Australia Day 3 - Koala Park Sanctuary, Shopping

Carrie has lived in Australia for nearly four years, and this being Sue's third visit to her, they've already done many of the tourist-y things that I am eager to do this trip.  They are very indulgent when I request that we take an outing to see some of the (captive) native animals of Australia and hopefully learn a bit more about the unique wildlife culture evident here down under. 

 Oh, and I also want to take a picture with a koala!! 

Not far from the Hall home, here in the lush Sydney suburbs, is the Koala Park Sanctuary.

 It is a smaller scale type zoo which specializes in displaying the native wildlife of Australia in

what one would hope would closely resemble their natural habitat. (although I don't 

think that wombats sleep in an overturned barrel in the wild) 

This morning after dropping the kids off at school we make the short drive over to 

the Sanctuary to spend the morning walking the pathways among the enclosures 

and meeting face to face some of the native inhabitants of the Hall's adopted country. 

 brochure for the park - we see roos and pose for a photo

with the koalas, but there was no sheep shearing going on during our visit 

Eager to "absorb the sounds and aromas" of the park we hustle in 

to see some of the exotic creatures which are to be found here  

there are also dingoes, emus, fairy penguins, cassowaries, kookaburras

and lorikeets, among many other interesting things.... 

we try to see all of the native inhabitants, but are most eager to see 

the ones for which Australia is famous for 

The kangaroos are in a petting zoo type of enclosure, we could walk in and amongst them,

getting up close and personal.  They were quite docile and were just lounging around taking

a leisurely mid-morning nap.  Once they learned we hadn't purchased feed for them at the
front of the park they were far less interested in us, and for the most part ignored us. 

This roo seemed to have at least a teenager stuck in her pouch. 

 We imagined that she was giving her youngster a "time-out", a sort of 

"this punishment is harder on me than it is on you!" type of scenario. 

They were cute and soft but they were all sort of scratching themselves repeatedly,

and I didn't really want to touch one of them. 

Then we went to see the iconic Koalas - they were in their own showcase island

of trees - there were at least 7 or 8 of them lounging in the trees, all in various stages

of slumber and repose.  It was interesting to see them so relaxed yet so firmly 

planted in place in the narrow "v" of the tree.  

Some were much harder to spot than others among the branches. 

 munching on a leaf 

This Koala was awake and seemed to be quite the charmer.

He started out with his leg tucked up, 

but soon stretched it out a bit 

sleeping so sweetly 

We watched them feed the koalas and listened to a brief introduction on  

 their behaviour and their place in Australia's wilderness,

 then we were able to pet and pose for some pictures with this one.

His name was Sean (for Sean Connery) and he was so soft! 

Next to the niece and nephews this is the cutest thing I've seen so far in Oz. 

After the Koala Park and before we head over to pick up some kids from school we stop

for lunch and some shopping at the local mall.  Mostly notable is how the grocery stores

are on different levels of the mall, and trolleys are free to be taken and roamed about with

through various locations, including the food court, as seen below.

a selection of Aussie sweets 

As well as getting lunch and groceries, Carrie takes us to the Chinese dollar store in the mall

which sells some cheaper (in every sense of the word) Australian souvenirs (not that

we were complaining). Among other things Sue picks up this authentic bush hat commonly

worn by inhabitants of Australia's inner territories, aka the Outback.  Why the attached 

swinging corks strategically placed all around the facial and neck areas you ask? Well,

that question will be answered thousands of times over when we head off on our girl's 

getaway to Ayer's Rock and the Outback tomorrow....

For now just enjoy the very sportly Bryson looking

 like a fair dinkum aussie young man here modeling the hat wear:

holding Sue's souvenir peacock feather from the sanctuary

Bonus track: Here is some live action video from the Koala park! 

Complete with commentary from the three American girls

making their way into the many facets of Australian society.

Notice how about half way through the video

 Mr. Koala loses complete interest 

in us and looks the other way, refusing to look back.
(apologies for the iPhone quality)

Australia Day 2 - NuSkin, Sydney Harbour, Opera House, Ferry, Bondi Beach

Although we are on vacation life goes on as normal for the majority of the Hall family.  The kids are great at getting themselves up and ready for school in the morning, serving themselves breakfast and then getting dressed in their school uniforms and ready to head out the door.  Even though it rained in the night and is overcast this morning, the wearing of hats is mandatory everyday for school children in Australia. Look how cute these cousins look dressed and ready for school! 

(reminds me of how cute Jack and Harriet looked when they visited

Aubrye's school on their Australian trip two years ago!)

With the kids gone to school and Matt taking over duties of Taylor and the household, we three 

travelers are off and running!  Because the skies seem a bit threatening of rain we swing by the

offices of NuSkin to pick up some Aussie sized umbrellas and have a general look around 

at the main reason the Halls have been in the country for so long.  Matt is nothing short of

a rock star here in certain Australian and Pan Pacific business circles 

 as he has rocked the world of multi-level product marketing and distribution in the region.  

Me and Carrie NuSkin Sydney Offices 

The NuSkin offices are actually closed this Monday, 

but Carrie's status as wife of rock star Matt quickly

gains us access through the locked doors

Sue shows her business smarts as she quickly goes

from working in the warehouse...

...to running the company from her corner office! 

(okay, Matt's corner office) 

local time and home-offices Provo time 

Heading to downtown Sydney we cross the Harbour bridge again, this time

approaching it from the other side - on our way to explore some of the most

well-known sights in the area!  

We head first to the Circular Quay (pronounced "key", duh!) waterfront

area which is basically a circular wharf with shops, restaurants, pedestrian walkways

and access to harbour ferries, trams, spectacular views of the bridge and a 

straight shot to the iconic Sydney Opera House. 

looming before us, the clouds seem to mimic it's unique shapes and hues 

Me and the Opera House, somewhere right near where Oprah stood, I'm sure.

This building is so amazing with its many angles and different surface textures, 

one could stay and take pictures all day and none of them would be the same. 

There is also a nice photo op with the bridge here 

We walk on beyond the Opera House and explore some of the

 Royal Botanic Gardens from the walkway which wraps around it at the harbour

more nice views of the Opera House 

Pete's awesome sisters 

On our way back over to catch a ferry across the Harbour Sue and I spend a moment getting to know more of the locals.... 

We catch a ferry that takes us out of the Circular Quay and across the harbour, under the bridge to the 

northern side where we disembark and go in search of some lunch.  

On the pier of the dock is the famous "Luna Park" amusement park with its distinctive maniacal happy face that greets all of the lucky children who get to visit there. 

 The ferry ride starts out with some great views of the 

Opera House from the harbour, the downtown Sydney skyline, 

and of the underside of the bridge. 

two years ago Pete and the twins took a ferry ride across the same harbour - they

came straight off the plane so they look a bit more tired this day

Luna Park...

welcomes you! (bwah ha ha ha ha!!) 

more photo ops - view of Opera House from other side of the bridge 

there are some beautiful open lawns in the park area under the bridge pylons 

before long we find and settle on Stir Crazy Thai for some lunch 

self portrait of the ladies who lunch 

cold can of coke, chilled water, chicken curry with vegetables and rice - the perfect lunch

after a most satisfying lunch we stroll around the quaint neighborhood - 

lovely bouquet of umbrellas for sale at this flower shop

Opera House view from under bridge

Before long we say farewell and hop on the ferry that takes us back across

the harbour.  Luna Park looks a bit disappointed as another potential victim slips away...

After returning to our point of origin we take the opportunity to explore the neighborhood next to the Harbour known as The Rocks.  This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Sydney, and is named after the sandstone rocks that the original settlements were built from. The area still has many of the curved narrow alleys, cobblestone streets, original structures and rustic charm reminiscent of it's early days.

There are historical markers, small cafes and pubs, quaint row houses, 

historic walks and a street market on Saturdays which showcase The Rocks

varied architecture, local culture, and diverse neighborhood population.  

View of the bridge from The Rocks 

makes one wonder how many lives that cat actually has left....

The Rocks is also well known for it's numerous classy craft and souvenir shops -

  I purchase several gifts here including a delicate
Christmas tree ornament of the Harbour Bridge carved in wood - 

but no Kangaroo Scrotum bottle opener or cigarette lighter.

A portion of the Bridge Walk also passes over this section of The Rocks - 

in a few more days that will be us in our jumpsuits and cable tethers! 

For our final tourist destination of the day we drive from the Harbour over to what is

probably the most famous beach in Sydney and Australia, beautiful Bondi Beach. (Long I)

Although in all the photos I have seen of Bondi there are scores and scores of beautiful

Australians sunning themselves on the sand and playing in the waves, today it is nearly empty,

with the board riders in the surf easily outnumbering the shell seekers on the shore. 

Although we've carried our over sized NuSkin umbrellas with us all day long as a talisman against

the rain our luck runs out when we tempt fate and leave them in the car at Bondi.

A few drops soon turn into a steady fall of rain which quickly becomes a heavy downpour. 

We fetch the umbrellas from the car and stick to our explorations 

but are soon nearly as wet as if we had waded in the ocean.  

Tidal pools of Bondi 

Along the car park wall are some sanctioned spray paint works of art, many of

them promoting the good name of the local's favorite beach - we check them out

on our way to the car in our last little bit of sightseeing on this long lovely day of discovery.