SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Before heading in to Sydney, Chris and I stopped at Murramarang National Park, just north of Bateman’s Bay. We had heard that kangaroos often frequent one of the park’s beaches, Pebbly Beach, so we wanted to check that out. When we got there, however, we were disappointed: not even one ‘roo!
There were, however, an amazing variety of parrots (and other birds) in the trees that would fly down and actually snatch food from your hand. They’re used to park visitors feeding them, so they’ll swoop down land on your shoulders, arms—even your head. We grabbed some bread and were completely swarmed. It was a lot of fun—until afterward, when I realized my arms were completely covered with scratches from all those talons. Still, it was worth it.
Since we didn’t see any kangaroos, we decided to check out Depot Beach, a little ways down the road. No kangaroos there, either, but it was a nice sandy beach, and the water looked really clear and inviting, so we decided to break out the snorkeling gear and dive in. It was pretty cold (this definitely is NOT the tropics), but the snorkeling around the rocks and kelp beds was great—I saw schools of puffer fish, a filefish, different colored wrasses, some goatfish, and a bunch of other Australian fish I couldn’t recognize. Then, as I was swimming on the surface, a huge shape totally obscured my view of the sand below: It was a giant stingray, probably about two meters wide! Chris and I followed it around for awhile (it was cruising pretty slowly over the bottom), and then it swam off. Then later when I was heading in to shore, I nearly collided with it again! I’d swear that thing was following me around—maybe it was curious or something. Whatever the case, it was really cool to see such a behemoth up close (and a little unnerving, too).
We then drove by Pebbly Beach again, and this time there was a lone Australian Grey Kangaroo just laying in the grass under a tree! He was much bigger than the little wallabies we saw in Tasmania. He got up to see if we had any food, but we didn’t (you’re not supposed to feed them, anyway), so he let us pet him for a minute or two and then hopped over to try his luck with some picnickers. It was great to be able to pet a (more or less) wild kangaroo--it's really amazing how friendly the wildlife is around here.
We then drove the rest of the way to Sydney, and checked in to our hostel, Boomerang Backpackers, which turned out to be kind of a dump (in the middle of a seedy neighborhood, with the sidewalks outside all torn up from construction). Funny, it looked better in the advertisement. :-) So we spent the rest of the evening walking around town and making phone calls, looking for something a little better for the rest of our time in the city. We eventually found a decent place, but we can't move there for another couple of days. Oh well.
Before heading in to Sydney, Chris and I stopped at Murramarang National Park, just north of Bateman’s Bay. We had heard that kangaroos often frequent one of the park’s beaches, Pebbly Beach, so we wanted to check that out. When we got there, however, we were disappointed: not even one ‘roo!
There were, however, an amazing variety of parrots (and other birds) in the trees that would fly down and actually snatch food from your hand. They’re used to park visitors feeding them, so they’ll swoop down land on your shoulders, arms—even your head. We grabbed some bread and were completely swarmed. It was a lot of fun—until afterward, when I realized my arms were completely covered with scratches from all those talons. Still, it was worth it.
Since we didn’t see any kangaroos, we decided to check out Depot Beach, a little ways down the road. No kangaroos there, either, but it was a nice sandy beach, and the water looked really clear and inviting, so we decided to break out the snorkeling gear and dive in. It was pretty cold (this definitely is NOT the tropics), but the snorkeling around the rocks and kelp beds was great—I saw schools of puffer fish, a filefish, different colored wrasses, some goatfish, and a bunch of other Australian fish I couldn’t recognize. Then, as I was swimming on the surface, a huge shape totally obscured my view of the sand below: It was a giant stingray, probably about two meters wide! Chris and I followed it around for awhile (it was cruising pretty slowly over the bottom), and then it swam off. Then later when I was heading in to shore, I nearly collided with it again! I’d swear that thing was following me around—maybe it was curious or something. Whatever the case, it was really cool to see such a behemoth up close (and a little unnerving, too).
We then drove by Pebbly Beach again, and this time there was a lone Australian Grey Kangaroo just laying in the grass under a tree! He was much bigger than the little wallabies we saw in Tasmania. He got up to see if we had any food, but we didn’t (you’re not supposed to feed them, anyway), so he let us pet him for a minute or two and then hopped over to try his luck with some picnickers. It was great to be able to pet a (more or less) wild kangaroo--it's really amazing how friendly the wildlife is around here.
We then drove the rest of the way to Sydney, and checked in to our hostel, Boomerang Backpackers, which turned out to be kind of a dump (in the middle of a seedy neighborhood, with the sidewalks outside all torn up from construction). Funny, it looked better in the advertisement. :-) So we spent the rest of the evening walking around town and making phone calls, looking for something a little better for the rest of our time in the city. We eventually found a decent place, but we can't move there for another couple of days. Oh well.
posted by John Kuge at 11:40 PM
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