Sydney Aquarium ...

The Sydney Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the world and is a huge attraction located in Darling Harbour. It is also an animal research site currently studying the effects of heavy metal contamination in marine environments. There was a lot to be learned there and I'm glad I went.

The aquarium had a major shark attraction and a lot of space dedicated to the Great Barrier Reef, which was exceptionally sweet.

Definitely not what you find in the Missouri:

I have this fascination with seahorses. They are so interesting from their physical characteristics to their social behaviors. Not to mention the fact that the men court the women, they hold hands (or intertwine tails) and give birth to the babies.

The male seahorse had just given birth to hundreds of babies.

All of those specs are baby seahorses & they looked really amazing under the microscope:

Starfish are weird. Hands down.:

The touch pool was really interesting. It reminded me of scuba diving in Mexico and being able to touch all the creepy floaty underwater whatnots.

The shark tank is one of the biggest exhibits at the aquarium. You walked through these huge shark tunnels and even the floor was glass. The sharks were huge, kind of creepy, and they were close enough that I could see their teeth.

Cool, huh?

And then came my favorite part of the whole thing ... one of my favorite animals EVER ... the Little Blue Penguins, or Fairy Penguins. They are the smallest species of penguin and are only about 16 inches tall and weigh like 2 lbs. They are found in New Zealand and Australia and I really, really want to have one. More than I want a seahorse. :)much love

-tara-

xx

Sydney, Day 3 ...

On my last day in Sydney I had a lot to do and a little time to do it in. Story of my life Down Under. I started out going to Sydney Tower with a few of the others. When in a new city find the tourist tower, right? Apparently.

Sydney Tower is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure and is 1,001 feet tall. It looks kind of weird, just like all of the other towers I've been to and the view is pretty much the same, just a different city. Nonetheless, it was a good time ... after I got to the top. The ride on the way up is never very pretty. I'm a wuss, I know. :)

The view from the ground:

And the view from the top:
Beautiful Sydney Australia:
Sydney's Hyde Park:
The Botanical Gardens:

The Gardens and that's Russell Crowe's house again .. at the end of the pier:
And of course the Bridge. A little less terrifying from up here:

A forced smile :) :
Yuko, me, Mariko & Kazumi ... 1,000 feet up:

After we left the tower, I headed down to Cockle Bay Wharf on my own to eat lunch on the water, go to the park and visit the aquarium. I was still operating on a pretty strict time schedule.
The sun was shining, the weather was actually decent and I was in Australia. Life was so good.

King Street Wharf:

Another one of those crazy water taxis:

Tumbalong Park. What a goofy name, huh? :

I love pam trees:

much love

-tara-

xx

Sydney, Day 2 ...

Our amazing apartment in Sydney had floor to ceiling windows that wrapped around the entire living and dining room. Our bedrooms had a windowed wall too. The view was fabulous.

Kind of like this:

And the view from the veranda:

Where I rested my pretty little head in Sydney:

And our kitchen, which I did not use at all. Go figure. :) : I met my friends Bernie and Chris for a stroll through the Sydney Botanical Gardens, lunch, shopping, dinner/drinks, and a lot of catching up. Bernie and Chris both lived in Japan last year but recently returned to Australia. I miss them both dearly and being able to see them in Sydney was definitely a highlight.

The Botanical Gardens:

I took a whole 2 pictures there :) :

We did find Russell Crowe's house:
He lives at the end of the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo (that's seriously the name of the area of Sydney):
The view of the city from the park:
We had a great view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from the Gardens as well. The weather was great, despite a few clouds, but I think this was the first day of our trip that didn't include rain.

Bernie & I in front of all that is Sydney:

And then there's the Harbour Bridge. Almost everyone knows that I have a full blown fear of bridges. It's more of a phobia and I go into a panic every time I have to go over certain ones. Sometimes the sight of one makes my palms sweat and my chest gets tight. The Harbour Bridge was no different. Thankfully we didn't have to drive over it.
"The Harbour Bridge is the world's widest long-span bridge and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 429.6 ft from top to water level. It is also the fourth-longest spanning-arch bridge in the world." Just reading that is enough to make me want to vomit. AND THEN I learned that as a tourist you can climb the bridge. No joke.

"Since 1998, BridgeClimb has made it possible for tourists to climb the southern half of the bridge. Tours run throughout the day, from dawn to dusk, and are only cancelled for electrical storms or high wind. Night climbs are also available. Groups of climbers are provided with protective clothing appropriate to the prevailing weather conditions and are given an orientation briefing before climbing. During the climb, attendees are secured to the bridge by a wire lifeline. Each climb begins on the eastern side of the bridge and ascends to the top. At the summit, the group crosses to the western side of the arch for the descent. Each climb is a three-and-a-half-hour experience."

I think this would be the ultimate way to 'conquer' my fear of bridges, if that is in fact possible. We'll see if I'm brave enough the next time I'm in Sydney. :)

Insane:

Once the sun set Bernie, Chris and I went up to what is known as 'The Gap'. It's an ocean cliff located on the east side of Sydney. It's coastal and scenic and a little creepy because it is also known as the most popular suicide point in all of Australia. According to MrTravelGuide.com, "When international director and closet ghoul Alfred Hitchcock visited Sydney in the sixties this was his infamous point of reference. Locals know, and tourists do not, that this is the last stop for the desperate few, it also a beautiful location for a spectacular scenic cliff top walk that begins at The Gap Park."

The Creepy Cliff:

And the view of the city from The Gap:

much love

-tara-

xx