Australia, August 2011

So after three wonderful months in North America, we finally left the U.S. via LAX, arriving in New South Wales some 14 hours later; as it happens, the first time either of us had crossed the equator (and further still beyond the Tropic of Capricorn), and the first time either of us had visited Australasia.

Only added to the itinerary because of a quirk of RTW ticket pricing (it being cheaper, bizarrely, to fly L.A > Sydney > Tokyo rather than L.A. > Tokyo), we approached our week-long stay in Sydney as a bonus; not least because, very luckily for us, a-close-friend-of-a-close-friend just so happened to be temporarily vacating her very lovely, dead-central apartment for the week in question (thank you Maxine, we remain in your debt).

Arriving in the midst of the Austral winter, it was the first time in many months we'd felt a distinct chill in the air, and bare-branched deciduous trees signalled our seasonal adjustment. Sydney itself had aspects of several other cities - part NYC, part London, certainly - while maintaining its own identity; our neighbourhood was very much in the thick of it, and all the better for it.

Our days were mostly filled with the finest wildlife Sydney had to offer, which was plentiful, suitably exotic, and often very entertaining. The Botanical Gardens - a fifteen minute stroll from our base, incorporating the Opera House on its north-western arm, and home (amongst many other species) to Laughing Kookaburras, marauding Cockatoos and thousands of flying foxes - was a favourite spot of ours, and never failed to provide memorable experiences.

Other expansive urban greenspaces (including Centennial Park) held plenty of interest, and we made it out of the city limits on several days - including a uniquely memorable day at sea with the masters of the oceans, and a somewhat less challenging (but still wonderful) one in the Blue Mountains with ex-pat birder and Sydney resident Jason.

(more from the pelagic trip can found here)

So a relatively luxurious, ironically nature-filled, surprisingly busy week based in Sydney. New friends accommodated us generously, with lovely evenings spent with Maxine, Sebastian, Jason and Emma - thanks to them for their hospitality.