Saturday, March 7

Well, here it is, Saturday morning and I'm sitting outside a coffee shop on Oxford St. not far from our hotel. The barricades are already up in preparation for the parade later this afternoon, but the traffic is still rushing by.

It's going to be another glorious day, by the look of it -- sunny and mid-20's -- although there are a few clouds at the moment. Colin has just joined me.

Yesterday, we took a bus tour out to the Blue Mountains, about an hour's drive west of Sydney. They are called the "Blue" Mountains because of all the eucalytus trees releasing their oil into the atmosphere which creates a blue haze. The scenery is spectacular!

This first shot was taken at a place called Echo Point. The three rock formations are called The Three Sisters.

More shots from Echo Point:

Colin and The Three Sisters.

This is a shot of the cable car that takes you up from the valley to the Scenic Wilderness Centre, not far from Echo Point.

Here's another shot of the cable car, taken from the observation platform at the Scenic Wilderness Centre.

Outside the front entrance to the Scenic Wilderness Centre is a bronze sculpture titled "The Three Sisters and the Witch Doctor". It commemorates the aboriginal people of Australia and is also in homage to "The Three Sisters" rock formation.

With apologies to the artist, I have temporarily re-named this work of art "The Three Sisters, the Witch Doctor and Another Person". Note the lifelike detailing on the figure in the center.

On the way back to Sydney, we stoppped at a nature preserve and got up close and personal with some of Australia's indigenous flora.

The koalas are adorable!

As are the kangaroos and wallabees. They are out in the open and you are encouraged to interact with them and feed them.

An abino wallaby!

A Tasmanian Devil! They look kind of like a cross between a bulldog and a pig and they have very sharp teeth!

A wombat. Another sort of dog/pig cross, although much less menacing-looking than the Tasmanian Devil.

Just on the western edge of Sydney lies the Olympic Park, home to the 2000 Olympics.

Then we got caught in a traffic jam heading back downtown to the hotel -- Friday night at rush hour -- so it was definitely cocktail time when we finally got back!

Today is the big Mardi Gras parade this afternoon and the post-parade party later tonight.