No Tuesday for Me This Week

I went straight from Monday evening to Wednesday morning this week. A fifteen hour flight to Sydney erased my Tuesday. The time difference and the International Date line make sense logically, but I find it extremely confusing. It was exciting to see the famous bridge and the opera house from the plane window. The flight on the 747 was smooth and not as miserable as I had anticipated. Unlike domestic US flights, Qantas has all kinds of amenities. They tried to feed us non-stop: two full meals, a snack bag and two offerings of apples. And you have your own personal screen with movies, video games, music, TV shows and a screen for tracking the flight's progress (you can watch the little plane creep across the Pacific). I was in row 64 which I assumed would be right by the toilet, but there 10 more rows behind me.

We are not staying in Sydney tonight, but rather the northern beach community of Manly. Here is a picture from our hotel window.



I could not check in right away, but I was able to shower and change, and then headed out to explore. The first thing that I encountered was a flock of sulfur crested cockatoos right out side the hotel. I was soooo excited. This was one of the birds I hoped to see on this trip, and there they were, milling about like a flock of pigeons.



I decided to follow the trail along the ocean and explore North Sydney Harbor National Park. I saw three KOOKABURRA! I did not get a picture, but one was very close, and while I waited for it to turn and face me, two other kookaburras started cackling, and it quickly flew off in their direction. I saw a lot of other birds, but I think I will save it for another blog.

There were very few guardrails, and lots of warning signs. I climbed out on the rocks behind the sign in the pic below. After I rounded the next corner I realized that I had been out on an overhang that reminded me of something from a roadrunner cartoon.


There was an interesting stone wall with little silver colored statues of sea creatures (octopus, sea horse, grouper...) nestled in the rock. Each one had a small sign which included the Latin name in braille.


It was drizzly for most of the hike. But the views across Sydney harbor were fabulous. As I headed back into Manly, it started to POUR. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was soaked from the knees down, and some of the contents of my backpack were wet.

I've realized I am a dangerous foreign pedestrian here, due to the fact that they drive on the left hand side of the road, and I have a tendency to time my jaywalking based on sound as much as sight.

I've read about the diverse assortment of venemous and otherwise dealy creatures here. This spider was beautiful, but I am just going to not get too friendly with unfamiliar critters.