Australia Top 10, Part 2

Okay, so it should be fairly obvious with this second set of Australia pictures that this isn't so much a top 10 (since now we're up to a top 20) as just a condensed travelogue. But it's really hard to narrow it down (believe me, I'm already cutting out a lot of pictures I would love to share) since it was a near-perfect trip.

1. Visiting the Manly Public Library

 

You didn't honestly think I'd pass up such an opportunity, did you?

2. Bus tour of Manly

One of the great things about this trip was just joining in with some of the things the locals did. This bus was one of those things (although, considering the fact that we rode the entire circular route without getting off at any of the stops probably revealed the truth that we were actually tourists).

3. Driving on the left side of the road

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we borrowed Anne and Nate's car and drove south along the coast. It was an adventure. Mike took to the backwards roads like a pro, and I only caught him driving on the wrong side (i.e., the right side) twice (and thankfully, both times were in rural areas with no traffic).

4. Minnumurra Rainforest

Where we sat on this bench . . .

. . . And looked at this waterfall:

(Clark, as you can see, was unimpressed.)

5. Robertson Pie Shop

You'll never hear us complain about pie being Australia's national dish.

6. The white sands of Jarvis Bay

Sadly, the evening we'd set aside to go swimming was actually a bit chilly. Mike still got in the water, but I wrapped myself in a towel and watched him, while worrying the entire time that he was being followed by a shark. The beach (and accompanying water) was really pretty though.

7. Seeing kangaroos

If I was really limiting myself to only ten favorite things, seeing kangaroos would most definitely have made the cut. There we were, just driving along, and this family of kangaroos was just hanging out on the side of the road. That little joey was out of his mum's pouch. When we drove past, he jumped in headfirst and then turned himself around. Oh, and watching them all bound away was pretty cool too.

8. This pine tree

I guess I was a little obsessed with trees on this trip (see the fig tree in the first Australia post). I believe this is the Norfolk Island pine. They are all over down here (right next to the palm trees). Their branches look like ferns. (While the tree is beautiful, the ocean and hills in the background aren't exactly ugly.)

9. Kiama Blowhole

I actually thought this was pretty cool. It's kind of like a geyser except it sprays much more frequently (and, obviously, is not created by a hot spring). When we were there, it was going up several times each minute. This video shows it much better than a picture (skip to 0:17 for the best one--although not the best one of the day, for sure).

10. The donut van in Berry

I actually wasn't a huge fan of the donuts themselves (too spongy for my tastes), but come on: it's a van that sells donuts. How could I not love that?

And . . .  that doesn't take us to the end of our trip, so it looks like there will be an Australia Top 10, Part 3. Stay tuned.