A few days in Sydney and Brisbane at the beginning and end of summer Pacific Island-hopping trip
View of downtown Sydney from the very edge of restricted airspace. Sydney harbor is completely prohibited.
This is from a couple hundred feet up from an area in "Farm Cove" that aerial maps seem to have deemed safe.
Lots of EM interference, the drone seemed to think there was active jamming in this area so we kept the flight short and safe.
Sydney Opera House in blazing hot sun.
The stroll around the banks of Sydney Harbor is pretty nice, albeit completely overrun with swarms of joggers in all directions
We hadn't planned to stay in Brisbane originally and ended up booking a place last minute downtown
Postal Square in Brisbane
The Lone Pine Koala Preserve is about a 20-30 minute drive from downtown Brisbane and was a really nice place to visit for a few hours
There are tons of free-roaming kangaroos and other Australian animals you can interact with and feed. It had never occurred to me that I've never seen Kangaroos or Koalas up close like this before
Like, seriously up close.
This little guy was perfectly fine nibbling the kangaroo crunch mix they sell, but was definitely not ok with any other petting or ear scratching.
Lest you think those tiny little T-Rex arms couldn't mess up your day
They have some seriously legit claws
This is the "Kangaroo Rest Area." It occurred to me that this might be necessary when I observed some sprightly gentlemen of unnamed nationality attempting to chase after a few kangaroos who were uninterested in their advances.
This old boy was happy to get a little ear scratch with his kangaroo crunchies
As rough as some of them look, we were surprised how soft their fur is, like rabbit fur
This guy lifts
Some large reptiles just roaming around the park
This guy seemed pretty ok with people
Tasmanian devil feeding time
Watching them at feeding time, I kind of get it in regards to their name. Nevertheless, these guys are endangered and definitely need protection.
When it comes to the Koala area, Lone Pine really delivers. There are tons of Koalas just chilling and chewing leaves. You can get pretty close to them.
Soup Dumplings in Sydney.... Some really good Asian and Fusion far
And speaking of fusion... Sushi Burgers @ Gojima. So delicious, they have a wide assortment, including beef, chicken, and sushi varieties.
Had some really top notch craft donuts. They displayed the daily offerings in a glass case like fine jewels.
Out of all travels, including coffee hubs like Indonesia and Vanuatu... these were the first coffee cherries we've ever seen up close. Really interesting to pull a few apart.
Sydney really has some world class coffee
For one of our last days, we took in the absolutely requisite stroll along Bondi Beach
The surfing here was pretty cool to watch. They combination of really big swells and rocky areas made helmets pretty necessary.
We also visited the Sydney aquarium. Its a nice aquarium, but along with the adjoining zoo, it made us pretty glad we had the chance to visit Lone Pine in Brisbane. That was a real highlight in terms of animal interaction. This place is worth a visit on a tour of Sydney though.
