Carling and I are back in the US now, and have also parted ways. I have gone to stay in Bryn Athyn, PA over Thanksgiving and Carling to her house in Kempton. I thought I would write a little something about being home, sort of a final post for Sarah.
The plane flights weren't as bad, or as long, as they were going to Australia. Michelle, Angela and Margaret Heldon had seen us off at the airport and gave us some gifts for the flights home. The girls had made us a scrapbook of photos, with comments, of our good times spent together. Such a precious gift, thank you ladies. It is different being back because I no longer have Carling at my side. The first morning I woke up eating cereal and sitting on the couch just wasn't the same. I have my niece, Adara, to play with, she is such a joy. She had learned to walk while I was away so I've had lots of new tricks to catch up on. The weather is very cold here, and since all of my stuff is packed and distributed at different houses, I haven't found a coat warmer than a jacket. My sister Denielle, has kindly given me some gloves and a scarf, which I bring everywhere.
Thanksgiving is coming and I am thankful for it. Its great coming back to the States with over a week to adjust, get rid of jetlag, hang out with friends, and see my family. My parents are coming out from Michigan soon and I can't wait. I think getting back into the swing of school won't be as bad as I imagined, but we'll have to wait and see.
I do want to thank everyone who has read this blog. Carling and I loved putting up new posts and pictures, and looking to see if anyone had commented. I recommend making a blog, or at least keeping a journal, if you plan on traveling because it is a great way to look back and see all that you did and experienced. I also would recommend planning a visit to Australia one day. It is an amazing and beautiful country, with friendly and welcoming people. I'm just waiting for the next excuse I get to get back out there (possibly a wedding?).
Now a little note to my significant other while on this internship: Carling Wyncoll. If you don't know this girl, just imagine a talented, joyous, and relaxed person. She and I got along so well I couldn't have asked for a better person to have gone to Australia with. We knew each other before leaving the US, but not all that well. It turns out we are similar in many ways, we both love to dance and laugh. Our friendship is so strong now that I know we'll be there for each other in the years, hopefully decades, to come. Thank you Carling, for coming on this trip with me and for our many talks, laughs, dance parties, and cries. Keep a lookout for the wombat.
Glad to be back at home,
Sarah Marie Elder
Shoutouts:
To Michelle and Angela- thank you for the scrapbook, I will treasure it forever.
To Margaret- thank you for your love and wisdom.
One day we will meet again...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Our Last Weekend :(
The time has come to fit in last minute trips and say our goodbyes. This past friday we went out dancing with our mates Angela and Michelle Heldon, a few gems among the rough. It was pouring rain but made it all the more memorable. The evening ended with us breaking out our Kevin Bacon Footloose moves in an 80's dance club.
Saturday we visited the National Art School where Michelle's art was on display. We are so proud of her. The school used to be a prison where England's convicts were sent due to the overflow in their own prisons. History could be seen by the bars still on the windows and chalk tallies counting the days a prisoner had been there. The cell walls and stairs are taken out, leaving the room perfect to display artwork. In the center of the jail is the chapel, where the convicts would go to repent. Unfortunetely, we were not able to go into the chapel but were told it is beautiful. We headed for what was once Sydney's red-light district, and hopped on a bus tour that gave us the history of streets, bridges and buildings of the area. We sat atop a double decker bus, much like those in London, and had a great view of the sights. Besides being informational, it was a good way to soak in and have closure on our amazing internship. We jumped off and went into the infamous Aquarium and got up close and personal with some sharks! The seal and shark tanks had underwater tunnels for people to walk through and get an incredible look at the many sea creatures. Along with the sharks were huge stingrays, giant turtles, and vibrant fish. We definitely recommend this aquarium and give it 5 stars.
Sunday was our last service in the Hurstville New Church. After singing we headed to our house with the congregation for a farewell party. Sad as it is to say goodbye to this society, we are looking forward to seeing our family and friends back in the States. We were very humbled by the nice speeches and thoughtful gifts we received from the society. We were given some Australian songbooks, cd's and beautiful charm bracelets. Carling's bracelet has a kangaroo charm, for her bouncy joy, and Sarah's has a kookaburra, for her love of birds and great laugh. We were so touched by the love from the community it is going to be an emotional farewell boarding the plane.
That was only the beginning to an amazing Sunday. We drove to the very well known, Bondi Beach, with Michelle, Angela and Kristen. For the month of November, an art exhibit called Sculptures by the Sea, was on display along the rocks of the beach. We cannot even begin to describe any of the sculptures, so make sure you look at our photos.
For the next 2 weeks a group of Aboriginal students are visiting the Sydney area and are staying in the church's Baringa. Sunday evening there was a welcoming ceremony where we were blessed with water and got the privilege of seeing an Aboriginal dance by a few women. The kids were a bit shy but a few came up to us and chatted about their first trip to Sydney. It was great to have the opportunity to meet some Aborigines before we left for the States. They still have many of their traditions and the dance was powerful because it showed the honor they feel for the land. By nightfall the mossies were coming out and everyone went back to their homes.
We are treasuring each final moment we have here in Australia. We have finished our 200 hours for the internship but there is still so much to do. We are thankful for the time we have spent here and the love we have felt from the society. They will all be missed.
Shoutouts:
#1 Margaret, for being the BEST supervisor ever.
#2 Michelle, for sharing her joy and beautiful artwork.
#3 Angela, for her love and affection.
These ladies are pure gems.
with love,
Sarah and Carling
Saturday we visited the National Art School where Michelle's art was on display. We are so proud of her. The school used to be a prison where England's convicts were sent due to the overflow in their own prisons. History could be seen by the bars still on the windows and chalk tallies counting the days a prisoner had been there. The cell walls and stairs are taken out, leaving the room perfect to display artwork. In the center of the jail is the chapel, where the convicts would go to repent. Unfortunetely, we were not able to go into the chapel but were told it is beautiful. We headed for what was once Sydney's red-light district, and hopped on a bus tour that gave us the history of streets, bridges and buildings of the area. We sat atop a double decker bus, much like those in London, and had a great view of the sights. Besides being informational, it was a good way to soak in and have closure on our amazing internship. We jumped off and went into the infamous Aquarium and got up close and personal with some sharks! The seal and shark tanks had underwater tunnels for people to walk through and get an incredible look at the many sea creatures. Along with the sharks were huge stingrays, giant turtles, and vibrant fish. We definitely recommend this aquarium and give it 5 stars.
Sunday was our last service in the Hurstville New Church. After singing we headed to our house with the congregation for a farewell party. Sad as it is to say goodbye to this society, we are looking forward to seeing our family and friends back in the States. We were very humbled by the nice speeches and thoughtful gifts we received from the society. We were given some Australian songbooks, cd's and beautiful charm bracelets. Carling's bracelet has a kangaroo charm, for her bouncy joy, and Sarah's has a kookaburra, for her love of birds and great laugh. We were so touched by the love from the community it is going to be an emotional farewell boarding the plane.
That was only the beginning to an amazing Sunday. We drove to the very well known, Bondi Beach, with Michelle, Angela and Kristen. For the month of November, an art exhibit called Sculptures by the Sea, was on display along the rocks of the beach. We cannot even begin to describe any of the sculptures, so make sure you look at our photos.
For the next 2 weeks a group of Aboriginal students are visiting the Sydney area and are staying in the church's Baringa. Sunday evening there was a welcoming ceremony where we were blessed with water and got the privilege of seeing an Aboriginal dance by a few women. The kids were a bit shy but a few came up to us and chatted about their first trip to Sydney. It was great to have the opportunity to meet some Aborigines before we left for the States. They still have many of their traditions and the dance was powerful because it showed the honor they feel for the land. By nightfall the mossies were coming out and everyone went back to their homes.
We are treasuring each final moment we have here in Australia. We have finished our 200 hours for the internship but there is still so much to do. We are thankful for the time we have spent here and the love we have felt from the society. They will all be missed.
Shoutouts:
#1 Margaret, for being the BEST supervisor ever.
#2 Michelle, for sharing her joy and beautiful artwork.
#3 Angela, for her love and affection.
These ladies are pure gems.
with love,
Sarah and Carling
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Pancake Breakfast
Here are some photos from the pancake breakfast that Sarah and I put on last Sunday before church. We were nicely helped by Angela and Michelle and it was a great success, as well as super delicious.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Gold Coast
G'day mates!
Sorry this blog is so long overdue. We have not forgotten you, we just haven't taken the time to write a new blog. So here is a good one to make up for it.
We took a week off of work last week to take a holiday to visit the Gold Coast, a.k.a. the beach! Starting bright and early monday morning we boarded JetStar along with our bags and their FANTASTIC music for our listening pleasure, the same six songs on repeat. Nice.
We were welcomed by two of our delightful hosts, Angus Glenn and his son Jake. They welcomed us with a cheery sign and balloons and took us back to their lovely abode where we met wife Kaylene and their youngest son Callum. It was raining on our arrival, so what better to do than to take a walk through the rainforest. Incredibly misty, as you can see from our photos, we saw lots of beautiful foliage, a waterfall, and one turkey that showed up at the last minute. After some scones and coffee we headed out for a kangaroo chase in a buggy, also known as a golfcart. Driven by the "florist" or is it "floorist?", Angus we madly ran down dozens of wallabies who were chilling out on the golfcourse. This was a blast! Lots of laughs and puddles and splashes.
Tuesday morning, we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and go out on the river in Angus and Kaylene's motorboat. We zipped around on the water, swam, ate some lunch on the beach, made some sandcastles, and strolled around on the island. On the return journey, Carling, 1st time driver, took the wheel and steered us right into the bank, just kidding.
Wednesday we journeyed up to the city of Brisbane with Gaye Heldon to tour around and see the sights. Here we stopped in at three museums, two were art, and gaily frolicked through a flowered walkway with purple flowers. Though we didn't spend too long in Brisbane, we were happy to have the chance to explore it and see another of Australia's big cities up close and personal.
Most Australians don't celebrate Halloween, so we had figured we would just be skipping Halloween 2007. But we were dead wrong. Angus and Kaylene planned a get together with some of their friends to meet for a sausage sizzle and then golfcart around with their kids and trick-or-treat around the neighbourhood. The night was a success. Everyone got tons of candy and went to bed on a sugarhigh.
Thursday was the day of waiting for busses and going to Surfer's Paradise. Sufer's Paradise reminded us a lot of Florida and was filled with shops and surfers. It was too chilly to swim in the sea, but we still had some quality beach time reading books and enjoying the view.
Friday morning, we said goodbye to the Glenns and thanked them for the great visit. We were both very impressed by how quickly we felt comfortable in their home due mainly to their amazing hospitality.
Our days here are now numbered. Time is running out until we head back to the States. We are beginning to face the reality of coming back and finishing up our duties here. We are feeling sad to go, mainly because of the great friends we have made here, but know that our time here has been well spent and are looking forward to seeing our families and friends.
Shoutouts:
#1 Kaylene's shrimp dinner.
#2 Callum turning three years old.
#3 Kevin Bacon's Footloose moves.
See you in a week,
Carling and Sarah
Sorry this blog is so long overdue. We have not forgotten you, we just haven't taken the time to write a new blog. So here is a good one to make up for it.
We took a week off of work last week to take a holiday to visit the Gold Coast, a.k.a. the beach! Starting bright and early monday morning we boarded JetStar along with our bags and their FANTASTIC music for our listening pleasure, the same six songs on repeat. Nice.
We were welcomed by two of our delightful hosts, Angus Glenn and his son Jake. They welcomed us with a cheery sign and balloons and took us back to their lovely abode where we met wife Kaylene and their youngest son Callum. It was raining on our arrival, so what better to do than to take a walk through the rainforest. Incredibly misty, as you can see from our photos, we saw lots of beautiful foliage, a waterfall, and one turkey that showed up at the last minute. After some scones and coffee we headed out for a kangaroo chase in a buggy, also known as a golfcart. Driven by the "florist" or is it "floorist?", Angus we madly ran down dozens of wallabies who were chilling out on the golfcourse. This was a blast! Lots of laughs and puddles and splashes.
Tuesday morning, we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and go out on the river in Angus and Kaylene's motorboat. We zipped around on the water, swam, ate some lunch on the beach, made some sandcastles, and strolled around on the island. On the return journey, Carling, 1st time driver, took the wheel and steered us right into the bank, just kidding.
Wednesday we journeyed up to the city of Brisbane with Gaye Heldon to tour around and see the sights. Here we stopped in at three museums, two were art, and gaily frolicked through a flowered walkway with purple flowers. Though we didn't spend too long in Brisbane, we were happy to have the chance to explore it and see another of Australia's big cities up close and personal.
Most Australians don't celebrate Halloween, so we had figured we would just be skipping Halloween 2007. But we were dead wrong. Angus and Kaylene planned a get together with some of their friends to meet for a sausage sizzle and then golfcart around with their kids and trick-or-treat around the neighbourhood. The night was a success. Everyone got tons of candy and went to bed on a sugarhigh.
Thursday was the day of waiting for busses and going to Surfer's Paradise. Sufer's Paradise reminded us a lot of Florida and was filled with shops and surfers. It was too chilly to swim in the sea, but we still had some quality beach time reading books and enjoying the view.
Friday morning, we said goodbye to the Glenns and thanked them for the great visit. We were both very impressed by how quickly we felt comfortable in their home due mainly to their amazing hospitality.
Our days here are now numbered. Time is running out until we head back to the States. We are beginning to face the reality of coming back and finishing up our duties here. We are feeling sad to go, mainly because of the great friends we have made here, but know that our time here has been well spent and are looking forward to seeing our families and friends.
Shoutouts:
#1 Kaylene's shrimp dinner.
#2 Callum turning three years old.
#3 Kevin Bacon's Footloose moves.
See you in a week,
Carling and Sarah
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Spit to Manly and IMAX!
And here we are again back at you.
Since the excitement of the bridge climb, we have hunkered down in earnest and put in some time for the church. It is a great feeling to know that our efforts are actually being of use to the energetic Hurstville Society. Everyone in this society has to put in extra time to make it run smoothly and I have been especially impressed by the dedication of the church members here. This week, and last week, we made some "task cards" to give to the congregation with quotes on them that we decorated with suns and painted borders. The purpose of them was to give everyone at least one thing to take away from the service that they could remember during the next week. They were happily recieved which of course made us happy. This society has been so welcoming and friendly towards us and it has really made this internship a pleasure.
On Saturday we set out another hike, the Spit to Manly Walk. Our companions were Kristen, Angela, Naomi, and Nick who all made the experience much better and we shared a lot of laughs along the way. It was shorter than the other hikes we've done and ended at the beach which was exciting. On the walk, we saw about seven, unshy, lizards who had no fear and came right up to us. I almost stepped on one at one point but luckily avoided it at the last second. We had a beautiful day for our hike, nice and sunny, not too hot and not too cold, just like the littlest bear's porridge. The hike only took about four hours, which included a stop for lunch and a little lighthouse. Arriving at Manly Beach around 3:30, we tested the water and debated to swim or not. It was quite chilly, but I decided I couldn't pass up a chance to try out some Australian water and went in. I don't regret it, but I definately felt the cold once I got out. After hanging out on the beach we trooped back to catch the ferry back to Sydney. It was a HUGE ferry and fully loaded with people going to and returning to the city for Saturday night. Back in Sydney, Sarah and I decided to scoot around the corner to Darling Harbour to find some dinner. The last time we walked from Sydney to the Harbour turned out to be kind of a disaster, I don't know if you readers remember our famous three hour walk, but we sure do. We decided not to try and navigate our route ourselves so I decided to swallow my pride and just act like the tourist that I am and ask a woman at the information booth. She told us what to do- to catch another ferry in fifteen minutes- so we got some coffee from an Italian guy and jumped onto our next ride. On the ferry, Sarah decided that for the rest of the night we had to talk with Aussi accents which I thought was brilliant and that added a lot of extra laughs to the night. Walking around the harbour I remembered that there was an IMAX theatre nestled in with the cafes. I think it is because of my papa that I love IMAX. There is something about them I just can't resist. Luckily, Sarah likes them also and we decided, completely spontaneously, that we couldn't pass up this opportunity for fun. We decided at about 5:55 to watch Harry Potter 3D at 6:00. After hustling to buy some tickets we grabbed those some stylish 3D glasses and settled in for some 'Arry. The movie was terriffic and the whole experience was well worth it. The fight scene at the end in 3D, wow, right on (that's for you uncle garth). Once that was over, we got some fish and chips and ate it looking out at the harbour and observing the other citygoers around us.
Now it is Tuesday night and we are planning out yet another trip into the city tomorrow morning to deliver some books of the Writings to second hand bookstores. This is one of our internship jobs and I think it will be fun to meet some Sydney bookkeepers. It will be good practice for us to try and explain about the Writings and will test our navigation skills once again.
Well, that's all folks. We miss everyone at home and hope that all is well wherever you are reading this from,
love Carling and Sarah
Since the excitement of the bridge climb, we have hunkered down in earnest and put in some time for the church. It is a great feeling to know that our efforts are actually being of use to the energetic Hurstville Society. Everyone in this society has to put in extra time to make it run smoothly and I have been especially impressed by the dedication of the church members here. This week, and last week, we made some "task cards" to give to the congregation with quotes on them that we decorated with suns and painted borders. The purpose of them was to give everyone at least one thing to take away from the service that they could remember during the next week. They were happily recieved which of course made us happy. This society has been so welcoming and friendly towards us and it has really made this internship a pleasure.
On Saturday we set out another hike, the Spit to Manly Walk. Our companions were Kristen, Angela, Naomi, and Nick who all made the experience much better and we shared a lot of laughs along the way. It was shorter than the other hikes we've done and ended at the beach which was exciting. On the walk, we saw about seven, unshy, lizards who had no fear and came right up to us. I almost stepped on one at one point but luckily avoided it at the last second. We had a beautiful day for our hike, nice and sunny, not too hot and not too cold, just like the littlest bear's porridge. The hike only took about four hours, which included a stop for lunch and a little lighthouse. Arriving at Manly Beach around 3:30, we tested the water and debated to swim or not. It was quite chilly, but I decided I couldn't pass up a chance to try out some Australian water and went in. I don't regret it, but I definately felt the cold once I got out. After hanging out on the beach we trooped back to catch the ferry back to Sydney. It was a HUGE ferry and fully loaded with people going to and returning to the city for Saturday night. Back in Sydney, Sarah and I decided to scoot around the corner to Darling Harbour to find some dinner. The last time we walked from Sydney to the Harbour turned out to be kind of a disaster, I don't know if you readers remember our famous three hour walk, but we sure do. We decided not to try and navigate our route ourselves so I decided to swallow my pride and just act like the tourist that I am and ask a woman at the information booth. She told us what to do- to catch another ferry in fifteen minutes- so we got some coffee from an Italian guy and jumped onto our next ride. On the ferry, Sarah decided that for the rest of the night we had to talk with Aussi accents which I thought was brilliant and that added a lot of extra laughs to the night. Walking around the harbour I remembered that there was an IMAX theatre nestled in with the cafes. I think it is because of my papa that I love IMAX. There is something about them I just can't resist. Luckily, Sarah likes them also and we decided, completely spontaneously, that we couldn't pass up this opportunity for fun. We decided at about 5:55 to watch Harry Potter 3D at 6:00. After hustling to buy some tickets we grabbed those some stylish 3D glasses and settled in for some 'Arry. The movie was terriffic and the whole experience was well worth it. The fight scene at the end in 3D, wow, right on (that's for you uncle garth). Once that was over, we got some fish and chips and ate it looking out at the harbour and observing the other citygoers around us.
Now it is Tuesday night and we are planning out yet another trip into the city tomorrow morning to deliver some books of the Writings to second hand bookstores. This is one of our internship jobs and I think it will be fun to meet some Sydney bookkeepers. It will be good practice for us to try and explain about the Writings and will test our navigation skills once again.
Well, that's all folks. We miss everyone at home and hope that all is well wherever you are reading this from,
love Carling and Sarah
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Bridge Climb and Opera House!
G'day mates,
We are now officially certified Sydney Harbour Bridge climbers! Wahoo! We were even given certificate to prove it! The bridge is 503 metres long, 134 metres high and 49 metres wide. It is the crucial centerpiece of Sydney's transport network, and we climbed it!
Yesterday morning we got up early and rode the train into the city to find the bridge climb office which we found without any trouble. A staff member led us into a room and gave us an alcohol breath test and gave us waivers to sign saying that we wouldn't sue them if anything happened. After that we went into another room and got suited up. In order to climb the bridge, you have to wear a special suit that blends in with the bridge so you don't distract the drivers under the bridge. Yes, we felt a little goofy in the suits but everyone was wearing them so we quickly got over it. You had to make sure you weren't wearing any metal, including bobby pins and had to wear closed toe shoes for the climb which an instructor checked before leaving. Once we had our suits on, we walked through a metal detector and over to a station where we were allotted belts, hats, hankercheifs, and sunglasses chains. It was extremely hot, so our group leader suggested to us that we wet our handkerchiefs with water before leaving, which was a great suggestion because it was boiling! As we were gearing up we met our fellow climbers, 12 in total. We were with a couple from Montreal, Canada, and the rest of the group was from Melbourne. The next step was to climb up a simulation of the bridge to get a feel for what we would be experiencing on the climb. On the belt of our suits was a cable that clipped onto another cable on the railing of the bridge to keep us totally secure. Once that was finished, we were given our last piece of equipment which was a headset radio to keep us in touch with our instructor.
We were the last in the group, Sarah was very last in the whole line. We first climbed up the pylon and across a catwalk where you can see underneath you onto the road. That was a little scary, but really exciting at the same time. After the catwalk we started climbing up some ladders to the top. With every step, it got windier and windier. Finally, we surfaced at the bottom of the arch and began the climb up to the summit where the Australian flag waved. We took our time climbing up, getting photos taken and waiting for the groups in front of us to finish taking their photos. Our guide Doug explained some of the history of the city and bridge to us as we climbed up. The winds were so intense that you had to hold onto the railing for dear life so you didn't blow away down into the harbour! Just kidding, the climb felt extremely safe. We were hooked onto the cables the whole time and there was plenty of railing to hold onto also. At the very top the wind reading was 45 km an hour and increased as we made our descent. If the wind hadn't of been there though, we might have died in the heat so it was really a blessing.
Finishing the climb felt awesome! Our hair was a mess and we felt totally invigorated. We said goodbye to our fellow climbers and received a certificate from our instuctor. We were also given a group photo, so now we have an awesome picture of us with a bunch of people from Melbourne and Montreal, and then we bought an overpriced photo of both of us on the bridge. We are so glad that we did the climb. It was a great way to experience Sydney and we totally reccommend it to other Sydney visitors.
Doing some Christmas shopping along the way, we made our way around the harbour to the Opera House to take a tour. Unless you pay to take a tour inside the Opera House, you really can't see inside it so we booked ourselves in just in time and set off with our second guide of the day, Tom. We walked around the inside of the building and saw four of the five theatres. The first two were smallish and are used for comedy acts and children's productions. Then we proceeded to into the huge concert hall where they were setting up lights for a production that night. This hall is the largest of the theatres and the most spectacular. On the ceiling are huge plastic rings that rebound the sound back down to the audience and on the back wall is a huge pipe organ that took ten years to make. We were very impressed. Next, we went into the Opera stage where a crew was setting up scenery for the opera that night. It was large, but had an intimate feel to it and we could easily see how it was a great place to see a show. Our tour was finished in about an hour and after drinking some coffee along the water, we headed back home to Hurstville. By accident, we caught a train that was going nowhere near Hurstville, a bit of a problemo, which took us about half an hour to realize. Luckily, we navigated our way back to the right train and did make it home, just a bit later then we were planning on. No worries though.
Shoutouts:
#1 To all the tour guides of Sydney- you are doing a great job.
#2 To the builders of the bridge- without you we wouldn't have had "The Climb of our lives"
love,
Sarah and Carling
We are now officially certified Sydney Harbour Bridge climbers! Wahoo! We were even given certificate to prove it! The bridge is 503 metres long, 134 metres high and 49 metres wide. It is the crucial centerpiece of Sydney's transport network, and we climbed it!
Yesterday morning we got up early and rode the train into the city to find the bridge climb office which we found without any trouble. A staff member led us into a room and gave us an alcohol breath test and gave us waivers to sign saying that we wouldn't sue them if anything happened. After that we went into another room and got suited up. In order to climb the bridge, you have to wear a special suit that blends in with the bridge so you don't distract the drivers under the bridge. Yes, we felt a little goofy in the suits but everyone was wearing them so we quickly got over it. You had to make sure you weren't wearing any metal, including bobby pins and had to wear closed toe shoes for the climb which an instructor checked before leaving. Once we had our suits on, we walked through a metal detector and over to a station where we were allotted belts, hats, hankercheifs, and sunglasses chains. It was extremely hot, so our group leader suggested to us that we wet our handkerchiefs with water before leaving, which was a great suggestion because it was boiling! As we were gearing up we met our fellow climbers, 12 in total. We were with a couple from Montreal, Canada, and the rest of the group was from Melbourne. The next step was to climb up a simulation of the bridge to get a feel for what we would be experiencing on the climb. On the belt of our suits was a cable that clipped onto another cable on the railing of the bridge to keep us totally secure. Once that was finished, we were given our last piece of equipment which was a headset radio to keep us in touch with our instructor.
We were the last in the group, Sarah was very last in the whole line. We first climbed up the pylon and across a catwalk where you can see underneath you onto the road. That was a little scary, but really exciting at the same time. After the catwalk we started climbing up some ladders to the top. With every step, it got windier and windier. Finally, we surfaced at the bottom of the arch and began the climb up to the summit where the Australian flag waved. We took our time climbing up, getting photos taken and waiting for the groups in front of us to finish taking their photos. Our guide Doug explained some of the history of the city and bridge to us as we climbed up. The winds were so intense that you had to hold onto the railing for dear life so you didn't blow away down into the harbour! Just kidding, the climb felt extremely safe. We were hooked onto the cables the whole time and there was plenty of railing to hold onto also. At the very top the wind reading was 45 km an hour and increased as we made our descent. If the wind hadn't of been there though, we might have died in the heat so it was really a blessing.
Finishing the climb felt awesome! Our hair was a mess and we felt totally invigorated. We said goodbye to our fellow climbers and received a certificate from our instuctor. We were also given a group photo, so now we have an awesome picture of us with a bunch of people from Melbourne and Montreal, and then we bought an overpriced photo of both of us on the bridge. We are so glad that we did the climb. It was a great way to experience Sydney and we totally reccommend it to other Sydney visitors.
Doing some Christmas shopping along the way, we made our way around the harbour to the Opera House to take a tour. Unless you pay to take a tour inside the Opera House, you really can't see inside it so we booked ourselves in just in time and set off with our second guide of the day, Tom. We walked around the inside of the building and saw four of the five theatres. The first two were smallish and are used for comedy acts and children's productions. Then we proceeded to into the huge concert hall where they were setting up lights for a production that night. This hall is the largest of the theatres and the most spectacular. On the ceiling are huge plastic rings that rebound the sound back down to the audience and on the back wall is a huge pipe organ that took ten years to make. We were very impressed. Next, we went into the Opera stage where a crew was setting up scenery for the opera that night. It was large, but had an intimate feel to it and we could easily see how it was a great place to see a show. Our tour was finished in about an hour and after drinking some coffee along the water, we headed back home to Hurstville. By accident, we caught a train that was going nowhere near Hurstville, a bit of a problemo, which took us about half an hour to realize. Luckily, we navigated our way back to the right train and did make it home, just a bit later then we were planning on. No worries though.
Shoutouts:
#1 To all the tour guides of Sydney- you are doing a great job.
#2 To the builders of the bridge- without you we wouldn't have had "The Climb of our lives"
love,
Sarah and Carling
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Canberra, Australia's Capitol
The day began at 5 am. Carling and I would be taking a train to Central Sydney, about 30 min. and then a four hour train ride to Canberra. We had been advised not to pronounce the 'e' in Canberra and so say it 'CAN-brrah', accent on the CAN. We didn't want to embarrass ourselves so we took the advice seriously. The train wasn't that bad, besides the light not working in the bathroom, it was enjoyable. We had loads of foot space, about 3 ft actually. We would stay at Sylvia Heldon and her husband John's home. She picked us up from the station and we were off to Floriade.
Floriade is a flower show, that is an annual event in Canberra. This year, we were told, has made record number for the most people attending. It is a month long celebration of Spring, with a plethora of tulips, of every color, and other flowers making up pictures. The pictures the flowers made up were of stars, a pavlova (which is Australia's famous dessert), and rainbows of color. I was surprised to see no bugs, you would think bees and insects would be everywhere with the amount of potential pollen that could be collected, but no, no bugs. People were everywhere, we saw a couple getting their picture taken for about 20min. by some red flowers (we decided to do the same, see our pictures). Since Carling wants to be a flower guru, this event enriched her interest. They had typical flower music playing, Lilith Fair-esk women with guitars. There were some tents with students' floral art, a show about reptiles (with real snakes, Carling's favorite), and shops in which you could buy plants, expensive shawls, and garden-fun toys. We couldn't have asked for a better day, the sun was shining, luckily I had put on my 30 spf, and there was a slight breeze.
Yawning due to waking up so early, we headed back to John and Sylvia's home and had dinner and then went to the Telstra tower, also known as the Black Mountain tower. I forget how high up we went, but remember how cold it was and how beautiful the lights of the city below were. The sun had set, and the city was alive. Canberra is very different from Sydney. Sydney is jam-packed with streets, shops, and the like. Canberra is spaced out, clean, and surrounded, and I mean 360 degrees, by ravenous rolling hills. Hills make sunsets gorgeous, and the clouds not too shabby. Tired, we turned into bed around 9 o'clock, we were really tired!, with set plans to a very full day of being tourists.
There are few places one MUST-SEE when in Canberra, and those are the National Museum, Parliament House and the War Memorial. There are probably more but those were what we were told. We set out to the Museum at 10:30, perfect time because it wasn't packed and we could move with leisure from display to display. I can only speak for myself, but I loved the Aboriginal artwork, and one day will have replicas in my home. Its a good thing Carling and I are alike when it comes to Museum's, we flow at the same rate, read occasionally, and can handle them for roughly 2 hours. We went outside to enjoy the sun and soon Sylvia drove up to bring us to our next stop, the over-charged, but amusing, Cockington Green.
If you don't know what Cockington Green is, it is a menarie of dollhouse sized houses, with figurines of people playing soccer and tennis, fixing motorcycles or enjoying the summer breeze. They had an International display of real temples, and royal buildings found all over the world. This made me really want to travel. There is so much to see and these mini-castles are just a sample of what's out there. We stretched our visit to its limit of 20 min., did we mention it was $14.50?! Short and sweet, I guess. To get out we had to leave through the Gift Shop, terrible idea first of all, because we had to push our way through tons of sardine-packed pedestrians. Off to the Parliament House...
Parliament was superfine. We could tell the architect had put a lot into the building because of the lines: vertical and horizontal, oh...and because it was built into the hill! Awesome. There were skylights in almost every room, and very nice artwork. Here is where the Senate meet, their room decorated in reds, and the House of Reps, decorated in green hues. In the Great Hall is a gargantuan tapestry, one of the biggest in the world, featuring a eucalyptus forest, which took only 2 and a half years for 13 weavers to complete FYI. We took the lift to the roof, covered with grass and has an exceptional view of the city. From the top we could see it all, the rolling hills, the tower, museum, old Parliament house, and the War Memorial. Soon it was time to head home.
Another 4 hour train ride, then a 30 min. one, not including waiting time, and a 10 min. walk to our front step later, we were home, it was almost 10:30pm. We really enjoyed Canberra, the capitol seems like a great place to live, even if only for the view. Our thanks to John and Sylvia Hicks for hosting us.
Shout-outs:
To Fauve "Her Greatness" Bouchard: We wish you were here to experience the city life.
Sending our love,
Sarah and Carling
Floriade is a flower show, that is an annual event in Canberra. This year, we were told, has made record number for the most people attending. It is a month long celebration of Spring, with a plethora of tulips, of every color, and other flowers making up pictures. The pictures the flowers made up were of stars, a pavlova (which is Australia's famous dessert), and rainbows of color. I was surprised to see no bugs, you would think bees and insects would be everywhere with the amount of potential pollen that could be collected, but no, no bugs. People were everywhere, we saw a couple getting their picture taken for about 20min. by some red flowers (we decided to do the same, see our pictures). Since Carling wants to be a flower guru, this event enriched her interest. They had typical flower music playing, Lilith Fair-esk women with guitars. There were some tents with students' floral art, a show about reptiles (with real snakes, Carling's favorite), and shops in which you could buy plants, expensive shawls, and garden-fun toys. We couldn't have asked for a better day, the sun was shining, luckily I had put on my 30 spf, and there was a slight breeze.
Yawning due to waking up so early, we headed back to John and Sylvia's home and had dinner and then went to the Telstra tower, also known as the Black Mountain tower. I forget how high up we went, but remember how cold it was and how beautiful the lights of the city below were. The sun had set, and the city was alive. Canberra is very different from Sydney. Sydney is jam-packed with streets, shops, and the like. Canberra is spaced out, clean, and surrounded, and I mean 360 degrees, by ravenous rolling hills. Hills make sunsets gorgeous, and the clouds not too shabby. Tired, we turned into bed around 9 o'clock, we were really tired!, with set plans to a very full day of being tourists.
There are few places one MUST-SEE when in Canberra, and those are the National Museum, Parliament House and the War Memorial. There are probably more but those were what we were told. We set out to the Museum at 10:30, perfect time because it wasn't packed and we could move with leisure from display to display. I can only speak for myself, but I loved the Aboriginal artwork, and one day will have replicas in my home. Its a good thing Carling and I are alike when it comes to Museum's, we flow at the same rate, read occasionally, and can handle them for roughly 2 hours. We went outside to enjoy the sun and soon Sylvia drove up to bring us to our next stop, the over-charged, but amusing, Cockington Green.
If you don't know what Cockington Green is, it is a menarie of dollhouse sized houses, with figurines of people playing soccer and tennis, fixing motorcycles or enjoying the summer breeze. They had an International display of real temples, and royal buildings found all over the world. This made me really want to travel. There is so much to see and these mini-castles are just a sample of what's out there. We stretched our visit to its limit of 20 min., did we mention it was $14.50?! Short and sweet, I guess. To get out we had to leave through the Gift Shop, terrible idea first of all, because we had to push our way through tons of sardine-packed pedestrians. Off to the Parliament House...
Parliament was superfine. We could tell the architect had put a lot into the building because of the lines: vertical and horizontal, oh...and because it was built into the hill! Awesome. There were skylights in almost every room, and very nice artwork. Here is where the Senate meet, their room decorated in reds, and the House of Reps, decorated in green hues. In the Great Hall is a gargantuan tapestry, one of the biggest in the world, featuring a eucalyptus forest, which took only 2 and a half years for 13 weavers to complete FYI. We took the lift to the roof, covered with grass and has an exceptional view of the city. From the top we could see it all, the rolling hills, the tower, museum, old Parliament house, and the War Memorial. Soon it was time to head home.
Another 4 hour train ride, then a 30 min. one, not including waiting time, and a 10 min. walk to our front step later, we were home, it was almost 10:30pm. We really enjoyed Canberra, the capitol seems like a great place to live, even if only for the view. Our thanks to John and Sylvia Hicks for hosting us.
Shout-outs:
To Fauve "Her Greatness" Bouchard: We wish you were here to experience the city life.
Sending our love,
Sarah and Carling
Monday, October 8, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Sarah's Hiking Experience
So now it is my turn to tell you the tale of two American girls going into the Australian bush, for three days and not much experience hiking.
Leading up to the Saturday when we would be leaving at 4:30am, I was feeling rather nervous. I don't have much hiking experience, and never have hiked with a pack that is half my size. My mom won't be too happy to read this, but my nervous feelings dissaparated when I tried on my pack and almost fainted. I learned a valuable lesson: the waistband on the pack should rest above my hips, not pinching their sides. After getting absolutely no sleep that night, the Heldon women, Carling and I began our hike. I like to think it started when we left the house, but the hike didn't actually start until you see 'Six Foot Track' signs. The hike was about 40 kilometres, which is about 26 miles, a marathon. Luckily we weren't running the SFT, which by the way has been done in a little over 2 hours, and we have three days to complete it. We kicked ourselves off the train at Katoomba and trekked towards what we would be calling home for the weekend.
Thank goodness the first day was relatively flat. Besides walking down some trecherous steps into the mountain farm lands that is. It was a great beginning because I felt really good about it and would need that motivation to get me through the second day, also known as the hardest part of the hike. Actually, let me repharse, I should change that to 'most challening part', it sounds better. Before crashing in a very beckoning sleeping bag, we toasted my favorite: marshmellows. Nothing like ending the day with toasted sugar.
We woke up at 6am, ate some breakfast to lighten our packs and set out on the most challenging day. I made sure to apply the sunscreen, especially after hearing Australia is #1 for skin cancer. This day was almost completely uphill, each step taking us higher and higher up the mountain. It got so windy up there that we weren't able to sweat. After reaching the top the view was amaz-azing. We could see the steep hills, the farmlands we had crossed, and the cliffs we had stepped down on the very first day.
It was so cold sleeping the second night I kept my winter hat on. I also had some nasty blisters on the back of my heels so I couldn't WAIT to finish this hike and slip on my flip-flops, or thongs as they call them here. The final slope to our 'finish line' was bittersweet. It was downhill so the blisters on my heels were having a break, but that meant it took a toll on the knees and toes. Just before walking down the mount we stopped for a rest and saw a wild kangaroo! We picked out some seeds from our trail mix that he would enjoy and he ate right out of our hands. He was very cute and grasped your hand with his while he ate.
We made it to the end and the feeling of accomplishment surged through my body. I didn't think I could make it but I think somewhere in the second day my legs had gone robotic and were in auto mode. We walked through some sweet caves after a delicious (and expensive) lunch. The caves had some nice stalagtites and stalagmites. We had to wait a while for the bus, and from there only minutes to jump on the train. Getting home and seeing my bed and a shower was nice, I don't think I have never smelled that bad. While on the hike you don't smell it, but on a train, you do.
One thing I learned from this trip was to stop and look up. I was so worried about where I was stepping, didn't want to roll my ankle or trip on a rock, but that made me miss out on what God's painted for us. I made sure after waking the second day to look around, and breathe it all in.
I don't have much to say other than thank you to the hiking group: you Heldon girls are amazing, couldn't have asked for a better gang to spend time with.
Hoping to bring some hiking spirit back to the States,
Sarah Marie
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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