Australian Thoughts

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu

Our journey wasn't exactly the most direct, but where's the adventure in that? Having booked our flights about a year before leaving, our round about trip took us over 41,200km and touched on 4 countries excluding home. We took 8 flights in total and crossed not only the international date line and equator but also experienced 5 different time zones. Enough to make anyone wonder what the heck day it is. But aside from our unique route, we got to experience 24 hours in Beijing and the most amazing 2 weeks in Australian. If I could find a reason to move Australia, I would...the weather, the beaches, the scenic coastline, capped with some unique nature are all reasons enough for me. Sydney reminded me of home, minus the mountains....it is a clean city (at least in the areas we visited), with great public transit options to get you from A to B. The only draw back is the cost of living, but then I understand wages are also higher there. 

Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef is definitely in my top 5 things I've experienced in my lifetime so far....the crystal clear water provided the best visibility to the natural aquarium below. Hanging at the beaches was another favourite activity on this trip....the feel of the soft, white, fine sand on my feet brought me to my happy place each time. The beaches are perfect conditions for some beach volleyball which if I had a volleyball with me I would have played. 

Getting to see animals unique to Australia at the habitat and also in the wild was a pretty cool experience. I loved watching a pod of dolphins playing around in the surf in Noosa; they looked so free. Australia is certainly an outdoor adventurist's playground. 

Being able to experience this with my love and partner Z made this trip that much more special. This is the furthest south in the world I've travelled and it was well worth the long journey. To do it all over again would be a dream come true....so much left unseen.  

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands  remote, to travel is to live." - Hans Christian Anderson

My sentiment exactly...to travel is to live! To experience different parts of the world and different cultures is what this is all about for me. So until next time when these globetrotters jet off....life is good!

Sydney Opera House

You can't come to Sydney without seeing the iconic Sydney Opera House. Situated right on the harbour, the opera house is a multi-venue performing arts centre. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, construction of the opera house started in 1958 but was not completed until 1973 and apparently some 15 times over original budget. In 1965 a change in government caused some tensions with Utzon because construction was taking much longer and way over budget. Story has it that the government refused to pay Utzon 100 grand in fees and he ended up leaving the project and never returned to Sydney to see the completed structure. He wasn't invited to the opening ceremony either. In an effort to speed up completion and to save some costs, the new project manager used inferior products to complete the interior of the theatres to the detriment the acoustics and it is estimated that to fix this now would cost $1 billion. What a shame, the opera house is magnificent. Besides the theatres, there are cafes, restaurants, bars and a gift shop. All are relatively pricey, but you are also paying for the experience and the views of the harbour. 

You can take a guided tour through the opera house, or you can do what we did and purchase tickets to a performance. We thought it would be neat to see a performance there, but thought about it a little late in the game. Shortly before we left on our trip we looked up what might be available and found that The Nutcracker was being performed by the Australian Ballet. The only tickets available were standing room, not the most ideal, but we really wanted to do this. So we bought tickets for $59 each for the opening night of the performance. The performance was in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, which is the eastern side of the opera house. 

The performance was incredible. From the sets to the costumes, the orchestra and dancers, it was all just very spectacular. Despite saying earlier that the acoustics are not what they should be, I'll be honest and say that the orchestra sounded pretty darn good, so to the average ear one cannot tell. This is the first time I've ever seen a ballet and such a wonderful venue to experience this in. The performance was split into 2 45 minute acts. During the first act we stood at our standing room spot and it wasn't bad at all. We had a great vantage point, but during the intermission the usher mentioned that there were some empty seats. He couldn't technically take us to them, but did say he wasn't required to look for us if we weren't in our spots. So just as the 2nd act was starting we moved to some empty seats in the 2nd row of the upper balcony. These seats would have cost about $200...what an absolute treat! You're not supposed to take pictures instead the theatres, but I did anyway....the usher told that I wasn't allowed to, so I said sorry and went on my way with my illegal photo! :) 

Inside Joan Sutherland theatre

At The Nutcracker