Saturday 17 March 2012

Holiday - Day 12 - Manly Beach to London


I was up and out early, to make the most of my last few hours in Manly Beach.




The pool on my hotel roof (no swimming here today, but I had had a dip earlier in the week)


The beach was pretty empty when I first arrived to get a last little lounge in the sun.





By the time I was thinking about an early lunch it was filling up nicely.



After one last lunch at the Manly Fish Cafe and it was off to the ferry with my cases.



My last arrival into Circular Quay. Then it was onto the train then straight to the airport and home. I've had an amazing time in Australia and New Zealand. I can't wait to come back again.



Friday 16 March 2012

Holiday - Day 11 - Taronga Zoo


It's my last full day in Sydney today, but Laura has to head home. We spent the morning on the beach before having lunch at Manly Fish Cafe and catching the ferry to Circular Quay.



Sydney skyline Sydney Dance Company style.






At Circular Quay I said goodbye to Laura who went off to catch the train to the airport whilst I caught another ferry - this time across to Taronga Zoo.


The zoo was another recommendation from De, but I was unsure whether to bother as I'd visited Perth Zoo.


I'm so glad I did. It is a fantastic zoo, and I'd love to go back with enough time to explore properly. I didn't have long there but still managed to cover most of the native animals.





The animals were all a lot more active than those in Perth as the enclosures were more shaded and nocturnal animals were in darkened houses. I got to see a Platypus this time!









The Echidna here were snuffling about their enclosure rather than curled up asleep in Perth.


The views of the city are pretty amazing from here too.




I took the Sky Safari back to the ferry and travelled over the elephants (you can see the shadow of my cable car in the enclosure)



After taking the ferry back to Manly and some tea I took a walk along the seafront to Shelly Beach and watched the surfers enjoying the last of the sun.


Thursday 15 March 2012

Holiday - Day 10 - Sydney


This was a fully packed day. After doing some laundry and eating breakfast I headed to Manly Wharf to catch the ferry into Sydney. As I wasn't on a commuter ferry with a suitcase I took some photos on this trip.


The beach at Manly Wharf.


The Harbour Bridge and 


Opera House. These are on either side of Circular Quay where the ferry docks, and it's quite exciting to see them come into view.


I'd had a look on the internet before I left the hotel and located a knitting shop. So I walked through the CBD to have a nose around Morris and Sons. I bought some Australian yarn and a shawl pin.



The Museum of Sydney. I just walked past on my way to the Botanical Gardens, I decided it was too nice a day to be inside.





Ibis and parrots in the Botanical Gardens.





Walking through the Botanical Gardens back towards Circular Quay.


I spent too long taking pictures of the Opera House and had to really hustle to meet up with Laura and make our ferry to Watsons Bay.





Watsons Bay.



Laura was happy to see our lunch destination. (Thank you De for the recommendation)


We took our fish and chips and sat on the beach over here. (Laura has decided that she's going to live in that blue house, so we were just testing out her new front yard)


Mmm, grilled Baramundi.



Another shot of Laura's new house!




We had a little walk and found the bus stop we would need to get back into the city.


Ever vigilant, Laura spotted a trip hazard!


Back at Circular Quay we made our way to the Opera House for a drink. Stopping for more photo's on the way.


I seem to have sprouted a lamp post in this shot!


We sat along here by the water, had a drink and waited for the bats to appear.


After our drink we were on the move again. We had tickets for a new dance piece by Sydney Dance Company, we did however have time to take photo's of tiny landmarks on the way.


The show was incredible. It was the first modern dance show I'd seen but I enjoyed it. Laura and I did all the essential moves (pointing a finger at your palm, slowly waving 1 hand and our favourite viewfinder fingers) as we headed to the next stop on our whirlwind tour of Sydney. 


This was another recommendation from De (thank you!). The cocktail bar at the Shangri-La hotel. It's at the top of the hotel and has views over the city. It all looked beautiful from up there. We then headed back to the ferry to make our way wearily home to Manly Beach.