Matthew's parents were just here visiting Australia for the first time, and we had a lovely time together! We showed them around Sydney, then we went to Melbourne for a few days, drove the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, then headed to Adelaide for three days, then back to Sydney. It was fun showing them places we'd been before and also exploring new places together (it was our first time to South Australia).
We visited four different wine regions: the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley in South Australia.
We saw heaps of animals at Healesville Sanctuary (near Melbourne) and Cleland Wildlife Park (near Adelaide). I even got to hold a koala at Cleland, which was very exciting for me, and was one of the highlights of my entire time in Australia so far! :)
We also saw wild koalas for the first time while driving near Cape Otway, Victoria. Matthew spotted the first one, and we pulled over immediately and took pictures, but he was quite off in the distance. Then we got back in the car, drove a bit further, and started spotting another and another; it was pretty awesome! Here's a video of one of the wild koalas eating some dinner.
A few photos from along the Great Ocean Road.
Anne and Tom at Cape Patton Lookout
At the Twelve Apostles
At the Twelve Apostles
Here's the album with the rest of our photos from the trip.
Back in April, our friends Janine and Deanna were here visiting, and we all did the Harbour Bridge Climb together. We had a great time! Luckily the weather was beautiful that day. We had to wear silly jumpsuits, and were clipped on via safety belts the entire time, so it wasn't scary.
Well, I finally scanned the photos, so here they are, quite belated.
Silly group photo.
Janine, Deanna, Amanda and Matthew.
Amanda and Matthew underneath "Blinky Bill," the red aviation safety light in the middle of the bridge. Traffic was going by way down below that catwalk. Yes, that is wind in my puffy suit. ;)
Thanks again to Deanna and Janine for joining us on this fun adventure.
This past week, two different groups of friends of friends were visiting Sydney, and we got to meet up with some cool people: Megan, and Dannalea & Jason. I'm still a bit unsure of myself has a tour guide since we haven't lived here quite that long, but I hope everyone still had fun! :)
Here are some not-so-great cell phone photos with Dannalea and Jason, while we were passing time at Lowenbrau. We were waiting for our table at Sake Restaurant, which turned out to be very good food, although we had to wait a while for a table, even on a Sunday night.
Here are some photos from the beginning of Kate and Stephane's visit to Sydney - a trip to the Opera House, and to the Lord Nelson Pub and the Belgian Beer Cafe.
