Travel Stories by Amaru & Suzanne
Australia

These last few weeks we've had family staying from overseas....


Zilia, Pär & Theo
Have arrived in Sydney!

They came for the wedding but obviously when you travel this far to a place you've never been to before, you want to explore and see parts of it as well. So, Suz and I played tour guides, taking them all over Sydney to show them the sights!

Zilia, Pär and Theo arrived a few weeks before the wedding on their round-the-world trip (they are doing what we normally do...hehe). On one of the first nights we drove into the city, parked in The Rocks and showed them the most famous landmarks in Sydney, the Operahouse and the Harbour Bridge.

It's nice to walk around Circular Quay, we made a few stops for some chocolate and of course a few beers as well (the only dilemma was where to stop for beers as there are quite a few nice pubs in the area).


And of course we had to...
take them to see the Opera House

During the next few days they were on their own since we still had to go to work (it sucks when other people are on holiday and you have to work...), but we had the weekends together.

On one of these weekends we decided to visit Taronga Zoo, Suz hadn't been there for ages and I hadn't had the chance to visit it yet. Now that we had a two year old with us we had the perfect excuse for a visit (also, the fact that we have a good friend that managed to score free passes for us didn't hurt either).

We had a great day at the Zoo and the weather was perfect.... it was sunny but not too hot, just perfect! And after seeing so many animals in one day, what was Theo's favorite moment.... the Sky Safari Cable Car of course =)


Chasing down Theo...
Next to the Harbour Bridge.

We finished off the afternoon with a visit to Balmoral Beach where we really enjoyed just sitting down on the beach relaxing, having a few beers, eating some local fish and chips and watching Theo exploring the water and running around the water's edge. We had to take turns in running after him ;)

Friday before the wedding, my parents and my brother Denis arrived after a loooong flight over. No time to rest though as we had to get Denis to the suit rental shop to fit him out. Later on that evening it was time for our families to finally meet (at least they got to meet before the wedding).

We organized a dinner for all of us at a local restaurant near our place and the evening was a success.... everyone loved each other which is a great sign!


All this running
makes you thirsty!

We realised that on the wedding day itself you don't always get time to catch up with friends you haven't seen for a while, so the day before the wedding we decided to meet up with a few overseas and inter-state friends that had made the effort of travelling all the way here for our wedding.

We all met at the Harbour View Hotel which is an easy place to find in The Rocks and it was also a perfect time for us to point out the location of the ceremony and reception.

At the end of the night I said goodbye to Suz who was staying in the city, went home and had a night at home with my parents and siblings (and of course, the next day the wedding took place but you've already read about that in our previous blog).


Theo and a Wallaby
at Taronga Zoo

Well, after the wedding Suz and I had the week off work so that we could show the family around our beautiful city!

We took them one day to North Bondi and showed them one of the best view points of the city, this was followed up with Bondi Beach (just to visit, it wasn't hot enough for a swim).

The next day the plan was to visit the Blue Mountains. We had a sky filled with clouds and wondered if we should really go there. In the end, it came down to see them in rain or not see them at all. We made it up there and couldn't see anything... the mist was just too thick. Occasional it dissolved and we caught a glimpse or two of what was behind it.


Some Kangaroos
relaxing in the shade

Max, from New Zealand, came along with us as well and he, my mum and I decided to hike around for a little bit to see if we could get a better view. We walked down the side of the Three Sisters and on this side you could actually see the valley. We walked down the steps halfway before struggling back up again. Lots of steps for just a little view, but it was worth it.

One of the last things we all did together was to visit Audley in the National Park where we did some fishing, played some cricket, cooked a BBQ under rain and had an incident with a dog that somehow came along on this trip (dogs are not allowed in the national park).

Then my parents left on the Sunday and Zilia, Pär & Theo on the following Tuesday and all of a sudden, after 5 weeks, we were all alone again...

It'd been a great few weeks with family and in three weeks we get to see them again, but this time we'll be the ones on a holiday... when we start our honeymoon!!


A sleeping Koala...
Who would have thought?!?

Zilia & Pär
with their next child

Best view in the city
...lucky goats!

Here Kitty kitty...
Not THAT close!

This is what Theo enjoyed the most
Animals... Nah, boring =)

Suzie and Theo
Singing in the back of the car

Having a cold one at the Beach
Down at Balmoral Beach

Zilia and Theo
Down by the beach

Fish & Chips
Some good food to finish the day!

We've got a streaker....
Suz is chasing Theo down

Suz and Julia
at the family dinner...

THE family dinner
Where our families met for the first time

THE family dinner
Where our families met for the first time

THE family dinner
Where our families met for the first time

The view from our hotel room
Not too bad =)

Decorations in The Rocks area
On our way to the pub

Daren, Max and I
The NZ crew!!

Geoff made it as well
...all the way from QLD!

Denis enjoying the Australian pubs
No more now until you're 21...

Kate and Adam
Our Melbourne visitors

The locals...
Julia, Kate and Murray

Overlooking Sydney Harbour
from the lookout at North Bondi

Bondi Beach
...had to take the family here!

Suz and I
posing in front of the beach

Mum and Dad
at Bondi Beach

Zilia & Pär
at Bondi Beach

Trying out a Peruvian restaurant
...soooo much meat!!

Breakfast
before heading to the Blue Mountains

The Three Sisters
This is what we're supposed to see

Can you see it?
it's right there, somewhere...

Steep steps
...and plenty of them as well!

Mum, Max and I
Decided to climb a few

At least the fog
cleared a bit over here...

Theo wants to drive
Hard work to get him out of the car

A nice place to relax
on a wet and cold day

The National Park
at Audley

Max is showing us how to fish...
(he was the only one that caught anything)

A Kookaburra
one of the local birds

And here are a few other ones...
Cockatoos

We don't sing in the rain...
we cook in it!

The kids table...
Where we also sat!

Nelson and Dad
The brothers are on the loose...

Pär & Denis
are introduced to Cricket!

Some Cold ones after the game
...always great!

 

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