Australia Trip Ad Nauseam Post 1

This is going to be long. I am writing this for my reference and memories, so if you don't read it, as the Aussie's say, "No worries."

So, I am going to start at the beginning.

I get asked all the time why Australia. I will start by sharingthe story. It all started back in 1965. My Grandfather, his Brother, and Uncle were given the chance to homestead a farm in Australia. How did some men from Arizona get this opportunity? Well, another relative heard about the farms and suggested that they apply. The Ord River Scheme in the early 60's built a Dam and created Lake Arygle. It also allowed for irrigation to the 30 farms that were created. The original purpose of the farms was to grow cotton. (To read more about the Ord River Scheme click HERE) My Grandfather was an elementary school teacher, who also was a cotton farmer. Because of his experience with farming cotton and his eloquence as a writer he was given this chance. Unfortunately the cotton failed. It could not survive the pests in the Australian outback. The farm went on to produce, among other things, sugar cane, until the processing plant was shut down, and alphalpha. Currently it is growing rice, because of the abundance of water. My Grandfather and his Brother are currently the only original farmers to still own their farms. They are stubborn and stuck with it through all the hard times.

So, this leads us to now. I have heard about Australia and the stories of living on the farm, under a tree my entire life. I feel like it is a part of me and it is most definitely a part of my family

history. So, thanks to my Parents and Grandfather, Kristen (my sister) and I were given the opportunity (finally!) to visit the farm.

We traveled with Kent (Our cousin) and some friends of my Grandfather's. Kent was a real trooper and amazingly patient to escort 4 woman on a tour of Australia.

We started in Sydney. I love Sydney. We arrived after our 15 hours (should

have been 14 but we spent an hour grounded in LAX) plane ride at 7am. We dropped our

luggage at the hotel and headed out to see Sydney.

We wanted to go to the Opera House first, so we headed to the train station. Kent has been to Australia before on business so we relied heavily on his knowledge. Of course, it was still overwhelming to be in a strange city, and 1 that Kent had only been in 2 times before. My first impression of Australians, and more particularly Sydney residents is that they are very

nice and helpful. On our way to the station we got stopped several times by people asking if we need help and directing us as needed. Obviously we looked like clueless tourists, but everyone was so kind.

This was the view right off the train. The Sydney Harbor Bridge. Excuse how we look, we didn't have a chance to freshen up after our all night traveling.

The pier was beautiful. My Mom had suggestion we take a ferry to Manly beach, so we did. It was amazing. I love the ocean and the beach and boats (it helps that I have an iron stomach). What was so great about the ferry was that it went directly past the Opera House and gave us an incredible view and picture opportunities.

I was able to purchase my new camera (I posted about this below) in time to learn how

to use it specifically for this trip. I had be

en wanting that camera for a long time and w

as excited to get it before. So, I took

well over 2000 pictures. Don't worry I won't inundate myblog with the pictures, but will try to share my favorites.

At Manly Beach we stopped first for Fish n Chips. Kristen and I are not historically the be

st fish eaters, so we took a picture of us actually eating the fish to show my Mom. Imagine us saying "Hi Mom!"Here we are on the Ferry as is sails past the Opera House. Its such a beautiful building with and interesting background. To read the Story of the Sydney Opera House click HERE.

While we were eating

the seagulls were having a brawl below us.

Our vote was on this little guy to come out victorious.

We also visited the Botanical Garden that first day. It was so

beautiful. We didn't see as much as we would have liked. We'd been walking all day on little sleep so we were pretty exhausted. We made our way back to our hotel after that and crashed super early.

The next day, Kent decided to do something that he hasn't had the chance to do before. Climb to the top of Sydney Harbor Bridge. If you are an Oprah watcher, which I am not, I understand she climbed it for an episode all about Australia. So, for Oprah fans, Kent walked the same steps as Oprah. His guide was there with Oprah as well.

He had to head out earlier than we were ready, but Kristen and I made it out to the Harbor later to wait for him. We walked along the bridge, which was a huge thing for me because I am horribly afraid of heights. I got some amazing pictures of the Opera House and people on the Bridge. Kent is up there somewhere!

I will post about our 2nd stop, Kununurra soon!