Our Australia adventure started in Sydney rather than Hobart (Tasmania) due to labor issues with the immigration folks in Hobart. So we had a great day in Sydney with Mikael Peck, Barb’s son, who lives and works in Sydney with his wife, Sunny, and son, Logan.  Mikael picked us up in town and gave us a grand tour of the north side of Sydney, starting with a National Park hike.

We strolled along the waterfront before Mikael picked us up.

And now off to the north side of town.

The bottle brush plant

Mikael says bandicoots are common there but are nocturnal so not often seen.

Now we’re off to Manly Beach

And then off to a north shore spot where Mikael and Sonny used to live.

And a nearby point where Mikael went fishing – purportedly some biggish fish caught here.

And now after a day or so of sailing south, we’re down near Melbourne at Phillip Island where we await the “Penguin Parade” along with about 2000 other folks. These “Little Penguins” spend the day at sea feeding and then come ashore after it gets dark enough for the predator birds to not be a problem and head to their burrows for the night. It’s an amazing crowd of spectators that apparently are managed to not disturb the penguins. Here’s the beach, the crowd and a few shots of the Little Penguins that we saw at a wildlife park a few days later.

And now over to Geelong in Port Phillip which is a big inlet that also fronts on Melbourne. We toured Geelong (je-long’) area which apparently is a big vacation, second home, and retirement area with several wineries in the area. Melbourne was an hour away on the train so we toured the local area.

Bandstand and library near city hall.

Valentine’s Day chocolate table on board the Viking Sky.

Valentine’s Day toast! Espresso martini’s taste great but make sleeping a challenge.

Now back to Sydney for a few days, starting with a tour of the town and a visit to the famous Bondi Beach. Very valuable properties in this neighborhood.

A stroll around Darling Harbor before dinner with Mikael, Sunny and Logan. Darling Harbor is along the west side of the Sydney CBD and is a very impressive development with many shops, restaurants, ferry docks, commercial buildings etc. The high-rise building is 76 stories with casino, hotel and condos and is right next to “The Rock” where the convicts were off-loaded after trip from England which went on from 1788 to 1868 and included about 162,000 convicts! These came from many cultures around the Commonwealth so set Australia off on a diverse cultural base.

Our final day in Sydney included a trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park with lots of the Australian fauna to see.

Most of the Koala’s were napping as they are nocturnal but this guy was still hungry.

The Tasmanian Devil was very active.

As was the wombat

Lots of green on this guy!

And these Lorikeets put on quite a show!

Echidna. One of the few egg-laying mammals.

Up close with a Cassowary

And the Croc!

And a walk across town to see the Opera House up close.

The Government House in the Royal Botanic Garden

Friday evening departure in Sydney Harbor and lots of sailboat racers out.