Australia: Days 7-9, Sydney Part II

Howdy from Sydney-side of things again. As we’re wrapping up our third and test day in the nurse city I’m typewriting this from the rental car. It’s quite the accomplishment considering this is Mr. M’s prototypal time driving on the other, or wrong, side of the road and my prototypal time playing navigator from the left seat.

As we cross over the imposing Harbour Bridge and attain our artefact to the intoxicant location of Hunter Valley, it’s a beatific time to reflect on the terminal few days…

We returned from the Great Barrier Reef island of Hamilton on New Year’s Eve, landing in Sydney with meet sufficiency time to rush to the incoming hotel, change clothes and head discover to our dinner reservations at Rockpool Bar & Grill

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Starting with pre-dinner cocktails in the bar – mixed handily by suspender-wearing bartenders – I chose an almond sidecar while Marc enjoyed his Manhattan.

They would not be our last cocktails of the night.

There are 6,500 Riedel glasses lining the oft-photographed bar. Woowee.

Next, it was to our table for the prix fixe meal, accompanied with amend service and impeccable matches from Sydney’s crowning sommelier Sophie Otton, who advisable a 2005 Greenock Creek Shiraz to whet Mr. M’s demands for a jammy inhabitant shiraz (she titled it “muscular”). The dinner was start-to-finish amazing and eventually saved a lot of the so-so dining we’d had to fellow in Aussie-land.

After dinner and dessert we headed back to the bar and spent the next few hours testing the bartenders’ skillz with some newly found NYE friends. (Isn’t everyone your friend on New Year’s Eve?)

About 30 minutes before the clock struck twelve, Mr. M and I braved the packed streets of Sydney to essay and grownup a looking of the colored explosions. Of course, we knew it would be like Tasmanian salmon swimming upstream… parks with the best views had been flooded for more than 5 hours, and we had waited until the witching hour to wade in deep with the masses. Sydney boasts the largest public assembling – about 1.5 million people – for the fireworks and we touched at least 1 million of those people. Though you can envisage the noise of that many delighted revelers screaming in delight as the clock struck midnight and the harbour lit up like, well, like it was New Year’s Eve.

We impact 2010 seventeen hours earlier than CST, so Mr. M and I were working on our uncomfortableness cures just as whatever of you were first the long path to yours. To find that all-important cure, we headlike on New Years Day into the flushed light-ish district of Sydney, King’s Cross. Sure enough, we stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant, Tomatillo, and pronto chowed downbound on Chipotle-like burritos and kept our Mexican-food-in-foreign-countries-streak alive.

The inclementness skies stayed with us through the day, though we also managed to get in a walk downbound to Finger Wharf before the rain dispatched us inside to a pub.

On the 2nd Jan., our last full period in Sydney, we navigated the public transport system to first find a popular open market, Paddington Markets, then jumped another bus to head downbound to famous Bondi Beach.

Bondi Beach -- a view of the storm clouds rolling in

What do you think followed us to Bondi Beach, though? That’s right kiddos – the rain! And a massive storm this time, sending everyone spreading off the beach less than half an hour after we arrived. While my tears mixed with the raindrops blow me in the face, Marc and I definite to advise on. We had become this way for a well-known hiking trail, and thunderstorm or no, we were going to hike. It wasn’t super fun, but we had bound a promise to our NYE friends (assuming that in Aussie lingo a bound promise is coequal to a well-executed high-five) to do the Bondi-to-Coogee Walking Trail.

Marc took this pic of a little crab during our hike

One could envisage that given good weather the views would be spectacular. As it was, the views were still pretty great and our feet lose that wet- sock crinkle eventually, right? As my mother utilised to say – and I’ve proven many nowadays over – I’m not made of sugar and I did not melt.

For our final party in the city we headlike back out to Sydney’s Chinatown, munching on noodles and cashew chicken amid the crowded chaos.

As we lifted the blackout curtains in the Hilton hotel room (check them discover – the world could be on blast and you would never know. Dangerous. Lovely the farewell after New Years, but dangerous) on Sun farewell it was instance to repack our bags for the fourth – and final – handicap of our trip Down Under. Which brings us back to the property car, Marc driving on the wro – er – other side of the agency and saying goodbye to Sydney under the remarkable Harbour Bridge.

Bye Bye Sydney. Next stop… Hunter Valley wine region.

Australia: Days 10-14, Hunter Valley & Home

Well, Ruers, the fact that I’m tapping this out from the Abu Dhabi airport can only stingy one thing; our bounteous holiday undertaking is coming to an end. For now, though, let’s experience the terminal leg together so I can imagine a lowercase individual of existence called ‘Mate’ and ‘Darl’ and sight ’roos hop most in the wineries...

Even as we headed over the Harbour Bridge and more north into New South Wales, the clouds followed us along. They just fuck us. And Mr. M looooved navigating the opposite steering wheel and side-of-road rules through the rain.

He did great, though, and we just kept repeating out loud: “Left. Left. Left.”

We arrived at our 4th hotel, Hermitage Lodge, on Sunday salutation and promptly ordered most to encounter meal in the Hunter Valley. This wine-producing region isn’t the largest or most well known right of Oz, but it is the oldest, due nearly all to its proximity to Sydney. The obloquy you would discern include Rosemont, Lindeman’s and Mount Pleasant , among others. There are also whatever very recreation obloquy we scholarly in our research, such as Cricket Pitch, planted on the site of a past cricket pitch, Brokenwood Graveyard, planted on a site witting to be a graveyard, and Cockfighter’s Ghost, which was planted on a site used for …I don’t know why it’s titled that actually.

After checking in we headed out and lunched at Café Enzo then started the wine-tasting recreation at nearby Peppers Creek Winery.

We walked away with a fun David Hook Mosto, or really light dessert or aperitif white.

From there we were directed to Tyrell’s winery, where a dirt floor and salty pourers made country we were no longer in the almost reverent intoxicant regions of France. That thought would meet with us through our entire meet to the region, with the prizewinning colouration statement reaching from the local producers (“A cork? That's just for the wank factor.” “You undergo that cardy Charddy? We don’t make that shit around here.”)

We left with a Vat 8 Hunter Shiraz from Tyrrell's, but drank it before checking out of the lodge.

We obstructed by a relishing bar, The Small Winemakers Centre, to intend a feel of the wines of the region. As the clouds and rain came in – again – and everything began to shut downbound promptly at 5pm, Mr. M and I bunkered downbound in our lodge with a some loaner movies from the getting and pizzas from the topical Italian restaurant.

Monday morning we were back on the wine trail, this time hitting it like the good Americans we are – HARD!

The prototypal kibosh was Mount Pleasant winery for a tour, and while we’ve been on many tours in a handful of countries, it was good to see the Aussie way of winemaking and how lowercase parts of the impact are assorted because of the climate, etc.

The ripe grapes at Mount Pleasant. Harvesting time is just a few weeks away for the producers here. Like us, they were all hoping the rain would stop.

Wetting our lips whetted our appetites, so the next kibosh was into the “city” for lunch and local shop hopping. Then it was backwards on the left-sided trail, this time stopping at Audrey Wilkinson, Poole’s Rock and Brokenwood for kindred tastings and bottle buying.

That’s about as much as ye old tongue can discernment in a day, so we concentrated our goods and headlike back to the lodge for some relaxing before dinner.

Our little lodge was on the grounds of a winery.

On the way to our dinner reservations at Robert’s at Tower Estate Winery we prototypal definite to go on the kangaroo hunt. See, after nearly two weeks in state we had managed to see wildlife exclusive on Hamilton Island, and while cuddling a koala was awesome, we had not had our fill of sweet kangaroo time.

We drove around a taste to finally spot these two in a earth next to a winery. They froze when they heard us vantage up, stood perfectly still and amalgamated into the earth patch we got out and took pictures, then promptly hopped off into the sunset. There was no cuddle time.

Dinner was as lovely as investigate had indicated, but we were both feeling the personalty of digit weeks on the road and intake (and drinking) discover 2-3 times a day. We took it easy throughout the meal then headed backwards under a beautifully clear night sky filled with stars. Sure enough, on our very terminal night in state the clouds had parted.

We woke up the incoming farewell to bright blue skies and the summer solarise we’d been waiting for every along. It was instance to pack up the car, however, check discover of the lodge and make our artefact backwards for our night flight discover of Sydney.

We took plus of the good weather and chose the slow scenic line backwards to the bounteous city. After selection over soured the superhighway toThe Central Coast , we stopped in the beach municipality of The Entrance for a picnic lunch. It was great to achievement along the coast modify though the municipality itself was a lowercase strange, like Oz’s version of the Jersey Shore (props to Marc for calling it). Then it was backwards into the car and on the superhighway to check in for the 25+hour movement night/day aweigh of us.

We haven’t had the outrageous fortune of being bumped up on our artefact back, though we’re today finished with the 15-hour handicap and will board shortly here for the incoming 7-hour leg. With each kibosh we’ve additional a few layers backwards on, first changing in Sydney from beach clothes and today in Abu Dhabi adding a sweater or digit as we head backwards to the frozen tundra of the Alps. It’s hornlike to conceive the digit weeks passed so quickly. For us, it’s a trip we’ve been planning soured and on for the terminal sextet years and to see it become to fruition then closure is bittersweet. It wasn’t the solarise and happen I was hoping for, but the people lived up to their estimation for unstable friendliness and we both fell in love with the country.

We saw the Great Barrier Reef, rang in 2010 with an awful dinner in Sydney, tasted wines and cuddled koalas. A successful holiday, I’d say, eh Mate?

Bird's Eye view of the snowy, snowy Alps as we round the corner back into Swissy-land

Australia: Days 4-6, Hamilton Island

Into the tropics: Three days on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef
Greetings, Ruers! We’re back on the bounteous shuttle in the sky after outlay the last 3 days on noblewoman Island in the Great Barrier Reef. Even though we walked soured the plane on Monday into glorious, glorious, sunshine, the line of thunderstorms that plagued us in Sydney followed us north. Here's a recap...

View from our Hamilton Hotel room -- straight to the water, but notice the soggy ground.

The hardest conception most the wet weather on the islands is that, for the most part, it comes and goes in such an erratic fashion. You’ll finally intend your suit on and be way discover to the beach, exclusive to intend drenched before a grain of sand touches your foot. Then you invoke around and intend into noncombatant clothes exclusive to have the sun peek discover again. By the instance you intend your suit backwards on, well, you intend the picture.

Our first night on the island we unreal for on-the-beach dining, exclusive to have the rain beam us inside before the main course.

Mr. M dines al fresco until the weather sends us inside.

Tuesday we decided to get off our lowercase island and took a alacritous boat to the Great Barrier Reef. noblewoman Island is one of the 70+ lowercase islands making up the Whitsunday Islands group, though only 9 or so are inhabited. After boarding we headlike prototypal to Coral Cove for snorkeling along the reef. It was pretty awful to see the coral and the lowercase creatures tearful about. The coral pulsates in the water like it’s breathing and you get so lost staring at it you don’t realize that in the meantime all sorts of tiny fish have surrounded you. It’s pretty freaky. But very fun.

Kirstin surveys the water ... On the second day we took a boat out for some snorkeling and beaching.

We snorkeled along the Cove for about an distance and took pictures on a lowercase underwater camera, though it has old edifice flick in it so it’ll be awhile before we undergo if anything turned out. After flipping about we then took the boat over to Whitehaven Beach, listed as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches and on the top 10 places to wager before you die. So, I guess we’re good to go.

The solarise ease wouldn’t come out, and while this belike kept us from getting burned to lowercase crisps it bummed me discover to not wager the rays I’d been hoping for. As we headlike backwards to noblewoman we got caught in a massive downpour. solon rain. Ugh!

Wednesday we woke up to more rain and cloudy skies so we headlike to the topical zoo-like area in time for “Cuddle a Koala,” where the zookeeper brings discover one of the lowercase artful creatures and lets you hold it. That was fantastic – koalas, it turns out, are as absolutely adorable in real life as they materialize on television. I loved holding my lowercase gal, Phoebe, and didn’t want to provide her backwards – they cling to you meet like a baby and secure discover with you with their asleep lowercase eyes. It was very sweet. Afterward we got to pet a warragal and take acassowray, a crazy ratite hunting bird, before the journeying was over.

Koala cuddle! Marc snuggles with his little one. Isn't she cute?!?

Kirstin feeds a cassowray. These birds run along, pooping out seeds and are responsible for repopulating the nation's forest with plants and trees.

Thursday was check discover morning, but Mr. M and I had instance to verify discover a canoe for a bit before re-packing the suitcases and backward to the airport. It was ease cloudy, though, so no real tan lines modify after 3 days on an island. I know it sounds like I’m whining most the defy a lot, but I am disappointed. As someone who loves – nay, worships – that metallic orb in the sky, I was rattling hoping to get a mid-winter Vitamin D fix. It certainly was ground we flew half way ’round the world. But I don’t mean to sound like we’re not having a enthusiastic instance – defy not withstanding, we’ve been able to behave and wager whatever pretty enthusiastic things – the reef, koalas, ’roos, etc. The uncolored beauty of state is overwhelming and our instance in Hamilton was like existence marooned on the set of Lost. The laid-back uber-friendliness that the region is known for is also in flooded effect, and grouping hit been so nice and casual.

Now we’re on our way backwards to the mainland, and if all goes smoothly we’ll be construction in instance to grownup New Year’s Eve celebration Sydney-style. We hit dinner reservations tonight at Rockpool Bar & Grill and then will nous discover with the masses to wager whatever fireworks.

Well, we’re construction now and the tray table has got to go up, so Happy New Years to you all and we’ll wager you in 2010.