Mom and Erin's Adventure Ends

Saturday night. I leave for my field trip in the morning and Mom is taking off to the Blue Mountains....driving through Sydney on the left side of the road all by herself. Gasp! Do we think she can make it?! I have her route highlighted on the map for her and she has turn-by-turn directions written out, and she's leaving at 8am on a Sunday, so hopefully traffic is at a minimum.

Finally settled into my apartment here in Sydney. For those that want it, here's my new snail-mail address:

42 Wallaby Way
Sydney
NSW 2033

I'm about a 20 minute drive to downtown and the harbor/Opera house area, and about a 10 minute drive to the beach!

Here's what we've been up to;

Mom went to Fraser Island by herself...I don't know which are her favorite pics, so I just chose a few

Fraser Island ship wreck 

So excited for a lighthouse! At Byron Bay

Easternmost point of Australia, at Byron Bay. We saw humpback whales there!

Koala at the Koala hospital in Port Macquarie. They nurse injured koalas back to health then release them to where they were found, or keep them there indefinitely if they're too sick to survive back in the wild. Injuries can be anything from being hit by a car, attacked by a dog, or a chlamydia infection (yes, koalas can get chlamydia!)

One of their patients getting a massage for a bum leg

Wandering UNSW

Coogee Beach, the beach that's only 10 minutes from my apartment

Waverley Cemetery between Coogee and Bondi Beach 

Sydney Harbor Bridge

My classmates Julian and Kate joined us down by the harbor, and decided Mom and I needed a jumping picture together

Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge

Bondi Beach

Relaxed at Bondi Beach this afternoon, reading and watching the surfers

So, after 3 weeks together we finally part ways again tomorrow for another few months. After exploring the Blue Mountains, Mom flies home on Tuesday the 17th.

Filemu.

No Worries

Thursday - We arrived in Sydney today!!  We had a few difficulties finding UNSW, but Erin claimed we were just checking out the neighborhood!?   She refused to stop and ask directions.  But - No Worries -  we eventually found our way.

It rained most of the day, so we could not visit Billabong Wildlife Park.  This park has koalas and kangaroos.  We did, however, stop at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, so we got to see some koala.  This hospital takes in sick and injured koala and nurses them back to health and then releases them back in to the wild.

Today's kangaroo count - 5 live, 2 dead.

Sheila

Wednesday - We are in Port Macquarie tonight.   Today we stopped at Byron Bay and Lennox Head.  There is a lighthouse at Byron Bay.  We saw a couple of humpback whales at these  two places.  Kangaroo count for today was 6 live, 1 dead.  Unable to get a picture of the kangaroos because we are driving along at 60 mph and all of the sudden - there they are.  I also saw a kangaroo on Tuesday evening as I was walking on a path in Brunswick Head, it was only about 20 feet away from me.  Before I could get my camera ready, it had hopped into the brush.  I tryed to track it down - but no luck.

Tomorrow we will arrive in Sydney and hopefully get checked into Erin's apartment/flat.

Sheila

Oz so far; A Picture Tour

Great Barrier Reef, landing in Cairns

Jungle Surfing Daintree National Park

Sea Kayaking Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Saw a dugong (like a manatee) and a turtle

Creepy creepy (and poisonous) centipede in the rainforest, on our night walk

Wolf Spider...ick

Mom in the rainforest

Our tree house

One of the many statues our hideaway host made, lining the trails of the rainforest 

More statues

Cassowaries! Mom and baby

It's really a dinosaur in disguise, there's no way a bird has feet like that

Looking for creatures on Thorton Beach

She's getting better, I gave her a few style points for that leg bend

Sugarcane

Port Douglas

Great Barrier Reef!

Fishies!

Ginormous sea cucumber and Emma, one of the marine biologists on our snorkeling adventure

Giant Clam!

Mom, being dragged around by Emma. Emma felt sorry for Mom, because she was so clearly struggling, so took pity on her and towed her around the reef.

Me trying to take a self portrait of us, and Mom, not able to figure out how to stay in one spot....so she just kept drifting towards the camera. And that's how I snapped this awesome photo. At least her eyes are open. :)

With the boat, that Mom called the rollercoaster,  giving what we were told to use for "I'm okay!"

Being towed around by Emma again

I think she had her mask on a bit too tight :)

More Giant Clams!

We found another giant log to jump off on Conway beach.

Her best jump so far!

Platypus!!!! In Eungella National Park

Now we are in Brunswick Head, near Byron Bay. We're out of Queensland and into New South Wales. Only 800 kilometers and 2 days until we arrive in Sydney!

PEACE.