Road Trip Sydney

I left Denver at 11 am on Tuesday, March 20 and arrived in Sydney at 7:45 am Thursday, March 22.  Crazy how a day just "disappears" when you go to the other side of the world.  Needless to say Thursday was a rest day that ended with snacks and drinks at the RSL - Returned and Services League of Australia - and the evening raffle.  It was my first raffle and all the prizes had an Easter theme, and much to my surprise I won a basket of Easter eggs.  Also at 6 pm everyone stops what they are doing and on all the televisions a tribute is played for Australia's service men and women past and present.  It was really quite moving.  It reminds me of our Legion and VFW halls here in Denver but they have Keno and slot machines and really nice, big modern buildings.  And of course a full bar - what Legion Hall - or RSL Club - would be complete without one.

My first Australia Raffle winnings

Friday was Road Trip day. We left Sydney and headed southwest, ending up at Fitzroy Falls, which is part of a wilderness area similar to a state or national park.  The road was lined with thick groves of gum trees and we were surrounded by sounds of birds.  Cockatoos fly wild around the city in flocks similar to how the Canadian geese fly around Denver.  Apparently they are as much of a nuisance as the geese are, landing and "pooping" everywhere and making lots of noise while doing it.  It is amazing to see 15 or 20 of them in the grass along the side of the road.  Even though they are protected, from what I have heard they are not well loved.

We reached the falls and walked through a lovely gift shop (that got about $250 AUS from me - the only good thing is it was only $191 US so it made me feel better) and on to the falls.  There was an over hang where we could take pictures.  The falls themselves were quite pretty, but the real view was the valley stretching beyond the falls with mist and clouds floating over it.  We hiked up the hill to get a better view of the valley and it was quite beautiful.

My host and tour guide, Suzan 

Gum trees.  We drove through beautiful forests of these trees.

Fitzroy Falls.  Part of a wildlife area comparable to our State/National parks

View from above the falls looking out over the valley

A pond that was supposed to have Platypuses, but even though we waited patiently, none came out to play.

The common wombat, another marsupial that lives throughout Australia and Tasmania.

The intrepid adventurers.

Termite mound.  Apparently they are quite abundant in Australia.  Suzan told me termites all but gutted the interior of her daughter's house - that had to bulldoze the house and start over.  Even after that, they came back again, but this time they caught them in time to stop them.

Just a cool looking tree.

From Fitzroy Falls we headed south east to Kangaroo Valley.  Named originally for the kangaroos, they were all but wiped out because of the problems they caused for livestock.  In recent years they have been reintroduced and are growing in numbers.

We stopped first at the Hampden Bridge, the only surviving bridge from the colonial period.  Suzan, my host, was telling me that her Grandfather was sentenced to Australia for crimes that were trumped up.  She said it was not uncommon to do that for jobs they needed.  He was a builder and they needed builders so he was convicted.  I also couldn't resist the sign for Hampden Bridge Park and the Lions Club.  I guess they are everywhere and do the same good work in Australia as they do in the US.

I couldn't resist - the Lions Club is everywhere.

Describes the bridge in the next picture.

The Bridge is a single lane bridge so drivers need to stop and wait for anyone who is coming towards them.  It was interesting to see how nicely drivers deferred to each other.

Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley New South Wales

Next to the bridge was a pioneer museum.  The curator who also lives on sight is the one who told us about the kangaroos being wiped out, but that wombats are alive and well.  Apparently they are very territorial and one was really challenging him for dominance over the grounds of the museum.  He finally had a removed by a gentleman who ran a reserve for displaced wombats.

The museum resides on a piece of land that used to belong to the army and was vacated.  Since the land belongs to the "Crown" (the government) they made it available to the museum.  All the buildings on the site have either been moved from other places or built for the museum.  All of the artifacts have been donated to the historical society for display at the museum.

The first exhibit was an old operator's stand and they had a video demonstrating how it was used.  I am sure it was cutting edge at the time, but watching how they made each connection was amazing.  It also gives you an idea how limited the population was in this area at the time.

How would you like to be an operator using this?!?

Someone had donated preserved snakes.  Since there are several poisonous snakes in Australia I found it interesting.  After we got done wandering, we saw the sign to beware of red belly snakes when visiting the furthest buildings.  From Wikipedia:  "The red-bellied black snake is a species of elapid snake (venomous snakes native to tropics and subtropics) native to eastern Australia. Though its venom is capable of causing significant morbidity, a bite from it is not generally fatal and is less venomous than other Australian elapid snakes."

Snakes anyone?  An exhibit at the Pioneer Museum.

The rest of the pictures are from different exhibits at the museum.  It was not dissimilar to our pioneer towns.

Old ice chest - the wood was really quite beautiful

Pioneer era kitchen - not too dissimilar from those in the US.

Table set with what was considered the good china - something a family of means would have.

Single bed - I wondered if it was indicative of the size of the settlers.  There was another single bed that was shorter but just as narrow.

Traditional bedroom with bed and baby's crib.  If you look under the bed you can see the chamber pot under the bed.

Finished the day with a nice drive back to Sydney and an order of traditional Fish and Chips.  It was fresh fish dipped in a delicious batter that came out crisp, slightly greasy and oh so delicious.  Even the chips had this delicious crunchy/greasy taste which I am sure were not good for us but tasted oh so good.

Tomorrow it is off to the races - literally - for a race similar to our Kentucky Derby. 

Flight to Sydney - United Polaris Business Class

I spent three months looking for flights to Sydney which is how I settled on flying out of LA.  Got a very competitive price on United Polaris Business Class and booked about 340 days before I left.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that have found United puts out a few first class/business class seats at a very competitive price (I've gotten them for only $120 more than economy).

I read quite a bit about United Polaris on the Dream Liner and based reviews I selected the second or back section of Business Class.  There are only four rows or 24 and reviews said the service was better and it was quiet.  All were true.  I selected an isle seat on the center section, this way I didn't have to craw over anyone and no one had to crawl over me to get out.  There was an over head bin for each row so in essence, travelers on the center aisle had an overhead per seat.  I sat in the back row just in front of economy plus seats and since there are no bathrooms between the two sections, no traffic and very quiet.

The seats are a “pod” but obviously designed for people traveling in pairs.  Unlike British Airways business class where you have an opaque glass “wall” that can go up and down to really give the pod privacy.  These “pods” had a small partial divider at the head of the seat but have a shared arm rest which really destroyed any hint of privacy within the seat.  It felt like a souped up first class seat that reclined to a bed, but still had that feel of sitting next to someone.  That also means that if you have your light or TV on, it is in the face of the other traveler whereas on British Airways, the wall filters the light.  It really makes a traveler feel like he/she needs to turn off the TV and lights to be considerate of their seat mate.  The seat itself is comfortable, the bed rolled out nicely, the seat had power and USB plugs along with plug in for head set.  They provided what looked like sound dampening headset, but I prefer to use my own.  We also go a light blanket, a nice comforter like blanket and pillow.  The accessory kit left something to be desired.  Socks, sleep mask, toothbrush, tooth past and some lotion.  It was in a plastic container that was a poor replacement for the old zipper bags (fake leather zipper top) that are great to recycle and use to carry things in.  This plastic case was pretty much useless, so I left it on the plane.  Maybe that was their plan, people leave them behind so they can be recycled.  Overall I ‘d give the “pod” a B- and that is mostly because of the shared space and thus lack of privacy.

The food on the plane was good and service was attentive.  Starters were a smoked salmon wrapped in nori and a bok choy salad with chopped mango.  The entrée options were a pork chop, spicy chicken with udon noodles, poached salmon or egg plant ravioli.  I chose the pork chop with a demi-glace, risotto potatoes and roasted onion. The flavor was excellent but unfortunately the food was served just warm so by time I was about half way through the pork chop it was cold and thus no longer appetizing.  Dinner finished with an imported cheese plate and a choice of dessert bites.  I enjoyed the cheese and fruit and skipped the dessert bites.  The sweet treats along with sandwiches were available in the galley area through out the flight along with any beverages upon request.

Breakfast was a choice of fresh fruit and yogurt or a Southwest Omelette.  I got the omelette which served with a mix of potato and sweet potato, a corn relish and sausage links.  The omelette had the same corn relish inside along with cheese.  The entire plate was good but quite salty.  It came with fresh fruit, yogurt and croissants served warm.

I like United first class for domestic flights, but I think I'll stick with British Airways whenever possible flying overseas since the pod configuration on United in my opinion is not optimal.

Wine and nuts to start the evening meal

Starters:  Bok choy salad with mango and an Asian dressing; cold smoked salmon wrapped in nori and served with an edamame puree.  Salad was good; salmon was good but really salty. 

Pork chop dinner.  Very good but since it came out only warm, half way through the pork was cold and who wants to eat cold pork - not me.  So finished the potatoes, roasted tomatoes and onion.

Finished with a cheese plate with a nice glass of port.  Made for a nice dessert so skipped the sweet stuff.  The cheeses, especially the blue cheese, were really delicious.

United Lounge LAX

I flew from Denver to LA on Southwest Airlines on points.  It was a nice flight and as always, friendly flight staff, comfortable seats with more leg room than the new “sardine can” versions Frontier has introduced and it appears the lead other airlines are following.  Drinks and snacks, but as usual, I just bring my own water and lunch.

Arrived at LAX on time.  I had allowed a long lay over in LAX intentionally.  One never knows what the weather will be like in Denver in March so I wanted “just in case” time.  I showed my boarding pass at the United Club to gain entry.  

I read that the club was recently remodeled and it was nice.  Wine and beer were complimentary at the bar with premium drinks priced like a standard bar ($8-$10).  They had a small salad bar, chicken tortilla soup, vegetarian chili with Fritos and cheese, cookies and brownies.  The food was good, great high speed WiFi and plenty of seating.  

Black eyed pea salad, standard salad bar

Vegetarian Frito pie

Australia

I am off to Australia.  I am visiting my friend Suzan who I met on my 2016 Uniworld cruise from Turkey to Amsterdam.  Suzan was one of 14 Australians in our group and as I mentioned somewhere in my blog, one night on the ship, on the dance floor after a significant amount of adult beverages, I became an honorary Australian. 

When Suzan originally invited me to visit my first thought was "how very nice" - but so many people say that but don't mean it.  What I have learned since I first met Suzan is she is this genuine, kind welcoming person and she really meant it, so I said "sure!" and so started my adventure to book my transportation to Australia.

As we worked on dates and what we would like to do, Suzan suggested a cruise so in the middle of my visit I am going on my very first ocean cruise with Suzan as my mate and we are cruising north from Sydney, will visit various spots on our way to Brisbane including the Great Barrier Reef, then circle back to Sydney.

I'll be in Sydney for Easter and they have a festival that reminds me of a cross of the Iowa State fair (Deep Fried Oreos, Deep Fried Cheese Cake, Deep Fried Lasagna) and the Denver Stock Show (all different kinds of animals to see and pet) along with what sounds like an amazing array of food stands.

Besides a variety of things Suzan has scheduled, we will see La Boheme at Sydney Opera on the Harbor, which is an open air venue across from the Sydney Opera house.  La Boheme is one of my favorite operas so I'm very excited.  Suzan has booked a room near the Opera and in the morning we are doing the Captain Cook Cruise of Sydney Harbor.  This is just a highlight of things we have planned, but the first step was getting to Sydney from Denver.

I thought I would log on to British Airways, figure out a route down through Hong Kong to Sydney and use some of my points to get there.  Ha!  Even though I was looking a year ahead, I could not get a seat in business class anywhere near the dates I wanted to go, so off I went to look for flights.

Did you know China is trying to expand into the US market?  They have a flight from San Francisco to Australia for only $2,500 round trip.  Sound good?  Well, after you read the reviews of Chinese airlines you get a sense of why it is only $2,500 - and why I did not seriously consider any airline from China.  But I did search a wide variety of airlines including Qantas, Cathay Pacific, American, Delta, United and British Airways.  Prices ranged from about $6,000 to $20,000 from Denver, but most flights went through a city on the west coast and even when I selected Business Class in my search, the leg from Denver to the West Coast was always economy, and I just didn't want to fly economy on some of the airlines I was looking at.  I finally found a flight out of LA on United for $5,100.  I picked up a flight on Southwest from Denver to LA on Southwest on points, then picked up a first class flight on United from LA to Denver for about $300.  Having done long trips (15 hours to Sydney, 13 hours back) I knew I did not want to get off of a comfy flight and go back to the sardine can that airlines have become.

I've learned the hard way that not leaving enough time between flights to accommodate weather, mechanical issues, originating flights being delayed, etc., can result in a missed flight.  So I get into LA somewhere around 1 pm and leave again at 10 at night.  Plenty of time to accommodate a late flight, finding luggages, getting from SW to United and checking into an international flight.  LAX still has a construction warnings, so could be an adventure.  I have a pass to the United lounge so comfy chairs, wifi, food, adult beverages - hopefully everything I need to wait comfortably until my flight to Sydney.

So my flight is set, some of our activities are set.  Dogs are in the kennel, the house is ready to close up for a month and tomorrow morning at 8, Uber picks me up and takes me to DIA to start this month long adventure.  Hope you will follow along.