Australia day one

March 23, 2026 

Yesterday we said goodbye to 12 members of our New Zealand group. Gerry Regina and I have opted for a 10 day Australia extension. Today was a 4 AM start taking a taxi to the airport for a three hour flight to Sydney Australia. We arrived and took the train from the airport to where we’ll be staying tonight.

Right off the bat, I notice the buildings are a neat mix of old and new.

We arrived at our hotel and got ourselves checked in, but the room is not ready so we decided to do a bus tour while it is getting done 

The park we walk through houses a memorial we briefly stopped at on the way to the bus tour location at the far end of the park 

We take some pictures in front of the fountain that we are meeting at and watch a bird search for food.

We loaded on the bus and went to the first stop, which is a point in the harbor that overlooks the Opera House, bridge, and historic Fort in the middle of the bay 

On the other side of the point is the naval base. There are many ships here currently due to an exercise recently held.

We circled around at the front of the naval base, which is surprisingly small. Mostly just docks, but got another good view of some of the ships.

We passed by what our tour guide says is an iconic fountain that is often picture in scenes from Sydney

Rose Bay is the next place we got off the bus. It is also known as the water airport because sea planes that operate out of here. The Catalina is a high-end Restaurant catering to this area.

We pass by a private school that looks like a castle sitting on top of the hill and surrounded by beautiful flowering plants

We passed by an old Stone church on the way to gap Park where we stopped and looked out from a vista across the bay. A telescope is set up there for great views. Unfortunately, the last sign indicates it may also be a popular spot for those wanting to Commit suicide.

Australia first lighthouse has been well preserved. It is over 200 years old.

The ride continued with more beautiful views of the harbor , skyline, and coast. Eventually, we ended up at Bondi Beach. It was full of sunbathers and people walking along the shore.

We stopped for fish tacos, being careful to keep an eye out for pigeons.

We drove past the Sidney Eye Tower where we will have dinner later this week

The tour ended at the Sydney Opera House with good views of the harbor bridge which I will climb, to the flags show at the top, on Thursday. We got off the bus and walked around looking at The bridge and the Opera house.

We returned to our hotel, another couple sites, showered, changed for our next adventure.

We then went right back to the harbor for a tall ship dinner cruise.

God is so good, he never ceases to amaze me.  I met a fellow through hiker on the boat. He has done the Appalachian Trail. We sat and talked  30 + minutes about our experiences. There is always an instant connection when talking with another long-distance hiker. There are just some things that only they “get“.  His name is Denali (He got his name, Hiking Mount Denali ) his real name for the rest of you normal people is larry. 

The sunset on the ship was beautiful, as well as the walk back to the city with the night lights. It was a long, but extremely amazing day.