The Land of Kangeroos, Koalas, Possums and Wallabies

… of which I saw none of (not even stuffed toy versions!).  Ironically, the closest I came to was Kangeroo jerky and that was when I arrived in Honolulu.

My first stop after leaving Singapore was Sydney.  I’d been once before, when I was 11.  It was the worst heat wave Australia had experienced in years, with bush fires spontaneously erupting everywhere.  My memories are of dry heat and dead vegetation.  This time Sydney left me with images of brilliant blue skies, green vegetation and water (lots of it).  There were some really cold days (grey, windy and rainy) which kept me indoors but thankfully, most days were lovely.

Being a tourist was never an objective for this trip.  Blame it on my extended time in Mysore but I was quite happy to relax and not do very much.  I was asked many times, “What would you like to do? What do you want to see?’’.  My answer was always, ‘’Er, I don’t know.  Haven’t thought about it’’.  

I did do some touristy stuff in Sydney.  It’s a beautiful city, especially from the water.  I love the use of ferries as a form of transport, even for working people.  I also loved the coastal walks, with beaches being connected by walkways.  I’d walk one way and then use the bus for the return trip.

er ... a beach (can't remember which one)

Another part of the coastal walk - with a cemetary right on the water's edge

Close-up of the cemetary

 

Yoga-wise, my aim of practicing with different teachers and in other studios hit a stumbling block.  On my 3^rd day, I had a bad injury with my shoulder.  It was bad enough that I didn’t practice for the rest of my time in Sydney.  It was awful not being to practice but I actually started to enjoy sleeping in until the sun came up and then … rolling over and go back to sleep when my alarm rang.  I can definitely get used to that! :o)

Another Sydney highlight was getting in touch with dad’s old friends and their families.  Getting the local flavour is always something I treasure about each place I visit.  I’m glad that Sydney was no exception.

Since I now have a camera (on my lovely Samsung Galaxy S2 phone), I did take some photos although I feel the pressure of needing to take some photos to show everyone.

Northern tip of the Gap (I thought it was the store at first) of Sydney harbour

Oceanside view of the Southern tip of Gap

Inside view of the Gap

An old lighthouse - a wedding party arrived for a photo shoot as we were leaving

Sydney Opera House

The famous Sydney Harbour bridge

PS. I have now started drinking coffee again … how can you not in a country with such great coffee.  I think it’s also the quality of the milk.  Having said that, most of the coffee I drank in Sydney was at home and it was… instant!

PPS.  Australia also started a craving for muffins … I was little disappointed in the Aussie muffins as they were

a) smaller

b) tended to have a sugar coating

c) didn’t have wholemeal/bran versions which I prefer

I was looking for these!!

  

Next stop on the hunt for those elusive indigenous animals – Melbourne ...