I Love Schnauzers   My life with Schnauzers

So MiniMax and Mommy left Cairns and flew down to Sydney. That was Day 3. Not much to share. 

Then Day 4 we took a tour of the city, 

 

   

visited the famous Opera House 

 

   

and got a lesson in Opals. (Fun fact: the SOH has the largest mechanical pipe organ in the world. On view, 138 pipes. In itself, spectacular. Behind the scenes, 10,000 pipes! Ginormous!)

And that was just in the morning! Then we had the afternoon to ourselves to explore the city on our own. And boy, did we explore! Mommy’s FitBit recorded over 7 miles of walking!

First we walked up the street from our hotel to visit the Queen Victoria Building, or as the locals call it, the QVB. This building originally housed Sydney’s produce markets. Those Victorians truly appreciated their farmers to build them such a glorious place! The ceiling is glass and there are several examples of the typically ornate iron balustrades and stained glass. The place is a shopping mall now.

 

      

After that, we walked a couple blocks up Market St. to Hyde Park. Not as large as its namesake in London, but on a beautiful and sunny day, still popular for a leisurely stroll. Then we turned, heading back down Liverpool St. to the Chinese Garden of Friendship. This garden was given by the Chinese as a symbol of their friendship with Australia. It’s simply lovely. And incidentally, across the street from our hotel. Our room overlooks the garden.

We made a new friend

Or two

Scattered throughout are little sculptures representing the 12 animals of the lunar calendar. Mommy found all twelve.

By then Mommy was tired so we stopped for a gelato, did a little shopping and ate supper before heading back to the hotel. Now it’s Day 5! In the morning we headed out of town to the Koala Park Sanctuary. This is a privately owned sanctuary first started in the 1920s. They started as a hospital for koalas injured or orphaned but now they have wombats and several species of kangaroos; cockatoos and cockatiels; dingoes and echidnas; other native birds and even a possum or two. 

In Australia, it is illegal to hold a koala in most states. So all we were allowed to do here is stand close to her and snap a photo. Now, the only state where it is still legal to cuddle a koala is Queensland, which is why we were lucky enough to get that photo in Cairns. So if you’re planning a trip to Australia and want to hold a koala, plan to visit Queensland. I highly recommend Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures in Cairns. 

Mommy was really hoping to see a wombat, but they were not feeling social today. On the bright side, the koalas were feeling pretty lively 

as were most of the birds.

 

 
And Mommy got to feed some kangaroos too!

 

     
Then we headed back to the hotel and after such a busy couple of days, Mommy decided to take a nap. This evening we take a dinner cruise around Sydney Harbour, so look for some nighttime pics of the Opera House soon! Tomorrow we fly to Christchurch, New Zealand!