We walked along the beach all the way up to North Head, which isn’t quite as exciting as it sounds, but is quite scenic.  Lots of exotic flora, a little bit of fauna, and some abandoned gunnery stations.

Apparently one of the stretches of road is noted for its endangered Bandicoots that are frequently run over — 7 times last year according to a billboard.  We weren’t fortunate enough to see one (dead or alive), but may try again sometime.  The number on the billboard is easy to change, indicating that there will likely be more dead Bandicoots.What fun!

We has some burgers that weren’t very good, and saw a junior surfing competition.  We also took lots of flower pictures for some reason.  I think digital cameras make you take pictures you wouldn’t otherwise take.  Here’s one:

And one more.  This one apparently will turn into a pinecone someday.  Knowing Australia, it will probably kill you then too.

It’s a pretty formidable mascot for a team.  As I’m sure you’re aware, Rabbitohs are vendors that wander around stadiums and sell roasted rabbits on sticks to hungry, drunken fans.  Because of this, for some reason, which we don’t fully understand, the team has the informal, self-inflicted title of “Bunnies.”  So apparently our team is the one who gets roasted and eaten.  Very Australian.  It’s some consolation that now they don’t sell rabbits in stadiums and instead focus on cornering the pie market.

Also of note about this team is that they were nearly bankrupted a few years back and were salvaged by a collection of dedicated fans (now owners, a.k.a. “members”).  The most notable is Russell Crowe, beloved by the fans and treated to a chant of “Maximus!” every time he pokes his head out.

Here is Russell with one of our friends (goes by JFK).  JFK was for the opposing team.  After much debate, Russell graciously agreed to take JFK’s hand into a meaty paw and shake it.

Go Bunnies!

We stayed at the 3 Sisters Motel in Katoomba, the biggest town in the Blue Mountains.

We also did this walk:
http://ozultimate.com/bushwalking/walk.php?int_resource_id=236
But we did the additional 2.5 km from Scenic World each way, and another 1 km or so down the Furber Steps.  It was a lot of walking, but definitely worth it for the 360 degree panorama from the top of the Ruined Castle.

We met a group (commune?) of hippies at the top of the Ruined Castle that run a cafe
in Katoomba.  We stopped for a meal on our way out and they gave us a loaf of bread.  It was tasty, and hippies are pretty nice!

Getting to the island is an adventure in and of itself.  There’s a free ferry that picks you up at two locations on Sydney harbor, and from there it’s a 20 minute ferry ride to the island.  Quite pleasant, if a little queasy.  Advice:  try to get on the upper deck since the lower deck has holes that may surprise you with a wet splash. But you get a really cool view as you pass under the Harbour Bridge — almost the exact opposite of the bridge climb, both in perspective and cost.

We had a nice dinner at one of the local chains called wagamama.

We went to see the Wallabies kick the All-Blacks butt.

Went to see the third game in the State of Origin match.  Think All-Star baseball game, but with shorter shorts, more bruises, and ticket available day of.  We went there the day we arrived because we met some “blokes” in a pub –a crazy bunch of Queenslanders.  The funny thing is, they were exactly like all of the stereotypes.  Which no one in the states will know.  Run a Google search for more on this if you’re really interested.  Supposedly the phrase “mad as cut snakes” is appropriate.

We took a ferry round trip in the harboUr (unfortunately, not a typo…).  We went from the Circular Quay (”Key”) to Watson’s Bay.  Since this is the way that commuters get around, it’s really inexpensive to take most of the ferries.

We saw shows at the Sydney Opera House twice.  The first time we saw a very interesting rendition of Hamlet.  If you haven’t heard of it, it’s written but some guy named Billy and is about a prince that kills his parents.  In this version, the prince convulsed and whined a lot.  With that said, it was an excellent production with lots of lewd jokes.  We also went to see a live concert by an Aboriginal musician named Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.  The only way to describe it was phenomenal.  Apparently it was his first performance in Sydney (although we heard him on the second day, so make that second.  Apparently this is a big deal since Aboriginal rights are still very controversial.

We wandered through the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens.  Amazing trees and other flora, especially for us from the northern hemisphere.  The gardens are filled with Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.  Pretty birds until they start squawking.

One of the odd things about the historic buildings in Sydney is that they’ve mostly been converted to shopping malls.  Imagine towering stone structures filled with K-Marts and Foot Lockers.  One of the major ones, the “Victoria Building” actually has a statue with a talking dog outside of it.  He begs for money.  Very strange.

Well, it’s getting late.  We’ll post some pictures tomorrow.