Thursday, January 10, 2008

Cairns: A Dive and a Joey

Cairns is in Northern Australia.  It's known for scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef (at least for tourists).  Hubby booked us onto a dive charter that was infinitely more luxurious than any other dive operation I have ever experienced.  It was a triple decker boat with multiple lounges, a large dining room and a huge area for suiting up before the dive.  

The dive company had its own catering division.  (Great food has never been a factor in diving, you're lucky to get a beer after you come out of the water).  This one served 'morning tea' with cakes in addition to a great lunch buffet.  Mom liked this part the most.  In fact, I never saw her get her hair wet during the entire trip of 'snorkeling' that she was booked on.
Unfortunately, the skies were grey and rainy.  Visibility wasn't good, but the scenery was amazing nonetheless.

After diving, we toured the tourist-trap restaurants and ordered a kangaroo-themed Pavlova dessert.  Hubby discovered a 'joey' (baby kangaroo).  It was being cared for by a little girl.  Her parents had accidentally killed its mother in a car accident and they took it upon themselves to raise the little one through adulthood.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Sydney: Weddings and Views in the Matrix


The entire extended family on my mother's side converged in Australia to celebrate the wedding of my cousin.

Surfers throughout the entire world know of Bondi Beach.  In addition to great sand/water, there were some great cliffs to climb for scenery.  A big barbeque was the feast that evening.

New Year's Eve was spent enjoying a fabulous dinner party prepared by my aunt with Sydney's legendary fireworks over the Harbor Bridge.  

My other relatives hosted a wonderful afternoon at their condo overlooking one of Sydney's most recognizable landmarks, the Sydney Opera House.

The wedding itself was a simple and gorgeous ceremony at the Botanical gardens with a fantastic party to follow.  The Harbor Bridge is in the back of the third photo.  You might remember it as the backdrop to the Matrix movies.  

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