Australia: Uluru

This was my fourth time visiting Australia but I had never been out to the "Big Red Rock" that marks the heart and center of this great country.  I have had this on my list to visit if I ever went back so I'm very glad I got to see it this time around.  We flew from Brisbane into a tiny little resort town called Yulara.  It's basically just a tiny airport and then a small resort to host the thousands of tourists that come to this amazing site each year.

Ready to fly!

Our first look at Uluru

As soon as we got out of our rental car we were swarmed by flies.  They didn't bite but they were very persistent little buggers.  Luckily the gift shop sold these handy little face nets.  We walked all around the base of the rock, 7 miles in all.  It was wonderful to see the rock from all sides and so many different perspectives.

Some aboriginal cave art

Could this rock be any more beautiful?

I love this "Sunburnt" Country so I gave it's heart a big hug:)

Following the trail around the rock

So many flies!  Thank goodness for the face net!

We finished our walk around the rock just as the sun was going down and we got to witness the amazing color changes of the rock during sunset!

I'm so happy I could see this great site

It looks like a glowing red ember...so pretty

Even without the rock, the sky our first night there was so pretty!

The next day we let the boys take a little break and Oma, Hyrum and I went hiking around the nearby  Kata Tjuta National Park

The red color of the rock is truly amazing

We thought this old sign was funny, "no grog and no dope"

We went back to Uluru that evening to witness the sunset against the rock again...

...The colors did not disappoint!

The next day Julian was feeling sick so I stayed at the hotel with I'm while everyone else went on a hike in Kata Tjuta

Lots and lots of red rock:)

That evening we took the boys out into the dessert where you could no longer see the lights from our little resort town.  We pulled off the road a ways so that passing cars with their headlights wouldn't ruin the night sky for us.  It was amazing!  Looking up into the sky and seeing so many millions of stars!  We found the Southern Cross with help from an app Hyrum installed on his phone...one of the highlights of my trip to the Outback:)

The pool at our resort was totally empty...I guess no-one wants to swim in the middle of winter?

One last family photo with Uluru!

One last photo of the rock from the airplane...so amazing!

I am so glad we took the time to come out to see Uluru.  It really is amazing how this giant monolith rock seems to just appear out of nowhere.  The surrounding dessert is so dry and flat.  We chose not to climb up on the rock because the aboriginal people have asked visitors not to climb on the rock and we figured we should respect their wishes.  Even without the climb to the top this rock is wonderful to view.  It really does feel as though there is a power or feeling of reverence to this rock.  I loved seeing it and I'm so glad we could visit!

Australia: Drive From Sydney to Brisbane

We left our cute little place in Sydney and headed North.  Our first stop along the coast was in Port Macquarie.

Our fearless driver!  He did so good driving all around Australia!

We walked around the elevated boardwalk at Sea Acres Rainforest Center.

We also made a quick stop at the Koala Hospital.  

After our quick visit in Port Macquarie we drove to Coffs Harbour to stay for a few nights.  We made a last minute decision to book a whale watching tour, it was amazing!

Hyrum on the boat looking for whales!

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water.  Poor Julian got a bit seasick during the day but I hope he still got a few glimpses of the whales and has a good memory from our day.

Whales!!!

Whale Tail!  Pictures just do not give this experience the justice it deserves.  There was a pod of about 4 whales that stayed right near our boat for a good 30 minutes.  The sound they make when they surface for air is so cool and it was just amazing to see these giant creatures right next to our boat.  These were humpback whales that were migrating north to have their babies in the warmer waters of North East Australia.

Our next stop along the coast was the cute little town of Bellingen.  The town itself was pretty fun to walk around but right outside of town was Dorrigo National Park so we stopped off there for a quick look around.  Our boys never like when we say, "we just want to go for a quick walk" because they think it will be a giant hike but our walk around Dorrigo really was just a quick walk:)

A fun little boardwalk that brought you out to a great view point.

Giant trees in the subtropical rainforest of Dorrigo.

A fun suspension bridge and a pretty waterfall

Such a beautiful little path through the rainforest

The beautiful "Danger Falls".  I thought it was funny there were lots of signs posted not to jump from the falls...which I thought you would have to be crazy to attempt as that would be an almost 100 foot drop!

Our next stop along our journey North was in Byron Bay!

I am including this photo because if I am ever in Byron Bay again I will make sure to stop at Peppes pizza.  Seriously so good!  This guy was straight out of Naples, Italy and his food was amazing.  The pizza crust was so good...I can't stop raving about it but it was really that awesome!

We made a quick stop at the Cape Byron Lighthouse which is the continent of Australia's most Easterly point.

Such a gorgeous spot

We finally made it to Brisbane and we were going to go straight to our hotel for an early morning flight to the Outback the next morning but I convinced Hyrum to make a small detour to surprise my host Mum and Dad.  They knew we were in Australia but I had told them we would visit them after we went to Ayers Rock so it was fun to surprise them, even for a quick 30 minute stop to say hi and bye.

I love these guys!

Australia: Sydney

I woke up on the morning of July 13th with a sharp pain in my right side.  Hyrum advised me to go into the ER because if it was an infection they could get me an antibiotic and I would still be able to catch our flight to Sydney at 3:00 that afternoon.  I went into the ER, they ran a bunch of tests and poked me with lots of needles...I will forever hate having an IV!!  After a MRI they determined my appendix was inflamed and should come out.  I asked the doctor if we could just get the surgery going quickly so I could still catch my 3:00 flight...she said I would NOT be catching that plane!  I was so sad.  Of all the days for my appendix to have problems why did it have to be the day I was supposed to fly to Australia?  They scheduled me for surgery that day and Hyrum and the boys stopped at the hospital to say goodbye before they left for the airport.  I was left alone and I have to admit I was depressed.  I had been looking forward to this trip for over a year and was sad that I would miss out.  Lucky for me the surgery went fine and I was only left with three small puncture wounds where they inserted the laparoscopic instruments.  I even left the hospital that same day because I was feeling fine.  I was able to book a flight to Sydney a few days after surgery and was so happy to be with my family.  Our first adventure: Sydney!!

Saying our goodbyes in the hospital room before my family flew to Australia!

Waiting to get on the airplane...yay for iPads that kept the boys entertained!

A view of the Sydney Opera House from one of the towers on the Harbor Bridge.

The twins with their friend Aiden at the Sydney Aquarium

Julian loves penguins!

Exploring China Town

Julian at a War Memorial in Sydney

I made it!!  We went for a nice hike at Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park

An aboriginal rock carving

It was a beautiful day for a hike

Oma and her trusty walking stick!

There were about 400 steps down to this beach...not so hard going down but kind of a bummer to come back up!

When we first got to this little cove of water there were about 4 dolphins swimming around just off shore!  We didn't have swim suits but that didn't stop Emerson, Julian and Aiden from going for a quick swim.

It was a nice place to just sit and relax

So many STAIRS back up to the top!

Family Photo at the West Head Lookout

Walking around Sydney, such a fun city to explore

I found MY happy place!!

Sitting in "Mrs. Macquaries Chair" in the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney

A fun "Living Wall" exhibit in the Botanic Garden

The twins got to go sailing on a little boat with their friend Aiden and his sister Ella.  Aiden has been taking sailing lessons and was super happy to take his friends out on a boat.

They had a great time!

Play hard...sleep hard!  The boys got to spend this whole week with a friend they knew from Oregon whose family moved to Australia last year.

Inside the Sydney Opera House.  We were able to attend a concert here and it was wonderful.  We got to hear Saint-Saens organ concert...it was fantastic!  I know my kids didn't really love it and poor Julian was crying to leave during intermission because he was so "bored" but we made them stay and I think it was good for them to experience this once in a lifetime cultural moment!

Outside the opera house after the concert.  It looks really cool all lit up at night:)

Our big hike in the Blue Mountains.  We took the green trail to Wentworth Falls, then the red "National Pass" trail to the Slack Stairs, then the Wentworth Pass trail to Empress Falls and then the Overcliff Track past Empress Lookout and up to the Conservation Hut.  This was a long, hard hike but was so beautiful and had so many interesting things to see along the way.

Family photo op...you can tell the scenery here was just amazing!

Lots and lots of stairs going down and down into the valley

Wentworth waterfall...at least a part of it

My boys friend Aiden and his mom Katie came with us on our adventure

Crazy steep ladders...thank goodness most of them had cages around them so you wouldn't fall

Remember, this was less than one week from my surgery...pretty crazy!

Silly Hyrum

Some more of the amazing views from our hike

We stopped at the base of Wentworth Falls for a picnic lunch.  We needed our energy for the hike through the canyon and back up and out the other side!

Some parts of the "trail" were quite steep and not super easy to follow

View from the valley floor

Oma conquered all the obstacles this hike threw at her...she is amazing!

Time to head back up the million stairs to reach the top of the canyon!

Julian being silly near Empress Falls

Beautiful Empress Falls

Up, up, up we go!

Once at the top of the canyon you are rewarded with gorgeous views!  This hike was crazy long and hard but I'm really happy we got to experience so much of what the Blue Mountains has to offer.  We saw so many beautiful things that you just can't see if you stay in your car and just pull over for some "overlooks"

The famous "Three Sisters" rock formation in the Blue Mountains

The fabulous Sydney market.  The boys got some fun souvenirs 

On the ferry to Manly Beach

It was a "bit" windy:)

Boogie boarding at Manly Beach

Even in "winter" it's great to be at the beach in Australia!

The opera house lit up at night on our ferry ride back to town

Hyrum, Oma and I enjoyed time spent at the art museum in Sydney.  The boys opted to stay at our apartment for this outing...uncultured children!

Oma sharing her lunch with a rainbow lorikeet:)

We took a nice walk from Bronte to Bondi Beach.  There is a great trail that follows right along the ocean the whole way.

On the trail to Bondi...I thought these rocks looked really cool

The twins took no time in climbing up this rock!  There were plenty of foot and hand holds to climb up

Beautiful Bondi Beach.  In the summer months this place is packed but since we were here in the winter there were hardly any people at all.

Saying goodbye to our friends on our last night in Sydney.  It was so neat to see friends from Oregon while we were in Australia.  I think the fact that Aiden was with us on most of our adventures made it so there was much less complaining from my twins:)  We miss you Duncan Family!

Saying goodbye to our wonderful house in Sydney.  This place was in the perfect location, we could walk right to the harbor in about 5 minutes.  The big white van parked in front was our rental car.  Hyrum did such a great job navigating the busy city streets in that giant van, all while driving on the LEFT side of the road!

Sydney is such a wonderful city.  I had been one time before back in 1994 with a friend from school.  What I remembered the most from that experience was how clean the city was and it hasn't changed in all this time.  The city is wonderfully clean and fun to walk around.  I'm so glad my surgery went well and I was able to join my family for at least part of our the time in this great city!