Australia Wrap Up

We got up early in the morning to make the drive down from Port Douglas to Cairns and catch our flight back to Sydney. On the way out of the AirBnB, I had to put down the first and only major insurrection of the trip. I did my last sweep through the house, making sure no one had left anything, and came back out to the car to find Emily in my designated seat (as the navigator in Joe’s vehicle). Adam later informed me that she first tried to pull the same stunt in Tanner’s car, taking his seat as well. I asked, “What’s going on here?” Emily just grinned and didn’t budge. I waited for a few more moments and then decided that getting to the airport was more important and slid into the backseat. When we got to the bottom of the driveway, I said “Okay, Emily. Someone has to get the trash out of the trunk and put it in the trashcan." She hopped out, and I waited until she had the trash in one hand and the lid in the other before jumping out and resuming my rightful position, ignoring the indignant protests. Uprising defeated.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, though security didn’t like Joe’s iron thighs. He was a little flustered after his pat down and briefly left his bag behind at security. In what was the first and only time we encountered this, Jetstar was actually weighing everyone’s “personal item” at the gate. With some significant amount of rebalancing, we all managed to get our bags cleared, with the exception of Tanner, who had a small run in with Tammy, one of the gate agents. The plan was delayed for more than an hour and fifteen minutes, due to airspace closures and controller shortages. They also had to refile their flight plans, which took forever, but, eventually, we were off.

A disappointing message

We arrived back in Sydney, with about half our last full day on the continent remaining. This day ended up being particularly disjointed, as several of the things we had planned to do didn’t pan out. The Maritime Museum in Sydney Harbor was hosting a “Sea Shanty Off” that sounded like a lot of fun, but, unfortunately, when we tried to get tickets, they were all sold out. Our first order of business when we landed was lunch, and we decided to try a local fish and chips shop. However, when we arrived, the shop was closef for an “extended family holiday.” So, we wandered down to the local hotel for lunch and watched the Sydney Rabbits play rugby. Next, we tried to catch a cricket game at Cricket Central in Wilson Park, which, apparently, wasn’t on the day I thought it was.

Anzac bridge

Changing plans, we decided to visit the Sydney Olympic Park (where the 2000 Summer Games were hosted). There’s a unique feature there called The Brickpit, with an elevated walkway surrounding it in a perfect circle. Justin and Utah decided to race all the way around, in opposite directions. Next, we went down to Darling Harbor and walked through The Rocks over to Circular Quay to catch the Manley Bay Ferry. This afforded us sweeping views of the harbor, the opera house, and the bridge for a relatively reasonable fare. We also got to ride out at sunset, which made for some beautiful scenery.

Sydney Opera House at sunset

Once in Manly, we walked up the street to the public square, on the hunt for ice cream. Joe and Justin got distracted by some paragliders on the beach and wandered off to investigate. The rest of us got our ice cream and then started walking back to the ferry. The ride back at night was almost as cool as the ride over, as the opera house, bridge, and city were lit up after dark. This time, however the boat was crowded with a bunch of (very young looking) college students on their way to downtown Sydney to party.

Ferry ride through the harbor at night

Once we arrived, we made our way back across Observatory Hill to try to catch the fireworks at Darling Harbor. We passed two street performers singing on the way back, with obviously differing amounts of talent (and reverb). After making our way down to the harbor and sitting down to wait, a security guard informed us that the fireworks had already happened.

We then encountered some minor sedition that I wasn’t able to prevent, as Joe and a couple of the others decided they were hungry (at 10:00 PM). So, although my goal was to get us back to the hotel (where there was food, mind you) at a decent hour, so that we could all get a respectable amount of sleep before getting up early the next morning, we had to make sure Joe got his macros.

Upside down crescent

We arrived at our hotel around 11:00 PM, and were able to park on the street (instead of paying the valet), since we would be gone well before the parking restrictions were in force the next morning. It was the first time I had stayed in one of Marriott's Moxy brand hotels, and the design was pretty cool. Unfortunately, we were only there for a grand total of four hours, before leaving for our next flight.

Gabby affectionally referred to our return trip as “the longest day of your life.” Because of time zones and the international dateline, we took off in Australia, flew for fifteen hours, and landed in Texas at a time earlier in the morning than when we took off on the same day.

Early morning Jetstar flight

First, though, we had a connecting Jetstar flight from Sydney to Brisbane We got to check bags this time, but, of course, this was the flight where they weren’t weighing anything. In Brisbane we picked up our bags and transferred to the international terminal for our flight home. Adam, Lydia, and Utah had a little bit of trouble checking in, but eventually we got it taken care of. We decided that Utah is our new minister of connection. While on the plane, he met and talked with a guy who owns a bunch of property in Sydney who invited him back to stay sometime.

We had one last side adventure on our long layover in Dallas. We met our friend Aaron and his fiancé for tacos at Velvet Taco. This necessitated leaving the airport and taking a train several stops before walking half a mile, which Adam complained he wasn’t informed was involved. Emily said, "The adventure doesn't stop when your back in the States!" We had a nice lunch, and then headed back to the airport for our flight. Utah had a run in with one of the TSA agents regarding his TSA PreCheck, but, other than that, everything went smoothly.

All together, the trip was incredible. I think almost everyone agreed the highlight was our day on the Great Barrier Reef. All except for Emily, who said her swim in the Mossman Gorge topped even the reef. Mine, however, might have just been watching Sam shake his head every time something worked out in our favor, despite the incredible odds against it.

Daintree Rainforest

This day was scheduled to be our (real) “decompression” day, after the dive trip. DAN (the "Divers Alert Network," a medical diving safety organization) strongly recommends avoiding flying for at least 24 hours after doing multiple dives, due to the risk of decompression sickness. They also recommend against climbing mountains, or any activity that would result in significant changes in elevation, due to the way carbon dioxide absorbs into your bloodstream during diving and takes some time work its way back out.

Welcome to the rainforest

Our first stop of the day was the Mossman Gorge, which happened to be just up the road from our AirBnB, but is one of the most recommended spots in Port Douglas. Our location was perfect for getting an early start and beating most other tourists there. When we arrived, we were one of the only cars in the parking lot. We took the shuttle bus to the top of the gorge and did a loop hike through the rainforest. The fig trees with big buttressed roots are incredible and we saw a pretty wild looking lizard.

In Australia, they don't know what, "Turn around, don't drown," means

Emily said that, after the “hike from hell” in the Blue Mountains, she had to think of this hike as just a walk to the real attraction… swimming in the Mossman river. Despite all of the signs warning of the dangers, swimming is definitely common and, apparently, expected. It was a beautiful spot, with refreshing crystal clear water, and, critically, no crocodiles, since the gorge harbors a fresh water stream a significant ways inland. I flow my drone around, filming Tanner, Justin, Sam, and Joe jumping off of some rocks, but, as I was coming into land, it skidded off a rock and into the water. Justin was standing nearby for the quick rescue, and I immediately pulled the battery out and decided that was the last time that I would try to use the drone on this trip (good news, it recovered!).

The car ferry arrives

We headed back to the AirBnB for lunch, then set out for our afternoon adventure along the coast, into the Daintree Rainforest. The (only) costal road, the Captain Cook Highway, eventually turns into a 4WD only track, but we decided to drive it as far as we could, to Emmagen Creek, before turning around. Our first bit of excitement was crossing the Daintree River on a cable stayed ferry. Emily, having only previously experienced “people ferries,” was amazed that this “car ferry” allowed us to drive both of our vehicles onto it to be shuttled across the river.

A Lace monitor or "tree lizard"

We made it to where the pavement ran out, for legal purposes, turned around at the first major water crossing, though the rental car company might have a question or two for Tanner about the fish they found in his engine compartment. We stopped at our first deserted beach and saw a monitor lizard in the wild as we were hiking through the adjoining forest. At the second beach, we encountered an assortment of crabs, scuttling under the mangroves, and an odd “beach chicken.” Between our boardwalk stops, near one of the “Cassowary Crossing” signs, Tanner's car did spot a mama cassowary and her baby crossing the road! We examined a large purple plum fruit/seed dropped by one of the trees, and wandered through a mud bog (on yet another boardwalk) looking for crocodiles.

Emmagen beach

At this point, I could tell the group was getting close to mutinous, especially after I informed them that we wouldn’t make it back to civilization before the ice cream shop closed. Sensing the danger, we made a quick snack stop at the “World’s Biggest Little Grocer.”

Consolation ice cream stop

Once we got back to town, we made another stop at the local Woolworths (still no eggs for Joe), then went home, made tacos for dinner, and relaxed. Justin had to assist a large toad out of the kitchen at one point, and we played Hearts for a second night, after Lydia lost the first. Emily and Utah engaged in a fairly significant rivalry (shocker), that may or may not have been friendly.

As the night wound down, I read a message from our AirBnB host, who said we had timed our trip well and he was glad we were leaving the next morning, since a tropical cyclone (Alfred) was forming off the coast. Sam just grinned and shook his head.

Great Barrier Reef Dive Trip

Great Barrier Reef day! One of the reasons we chose to stay in Mossman close by Port Douglas was because we learned that Port Douglas has better reef access than Cairns, and we could get a nice AirBnB for all of us close by the marina, so that we wouldn’t have to get up incredibly early on “boat day.”

The Calypso Blue behind

After doing quite a bit of research and asking for suggestions from our AirBnB host, I settled on Calypso Reef Cruises for our reef excursion. They had a large enough boat to accommodate both snorkelers and scuba divers, had open dive spots, and also offered an introductory SCUBA diving class. We ended up with five divers and five snorkelers. Emily, Gabby, and myself were already open water certified, and Joe and Tanner decided to give “Discover SCUBA” a shot. Emily joined them for a refresher, since it had been more than ten years since she had last been on a dive.

Olympic torch underwater

We showed up to the marina, had our picture taken, and boarded the Calypso Blue. We soon learned that, although the boat can normally accommodate 80 people, today it would only be about 1/3 of the way full, with the same number of crew. Sam just looked at me and shook his head. Another "brochure day." As we headed out to Opal Reef, Gabby and I headed to the back of the boat for our incredibly thorough (and entertaining) dive briefing from Rene, our enthusiastic Spanish dive master. She started with, “Can everyone hear me? Can everyone understand my Spanish accent?”

The forward deck of the Calypso Blue

There were eight certified divers on this trip, so we broke up into two groups of four, each with a dive master (ours was Dave, a biologist). Gabby and I were paired with Bob and Bill, two middle-aged brothers who had just renewed their certifications the day before. Bob is an airline pilot for American, I told him I was working on my license, and we talked briefly about flying.

On the reef

All of us are going to be spoiled for diving, after this experience, for several reasons. The boat had a nice wide platform, partially submerged, that made getting in and out of the water a breeze. None of this climbing ladders, giant striding, or rolling backwards into the water. We jumped in at the first dive site (Bashful Bommie), and I was immediately blown away at the abundance and the variety of both fish and coral. It was incredible, and so much better than what we had seen in Florida, on any of our dives, previously. The water was warm and very clear. There was so much to see, the 40 or so minutes of dive time felt like they passed in no time.

When we came out of the water, Joe and Tanner were ecstatic. They (along with Emily) had to hold onto their guide underwater, since they weren’t certified, but, despite that restriction, they were still raving about how cool it was. Tanner thanked me for talking him into trying the diving, and Joe expressed how weird it feels to be underwater, unbothered, and able to look around. The snorkelers also had a great experience, and Adam in particular was pumped at everything he was able to capture with his GoPro. Lydia (who was a little nervous about the open water) said it was neat to see us (the divers) swimming underneath her (along with the reef and the fish).

The boat visited a total of three dive sites, with hot drinks and snacks available after each site, and lunch after the second. I was a little worried that I would be too seasick to eat, but, with the exception of a few moments when we arrived at the first dive site, the seasickness patch worked to eliminate any discomfort. We also had a nature talk by Dave, our dive master, after lunch. My main takeaway from his talk was that, while coral bleaching is bad, the reef has seen some recovery from it recently.

The second two dive sites (Split Bommie and Blue Buoy) were just as incredible as the first, and we even saw a sea turtle at one point. I also got up close and personal with a jellyfish (though not a particularly dangerous one). We all (even the snorkelers) had on full length stinger suits, given that it was “stinger season” in northwest Australia. We didn’t actually need wetsuits, given how warm the water was, but covering as much skin as possible helps prevent accidental encounters with the Irukandji jellyfish (the size of your pinkie nail, but can kill you). On the last dive of the day, Tanner, Joe, and Emily also got a little more freedom to explore, though Emily had been on her own early on.

When we got back to port, we walked along the waterfront (which included a park that Gabby said had the biggest metal slide she had ever seen), and then went to a restaurant called “Salsa” for dinner, which came highly recommended from several sources. It was yummy, but perhaps not the best fit for our group, who couldn’t pronounce most of the items on the menu (or the many varieties of fish). It didn’t help our confusion that, apparently, Australians call appetizers “entrees” and entrees “mains." Emily said, "Adventure doesn't stop at mealtimes," as she ordered a dish without knowing exactly what it contained. After dinner, we went back to the house for a swim and an overall relaxing evening. We saw so many stars (and unfamiliar constellations) in the sky above, including Orion, upside down from our perspective in the Northern Hemisphere. At one point, we even spotted the international space station flying over. Sam asked, "How far out did you plan that?"

Rex Smeal Park

Cairns "Rest Day"

After our push the first two days, this "transit" day also ended up being a little bit of an unintended “recovery” day. We got up early in the morning to fly from Sydney to Cairns. We pounded the last of the breakfast food around 5:30 AM and set off for the airport. Tanner was in a hurry because he still needed to check in for the flight, and, despite leaving at the exact same time, he made it to the rental car drop off with his group and was gone before we got there in Joe’s car. The shuttle bus driver didn’t lose any time getting us dropped off, pulling illegal U-turns and dodging cross traffic. I was glad he was driving, rather than Tanner or Joe.

Departing Sydney

We finally arrived at the airport, and found Utah munching on a breakfast burrito. We breezed through security pretty easily (no shoes or unpacking bags for domestic flights in Australia), except for Gabby’s surgical scissors, which the Australian TSA guy didn’t like. Sam told me to go make a scene, but I thought the better of it, and we left the scissors behind.

One thing Gabby noted after a few days was the regular acknowledgement (at the opera, on the planes, etc.) of the ancestral lands and elders past and present (and sometimes, emerging) of the Aboriginal history of Australia. This appears to be a somewhat recent development in Australia's culture to address its past.

We arrived a couple of hours later in misty, rainy Cairns (fitting for a tropical destination), which was also a surprising 20F warmer than Sydney. Gabby took in the display about the Carins Ironman while Joe and Tanner acquired the rentals and the rest of us waited for the rain to lighten up. The guy at the rental car counter was amazed that our group was just a bunch of friends traveling together for fun. He said, "You got ten friends to fly across the world with you and I can't get ten friends to come down to the pub with me." After a few minutes, the rain dissipated, and, as it turned out, that was the only rain we had the whole trip. Just enough to get us in the mood for the rainforest.

Gabby wants to come back to race

Our first order of business was finding lunch in Cairns, and we decided to try PJ OBriens’ pub, which was recommended to us by a colleague of Gabby’s who had spent some time in Australia. When we arrived (around 11:00 AM), however, they told us that the kitchen wasn’t opening until noon. Apparently you can have a beer as early as you want in Australia, but not a sandwich. We investigated a few other options, but, after discovering this was a common theme, decided to wait it out. We all wandered off in different directions, and Gabby and I walked by James Cook University before visiting the bookstore at the Cairns Central Shopping Center.

At the pub, we enjoyed an assortment of (very affordable) lunch specials, including fish and chips, and steak (which Joe complained was a little small). Justin got the quesadilla. To quote, “There’s nothing like a quesadilla at an Irish pub in Australia.” On the way back to the car, Sam and I observed a few officers having a cordial interaction with one of the locals.

At this point, realizing we weren’t going to make it to the Mossman Gorge by the end of the day, and taking into account the energy level of the group, I made the decision to slow us down a little bit and write the rest of the day off as a travel and rest day, meaning we would take our time getting the rest of the way to Port Douglas.

Lydia's new friend

The main diversion on our path north was the Rainforestation, an animal rescue park. According to my cross referenced spreadsheet comparison, this was our best option for a zoo where we could see kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, koalas, cassowaries, and crocodiles up close and for the best price. The lady issuing our admission asked if we wanted any food to feed the kangaroos, and, as I was about to say no, Lydia jumped in to say, yes, of course we wanted to feed the kangaroos. I think the lady could see that this was a once in a lifetime adventure and we "weren’t from 'round here," so she gave us two extra bags for free.

Sam's suspicious buddy

There were indeed free ranging kangaroos in the park, and Lydia quickly became best friends with the hungry one. It wasn’t sure what to think of Sam, though. We somehow picked an afternoon where lots of exciting things were happening at the park. We got to see crocodile/alligator feedings, koala feedings, and, perhaps the highlight, a snake feeding, which we were told only happens about once a month.

Loud koala at Rainforestation

This wasn’t a typical zoo feeding where someone tosses a couple of mice through a door or over a wall. Instead, they popped open the glass on the front of the enclosure and wiggled a mouse on the end of a stick in front of the snake to get it to strike and simulated a struggle. Right before they opened the door, one of the keepers asked if there was a hook nearby. Someone went to fetch one as we realized this was the contingency if the snake escaped. After the feeding, we discussed the methodology with the zookeeper, who told us that they feed dead mice to the snake instead of live ones because live feeding is considered inhumane for both the snake and the mouse. The United States is one of the few countries that still allows live feedings. Emily and Joe disagreed with this assessment. At some point, the zookeeper (who sounded Scottish or Irish) asked where we were from and, when we said "the United States," looked a little surprised. “You’re the quietest group of Americans I’ve ever seen.” I'll take that as a compliment.

View south from Rex Lookout

We made a couple of other stops on the way to Mossman, outside of Hartley’s Crocodile Farm (for one of Adam's distant cousins) and at the Rex Lookout on the side of the road, and arrived at our AirBnB late in the afternoon. This was an incredible open floor (and wall) plan house with a saltwater pool, surrounded by rainforest, which may have been one of the coolest places we have ever stayed. We were warned that leaving the large retractable doors and windows open would encourage the “the nature” to join us inside. This was the moment Emily had been waiting for the whole trip and promptly absconded herself to the pool. We had to do a small amount of reorganization, moving one of the beds from the garage bedroom to the office so that everyone (Adam included) could sleep in the air conditioning, but, otherwise, the house was a perfect fit.

Our Mossman AirBnB

Next, we put together a shopping list, and Joe, Tanner, Gabby, and I went down the road to the grocery store (Woolworths). Mossman definitely felt like a beach town, and one of the things that made us stand out was the fact that we were some of the only people wearing shoes. We gathered our groceries, but, much to Joe’s disappointment, there were no eggs (some things, including the avian flu, are global, apparently). As we were checking out, the cashier the next lane over asked where we were from and, when asked, guessed Switzerland. I said the United States, and (before realizing that it only had the logo, not the full university name), pointed to Joe’s Virginia Tech shirt. He looked confused when I asked if that gave it away, but said that the group of us together, the amount of food we were buying, and the fact that we were all sunburnt were key indicators.

After we made it back home, Joe grilled steak and chicken for dinner using the outdoor grill on the cabana, and we relaxed, played some Hearts, and capped off a pretty successful “decompression day.”

The Blue Mountains

Sunrise in Bondi, Sydney

Our second full day started slow, but was a marathon. A few folks were up early, including Lydia, who wanted to see the sunset over the beach, and Justin and Sam, who took the surfboards that were left for us at the AirBnB and went out to investigate some early morning swells on Bondi Beach. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for sometimes, and, although they were both able to catch a few waves, Justin said the surfboards started sinking, since they were waterlogged. Gabby managed to get a quick swim in, and Tanner and I walked to the beach to see what was happening.

Morning surfers on Bondi Beach

Our main destination for the day was the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours outside of Sydney by car. We had some options for the day, including watching a cricket game nearby in the morning, and catching a glimpse of some glow worms that night, but we eventually decided not to squeeze too much in, as Joe estimated, if we did, dinner time would be around 11:00 PM.

Blue Mountains

Driving to the Blue Mountains, I asked Joe which felt more familiar, Australia or New Zealand. Besides the country music from yesterday, which made us feel welcome, I thought the cars also seemed more American than European, and Joe said the topography felt more like home. Tanner’s car stopped at a 7 Eleven for some snacks, and Adam fumbled some of his navigating duties while filming with his new GoPro and pretending to be an influencer.

The Three Sisters

Our first stop was Echo Point and the Three Sisters formation. This lookout reminded me a little bit of the Grand Canyon, except not quite as deep, and a lot greener. I went to chat with the park staff at the info station, and, after asking if we were hikers (I responded, “Yes.”), he recommended a “roughly three hour” hike down into the valley, where we might have the chance to see some wildlife. Meanwhile, Utah had made friends with a UVA student from Salem. Apparently our Virginia universities have global reach. First Virginia Tech in Los Angeles, and now UVA in Sydney. Justin also pointed out a "sun dog" in the sky.

Sun dog

From the bottom of the gorge

The hike started with a descent down 900 stairs to the valley floor. That was our first warning. Also, this was a canyon hike, not the mountain hikes we’re used to in Virginia. So, instead of going up and then coming back down, we went down first, and then would need to make up that elevation at some later point. Lydia said, as the hike was starting, she thought, based on my non-specific answers, "We're about to walk so far."

Canyon waterfalls

We took a short break about halfway down the valley and refueled with some of Lydia’s snacks. Unfortunately, we had decided not to bring the sandwiches we had packed, since we thought we would be back for a late lunch. We eventually made our way back up the side of the canyon, taking in the views and enjoying the waterfalls along the way. Once we climbed back to the rim of the canyon, we had several more miles to make it back to the starting point. Along the way, we encountered a Lyre Bird (Glen Alice) that can mimic any sound that it hears.

Lyre Bird

Roughly six hours later, we finally made it back to the cars. Everyone tore into the lunches and refilled their water bottles. Tanner had some of my “Australian” goldfish (carried across the ocean) and decided they were gross. After a rest, Utah said, “So, glowworms?” and was surprised when I called his bluff. Unfortunately, I think the rest of the group would have rioted at that point, if we had added more hours of driving and walking to our itinerary for the day. We were on a quiet back street and one of our group members got to check “driving on the left hand side of the road” off their bucket list. Let's just say Tanner is a little more flexible with his rental car than Joe.

Driving on the "wrong" side of the road

On the way home, we saw our third dead kangaroo on the side of the road, but still had yet to see a live one. We had heard that kangaroos are as common as deer to Australians, but even around Virginia, you can go a month and not see a deer. I did some quick research and Reddit told us that Western Sydney University was a great place to see kangaroos. We took a short detour and pulled into the old, disused part of the university campus. Sure enough, immediately to our left when we pulled in, there were a dozen kangaroos just lounging in the field. Joe had to tell Lydia to calm down and let him get the car parked before she jumped out.

Kangaroos!

Campus kangaroos

We got to watch this family group of kangaroos, which included a large male, some females, juveniles, and even a couple of joeys for a good while. There was some discussion about how dangerous kangaroos really are, and Utah and Tanner decided to see how close they could get. Gabby observed that kangaroos can’t really walk, they have to hop or shuffle forward. Eventually, after the first herd wandered off, we drove around the rest of the campus and saw a few dozen other groups scattered across the hillside.

We arrived back at the AirBnB and had a delicious spaghetti dinner around 9:00 PM (not 11:00 PM, as Joe predicted). Gabby wasn’t feeling well, but was better after a nap. Once we finished dinner, I asked, “Okay, who’s ready for the next adventure?” Utah looked at me incredulously and said, “Tonight?” I said, “Yes, tonight! This is an adventure, not a vacation.” I told them there was an ocean pool (Bronte Baths) at the end of a nice costal walk. Nevermind that it was 11:00 PM at night and we had already hiked seven miles. When else are you gong to have the opportunity to swim in an ocean pool in Australia? Eventually, seven of us started out, but Utah, Tanner, and Adam went on to bed. Utah said, "I don't know where Ezra gets his stamina from."

We set out on our walk to Bronte Beach from Bondi, under the moonlight. It was cool to look out over the ocean at the constellations and see them in a different orientation than we’re used to in the Northern Hemisphere. I could tell the group was starting to drag a little bit on the way there, and Joe stopped to inspect the ride share bikes for a moment. Emily told me later she was considering how much money would convince Joe to go back to the AirBnB and get the rental car to come back and pick her up. Emily said, "I can't give Ezra a hard time for being old anymore because he's hard to keep up with."

What a view!

When we arrived at the ocean pool, the tide was high, and the surf was breaking over the seawall pretty strongly. There were no lights, but the pool was open, and we didn’t walk all this way not to jump in! Sam joined me, and we swam hard to keep from being pushed into the concrete wall. We made it to the sea wall and managed to pull ourselves up onto it. We held onto the rope and tried to avoid being knocked off by the waves. A large wave eventually took me out, but Sam managed to hold on. I was trying to avoid being smashed into the wooden lane wall that was inconveniently in the center of the pool.

Bronte Baths

After our dip, I felt energized and alive. Meanwhile, Joe was booking an Uber home. Justin and Emily bailed alongside him, which left Sam, myself (both wet), Gabby, and Lydia to walk the mile and a half back. I was wearing my flops, which weren’t quite as effective soaking wet, but we made do. A spider dropped on Gabby’s head at some point, and she was very done. Sometime after midnight, we finally made it back to our AirBnB.

Sydney and the Barber of Seville

We arrived in Sydney a little earlier than expected on Monday morning. We made our way through immigration and customs without too much issue. Immigration either doesn’t like Sam’s long hair or his glasses, because this was the second time he’s been pulled aside recently for extra screening. Gabby declared her bag of fruit snacks, but they let us keep them.

Joe and Tanner went to pick up the rental cars, but Tanner’s wasn’t quite ready. After about five minutes Tanner had talked the guy at the desk into a free tank of gas, so, no harm, no foul. I was Joe’s navigator, and, usually, Adam is Tanner’s, but, somehow, Utah ended up in the front seat initially. Joe wanted to let them go first (for added chaos), but, once they missed the exit for the parking garage, he took over leading.

Sydney Opera House up close

Our first destination was the Sydney Opera House, and, as we approached, I announced, “And there’s the opera house.” Joe said, “Oh, that’s the opera house?” He knew we were seeing an opera, and had seen the iconic building in pictures, but didn’t put two and two together. Justin, in the back, mumbled, “And he has a masters degree.”

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Our next objective was to get some lunch, and Joe found an underground food court (Region Food Arcade) on Bridge Street. It was patronized mainly by local finance workers on their lunch breaks. I got an egg and bacon sandwich (from a shop called Brooklyn Bridge) that was pretty delicious. After everyone ate, we walked out towards The Rocks and onto Sydney Harbor Bridge. We got some great views of the opera house from the bridge, and part of our group walked all the way across and back. We reconvened near some indoor futsal courts to figure out our next steps.

Sydney Opera House from the Harbor Bridge

Cassowary skeleton

After some negotiation, we decided that Joe, Emily, and Utah would go check into the AirBnB while myself, Gabby, Sam, Tanner, Lydia, Adam, and Justin went to the Australian Museum. On our walk there, we passed through Hyde Park and saw some strange long billed white birds, which we later learned were Ibises… Australia’s Canadian Geese (or Sydney’s pigeons). At the museum, we got our first taste of (taxidermic) Australian wildlife here and learned quite a bit about Australia’s history… and it was free! We also enjoyed the minerals exhibit, where Gabby found some copper from Lake Superior.

After the museum, Tanner, Lydia, Adam, and Justin went back to the AirBnB while Sam, Gabby, and I made our way back slowly to the opera house. Our first stop was St. Mary’s Cathedral, which had paintings of the stations of the cross. They were preparing for evening mass, so we didn’t stay very long.

St. Mary's Cathedral

We stopped in Hyde Park again for Gabby to lounge in the grass. We made friends with a few wild Ibises (who were definitely looking to steal Gabby’s sandwich) and watched an impromptu photo shoot. From there, we moved on to the Sydney Botanical Gardens. As we walked around the point for another view of the opera house, we started to hear a party boat parked in the bay playing a club mix. After a few minutes, we heard, “Walking to the south, out of Roanoke…” Darius Rucker is popular in Australia, apparently.

Party boat in Sydney harbor

As we kept walking, I recounted a story to Gabby and Sam about listening to, “Chicken Fried” behind a hotel somewhere in Romania fifteen years ago. Believe it or not, thirty seconds later, Zac Brown starts in, “You know I like my chicken fried…” Apparently American’s primary cultural export is country music.

We started looking for somewhere to grab dinner quickly and found a “Falafel and Shawarma” Mediterranean street food vendor on the Circular Quay. They also sold the “snack pack” which, apparently, is an Australian specialty, consisting of shaved meat, french fries ("chips"), and some type of sauce. After that, Sam, Gabby, and I went back to the car to retrieve our clothes and change, and then we all managed to reconvene on the opera house steps a few minutes before the show was supposed to start.

Utah had decided that, considering we had been awake and traveling for 40+ hours at that point and the whole Opera would be in Italian (with English subtitles), he would be better off finding somewhere nice for dinner. Justin had his own seat in a box off to the side of the stage, but the other eight of us had seats together on the very back row of “The Circle.”

Our seats for The Barber of Seville

When the orchestra started into the overture, I was pleasantly surprised how much of the music I recognized, thanks to Looney Tunes. The conductor was very expressive, and the orchestra was excellent. The opera itself was entertaining, but, eventually, especially as it got later and later, one by one, almost all of us started drifting off. Justin and Tanner bailed at intermission and went to find Utah, but the rest of us stuck around, although I’m not sure how much of the second half our group actually caught.

The view from the lobby of the theater

After the opera was over, we filtered out through the lobby with the rest of the crowd, reconvened at the cars, and headed back to the AirBnB. After showering, we all crashed into bed, and I, at least, had an excellent sleep.

After the show