Caroline Halford's Day Off

Sydney in a day. "The question isn't 'what are we going to do?' The question is 'what aren't we going to do?'" 

In order to take on the daunting task of seeing such an enormous city in a single day, I took advice from the inspirational Ferris Bueller. Yeah, he's a lunatic of a character, but he sure does know how to explore a city!

Given, I've already been to Sydney. But on that weekend, I only managed to hit the major highlights. In other words, I made it to the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, and the Opera House. I knew that I had to make it back to Sydney soon to really see the city. 

Being the frugal person that I am, I decided against staying the night in a hotel and instead opted for a Ferris Bueller-style day in Sydney, exploring as much of the city in as little time as possible. 

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your outlook), a loud noise woke me up very early in the morning, so I left my house at 5:30 a.m. and began my journey to the city. It was still dark when I left, so I was pretty much alone for the first hour or so of the train ride. 

I arrived just before 9 a.m., so naturally, I went for coffee! After caffeinating the best way I know how (yes, I mean Starbucks), I began my walk through downtown.

First stop was Town Hall, and while I did not go inside, I did take a couple snaps of the beautiful architecture.

Just across the street from Town Hall is the Queen Victoria Building, which is currently home to a high-end shopping centre. I felt ten times classier just walking through the building. 

 (I still wasn't above taking awkward mirror selfies, though...baby steps, people.)

                                         After some window shopping here and at the Shops on Market Street, I continued on to toward the museums and galleries, but I took breaks along the way as I saw beautiful sites to photograph.

The church shown in these pictures is St. Mary's Cathedral, and the butterfly is named Fred. 

Then it was off to the Australia Museum--the first museum that opened in the country. It was small, but they had great exhibits on Aboriginals and dinosaurs.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales was even better because it was 1) free and 2) much bigger with many more exhibits, including ones for 19th, 20th, and 21st century art, Aboriginal pieces, and Asian art, including calligraphy-style pieces. 

From here, I made my way down to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Opera House, and Harbour Bridge. It just didn't feel right to make a trip to Sydney and miss these iconic sites, and I can always use more photographs. 

When I was finished, I cut through the Circular Quay to the train station to head to Bondi Beach, which is a famous beach in this part of the world. I've been spoiled with incredible beaches right here in Newcastle for the past three months, but it still was a gorgeous place!

 

After grabbing a bite to eat, I decided it was about time to start making my way home, and four and a half hours later, I made it back home, exhausted but content. 

In the words of my inspiration for this whirlwind of a day: 

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." 

Disclaimer: No classes were skipped in the making of this awesome day.

Shipwreck at Stockton

I keep seeing posts of friends back home who are beyond excited for fall, which means sweater weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and of course, Halloween.

Well on the other side of the world, it may not be fall, but Halloween is certainly this month. It just doesn't seem to be quite as big of an ordeal as it is back home. Sure, the other day I started seeing a couple stores with a small display of bagged candy and a skeleton or two, but that's nothing compared to the 5+ aisle Christmas display that began to take over Big W nearly a month ago. And don't even get me started about the Santa Claus pictures taking place at Redhead Beach today. (And I thought America was bad about starting early...)

Anyway, maybe it was a craving of the familiar mixed with (as per usual) a craving of adventure that drew me to Stockton this morning. You see, Stockton is home to Pirate Point and the Shipwreck Walk. These are not seasonal offerings for Halloween, though. 

To get to Stockton, you must take the ferry boat. Sure, there are ways to walk there, and if you have a car, you can drive there, but when there's a chance to take a ferry boat, why not take the ferry boat? (For anyone who's a fan of Grey's Anatomy, I think Derek Shepherd would be proud.)

Once you make your way to Stockton, you walk along the break wall. Now, there's a little sign basically telling you not to go any further and that it's dangerous and a bunch of other stuff I'm sure no one reads since there were more than twenty people farther ahead of me. 

(Note to Mom and Dad--it was dangerous because of waves and it was a quiet day on the waters so I WAS FINE.)

Anyway, I kept walking down the break wall, and I started to see little memorial plaques on some of the rocks. This was strange to me, and I'm still not sure if these were people who lived in Stockton, people who were out on the water when it was dangerous and got killed, or people who died in shipwrecks. It was a little too eerie to think about, so I kept going. 

Soon I saw the outline of a ship. I honestly assumed that it was a replica or piece of art someone had installed for the walk, but as I got closer, I began to see these plaques with the names of ships. 

It was then that I realized this was legitimate. Ships really did wreck here. Then, I saw it. A real, wrecked ship that had washed up onto the break wall. 

When I walked onto the lookout point, I could see that the rest of the ship was underwater. 

 In all of this, the creepiest thing definitely should not have been a little girl singing Under the Sea from Disney's The Little Mermaid, but just imagine that for a moment. Creepy, right?
(And for those of you who have read the Hans Christian Anderson version, you'd probably agree that this ship is better fitting for the tone of the story.)

Like any good Disney princess, though, I attempted to make friends with the birds who appeared to be guarding the ship. They seemed less than thrilled by this.

After I'd read the stories of the half dozen or more shipwrecks that had happened here, I decided I needed more happy sunshine back in my life, so I headed to Redhead Beach. These weren't like the Titanic, but still, I can only handle so much of this stuff.

It doesn't appear to have phased me too much, though.

P.S. While the sea gulls seem to have retreated somewhat in the Seagull Conflict of 2016, there have been reports of mobilization of the gull fleets and attempts to reboot their marine forces. Updates will continue to be reported as they are received. 

Break is Over: Back to My Incredible "Reality"

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I have posted anything on my blog, so I thought it was about time to catch you up on my latest adventures! 

Since I got back to Newcastle after my New Zealand trip, it seems that Spring has been in full swing. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous--highs in the 80s and abundant sunshine. Perfect weather for a few relaxing days at the beach coupled with some great adventures!

Two of my favorite things about Australia are the warm, sunny beaches and the incredible wildlife. So, once I finished a few assignments for my classes, I indulged myself. 

After enough time at the beach, I think I am starting to become...well, not tan. Not ghost-like? Slightly pigmented? I guess that's beside the point. I enjoyed lying in the sand, letting waves crash against me, and poorly attempting to swim against the waves. The water was cool and refreshing, and even though I swallowed a ridiculous amount of salt water, I loved every second. 

At the end of the mid-semester break. I took a trip to Morriset, a suburb that's just a short train ride from Newcastle. After getting off the train, it was a 3 mile walk to a clearing off the side of a quiet highway. Sounds like the start of a great horror movie, right?

This clearing is special, though. It is home to a large troop of kangaroos (Yes, that's the collective noun for kangaroos. You could also call it a "mob.") who happen to love carrots. 

 

And I mean loooooooooooove carrots. The joeys especially loved them.

It's a pretty good life, wouldn't you say? Lounging around all day being fed by humans.

 

The kangaroos were for the most part well-behaved, but unlike the ones I saw at Oakvale a few weeks ago, these guys were a bit more forward when it came to food. Some stole the carrots out of my hands, and some even stood up tall on their hind legs (the older males were as tall as me) and intimidated me to get my carrots!

Hey, at least I didn't get kicked!

After even more beach days, I decided that I should probably switch things up from my usual days at Nobby's, and I went on the Bather's Way Beach Walk--a coastal walk along the many beaches of Newcastle. 

But when I had passed Nobby's and Newcastle Beaches, I realized that I was a short detour away from the Newcastle Cathedral. It is listed on all of the tourist websites a one of the top sites in Newcastle. I could see why, too. It is gorgeous.

Parts of the architecture remind me of Pulaski Heights UMC, my home church in Little Rock.

 It gave me so much peace to feel so close to home. 

Once I left the Cathedral, I continued my beach walk, enjoying the breathtaking scenery. The water was crystal clear, and there were dolphins swimming so close to shore!!

Other than these adventures, it's been a little taste of reality this past week as I prepare to finish out this semester. Just three more weeks of class to go!