Australia - Blue Mountains

Ah, this is why one comes to Australia:

We drove for a few hours through the Blue Mountains near Sydney to get to a place where the kangaroos are regular.

On the road through the Blue Mountains:

Blue Mountains views:

A place called Scenic World in the Blue Mountains claims to have the steepest railroad track in the world (with 52 degrees of incline):

It certainly felt like it on the way up!

Parting shot:

Sydney Opera House

In Sydney, we signed up for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Opera House. We had to get there before 7am. Thankfully, with the jet lag, it wasn't all that difficult to wake up on time.





From afar, the Opera House seems like one building. But up close, you can see that each "sail" is its own hall.


They are all connected inside though. The Opera House actually contains 6 performance spaces, including the opera space, concert hall, and several performance stages. This is the main hall:


The wooden paneling inside is exquisite. We were told that all of the it came from a single tree, cut very very thinly.


Opera was out of season, but the main stage was set for an upcoming performance of West Side Story.


Inside the stage, we could see all the internal signs, props, and even costumes for the show:

Sydney

Everyone has to take this picture when they come to Sydney:



Another classic Sydney pose:


One of the numerous incongruous sights in and around Sydney:


Queen Victoria Building - designed as a marketplace more than a hundred years ago, and converted to an upscale mall now:


Sydney Town Hall:


Sculpture garden in one of the new bayside developments:




View from our apartment:




Don't you feel like this sometimes:


Another view from our apartment. Not an auspicious sign if you are a bird-watcher! And I did get rained out on my planned birding day-tour, in a rare tropical storm.

Bear Encounter

My first encounter with a wild black bear in New Jersey. It's also the first time I came across a bear while walking a trail. We both got surprised. It's not a good thing to surprise a bear, though! I still took a few pictures, turned around, and got out of there really fast.

Saint Paul Island wildlife

Northern Fur Seals:








Parakeet Auklets:








Arctic Fox:




Least Auklets:






Crested Auklet:


Thick-billed Murres:




On this picture, notice how the birds on the left are a bit different from the ones on the right. Their backs are dark brown rather than black, and their bills are more pointed and lack a white stripe on them. They are Common Murres, while the ones on the right are Thick-billed Murres.


More Parakeet Auklets:




And a perfect last image to remember St Paul by: