Sydney |
 My first stop in Australia back in 2004 was to the big city of Sydney located on the southeast coast. This impressive place was one of the most friendliest and colorful cities I’ve ever visited. Sydney is often mistaken for the capital which is actually Canberra that is located about 4 hours away. On the left is a photo of a stunt show taking place in downtown Sydney. The great weather makes Sydney a good place to visit in all months of the year. Unfortunately Sydney is on the expensive side. While it doesn’t compare to the high prices of NYC office space or residential areas in San Francisco one should be prepared to high amounts for meals and accommodation. I was able to book a ridiculously cheap hostel in Sydney but paid the price of having visits in the middle of the night from various creepy crawlers. Australia was one of my early trips when I hardly took any photos, I explored several parts of the city with a friend I met, going to various neighborhoods, museums, and other places of interest. The only other Sydney photos I have are two city icons, the harbor bridge and the famous opera house below |
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| The easiest way to see wildlife in Australia is the zoo, which was one of the places I visited in Sydney. The above animals are an enchila on the left and the famous kangaroo on the right. Kangaroos are about as common in Australia as deer are in the US. You might see them crossing the street at night, or wandering across a golf course in the evening. |
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 These three pictures show one of Australia’s favorite animals, the Koala bear. Turns out these little guys aren’t true bears, and in fact with only one exception in South America, bears don’t live in the southern hemisphere at all. These koala bears are found in most parts of eastern Australia, and while they are known for being cute, they are also one of the laziest animals on earth. They spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping, and are usually found spotted in trees dozing off like in the two photos above. When they are on the move, Koalas are still generally slow moving animals and usually take their time with things instead of swinging through trees like monkeys. These characteristics make them easy to hunt, and in the early 20th century when trading Koala fur was popular, over a million were killed and they were almost hunted to extinction. Their numbers have since greatly rebounded but they still aren’t considered to be fully recovered. |
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| After visiting Sydney, I took a bus out to the blue mountains which were located west of the city, still in the same province of New South Wales. While hiking here, I and came across the cockatoo above which is common in pet stores, and the giant nest of some other bird on the left. |
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| These four surrounding photos are also of Australia’s blue mountains. Since these mountains begin only 50km west of Sydney, they offer easy access to anyone who enjoys hiking and wants to get out the city. The blue mountains also have the steepest railway in the world, which I also took but don’t have any photos. Below is a famous site in the blue mountains, the three sisters. Several waterfalls, caves, and other natural formations make this a popular trek. |
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