Friendly Mates

Australians, on a whole, are by far the most friendly people we have encountered on our trip.  So far, we’ve stayed in someone’s house that we didn’t know, while they were away for the weekend.   We’ve emailed a random about renting a apartment, and although they didn’t have a place for us, they have asked us to several parties so they can show us a local experience in Sydney.   And finally, we met a few people while on Murray Beach.   They happened to ride in on boat to take a swim.   They offered to take us out for a ride to try to see some whales and dolphins, which we happily accepted.   We must have gone out at least 10 miles in the middle of the ocean (probably a hour ride).  Although we didn’t see any whales or dolphins, we did see a flying fish!    The boat ride was pretty unique and another example of how Australians are such friendly mates!


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Jervis Bay: Wildlife

The beaches were worth the trip to Jervis, but part of the reason we made the trip was to find some kangaroos.  We are now experienced roo trackers!  No seriously, they are all over the place.  Caragh spotted our first few, and it was pretty thrilling.  As the day went on, we were running into them on trails and driving by them on the road…they are everywhere.  We were also fortunate to see some beautiful birds, porcupines, dolphins (on our favorite beach, Murray Beach) and even a flying fish (explained in our next post).  It was a perfect couple days away from the city. 


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Jervis Bay: Beaches

We rented a car and took off to Jervis Bay for a couple of days.  Wow, it ended up being one of the better decisions we’ve made.   What a beautiful place!  Arguably, some of the best beaches in the world are located in the Booderee National Park (and the whitest sand in the world).   The water was incredible, the scenery was amazing and most surprisingly, every beach was completely empty.   Granted, Jervis Bay is a very small town but these beaches were so gorgeous and no one was ever enjoying them.  Crazy!   If you make it to Australia, you have to take a trip to Jervis.


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Blue Mountain

We took a train to the Blue Mountains for the day.   It's a pretty scenic place.   The eucalyptus trees give off a blue haze, giving the area its name.   The 'Three Sisters' is a must see here.   The old legend goes; three sisters from the Katoomba tribe fell in love with three brother from the Nepean tribe, yet were forbidden to marry.   The brothers tried to capture the sisters with force, leading to a tribal battle.   A Katoomba witch doctor turned the three sisters into stone to protect them from harm and intended to turn them back when the danger had passed.  The witch doctor died during the battle, and so the three sisters remain stone.  
There was a ton of hiking involved on this day trip so we decided to cheat a little and jump on one of the steepest railways you'll find anywhere (maybe the steepest in the world).  Caragh was loving this one!


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