Friday, 19 February 2016

Our Trip to Sydney, Australia Part 4: Blue Mountains & Featherdale Wildlife Park






Today we ventured into the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains where "The Three Sisters" awaits us. The tour started with us being picked up at 8 am for the 90 minutes drive up to the mountains. We didn't expect that it would be that cold and we were not fully prepared. When we got to the foot of the mountain (Leura) there was a brief stop over for snacks and drinks. As we were literally freezing in our pants, we ran inside a coffee shop to warm ourselves up with a a hot cup of latte as the temperature read 4°. Luckily for us, there were also a number of small boutiques so we quickly bought something warm to wear. 




















After the brief stop, we continued our journey to Skyway East Station to board the cable car that will bring us to Scenic World. We then rode the Scenic Skyway cable car that glided us between cliff tops as we gazed at the rain forest canopy through the glass floor. What a beautiful site. Scenic World is located in Katoomba and has four main attraction which are the Scenic Railway, Scenic Skyway, Scenic Cableway and the Scenic Walkway.  










Upon arrival at Scenic World we rode the Scenic Railway to discover the thrill of a 52 degree incline steepest passenger railway in the world. At the end of the railway we walked into the Scenic Walkway to discover the tranquility of the ancient rain forest.













We were strolling around until we reach the Scenic Cableway station. The cable car ride took us on a panoramic view of the mountain with a spectacular site of the three sisters. The amazing rock formation of the Three Sisters is a truly spiritual place. Aboriginal legend tells that these rocky points were once three beautiful sisters that were turned to stone. This is what attracts people to the Blue Mountains.










This concluded our tour of the Scenic World at the Blue Mountains. Our journey continued to our next destination where we were able to get up close and personal with some of Australia's unique wildlife. The Featherdale Wildlife Park is home to not only Australia's most cutest animal but also a variety of other attractions inside the park ranging from exotic birds, reptiles, penguins, etc.




















We had so much fun mingling with the animals especially the Koalas and Kangaroos as we were also able to hand feed these animals. You can buy the "kangaroo food" for $1 which comes in an ice cream cone.














After all the fun we had at the park we were driven back to the city and were dropped off at Cockle Bay Wharf upon our request. There, we decided to have dinner at the superbly located Nick's Seafood Restaurant which faces the harbour. We ordered their famous seafood platter which includes lobster in garlic butter sauce, clams, squid, fish and oysters. The food wasn't bad but not the best seafood we've ever had and was a bit pricey $180.










After dinner we walked back to our hotel and called it a night.

In my next post i will talk about our last day in Sydney which makes
me sad as we have to leave this beautiful city. Time flies so fast when you're having fun.


To be continued....



xoxo,


Arlene



Thursday, 18 February 2016

Our Trip to Sydney, Australia Part 3: Port Stephens & Sandboarding



Our trip on Day 3 started with a long drive to the north of Sydney for the Port Stephens tour. Port Stephens is regarded as the dolphin capital of Australia. It takes approximately 2½ hours drive to get to the port. Prior to our cruise, we stopped for a short 4WD sand boarding tour of the dunes. We hopped on the 4WD vehicle that took us on a bumpy ride through the dunes heading to the sand boarding start point which is kind of exciting. 






However, in view of us having a baby we weren't able to fully enjoy the sand dunes since we have to cover him up due to the heavy sand flying around. Sand was all over us because of the strong wind which made me worry for my baby as the sand might get into his eyes, ears & nose. So to those people who's planning to take this tour with your baby, I wouldn't recommend it since the tour is not baby friendly. We then proceeded to Nelson Bay to have lunch and take pictures around the port area before we start our Dolphin Watching Cruise. 



























As we started the cruise and moved along further away from the shore the sea became very choppy which made it dangerous for us to stay outside of the cabin. The cruise promises that there is 99% chance of viewing the bottle nose dolphins, unfortunately for us, we did not get to see any. How sad. Well I suppose it happens. The cruise went back to port after an hour for our long journey back to Sydney. 














We arrived late evening into Sydney and decided to grab a quick bite at McDonald's and turned in for the night as we were all tired and we have an early Blue Mountains tour tomorrow. 




To be continued....


xoxo,

Arlene