G'day from Down Under!

We're now in beautiful Auckland, New Zealand, but before I tell you about that, here's a little bit about our week in Sydney, Australia. After Japan, it was a joy to be able to read signs and speak to people! You like pictures? Well, here you go:

We spent the first day walking around the stunning harbor area. There is so much to see and do within walking distance: bridge, ferries, gardens, museums...endless. Our apartment/hotel was literally a 5-minute walk from the harbor--how lucky is THAT?

Sydney Opera House

View across harbor--Ft. Denison (island prison) and ferry boat

Aborigine playing the didgeridoo along the harbor promenade

The Royal Botanical Gardens are right next door to the harbor. Really beautiful green lawns, amazing flora, ponds with eels, etc. There are 1000's of bats who nest in the park who eat the tops of trees.

Hanging bats

Pond with lily pads

Jacaranda tree and Harbor Bridge

Christine and me at the Botantical Gardens (she's a Sydney friend I first met on kibbutz in 1977)

The next day we took a bus to Bondi Beach, famous for beautiful sand and surfers. Lucky for us, there was also a temporary sculpture exhibition along the rock cliffs.

At the beginning of the exhibition

Can you see the sculpture of the little man on top of the rock?

Beautiful water and great cliffs

We then took another bus to Watson's Bay and walked around the South Head which is one of the edges of the opening of Sydney Harbor to the Tasmanian Sea. Yes, more beautiful views, blue-green water, cliffs...boring, boring, boring!




While Miles was at the University of Sydney one day, I went to the Toranga Zoo. You get there by ferry and the breeze cooled me off. It was a sweltering 38 degrees C. (100 degrees F). The animals were pretty slowed down, like me.

Sleepy koala

No, you don't see kangaroos all around Sydney--only at the zoo

The next day we joined our friends John and Jann Culvenor on an outing to the Blue Mountains and the Three Sisters rock formations about 1 1/2 hours from Sydney. This is a beautiful mountain region with quaint small towns, rain forests, canyons...well, see for yourself:

Three Sisters

Me with John and Jann in a steep train going down to the valley floor

From the valley floor

Amazing lookout

Miles on sandstone walkway

Waterfall

Our last day, we walked across Harbor Bridge. Couldn't resist a couple of shots of the harbor from this angle:

We saw other friends in Sydney, including Itai and Hilit Enav and Sheli and Michael Wallach. We went to a car rally that John participated in, saw some live theater...so much to say, but time to move on to Auckland.

Since we just arrived on the 8th, we haven't had a chance to take pictures, but I'll include them in the next blog posting. No worries! In the meantime, here's the lowdown:

We are living in a funky/charming apt. in the Old Government House (153 years old) located on the beautiful grounds of the University of Auckland. Our view is of the lush, green gardens. We're minutes away from the down town area--everything seems to be within walking distance. However, we have rented a car so we can explore greater Auckland and the northern part of the island on weekends. Miles will be doing research in the Bio-Mechanics Institute, a 5-minute walk from our place. Haven't had time to explore much yet, so stay tuned. So far Auckland is charming and relaxed.