Day 12, Australia Again

On our first trip to Sydney two years ago, we were there just before the opening of the Sydney Wildlife World. This trip, that was our first priority. After a good nights sleep, we wandered our way over there, and sat down at the attached Lizard Lounge and had some breakfast. When we were buying our tickets we let them talk us into the Wildlife World and Sydney Aquarium combo pass, since we like a good aquarium anyway. We really enjoyed our trip to wildlife world, getting nice and close to koalas, hanging out with the butterflies, and getting uncomfortably close to creepy crawly bugs. Then we wandered over and played at the aquarium, mostly breezing through the exhibits since we'd been there before, and spent most of our time hanging out with the seals and at the big tank with the sharks in it. But we did find a really cool looking fish that I've renamed an Auburn Tigerfish. Next we took the subway to Bondi junction and grabbed a bus out to the beach. We tried to remember where we'd eaten before, but ended up finding ourselves an outside table at Papa Giovanni Pizzeria and Seafood. We had some tasty Calamari, and a four cheese pizza, along with a few beers. With a little lunch to keep us going, we then walked down to the beach to test the water, and decided we'd have to be crazy to get in it that cold. So we walked from Bondi down to Bronte beach, and caught the bus from there back to Bondi Junction. There we caught a bus to take us to Randwick for dinner at Bombay Bloomers. W met the owner a few years ago at work, and we've made a point to visit every time we're in town. So far it's still the best Indian food I've eaten in the world. We grabbed a bus back down to Circular Quay from there and then went out to explore The Rocks a little. We found the Observer Hotel and decided to sit down and have a pint, and listen to the live music there. W managed even to win our bar tab on the slots. We explored The Rocks a bit more then headed back to the room, worn out from a full day on the go in much hotter weather than we'd experienced just 48 hours before. The next morning we grabbed a little brekkie at City Extra, Which is seriously good food at an awesome location. You have to order something that gets you the fresh bread while you're there. It has what might be the best views in town, and it was fun to watch Sydneysiders shuffle on and off the ferries. Then it was time to get on our way, a quick cab ride to the airport, and on our way back home. A couple of first class seats and one of the nicest domestic based crews I've ever flown with were waiting for us at the airport, and we even managed to pick up a few bottles of a delicious aussie wine we'd had on the flight in from Queenstown. It was a great end to a trip, and a quick transition to being back at the office. To catch up with the entirety of the photographic experience be sure to see:

New Zealand 1 (Auckland to Huka Falls)

nz part 2 (Huka Falls to Queenstown)

NZ Part 3 (Doubtful sound to Sydney)

Day 11, Crossing the Tasman

Finally the time had arrived to bid farewell to New Zealand, we packed up all of our stuff got in the car once again and made our way downtown. We had a very delicious final lunch at Fergberger (site works poorly in some browsers) . I had the little lamby and wished I had discovered it earlier in the trip, I might have eaten one every day. Yes, that does mean I held a baby lamb one day and had a lamb burger the next, but... circle of life. Then we reluctantly went to the airport, and bid adieu to our faithful rental car companion. Be warned that rental car dropoff is a long hike from the terminal across an unpaved lot, not easy to manage with lots of overstuffed luggage. We were disheartened to hear about a canceled Qantas flight as soon as we got on the terminal, but fortunately it was an Auckland flight. When we checked in they asked us to wait nearby, a familiar tactic if they're not sure you're going to get on. The weather was lousy, and they frequently weight restrict the flight, so it was a little touch and go. Eventually they did give us 2 exit row seats, so we were glad, and hustled through the terminal out to the plane. The flight from Queenstown to Sydney is only 3 hours, but we still got surved a hot lunch (we both went with the lamb casserole) and got a little bottle of wine that we really enjoyed. (there was no charge for the wine either). The dessert was the best part, because just when I thought we weren't getting a dessert, out comes a flight attendant with a Streets Magnum Chocolate Ice Cream bar for everyone. Best. coach. class. dessert. Ever. We arrived in Sydney after watching Get Smart, and needed to figure out some way to get to our hotel. We also had to bypass the very tempting tax/duty free store that you are forced to walk through. We found a shuttle service to hotels for only $13AU per person, which seemed much easier than navigating the train and then walking with our bags, or overpaying for a cab. We set ourselves up at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay. Our room was awesome, and we got a view of the harbour and opera house without having to spend an arm and a leg. After our somewhat stressful day at the airport, and 2 weeks of hustling we were ready to spoil ourselves a little bit so we stayed in to eat at the hotel. The Seafood buffet on the weekends is incredible. We splurged on the buffet our last trip to Sydney when we stayed at the Hyde Park Marriott, so we knew it would be good, but this was above and beyond even that. There was tons of fresh sashimi, balmain bugs as far as the eye could see, crab legs, and lots of lots and other choices. There was even someone preparing noodle dishes to order. The range of Desserts available was like nothing I have ever seen. But those are not even the most important features. The real maker of this deal was the wine buffet. $24AU for pour your own from a selection of 4 local reds 4 local whites and a sparkling. Between wine and sashimi, we more than got our money's worth. Stuffed, we rolled ourselves back to our room and crashed.