Exploring Australia, February 2016, Part 4

As a decade birthday gift for Erick, we signed up for "Exploring Australia and New Zealand," a University of Michigan Alumni tour coordinated by Odysseys International. This post covers our first two days in Sydney, New South Wales. (You can click on a photo to see a larger version.)

Day 9:  Left Uluru for a 3-hour flight to Sydney in New South Wales, arriving for a late dinner. Our hotel, the Sir Stamford, was located very near the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay (pronounced key), and within walking distance of the Sydney Aquarium in Darling Harbour, St Mary’s Cathedral, and the Australia Museum.

Tour group at the Sir Stamford

The Sir Stamford

The Sir Stamford mascot, a wombat

Day 10: Sightseeing by bus – a land-based view of the districts around the harbor. Stopped at Bondi Beach for a snack.

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Our tour group from a stop along the Domain

Sydney skyline

Naval yard

Major-General Lachlan Macquarie served as the 5th and last autocratic governor of New South Wales,
leading the transition from a penal colony to a free settlement in the early 19th century.
The road around the Domain is named for Mrs. Macquarie who often watched the harbor for ships.

Rose Bay sign and photo 

Looking towards the Tasman Sea

Macquarie Lighthouse sign and photo 

Near the harbor entrance

Out cropping near Bondi Beach

It's said that lifeguarding started here at Bondi Beach 

After our morning bus tour, we took a luncheon cruise around the Sydney harbor on the Majestic Two for a chance to see the sights from on the water.

Circular Quay

Bare Island 

Walsh Bay wharfs

Fort Denison

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Top of the bridge (zoom) - bridge walkers on the far right
(No, we didn't do the bridge walk.)

The cruise provided some nice views of the Sydney Opera House:

After an afternoon nap, we took a two hour walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Fig tree

Bottle Tree 

Lotus pond with Ibis

Cockatoos

Parrots 

Wurrugwuri - a wave-form sculpture honoring the Aboriginal people

Pebble sculpture

Piece memorial made of barbed-wire

Fruit bats, like those we saw in Cairns, hang out in the trees of the Royal Botanic Gardens

Day 11: Our visit to Featherdale Wildlife Park provided up-close views of kangaroos and wallabies, koalas, wombats, echindas, fruit bats, dingos, a salty crocodile, and lots of birds, including a cassowary.

Pelicans

Skink

Ghost bats (kept in red light enclosure)

Wallabies  

Wallaroo - a separate species, not a kangaroo- wallaby hybrid

Wombat  

Who can resist taking lots of photos of koalas...

We toured Sydney’s northern suburbs by bus and had lunch at Manly Beach.

Sydney seen from near Manly

Enjoying another day in New South Wales 

Flags announcing surfing competitions

The Corso - Manly's pedestrian mall, then and now 

Before we left on the tour, I had purchased tickets for a play, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, presented in the Drama Theatre of the Sydney Opera House.  So, to end this day in Sydney, we ate at a wonderful restaurant ,Aria, close to our hotel and the Opera House and attended the performance.

Next up: Exploring Australia, February 2016, Part 5 - more from Sydney.