fresh oysters, squid and prawns (shrimp) on the BBQ, and fresh salad and bread. Overall the day was fantastic and being able to see the colors of the ocean and taste the "fruit of the sea" made for a delightful day. 

The following Saturday I finally got my wish to go to the Sydney zoo, Taronga. A couple of hiccups getting there, rain in the morning and a flat tire on the vespa, but we arrived near the bridge and opera house just after noon before taking a ferry ride to the zoo. The zoo itself is situated on a large hill and once arriving at the bottom, we took a cable car to the top, catching little glimpses of animals on our ascent. At the top we chose to walk one way which led us to an "Australian Walkabout" section of animals, spiders, farmyard animals, a seal show, penguins, elephants, a varied collection of birds, and a few other animals on the way down. By the time we got to the bottom we decided to call it a day and come back another day to examine the other side of the zoo. 

Birdcage alley

Once arriving back in the city we decided to take some time strolling around. Even though I had done this by myself a few days already, it was nice to have Andrew along as well. He first took me to a cool little alley way that is called the birdcage alley. Basically, there are numerous birdcages hanging from wires above this alley, which is off the beaten path a little and was therefore empty at one point in our stop. Andrew has a fancy camera so we stopped here for some pictures for a while. There were also cafes in the alley, but being the weekend, they were all closed so we got some cool shots there. 

St Andrew's Cathedral

From there I took him to one of my favorite places in the city, St Andrew's Cathedral, right in the heart of the city. The cathedral is 129 feet tall, and has a chilling gothic design. There are no pictures allowed inside but it is open for tours at all times, minus service times. You can also pay a little extra and tour the crypts but they weren't open when we were there. The walls are adorned with beautiful stained glass and there are multiple alters and prayer sections. I would be curious to see a service there since there are so many seats there are television randomly spaced so you can see what's going in the center. 

Zebra costume/puppet

Extreme Gelato! 

The next day also involved some animals, as we saw the Lion King. We started off by getting really dressed up and going out for a delicious dinner of dumplings in the city and walking to the show. It was good, but not quite what we expected. We went with Andrew's sister Jenny and her husband Muzz, who thought it was going to be like a dance recital (I think he was pleasantly surprised!) but the show consisted of a mix of puppet-like costumes, extreme make-up and a really cool stage. The talent was outstanding, but as an avid Lion King VHS fan from the 90s, the script was the exact same, plus a few songs. Overall it was an enjoyable evening and we ended it with "extreme gelato" which was made right in front of you with liquid nitrogen and served with crazy flavors. Andrew got a rose creme brule and I got a nutella gelato topped with rice krispies, dipped in chocolate, served with a waffle cone sheet and a chocolate ganache syringe. Gelato was average but the experience was cool (literally and figuratively). 

My "Goat Friend"

Finally, last weekend we went to Raymond Terrace to visit Andrew's parents and on Saturday we went to a little place called Oakvale Farm. For anyone from "Up North" who has been to Jim Peck's in Minocqua, this was similar...There was a farmyard with goats, chickens, etc running around, as well as some Australian wildlife and big barnyard animals in cages. You could buy food with your admission price and be bombarded by cute little animals all day! 

Cassowary and babies...Dino looking eh?

One of the interesting Aussie animals that I haven't previously mentioned in the Cassowary. These are big flightless birds, third largest after the ostrich and emu, and have a rich blue color near their heads and big dinosaur-like feet. They typically eat fruits and roots, but for defense they have a talon that can disembowel a human! They are becoming extinct here due to loss of habitat, getting hit by cars, and attacked by dogs. It's estimated that only 20-25% of the entire population is left as of 2006. They look pretty scary though, have to admit. 

Related to rabbits maybe?

7th Heaven

Finally, the best part of Oakvale was the hands-on experiences to be had. You could take the bought food and feed long-horn cattle, mini horses, alpaca, camels, llamas, donkeys, etc. and FINALLY once reaching the very back of the park there was a large sunny grassy spot packed with kangaroos that would gingerly approach you and take food out of your hand! They had absolutely no fear and would even bounce around following you for more food! 

Sleepy little fellas!

Coming in for a sneak attack!

As if feeding, petting, and hanging out with kangas wasn't cool enough, the place also let you bottle feed goats and calves, milk a cow, and pet koalas! The koalas really lived up to their sleepy nature and were sleeping mostly while petting but it was a great experience for an animal lover like me!  Truly a fabulous day!

This brought us up to Mother's day and we went out for a nice family breakfast and then over to Andrew's brother Steve's house to see his puppy. After all of this animal loving, I am a very happy girl!

Little Benson...Steve's puppy

"Lest We Forget"

Last Friday, April 25th, the whole nation celebrated Anzac Day. Anzac Day is a very special day for Australia and celebrates all veterans from the wars they fought in. In fact, Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps! A Its held on the 25th of April because on April 25th, 1915, the Australians (and New Zealanders aka Kiwis) landed on the shores of Gallipoli, Turkey (I have also been to Gallipoli and saw the battle grounds). This was important because it was Australia's first military action in WWI after becoming a republic, only 13 years prior to the battle. The main goal of the battle was for the Aussies to gain Constantinople for the allies. In the end, Australia left 8 months later, having failed in capturing Constantinople and suffering casualties over 8,000. Even though the battle was lost, we all know what happened in the war. All soldiers are commemorated on Anzac Day but Anzac traditions reign true...

We woke up SO early to catch the 4:30 am dawn service. Its held slightly before dawn so that towards the end of the service, the sun begins to rise. The reason for the early service is to mimic the dawn when the Anzac soldiers landed in Gallipoli. The service was well-attended despite the early hours. It included a choir that sang hymns, speeches, a brass band, and a laying of wreaths on a memorial. Throughout the ceremony, the phrase "Lest We Forget" was said, as it is the Anzac Day tradition paying homage to the veterans. The clouds did block the sunrise a bit but at dawn we walked to a local club for a cheap breakfast and beer/screwdriver. While waiting in line for our drinks I suddenly got an overwhelming whiff of liquor, almost enough to make your stomach churn at 6 am. I looked around and saw a table with glasses with one shot of rum in each one and a couple pints of milk next to it. I was a bit confused when I saw people pouring the milk into the glasses and sipping it. This is also an Anzac tradition and part of a typical "Digger's Breakfast" which was the men in the trenches (diggers) pre-battle meal, usually a hearty breakfast and coffee, or more commonly, milk with rum. After our hearty breakfast (not quite a "diggers" since we skipped the milk rum) we headed home and found everyone was still sleeping so took a quick nap before heading out for another Anzac tradition...Two Up.

"HEEEAAADDD 'em up spinaaahhhh" were the first shouts I heard coming from the bustling two up room. Explaining two up is simple...There is a person that stands in the ring (spinner), who has a paddle (a kip) with three coins on it, you place your bets on heads or tails, the spinner flips, and you win or lose. Two up was a common game played in Anzac trenches during WWI and even though gambling in pubs/bars/clubs is typically illegal, two up is allowed for 4 (ish) hours every Anzac Day. Despite the simple rules, it was not quite what I expected...There was no "house" you basically had a minute before each throw to tap your money on either you head or tail and yell "[amount of money] ON TAILS/HEADS" and wait for someone else in the audience to hear you and accept your bet. Then, the person who called Heads holds the money during the flip and either hands it over or pockets it. It's a game played on trust of the other person simply not running away with your money and we had no problems. I only gambled $20 total, since you can only use paper money (denominations $5 and up) I would win one and lose two. Took it slow and had fun near the ring, but was very reasonable. Oh, the spinner was also randomly selected from the crowd and allowed to flip until they came up tails. There were some other rules with them, ie. the coins had to go above their head during the flip, the coins couldn't go out of the ring, etc. If these rules were broken, the entire crowd would uproar with "boos!" Before the flip, you can also yell out "head em up spinner!" or "tail em up spinner!" to try to get them to toss them your way, which accounts for a very, very noisy game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLkWeKAipA8  Follow this link to get a peak at Two Up!

After the games, we came back home with some friends and shared pizzas and beers. An early morning did account for an early night though. And thus ends Anzac Day.

We'll Never Be Royals...

Not sure how big of a deal it is in the US, but Prince William, Kate, and baby George started their world tour last week and happened to be in Australia this week. They are doing things quick to see as much as possible currently...Their itinerary of Oz included:

Shrine for baby George

• Sydney Opera House
• Blue Mountains
• Sydney: Royal Easter Show
• Brisbane
• Easter Sunday church service in Sydney and Taronga Zoo
• Uluru
• Adelaide (a whopping three hour tour!)
• Canberra (the capital!) is 
• Anzac Day in Canberra
• Leave

Government House

They were staying in a house but also visited the Government House in the Botanic Gardens where they left George while they toured their last few destinations. Anyways, this is big news here but you're probably wondering why I am so enthusiastic about the itinerary! First of all, I did not run into them or anything. But, we did happen to do a number of the same things over the last week that they did on their fast-track trip here. 

We started last weekend by going to the government house in the botanic gardens. It is the house where the (female!) governor of NSW lives. The house is ridiculously old and is rich with history and art and culture. There was ornate ceilings with gold painted on them, massive dining tables, and a ballroom. The tour was limited to certain portions of the house but we learned that the entire second story was modern apartments. Overall, great for a free tour!

On Thursday evening in an attempt to beat the long weekend traffic we headed to Raymond Terrace to spend a few days with Andrew's family. We got the kids an Easter present (Just Dance for Kids!) and stocked up on beer and food because everything is closed on Good Friday...Then we settled in and played some cards, Euchre is the big game here, and went to bed relatively early. On Saturday Andrew and I toured around the area, went for a swim and hiked up so huge sand dunes nearby. The dunes were incredible and spread for miles and miles. We then met with Andrew's brother's Chris and Dave and some of their friends for a motorboat ride and ski/wakeboard. It was beautiful sunset and although I didn't get in the water, we all got wet when Andrew drove into a wave which drenched the entire boat. On Saturday we went to his brother Paul's house for dinner and a few drinks before waking up at 5 am to come back to Sydney to Skype my family. Great seeing them all together for Easter filled me with love and affection and gave me an appreciation for what a great family we have, and also a few friends showed up as well!

Three Sisters

From there we headed to the Blue Mountains. We got stuck in a little traffic and by the time we got there and stopped a park with grills to cook lunch (steaks, deviled eggs, and some salads) we went on a 2 hour hike around the mountains to the Three Sister rock formation and some waterfalls. The Three Sisters is an Aboriginal legend about three sisters from a tribe who fell in love with three men from another tribe which was illegal. There was a war waged between the tribes and an elder turned the three sisters into stones so they would be protected from the battle. However, the elder was killed and no one was able to turn them back. So, there are three tall random rock formations now. We went out for dinner and visited a fancy old hotel with a rich history dating back to the 1800s. 

View from the top

On Monday we hiked around the mountains a bit more including the Great Stairway, which is a 900 step ascent to the top of the mountains. After hiking through the temperate jungle for two hours, seeing many waterfalls, wild cockatoos, and foliage, we reached the stairs and began the steep climb to the top. It was quite the workout...The people walking down were even huffing! The view from the top (a place called Echo Point) was breathtaking and we could see the Three Sisters and most of the valley and mountains! We decided to stop and hike to one more waterfall on the way back and ended up getting back into Sydney for a late dinner. 

Teaching the kids to judge cattle

On Tuesday we went to the Royal Easter Show, held in Olympic Park where the 2010 Olympics were held...We met Jenny (sister), Jemima, Miranda, and Sam, Steve (brother) and Braxton, and Denise (mom) in the morning and began wandering around the massive carnival. There were thousands of animals and even an animal nursery where we fed the animals. The kids loved the rides and we went on a few too including a (surprisingly scary) haunted house...We ended the day watching a precision driving team and then a 45 minutes show called "Australia in all its glory" while eating some deep fried foods on a stick. The show highlighted some of Australia's special people, history, sports, and inventions. The best part? Tubes of Vegemite dancing to Kylie Minogue. The night ended with a 15 minute firework show in the arena (which included fire fountains) set to music. It was probably the best firework show I've ever seen! 

So that was our own little "royal" tour. Will, Kate, and George definitely had the right idea...And so did we! 

One more thing...tune into Modern Family's Australia episode. Not sure when it airs there but it features Sydney and looks pretty comical!

Flora and Fauna

This past Friday I was lucky enough to have a beautiful day to explore the Royal Botanic Gardens right in the heart of downtown Sydney! I had previously read a bit about the huge gardens and was interested but never thought that I would enjoy wondering around the 74 acre glorified park as much as I did. I learned a lot about many different kinds of trees, plants, and animals that inhabit Australia. My camera was dead so I had limited pictures on my phone of the gardens which were littered with not only plants, but statues, a huge mansion called the Government House, museums, green houses, wildlife, and the largest public drinking fountain in NSW (New South Wales).

I began my walk in the morning and was pleased to find signs by most of the unique trees and plants. Some of the areas had more signs than others. On my initial stroll along I noticed a plethora of HUGE spider webs, reaching from the ground (or low plants) to the branches on some high trees. I tried to watch out for these since 1. I hate spiders, and 2. most spiders in Australia probably have the potential to kill you. However, later (on my free guided tour) I learned that these spiders are actually a very special, non-poisonous species that weave golden webs and are used in Asia for fine silk garments. Learning that these were actually useful and not deadly made them seem a little more cool and allowed me to study the golden webs closer to see the color, but I still would not want to touch them!

Dracarena Draco

There are also some very interesting plants/tree species that are native to Australia that are very very interesting. For example, the Dracarena Draco tree. When I first saw it, I had to double-take because It just looked like a lot of branches/roots. But as I got closer (and to a different angle) I noticed that its branches were simply on one side. I found a sign saying that the tree had actually fallen over in 2008 and it couldn't be moved because some damage to the trunk had made it very susceptible to breaking. However, these trees generally live to be around 600 years old in the wild! This one in particular is over 100 years old. I did encounter more of these trees and noticed that they oozed a red slimy substance...I learned that these trees are often called "Dragon's Blood Trees" for this very reason! The red resin the tree produces has many common purposes but it most frequently used for varnish on violins!

Wollemi Pine

Another very interesting tree is the Wollemi Pine. The tree was first founded in Australia in 1994, so its a relatively new discovery and they are still trying to figure how to grow it in captivity (you can't see the reddening/loss of needles on the other side!) One of the reasons that this tree is so special is because its in a genus that was found in fossils and thought to be extinct 65 and 200 million years ago! It was actually found in a canyon somewhere and the location is secret (and protected!) so that no viruses get in and destroy the only known breeding ground for these trees!

Breed of Eucalypt

Of course there are many different kinds of trees in Australia, but the most common trees (in the wild and in the garden) are Eucalypt trees. There are many different varieties of these trees but they have common features and some special attributes. For example, Eucalypt trees shed their bark instead of there leaves for "fall". Also the leaves are the only food that koalas will eat. The leaves don't have much nutrient value though so koalas spend most of the day sleeping in the trees (20 hours a day!), and eating intermittently. Eucalypt trees are also called "widow makers" as sometimes the huge branches fall unexpectedly. Our tour guide told us that last week a kid was killed walking out of school from a falling branch! He also said that his garden hosts a few eucalypt trees and they have gone through his roof twice, and his neighbor's roof once! Sounds like quite an insurance investment! Anyways, I could go on for ages about the thousands of plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees that I saw in the gardens but I figure I got all the good parts at least.

Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf

The trails around the gardens led to an amazing view of the opera house and bridge and also of the famous Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf. The wharf was mostly used in the early 1900s as a base for soldiers coming to and from war. After WWII the wharf was the landing place for the thousands on immigrants who came to Australia. I'm not exactly sure how famous the wharf is exactly, I didn't go in it, but the building was HUGE..and of the course the name is something that is fun to say and could possibly be famous :)

Magpies on the balcony

Finally, a bit more local wildlife that is right on our balcony off our room...Magpies! These crow-like birds are heard squawking all day long. They are black and have distinct white marking on them which differentiates them from crows, ravens, and each other! I have taken to feeding them bread crusts on our balcony so that they come in. I am working towards feeding them while I'm out there since I can't technically have pets! Some of the other wildlife in the area includes kookaburas, which have a very unique call that sounds similar to a group of laughing monkeys! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ZbykXlg6Q ) There is a whole colony of them in a tree nearby and they all start calling at random times throughout the day. They call when another bird comes near to their tree, which apparently happens a lot around dusk or early in the morning.

Speaking of wildlife, one more thing! We have bought tickets to go see the Broadway production of Lion King here in Sydney! In case you haven't seen the viral video of the cast singing on a plane from Brisbane to Sydney here is a clip of the cast performing a "flash mob" style rendition of one of the songs... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfcyGPHP0Ak Andrew and I will be going with Jenny (his sister) and her husband (Muzz) on May 4th!

Another view of the opera house/bridge