On the Move

My parents arrived at the beginning of the month and we stayed busy in Sydney checking out the sites including attending the opening night of Aida at the Opera House!  We also went on a harbour cruise, took a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, went to lots of markets, and then I sent them off to all the museums by themselves.  They also climbed the Harbour Bridge and went to the Blue Mountains for a few days.  And lucky for them, they were around to help Jen and me move out of our apt and say farewell to Cascade Street.  I had them weeding our garden and everything!  

For the past 10 days I've been a busy girl.  I first flew to Tasmania where I stayed in Hobart and took 3 separate day tours.  The first day consisted of a national park which had a rainforest, a massive, beautiful waterfall, and lots of wildlife.  From there we went to a wildlife sanctuary with some of the most interesting creatures that I have seen yet.  Including Tasmanian Devils!  (They look nothing like the cartoon in case you were wondering.)  Along the tour we stopped at a few amazing lookout points before going to the top of Mt Wellington where there was plenty of snow.  It was quite weird seeing snow in July!  Normally there is an amazing view looking out over the city of Hobart but there was a huge cloud at the top which made it hard to see a few feet in front of you, let along hundreds of feet down the mountain.  

The next day I was on a tour that went to Wineglass Bay among other great spots for great photographs.  Wineglass Bay was beautiful but the weather wasn't the greatest so it probably would have been even better in the warm sun.  

For the last day in Tassie I went to Port Arthur which is an old convict settlement from the 1800s.  It was very interesting to see this old place where tons of prisoners were shipped from England and Ireland back in the day.  It was a long drive to get there so the tour bus made a few stops at great spots with more picturesque scenery.  All in all, Tasmania was beautiful though I would love to return when I have more time and warm weather!  

From there I flew to Perth to visit my friend Claire and soon after I arrived we hopped in a car with some of her friends and drove 2.5 hours south to Margaret River which is a popular wine region of Western Australia.  We stayed at a beach house though it wasn't warm enough to go to the beach, but we had a great time visiting lots of wineries and exploring the area.  It was a great weekend though again we didn't have the best weather as it rained on an off for the few days we were there.  

I am now in Melbourne and am staying w/ my old roommate Gen from when I lived here 6 years ago so it's great to be back in the old apartment on my old stomping grounds.  However I think the bad weather is following me b/c it started raining this afternoon and it's been a dreary day! 

On Friday I am off to the Whitsunday Islands for 5 days and will meet my parents there who are currently in Cairns checking out the Great Barrier Reef.  I'm hoping the bad weather pattern doesn't continue b/c I would love nothing more than to relax on the beach and enjoy the white sand and blue water!  Fingers crossed.  

I hope to post pictures soon, so stay tuned!