The Harbour Bridge

March 30th, Sydney Harbour & Taronga Zoo

Sunday we took the harbour and Taronga zoo by storm. Both gorgeous places! There is a ferry that you can take from the Circular Quay to the zoo and it is such a nice, scenic trip! Before jumping on the ferry, we stopped at a little cafe for some brunch. I have never seen so much cheese on a plate in my life! Allie -- you would have LOVED this place. ;-) I will not be ordering the open face ham, tomato and cheese sandwich anytime soon and I'm a cheese lover!

After brunch, we hopped on the ferry to the Taronga zoo to seek out koalas, kangaroos, wombats, porcupines, burger rings, meerkats, giraffes, lions, tigers and bears oh my! The zoo is very natural and you feel as though you are actually observing the animals in their habitat.

I saw "Moat Rescue Equipment" for the first time. This is for those eager zoo-goers who feel the urge to lean over the ledge of the gorilla chambers into the moat. No need to worry, because they have moat rescue equipment on hand!

One of the best parts of the zoo was seeing the koalas! They look like little stuffed animals, but careful...they are not the friendliest of animals but they look soooo cuddly!

After a day with the animals, I made my first purchase -- a stuffed animal kangaroo. I will be sure to take a picture of my little friend and share it with everyone....as the name of the blog is Kangaroo Kate!

I Have Arrived...March 29, 2008

I've traveled 7,408 miles and alas I am in Sydney! The journey began with 4 suitcases (I packed well!) in my comfy Palo Alto apartment, continued in the SFO airport to LAX where I got to meet up with Dina for dinner! I tried to get her to come in my suitcase. :-)

I then enjoyed a 16+ hour plane ride to Sydney. Luckily I had half a row of seats to myself and could stretch out ever so slightly. I quickly fell asleep after dinner at about 12:30pm and woke up 10 hours later! Time flies when you're sleeping.

After picking up my bags and lugging them to customs, I of course had an issue with my Visa. They had recorded my birthdate incorrectly and I had to wait for immigration to clear me. No dramas though (some of my new Australian slang). I proceeded through to the customs checkpoint where I caused even more problems. Beef jerky! Don't bring it to Australia because it is not allowed.

After skating through customs, handing over my beef jerky and exchanging some currency, we were on our way. Karina, one of the friendliest and most enthusiastic people I've ever met was there to greet us outside of customs. I thought I had packed well with my 2 checked suitcases and 2 carry-ons, but apparently I am one of the heaviest packers Karina has ever seen. :-) We used some acrobatics to cram my suitcases as well as the other US Ambassadors bags into her car and were on our way. But not before trying to get into the car from the wrong side.

Pre-Hotel Lessons:

Lesson 1: Do not bring beef jerky to Australia.
Lesson 2: Pack light! Even if you think you have, you haven't.
Lesson 3: Australians drive on the other side of the road and walk on the other side of the sidewalk.

We arrived at the hotel and dropped off our bags. Here is a glimpse of my new home for the next 3 months. Yes, there is a kangaroo on my bed. :-)


Then our trek in the city began. We walked all over...probably 10+ miles, which leads me to lesson 4...

Lesson 4: Do not wear flip flops when touring the entire city of Sydney.

We successfully stayed awake until midnight or so before crashing after several days of traveling.

G'Night...

I'm Going to Sydney!

This experience began almost 3 months ago with an essay (and a little nudge from Stacy) :-) to apply for our Ambassador Program. I will never forget the reaction when my name was called and I found out I would be heading to Sydney. Stacy screamed, I dropped my notebook and the entire audience looked at us.

The next month and a half was filled with friends and family, trip preparations and the warmest send off from the best group of friends a person could ask for!