Day 2 in Sydney...we never want to leave!

Ever dreaded one of those FULL day tours because you're not sure it's worth your time? We tend to be the "do it yourself" type of travelers. But the tour was part of our trip, and it seemed wasteful to just ditch it. Thankfully, this tour proved to be one of those that you don't want to miss. They won us over at the first stop!

Our first stop, the one that won us over, was at Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. This is the ideal spot for viewing the city, Harbor Bridge, and Opera House.

Jason and Amy with the Harbor Bridge and Opera House behind us

You would think that once you saw the Opera House a few times it would become common place. That is so NOT the case. The pictures just don't do it justice. Every time I passed it by, I compulsively took more pictures of it. Suffice it to say that 1/3 of the pictures I took in Sydney are of the Opera House!

Jason trying to take in the views (while Amy takes photos for posterity's sake)

Doesn't that oh-so-blue water look irresistible?


Next stop...Bondi Beach
If you have ever seen Bondi Rescue on Nat Geo Adventure, this is where it all goes down.

The lifeguards have the perfect vantage point for keeping an eye on swimmers and surfers and spotting any sharks that might be in the area.

surfers, sunbathers, and swimmers....
Oh to have that life!

Jason and Amy on Bondi Beach
(We were a little over dressed as you can see...but we only had a 15 minute stop here.)

Ever wonder how Santa gets along in the summertime heat of Australia? Seems as though he is a surfer-dude!

Of course the elves have to follow Santa's lead.

And what better way to motivate Rudolph than a ride with some bikini clad Sheilas?


Following Bondi Beach, we headed to the harbor for our lunch cruise. While waiting on the boat to board, I heard this Aboriginal playing the Didgeridoo. I taped a short stint of the Didgeridoo music. Take a listen.


Are you motivated to take up Didgeridoo lessons?


Of course the first thing our boat passed by on the lunch cruise was....

If you couldn't guess, you can certainly tell by the picture. Yes, I had to post another picture of the Opera House.

Then another gorgeous view of the city.



Following our lunch cruise, we headed out to Manly Beach.

Even though the lifeguard is hard at work, Manly seemed like a much calm beach area. Bondi is more of the "place to be" while Manly is "easy going."

It didn't take Jason any time to head out to the water. (It must be a guy thing b/c Zach is right there with Jason.)

We've got our "toes in the water" (Zach Brown Band).

Notice that our picture at Manly isn't a self portrait (taken at arms length). Another couple on our trip were lots of fun to pall around with. Jason and Carla both enjoyed goofing around, while Zach and Amy are focused on taking pictures. Zach took this shot for us.

There were tons of surfers in the water.

Jason is using every ounce of will power to keep from jumping in for a swim.

We didn't try it, but the kangaroo meat is suppose to be quite tasty. Zach ate a kangaroo burger later in the trip and said it was yummy.

From Manly, we headed for a "bush walk" in Sydney National Park.

This bush area boasts amazing views.

Jason and Amy along the cliffs in the Sydney National Park

Jason with the crystal blue waters behind him

I take it back. The people on Bondi beach don't have "the life," whoever is on the sail boat does!

The silhouette of Sydney in the background as the sun starts its decent

Do you see why I titled this, "We never want to leave?"