Kelly & Tristan's Wedding

Under a beautiful fig tree, standing at the top of a hill looking out over an incredible valley, our wonderful friends Kelly & Tristan got married... We were so glad to be there with them to celebrate!

With blue sky overhead Tristan waits for his Bride.

 

"Happiness in marriage is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family...

... giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow...

... It is at no time taking the other for granted...

... It is standing together facing the world."

We had had an amazing surprise when Neale turned up the morning before the wedding, unfortunately Charlie couldn't make it, but she was with us in spirit!

We had a laugh and a half messing around with photos...

... eventually we got the timing right!

Kelly & Tristan looked slightly more elegant in their photographs.

As the sun started to lower in the sky the view just looked better and better.

Down to the barn to start the party; Kel, Tris, family & friends had worked all day to make the place look really magical.

Smiles all around:

Kelly's Family: Pauline (mum), Lauren, Sarah, Mel (sisters) and the lovely Bride.

The dance moves were too much for my camera to cope with!

Kel & Tris provided props and Polaroid cameras to capture the madness... Of which there was plenty!

At 4.30am Dave photographed a shooting star in the night sky... A fitting end to a very special day!!!

The Blue Mountains

It was 36 degrees yesterday as we headed west of Sydney into the Blue Mountains. So named the Blue Mountains due to the eucalyptus oils that are drawn out of the trees, forming a bluish haze over the landscape.

Our first stop was the Tablelands where we could see for miles out over the Australian bush.

A cable car ride over Echo Point provided more staggering views of Orphan Rock and the Three Sisters...

... both sites are significant to Aboriginal dreamtime stories.

We headed into the valley on the World's steepest railway (it was really steep) to where the high cliffs have created a rainforest environment. The birdsong and call of insects was so loud in places it was hard to concentrate on anything else.

It was a really cool day in the blistering heat learning about the area's history and seeing some natural scenic wonders, like these tumbling falls:

Sydney NSW - Australia

We arrived in Sydney to very un-Australian weather: dark clouds, cold winds and heavy rain! However, it did make for an atmospheric first view of the famous Sydney harbour!

To escape the rain we headed for the wildlife centre where they keep hundreds of native Aussie creatures... We saw the world's most venomous snakes and spiders as well as some of the more loveable animals...

Dave caught the eye of an Aussie bird...

The saltwater Croc 'Rex' was among the most impressive!

The following day as the weather cleared up, we headed up... Australia's highest building the Sydney Tower Eye. Looking out from 250m above the CBD and the harbour, the views were magnificent!

You can see the harbour bridge in the far right of the photo!

Heading back down to street level we walked and walked, taking in all of Sydney's architecture both old and new.

Our accommodation is a good 50 min walk from town so although we are supposed to be resting up after our last few Great Walks, we are still racking up the KM's!

Such an iconic landmark, we have really enjoyed seeing the Sydney Opera House from all angles.

We even saw it from the Harbour as we caught a ferry to Manley Beach.

Some interesting cloud formations and the city skyline in the back-drop made this photo one of our favourites.

The thin tower on the left is the Sydney Tower Eye, this was where we viewed the city from previously.

As the evening light changed we once again made our way back into town for dinner.

With the setting of the sun the city still had plenty of staggering views as we walked the harbour shoreline.

Quite an incredible evening.