Sydney

In late April Ross and I did a long weekend in Sydney. We were surprised to realise that it had been almost four years since we were last in Sydney for my birthday in 2017. How time flies!

The impetus for the trip was to see 'Hamilton' which was playing at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney. We had planned the trip back in October 2020 and had just been hoping that Covid wouldn't get in the way. We had tickets to a Friday evening showing of Hamilton, so Ross and I decided to make a weekend of it and fly up Wednesday night and stay until Sunday. It's only an hour flight between Melbourne and Sydney, so leaving after work isn't too bad.

St Mary's Cathedral from Hyde Park

Normally we tend to do AirBnbs when we travel but we were trying to use up some travel vouchers that we had left over from a failed trip to Singapore (thanks, Covid) and so we ended up doing a flight/hotel package deal. We got a hotel in Potts Point (where we stayed last trip too), which is really convenient for walking and public transit around the city.

View of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge from our hotel.

On Thursday we took a train out to ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) so that Ross could meet with some collaborators. While it was a non-stop science day, it was actually super interesting. We met with a bunch of different people and got to tour a ton of different labs (cosmogenic nuclides and radiocarbon labs), plus we got to look at the four different AMS lines. Ross and I were definitely nerding out the whole day. I was also very thankful for my geochemistry background because I was able to understand most of the science and didn't ask too many stupid questions (I don't think...).

We stocked up on nerdy, science gear.

On Friday we went to the Taronga Zoo, which is located across the harbour from the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We took the ferry because it's the fastest option and when in Sydney, water is the way to travel. The entire zoo is built on the side of a hill so you have fabulous views looking across the harbour. Plus there is a gondola that drops you at the top of the hill and then you meander back down the hill to catch the ferry. My pregnancy squished lungs appreciated the limited up hill walking.

View from the zoo

Enjoying the sun

There were wild Eastern Water Dragons all over the place at the zoo.

From the zoo, we met with up some friends for dinner and then headed over to Hamilton. It was a little odd to watch a musical about the American Revolution and Alexander Hamilton surrounded by Australians but the show was incredible. The staging, casting, songs, everything - just phenomenal! If you haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend going if you get the opportunity.

Sunset from the zoo

On Saturday we took the ferry out to Cockatoo Island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the middle of the Sydney Harbour. We spent a good chunk of the day wandering around the island, learning about the convict and industrial history. Once we were done exploring the island, we took the ferry up the Parramatta River to the end of the line (Olympic Park) and then back to Circular Quay (essentially downtown) just to enjoy the ride.

Our flight on Sunday was in the late morning, so we ended up sleeping in, having a late breakfast and then heading to the airport. All in all, it was a good trip, though I was a lot more tired than I thought I was going to be. Turns out traveling and then walking a lot is significantly harder when you're nearing your third trimester.

Just an Echidna-shaped bush

I hope that this finds you all well and enjoying spring if you are in the northern hemisphere.

Tasmanian Adventures

Sorry for the long hiatus between blog posts. We actually haven't had that many coronavirus cases in Australia in the last couple months so there haven't been as strict of restrictions as there were over the winter (i.e. July through November). The main reason for the lack of posts is due to the fact that I found out in early December that I'm pregnant (due in early August). Unfortunately, the first trimester was extremely rough for me so we didn't do anything. Over Christmas I basically lived on our couch, eating crackers. It was a good day if I could make it around the block when we went for a walk, particularly if I could make it without having to stop at what we took to referring to as the 'stopping bench'. Once I got into the second trimester (late January-early February), life got a lot better for me. We did a couple weekend camping trips in February and have started fly fishing again.

Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain National Park

All of Australia has been suffering financially due to the massive lack of tourists over the past year. The Tasmanian government decided to offer reduced fares on the Spirit of Tasmania (ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania) to try to bring some tourist dollars back into the state. Ross and I took advantage of the reduced fares and took our car over to Tasmania for a week in early March. We took the night ferry to and from Tasmania (it's about a 9 hour ferry trip) to maximise our exploring time. 

We went counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise, as they say here).

We started off the trip with a couple nights camping at Cradle Mountain National Park. This is the park where we did the Overland Track last year before the world shut down. Last year we just got right on the trail and didn't have any time to explore around Dove Lake, so we decided to take a couple days and do some shorter days hikes this trip. We had fabulous hiking weather, though it was a bit chilly at night. We also went to a Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary (Devils@Cradle) and got some fly fishing in. The devil sanctuary was really interesting. It was so cool to be able to see some Tasmanian Devils and hear some of the crazy vocalisations that they make.

Dove Lake

Cradle Mountain and Lake Wilks

Lake Lilla and Dove Lake

First fish I've caught in Australia. I was really excited.

From Cradle Mountain, we headed to the west coast of Tasmania and spent the night in Strahan. We had been planning on doing a bunch of fishing along the drive but it didn't occur to either of us that we were driving into a rainforest. The rivers were so overgrown that it was almost impossible to get down to the water. The drive was quite pretty but we ended up spending significantly more time in the car than we had intended too.

Pieman River

Blotched Bluetongue at our hotel

From Strahan we went to Lake St Clair, which is the southern portion of Cradle Mountain National Park and where the Overland Track ends. We were able to get a bunch of fly fishing in on the drive to Lake St Clair, which was really nice. We had been planning on camping at Lake St Clair but it was about 6 degrees Celsius when we arrived, so we opted for a cabin after spending the day standing in really cold rivers.

Nelson Falls

The Collingwood River

Ross fishing on the Collingwood River

Ross fishing by Lake St Clair

Strawberry Bracket

The next day was another long car day as we drove from Lake St Clair to Freycinet National Park, which is located on the east coast of Tasmania. Freycinet National Park is best known for Wineglass Bay and its gorgeous beaches. We camped at Freycinet for two nights and did a longer day hike down to Wineglass Bay and then around the point. It was pretty crowded going up to the Wineglass Bay overlook but the number of people declined quickly the further along we got. It never ceases to amaze Ross and I that you can easily find yourself with maybe a handful of other people (or by yourself) on a mile-plus long stretch of beach in Australia. It's pretty crazy.

View from the beach by our camp spot

Camp spot at Freycinet

Wineglass Bay overlook

Wineglass Bay

Hazards Bay

White's Skink

Ross walking toward Coles Bay

Afternoon light on the Hazards

After a lovely couple days at Freycinet National Park we headed north up the coast and went to the Bay of Fires. This Tassie landmark is best known for the blue water, white beaches and orange lichen-covered rocks. The Bay of Fires runs for about 50 km (30 miles) north from Binalong Bay. We spent a leisurely day driving along with periodic stops to walk on the beach or marvel at the rocks. We ended the day with some fish and chips in St Helens and treated ourselves to a shower and a bed in a hotel room for our last night in Tasmania.

Empty beach as far as the eye can see.

For our last day we drove from St Helens to Devonport (where the ferry lands) with a stop at Bridestowe Lavender Estate. The lavender had already been harvested for the year but we had a delicious lunch with lavender ice cream and spent way too much money on lavender everything (e.g. tea, honey, syrup, soap, etc.). The farm smelled amazing when we were there, so I can only imagine how nice it is when the lavender is in full bloom. 

Lavender scones with blueberry-lavender jam and lavender chai.

Ross made a friend.

We had an uneventful sailing from Devonport and made it back to Melbourne on a Sunday morning, so we had time to do the boring adult stuff we needed to so that we were ready for the week. Overall, it was a fabulous trip and it was so nice to get out of Victoria for the first time in a year. We have a couple weekend trips planned for the next couple months to Sydney and Hobart but this was probably our last big trip before baby comes.

I hope that this finds you and yours healthy.