Days back from holiday: 3
Days spent thinking about said holiday: 3
Days wanting to go back on holiday: 3
Oz was bloody fantastic. I amazed myself by being completely fearless: snorkeling in fish-infested reefs (despite my mother’s voice inside my head chanting, “you’re going to get eaten by a shark!”), parasailing above the blue South Pacific (“you’re going to get eaten by a shark!”), flying incredibly low over reefs in a helicopter (“you’re going to crash, then get eaten by a shark!”), and suffering the worst turbulence ever in a half-filled 747 well over the Pacific (sharks, again). Thanks for the memories, mum. I stuffed my face with TimTams and Cadburys, took whole cream in my coffee, and hiked canyons. Let me tell you kids, Oz has it all, including far fewer obese people than the good ‘ol US. Imagine that. How the aussies stay so not fat is beyond me.
The B and I went to Featherdale Wildlife Park the last day we were in Sydney. The park is in Blacktown, a slightly slummy suburb about 50 minutes by train from the center of Sydney. The trains are the generic commuter-types: double-decker, seats with backs that change directions, and no restrooms. It’s understandable that both the B and I needed to go as soon as we got into the station. We stepped into identical purple-lit rooms, like a restroom at a nightclub. The B had the brains to tell me that the lights are placed in there to prevent people from seeing their veins. You know, like heroin freaks. Duly noted, and fully grossed out, we hopped a taxi to the Park instead of taking the bus from the station.
Once we arrived at the Park, however, all creepiness was aside, as the cuteness of the kangaroos, wombats, koalas, and kookaburras far outweighed the thought of junkies shooting up. We were able to visit with our adopted children: koalas named Karrie and Scribbly. We also fed kangaroos and laughed it up with kookaburras. Enchanting, it was.
Pictures and tales will be forthcoming in due time – I left the photography to the boy, as he had the good camera, whereas I had the crappy one. I should have them up in a couple of days. Promise. All in all, I’m glad to be back with my kitty, but wish we had had more time in Sydney.
In another note, I had to say goodbye to my dear friends Zach, Corey, and Sara, as all are flying over the Eastern puddle to live in La France for 7 months or so. All was teary and hiccuppy and sad. I do, of course, wish them a wonderful time, though I am more than a little jealous. I will, however, be going over to see them early next year, so it’s really not like it’s goodbye forever.
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