Sydney Take Two

Back to Sydney for a day and a half before we caught our flight home...depression set in.  I didn't want to leave.  We had souveniors to buy since we had only bought some along our journey--we were always close on our weight limits for our in-Australia flights.  But we had a 70 lb per bag, 2 bag each restriction going back home--much better.

We each bought an additional bag to fill up with Australian goodies.  It was exhausting running all over Sydney shopping!

Our hotel had a great view of the opera house.  Here are some night time views:

Goodbye Australia.  Thanks for the good times.  Hopefully we will see you again one day!

Heron Island Overview

Paradise--a small island surround by the Great Barrier Reef, a 2 hour boat ride from the mainland.  We loved our 9 days on Heron Island. 

It was raining for our ride out to the island on their "ferry" , so the ride was pretty rough.  Luckily I felt more secure on this larger boat than I did on our last snorkeling trip in Port Douglas, even though the ride was as bad, if not worse.  The boat had very comfy seats, a tv where they showed a DVD about the Great Barrier Reef to entertain us and a bar.  What more do you need for a 2 hour boat ride?

Our "ferry" boat to Heron Island at the Exmouth Marina before we boarded:

Our home for the 9 days:

Even though there were quite a few people staying on the island, we barely saw people out on the beach or snorkeling too often.  It was great!  We could snorkel right from the beach but the water was COLD!  Even with my wetsuit on, I was shivering for the first 5-10 minutes in the water.  Then I got lost in the beauty of the reef and the wonderful sea creatures!

The amazing undersea creatures of Heron Island

It was a very relaxing stay. I don't think I have even lived that long without tv, as I am a tv junkie.  We had our House DVD's to catch up on using our laptop so that took the edge off.