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silverblue and brandtotter in Darling Harbour. We had a bite to eat then headed off to explore the Sydney Aquarium. It was a wonderful place with beautifully aquascaped tanks full of Australian creatures.
Take Yabbies, for example. I would call them Crawdads, but Yabbies are blue. There were also huge blue crabs and a platypus or three. I made the acquaintance of a crocodile who kept eying me. I could hear his thoughts, "Mmmmm... plump American. Yum." He promptly shat and moved closer to me. Making room in his system, I suspect. Hey. I must be tasty. Yay me!
There was a tank of red-lit jellyfish undulating that threatened to hypnotize me and hold me in its thrall. As we were leaving that hall to explore the seals, we walked across a bridge over a strip of water and saw scads of jellyfish in the harbour.
The seal tank had an upper deck where we viewed them as they played, then we wound our way below to walk through tubes at the bottom for a very different perspective.
We saw tiny penguins called, originally enough, Little Penguins, native to parts of Antarctica and Southern Australia. We walked through tubes amidst a variety of sharks and rays in the next section. It was amazing. As many times as I've been diving, I've never seen a shark. I've swum with different kinds of rays, but never seen them this close. I can't even begin to describe how cool it was.
The last leg of the journey was a giant tank full of native fish of all types. As we rounded the last corner, there were stair seats and benches before a huge wall of glass where we stayed for some time avidly viewing "Fish TV."
After leaving the aquarium, we enjoyed beverages and some chat time before an exhausted Silverblue needed to leave. It was a very lovely day.
Since the red line trains were down for the weekend and we had found $12 weekend parking, we decided to wander downtown a while longer. We found a really cool tea shop that specializes in Japanese teas. They were just closing, but we fully plan to wander back there to sit over cups of matcha.
Today, we left for the Blue Mountains. G booked a B&B in Blackheath for three nights. When we arrived, we headed straight for the Jenolan Caves which is a network of 300-plus caves found in one little area of the Great Australian Divide. There is one cave open to the public with a series of levels and rooms that can be explored with a guide. We chose to view two beautifully decorated caves with a very funny guide.
I've been in many caves and I must confess, they usually have the same, humbling religious effect upon me. I always feel like I've re-entered the womb on some level. I would rather go with a small reverent group than the 30-odd folke we had for these tours, but it's still an almighty experience. When I'm inside these caverns, I just want to find a spot, sit, close my eyes and see what comes. Nothing has ever come close to equaling the sheer ecstasy of the Fond du Gaume caves in France, but that was a singularly exceptional experience.
We had a lovely dinner, then retired to our B&B for a nice soak in the tub.
silverblue and brandtotter in Darling Harbour. We had a bite to eat then headed off to explore the Sydney Aquarium. It was a wonderful place with beautifully aquascaped tanks full of Australian creatures. Take Yabbies, for example. I would call them Crawdads, but Yabbies are blue. There were also huge blue crabs and a platypus or three. I made the acquaintance of a crocodile who kept eying me. I could hear his thoughts, "Mmmmm... plump American. Yum." He promptly shat and moved closer to me. Making room in his system, I suspect. Hey. I must be tasty. Yay me!
There was a tank of red-lit jellyfish undulating that threatened to hypnotize me and hold me in its thrall. As we were leaving that hall to explore the seals, we walked across a bridge over a strip of water and saw scads of jellyfish in the harbour.
The seal tank had an upper deck where we viewed them as they played, then we wound our way below to walk through tubes at the bottom for a very different perspective.
We saw tiny penguins called, originally enough, Little Penguins, native to parts of Antarctica and Southern Australia. We walked through tubes amidst a variety of sharks and rays in the next section. It was amazing. As many times as I've been diving, I've never seen a shark. I've swum with different kinds of rays, but never seen them this close. I can't even begin to describe how cool it was.
The last leg of the journey was a giant tank full of native fish of all types. As we rounded the last corner, there were stair seats and benches before a huge wall of glass where we stayed for some time avidly viewing "Fish TV."
After leaving the aquarium, we enjoyed beverages and some chat time before an exhausted Silverblue needed to leave. It was a very lovely day.
Since the red line trains were down for the weekend and we had found $12 weekend parking, we decided to wander downtown a while longer. We found a really cool tea shop that specializes in Japanese teas. They were just closing, but we fully plan to wander back there to sit over cups of matcha.
Today, we left for the Blue Mountains. G booked a B&B in Blackheath for three nights. When we arrived, we headed straight for the Jenolan Caves which is a network of 300-plus caves found in one little area of the Great Australian Divide. There is one cave open to the public with a series of levels and rooms that can be explored with a guide. We chose to view two beautifully decorated caves with a very funny guide.
I've been in many caves and I must confess, they usually have the same, humbling religious effect upon me. I always feel like I've re-entered the womb on some level. I would rather go with a small reverent group than the 30-odd folke we had for these tours, but it's still an almighty experience. When I'm inside these caverns, I just want to find a spot, sit, close my eyes and see what comes. Nothing has ever come close to equaling the sheer ecstasy of the Fond du Gaume caves in France, but that was a singularly exceptional experience.
We had a lovely dinner, then retired to our B&B for a nice soak in the tub.
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