Off to the Hotel
Finally, we made it to our hotel, the Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney. We checked in, at the lobby: The lobby Then went to our rooms, settled in, and relaxed for a while, before...
Dinner at Meat & Wine Company
Dinner tonight was at a restaurant just down the street from our hotel -- easy walking distance. The Meat & Wine Company restaurant. Most people had the steak, which I thought was very good -- accompanied by a beer, of course. Then, after the meal...
Neb Takes Me to Sydney Harbour at Night
... Neb, our former exchange student from long ago, who now lives in Sydney with his delightful family, met me outside the restaurant, and we walked down to Sydney Harbour. It was, by now, dark, and a pleasant temperature. Sydney Harbour at night is a magical place! The lights, the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, and, of course, the Sydney Opera House, surrounded by lots of people -- a very vibrant place indeed! In the gallery below, click on an image to view it in a larger format. We walked around, and ended up in an area called The Rocks, where I had a beer, and Neb had a wine. We did a lot of catching up, before walking back to the hotel. We arranged to meet again, after our group's day trip to the Blue Mountains.
Blue Mountains
The next day was our Blue Mountains day trip. The above image is of the 'storied' Three Sisters, which we were to have seen towards the end of our day trip. Unfortunately, weather precluded any kind of view, so we had to skip that.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
The first visit on the list was the Featherdale Wildlife Park, a zoo located in Doonside, Sydney, known to have one of the world's largest collections of Australian fauna. It was on the way to the Blue Mountains. It was delightful to wander around, seeing so many native Australian animals, many of which were very friendly. In the gallery below, click on an image to view it in a larger format. Kuddy Koala Wise Owls Koalas Wombat Tree Kangaroo Kookaburra Dingo Echidna Rufous Owl Wombat, being aggressive Southern Cassowary (not friendly!) Here are some videos of some cute animals... https://youtu.be/_iYk1Ma-cFU https://youtu.be/iiFyRdnr4dU https://youtu.be/CNtjHu54lB8 https://youtu.be/Z-eFaystxuk https://youtu.be/jqbeYNShNdU On the other hand, they have a collection of somewhat less friendly animals that they, fortunately, hold behind glass in a separate, inside display: In the gallery below, click on an image to view it in a larger format. Boa Constrictor Frilled-neck Lizard Black Tiger Snake ? Perentie, Australia's largest lizard species Perentie head Carpet Python Woma Python ? Carpet Python This was a very entertaining visit!