Australia, Day 6 (Manly Beach)

Today was a lazy day.  We slept in, I did my workout, and then I ventured out and did some shopping.  We had lunch from a restaurant called Pie Face, which was really good.  Then, we  took the ferry to Manly beach.  It felt so good to lay on the sand and hear the waves crashing onto the beach.  We took naps and then met Thrivent friends for dinner.

Australia, Day 5 (Bondi Beach, Shopping & Dinner Cruise)

Today we spent the morning and early afternoon hours at Bondi Beach.  The sand is so incredibly soft at the beach and the sandstone rock formations are breath-taking.  We walked for a bit and then ate lunch at a fabulous restaurant by the beach.  Australia has the most cases of skin cancer because of where they are located in relation to the sun, so we were very careful not to stay outside too long.

After going to the beach we did some shopping at the Queen Victoria Building, which was the original site of the fruit market when Australia was still a territory.  It is a beautiful sandstone building with stained glass windows and beautiful tile floors.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.  We also went to the Opal Museum and learned a lot about opals.

We ended the evening with a dinner cruise around the harbor.  It was great to watch the sunset behind the Opera House and bridge.  Our entertainment was great.  The Australian Girls Choir sang for us.  The Australian Four Tenors in Disguise also sang for us.  We ended the evening on the top deck of the boat with a fireworks display set to Australian music with the Opera House and bridge as the backdrop.  It was pretty spectacular!

Australia, Day 4 (Wildlife Refuge & Blue Mountains)

Today was rainy, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun.  We started the day with a trip to the Wildlife Refuge. Thankfully, it didn't start raining until after that.  We were able to see the native Australian animals. We were also able to pet the koalas and kangaroos.  There are 47 different types of Kangaroos, ranging in size and color.  We learned a great deal bout them from our tour guide.  We also got to see the Tasmanian Devil and one of my new favorites, the Wombat.  Wombats are like great big ground hogs, but they have pouches like a kangaroo and koala.

After visiting the Animal Refuge, we drove to the Blue Mountains.  It began to rain and was very foggy in the mountains.  We stopped at a couple look-outs, but had a hard time seeing the landmarks in the fog.  The eucalyptus trees are breath-taking!  The fog blew away just long enough for us to see the waterfall.

At the top of the mountain we walked around another botanical garden.  It contained a pine tree which was thought to be extinct.